One by one, the flags belonging to a patchwork of armed forces were lowered in a northern Iraqi town once brutalized by the Islamic State group. The territorial claims symbolized by each were replaced by the fluttering of just one: The Iraqi state’s. The hoisting of the national flag in...

European stock futures surged on Thursday as a Brexit trade deal seemed almost at hand, with just a week left for Britain’s final exit from the European Union. After months of wrangling, and amid warnings of no deal, Britain and the European Union were on the cusp of striking a narrow...

Organisers for the virus-postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics said Thursday they have reached "basic agreement" with all domestic sponsors to extend their contracts by a year, securing much-needed additional funds. Keeping all 68 domestic sponsors on board for another year is all the more...

Coronavirus misery hung over Christmas preparations worldwide on Thursday, with countless millions forced to cancel plans or limit festivities under fresh virus lockdowns. After a grinding pandemic year that has seen more than 1.7 million people die from Covid-19, a slew of new outbreaks...