BAGHDAD — A pro basketball team in Iraq is owned by a paramilitary group, and some of its forces recently attacked U.S. troops. But this hostility toward Uncle Sam has its limits: The team is banking on a high-scoring American to help lead them to a championship. Like many former U.S. college basketball players facing … Read more
The Biden administration’s plan to install a floating pier off the Gaza coast as part of a broad international initiative to feed starving Palestinians will endanger the U.S. service members who must build, operate and defend the structure from attack, military experts say, a risk with enormous political consequences for the president should calamity strike. … Read more
JERUSALEM — Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinians and wounded a third on Gaza’s beach, the military acknowledged Saturday, responding to a video that showed one man falling to the ground after walking in an open area and then a bulldozer pushing two bodies into the garbage-strewn sand. The military said troops opened fire after … Read more
DAKAR, Senegal — Days after Niger’s military junta declared the presence of U.S. troops in that West African nation to be “illegal,” American officials are seeking in closed-door talks to determine if they can retain some sort of security presence in the country, which has been the United States’ closest regional ally. U.S. officials say … Read more
PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated Thursday his position that sending Western troops into Ukraine should not be ruled out, but said that today’s situation doesn’t require that. In an interview on French national television Thursday, Macron was asked about the prospect of sending Western troops to Ukraine, which he publicly raised last month … Read more
ABOARD THE FRENCH FRIGATE NORMANDIE (AP) — The French navy frigate, bristling with weaponry and powering through frigid Norwegian seas not so far from Russia, awoke at 7:30 a.m. sharp to what, in the circumstances, was a surreal sound. The 1967 “ Summer of Love ” hippie anthem “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers … Read more
WARSAW, Poland — Poland’s foreign minister says the presence of NATO forces “is not unthinkable” and that he appreciates the French president for not ruling out that idea. Radek Sikorski made the observation during a discussion marking the 25th anniversary of Poland’s NATO membership in the Polish parliament on Friday, and the Foreign Ministry tweeted … Read more
KYIV — Even as he promises international partners that Ukraine will handle the fighting if given needed weapons and other support, President Volodymyr Zelensky and his top military commanders have failed so far to come up with a clear plan to conscript or recruit many thousands of new soldiers critically needed to defend against Russia’s … Read more
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian drones fly without ammunition. Russian artillery unleash deadly volleys from safe positions beyond the range of Kyiv’s troops. Shortages of ammo and supplies are resulting in lost ground to Moscow, U.S. congressional leaders warn, yet the Republican-controlled House has shown little hurry to resupply Ukraine with military aid. Across Washington, officials … Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting with his confidants for the 2024 election at Gostiny Dvor in Moscow, Russia, on Jan. 31, 2024. Maxim Shemetov | Reuters The West is watching Russian President Vladimir Putin’s next move closely after pro-Russian officials in the breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova appealed to Moscow for “protection” … Read more