World

The presidents of Colombia and Venezuela met on their border Thursday to sign an agreement designed to improve trade between the two countries and lift import duties on dozens of manufactured goods. The deal comes as relations between the two countries improve following the election of Colombia’s first leftist president. …

The United Nations launched a $1 billion appeal Thursday to help 5.2 million survivors of the most devastating earthquake in Turkey’s modern history, two days after starting a $397 million appeal to help nearly 5 million Syrians across the border in the rebel-held northwest. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric was peppered …

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday was awarded an “honorary professor” title at China’s elite Peking University during a high-profile state trip.  University secretary Hao Ping awarded Raisi for his efforts strengthen ties between the two countries, according to Mehr News Agency, which monitors Middle Eastern news.  In this photo …

The number of official islands in Japan is expected to double from 6,852 to 14,125 after the government conducted the first survey since 1987 of its territorial waters, according to Kyodo News.  Japan, a mountainous nation with a land mass of about 146,000 square miles, is surrounded by the Pacific …

Three Iraqi troops were killed Thursday when a suspected Islamic State militant detonated an explosive vest, state media reported, as security forces remain on high alert for sectarian attacks. The soldiers were carrying out a raid on a suspected IS cell in the Tarmiya district north of the capital after …

Cubans with relatives already in Mexico will be eligible for new expedited applications for Mexican visas, the country’s Foreign Relations Department announced Wednesday. BORDER PATROL IN MIAMI ENCOUNTER 88 CUBAN MIGRANTS ON 5 BOATS IN FLORIDA KEYS AHEAD OF NEW YEAR Special visa appointments will be held starting in April …

A boat carrying 71 weak and hungry Rohingya Muslims fleeing from refugee camps in Bangladesh landed Thursday in Indonesia’s northernmost province of Aceh, local officials said. Fifteen-year-old Shorif Uddin, who was on the boat with his parents, said two or three people died while they were at sea because of …

Iran is believed to be housing the “uncontested” new leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization a report by the U.N. said this week.    Saif al-Adel, a former Egyptian special forces officer and prominent member of the insurgent group with a $10 million U.S.-bounty on his head, is believed to …

At least 6 million Nigerians affected by the extremist insurgency in northeastern Nigeria need $1.3 billion in aid this year, according to the U.N. office in Nigeria. The 2023 U.N. humanitarian response plan launched on Thursday noted the need for “critical life-saving assistance” as a result of more than 12 …

Armed police storm KFC as ‘youths seen with guns’ Armed police stormed a KFC in London after reports that a group of youths had guns on them. Footage taken on the scene shows police raiding the restaurant, with one of the alleged suspects being tasered. (CREDIT: Jam Press Vid/@ig1ig3) London …