KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces bombarded areas around Kyiv and another city just hours after pledging to scale back operations in those zones to promote trust between the two sides, Ukrainian authorities said Wednesday. The shelling — and intensified Russian attacks on other parts of...

As tensions between the West and Russia are on the rise due to the ongoing Ukraine war, Russia on Tuesday vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution that would have extended the work of inspectors seeking to determine who is responsible for chemical weapons attacks in Syria. Russia's U.N. Ambassador...

MOSCOW — The Kremlin says there was no breakthrough in the latest round of talks with Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday it was a “positive factor” that Ukraine submitted its written proposals, but added that “we can’t say there has been something promising or any...

 The U.N. refugee agency said Wednesday more than 4 million refugees have now fled Ukraine since Russia launched its war in the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. The new figure was posted on an UNHCR website. More than 2.3 million have arrived in Poland, but many have...

BEIJING (AP) — As millions of people in Shanghai line up for coronavirus tests, authorities are promising tax refunds for shopkeepers in the closed-down metropolis and to keep the world's busiest port functioning to limit disruption to industry and trade. This week's shutdown of most...

Iraq has reopened the al-Qaim border crossing with Syria, whereby it has made crossing priority for those who wish to visit the shrines and religious tourism," an Iraqi official said. The Kurdish Rudaw media network quoted the mayor of the Iraqi city of al-Qaim, Ahmed al-Dulaimi, as saying...

JERUSALEM (AP) — A gunman on a motorcycle opened fire in a crowded city in central Israel late Tuesday, killing at least four people in the second mass shooting rampage this week. The shooter was killed by police. While circumstances were not immediately clear, the shooting appeared to be...

Russia has offered to buy back dollar bonds maturing next week in roubles in a move seen by analysts as helping local holders of the $2 billion sovereign issue receive payment, while also easing the country's hard-currency repayment burden. The finance ministry offer on Eurobonds maturing on...

At least ten assassinations reported in southern Daraa proivcne in the past 48 hours, targeting civilians and former rebels, days after the regime made new appointments within the police command and some security branches. Zaman al-Wasl reporter said that the doctor, Thaer Ziyad al-Balkhi,...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s military announced Tuesday it will “fundamentally" scale back operations near Ukraine’s capital and a northern city, as talks brought a possible deal to end the grinding war into view. Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin said the move was meant to increase...

Clashes between U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters and members of the Islamic State group killed at least three people inside a restive camp in northeastern Syria that houses IS families, local Kurdish authorities and an opposition war monitor said Tuesday. The clashes broke out late Monday...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The first face-to-face talks in two weeks between Russia and Ukraine began Tuesday in Turkey, raising flickering hopes there could be progress toward ending a war that has ground into a bloody campaign of attrition. Ahead of the meeting in Istanbul, the Ukrainian...

DAMASCUS: Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday signed into law a bill enshrining a six-month jail sentence for citizens residing in the country who spread disinformation undermining the state’s reputation. Under the previous law, only Syrians residing abroad could be hit with jail...

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Amnesty International is accusing Russia of committing war crimes in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. The human rights organization will soon release an in-depth report on the devastation caused by Russia's assault on the city on the Sea of Azov, Amnesty's...

 A slowdown for good or a temporary lull during the storm of war? While the number of refugees who have flooded out of Ukraine nears 4 million, fewer people have crossed the border in recent days. Border guards, aid agencies and refugees themselves say Russia's unpredictable war on...

BERLIN (AP) — The Group of Seven major economies have agreed to reject Moscow’s demand to pay for Russian natural gas exports in rubles, the German energy minister said Monday. Robert Habeck told reporters that “all G-7 ministers agreed completely that this (would be) a one-sided and clear...

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine could declare neutrality and offer security guarantees to Russia to secure peace "without delay,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of another expected round of talks between the two sides — though he said only a face-to-face meeting with Russia's leader could...

BERLIN -- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says that neither NATO nor U.S. President Joe Biden aim to bring about regime change in Russia. Biden said of Russian President Vladimir Putin during a speech on Saturday that “this man cannot remain in power.” The White House and other U.S. officials...

The Syrian musician girl, Brolin Thani, learned music before she learned to walk and speak, and the environment in which she lived contributed to the development of her musical talent for playing.    The sound of the violin played by her two older brothers attracted her more...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands of patients in Ukraine are receiving lifesaving medicines to treat HIV and opioid addiction through a U.S.-funded group still operating despite the Russian invasion. Supplies are running short and making deliveries is a complicated calculus with unpredictable risks....