LONDON — An Irish nationalist made history Saturday by becoming Northern Ireland’s first minister as the government returned to work after a two-year boycott by unionists. Sinn Fein Vice President Michelle O’Neill was named first minister in the government that under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday peace accord shares power equally between Northern … Read more
LONDON — Northern Ireland’s largest British unionist party has agreed to end a boycott that left the region’s people without a power-sharing administration for two years and rattled the foundations of the 25-year-old peace. The breakthrough could see the shuttered Belfast government restored within days. After a marathon late-night meeting, Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey … Read more
KAMIANYTSIA, Ukraine — A years-long diplomatic conflict between Ukraine and Hungary took a step toward resolution on Monday during a meeting of their foreign ministers, but no breakthrough was reached on Hungary’s blocking of a crucial European Union financial aid package for Kyiv. The meeting, at a resort near the Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod, came … Read more
JERUSALEM — Iran said Sunday it successfully launched three satellites into space with a rocket that had multiple failures in the past, the latest for a program that the West says improves Tehran’s ballistic missiles. The launch comes as heightened tensions grip the wider Middle East over Israel’s continued war on Hamas in the Gaza … Read more
RIO DE JANEIRO — After decades of delay and pressure, Brazil announced Tuesday that it will henceforth use “favelas and urban communities” to categorize thousands of poor, urban neighborhoods, instead of the previous term “subnormal agglomerates” that was widely viewed as stigmatizing. Starting in the 1990s, the national statistics and geography institute, known by its … Read more
JERUSALEM — Iran said Saturday it had conducted a successful satellite launch into its highest orbit yet, the latest for a program the West fears improves Tehran’s ballistic missiles. The announcement comes as heightened tensions grip the wider Middle East over Israel’s continued war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and just days after Iran … Read more
TOKYO — Governor Yuriko Koike was asked Tuesday to stop a disputed $2.45 billion project to convert a Tokyo park district, renowned for its rows of 100-year-old ginkgo trees, into a largely commercial area anchored around three skyscrapers. The plan for the Jingu Gaien area calls for razing a famous baseball stadium where Babe Ruth … Read more
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s navy captured an oil tanker Thursday in the Gulf of Oman that only months earlier had seen its cargo of Iranian oil seized by the United States over sanctions linked to Tehran’s nuclear program, further escalating the tensions gripping the Mideast’s waterways. The vessel was previously known as the … Read more
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka has declared a moratorium on foreign research ships entering its waters for a year amid concerns from India over Chinese research vessels docking in its neighborhood. Though the moratorium comes ostensibly for capacity building it is seen as a reaction to growing concerns in India. Foreign Ministry spokesman Niluka … Read more
The U.S. has spent more than $7 billion on humanitarian aid and building infrastructure in the Palestinian territories in recent decades, while sending more than $3 billion a year to Israel for its military Since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following a deadly Hamas attack on Oct. 7, tens of thousands of buildings have … Read more