A reporter for Kurdish news outlet Rudaw attempted to interview Islamic State militants at what he described as the frontline with Peshmerga forces on August 11. The reporter is seen standing on a bridge which he says is controlled half by each side. He makes several attempts to question the men who are building an earth barricade at the far end. He receives no audible reply, but says he was warned not to get any closer. Credit: Rudaw
He said on X that he also visited a paratroopers' medical platoon and examined the construction of fortifications: "Every effort must be made in this regard." Twenty-five months into Moscow's full-scale invasion, Ukraine is on the back foot, and Russian troops are inching forward. Kyiv scaled up its efforts to build effective defence lines as its officials warned about Russian troops preparing a possible offensive later this spring or in summer.
A measure of calm was returning after Israel's retaliatory strike on Iran spooked the market and spurred a rush to safe havens such as gold.
China's Ant Group is in talks with Indonesia to bring its popular cross-border payment service Alipay+ there, the chief of its international business was quoted by media as saying on Friday after meeting with the country's communications minister. Launched in 2020, Alipay+ provides services and technology tools to global merchants and e-wallets that enable them to offer their users the ability to make payments in overseas markets with their local e-wallets. Peng Yang, CEO of Ant Group's international business group, was quoted by newspaper Kompas as saying the company was seeking guidance from Indonesia's central bank to operate in Indonesia, adding he hoped Alipay+ could be launched this year.
Western states have sought to send Iran messages via Turkey in recent days to reiterate appeals for de-escalation, a Western diplomat said on Friday. The messages were conveyed before reported Israeli attacks on Iran early on Friday, after which Tehran indicated it had no plans for further retaliation. After Iran's retaliatory attack on Israel over the weekend, Turkey's foreign ministry confirmed contacts with Iran and the United States in a statement, saying Ankara had called for restraint and warned of a regional war if tensions escalated further.
The head of the European Union's executive branch said Friday that Finland's decision to close its border crossings with Russia over a surge in migrants was a security matter for the whole 27-member bloc to consider. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made the remarks during a trip to the frontier, visiting a part of the border located in the Arctic. “We all know how (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and his allies instrumentalize migrants to test our defenses and to try to destabilize us,” von der Leyen said.
Lawyers in Donald Trump's criminal trial are expected on Friday to wrap up the painstaking process of selecting a jury that will for the first time in U.S. history determine whether a former president is guilty of breaking the law. With the 12-member jury already chosen, prosecutors and defense lawyers need to select six alternates for the trial, which is expected to run through May. Opening statements could start on Monday. On Thursday, Justice Juan Merchan dismissed one juror who said she felt intimidated after friends and relatives figured out she had been chosen for the trial.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is using his hush money trial to squeeze his loyal army of small donors and personally lobby major backers as he scrambles to reduce a major fundraising disadvantage with Democratic President Joe Biden. His campaign has been firing off daily, dramatically worded fundraising appeals to small donors - who rallied to support him when he was first charged in the case last year - since the trial in New York began with jury selection on Monday. There are early warning signs that Trump's small-donor base may be flagging, suggesting Trump may have to rely more heavily on major donors ahead of the Nov. 5 rematch against Biden.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson looks set to push forward this weekend on a $95 billion aid bill for Kyiv, Israel and other allies, despite a firestorm of protest from hardline Republicans that could lead to an attempt to oust him. His performance, six months after the 52-year-old Louisiana Republican acquired the speaker's gavel, has won him accolades from centrist Republicans who worry that party infighting could erode U.S. status on the world stage. Johnson was elected speaker after a small band of hardline Republicans ousted his predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, a move that brought the House of Representatives to a halt for weeks.
Democrat Ro Khanna is touring swing states, talking to young voters about Gaza. Why he thinks President Joe Biden has a 2024 problem.
Tesla's growth story was about leading the paradigm shift to EVs, and an affordable car was a part of that story. Now without it, the narrative has changed.
Russian strikes on Ukraine in the early hours of Friday killed at least eight people, including two children, as Kyiv said it shot down a Russian strategic bomber for the first time.In a boost for their forces, Kyiv said it had downed a Russian long-range strategic bomber during a combat mission for the first time.
India began voting Friday in a six-week election with an all but assured victory for Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi."I urge all those voting... to exercise their franchise in record numbers," he wrote in a social media post on X as the election began.
Indonesian authorities were on alert Friday for more eruptions from a remote island volcano that forced thousands to evacuate this week, as nearby residents began clearing debris after molten rocks rained down on their villages. And then it rained and rocks fell.
Plus: Nationwide antisemitism; Trump allies join forces with sheriff's group. It's the week in extremism, from USA TODAY.
Here’s what we know so far amid fears of conflict escalating in the region.
The line was orderly at Government Middle School as people waited patiently to vote, even after one of the voting machines malfunctioned. The officers working at the polling station in Chedema village in India's tiny mountain state of Nagaland on Friday had arrived the day before, all of them women on electoral duty for the first time. The four women surveyed the polling station, secured the perimeter and started on the tedious paperwork involved with India's multiphase national election.
Got a few hundred thousand dollars to spare? Here’s how Olympic-class spenders will be watching the summer games in Paris this year.
The trauma of the massacre at Columbine High School still haunts survivors, witnesses nationwide and students who weren’t alive when it happened.
Firefighters in Copenhagen plan to start taking down scaffolding that is left dangling dangerously Friday outside the ruins of the Danish capital's historic Old Stock Exchange building after a fire tore through it and collapsed much of its structure. “Right now, structural engineers and engineers are assessing how it can be done to cut the scaffolding free,” said Tim Ole Simonsen, a spokesman for the Greater Copenhagen Fire Department. Tuesday's blaze was believed to have started on the roof of the building, which had been wrapped up in scaffolding while the building was being renovated.
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