World

Morgan McSweeney, the strategist who engineered Labour’s turn from activism to authority and shepherded Keir Starmer to Downing Street, is facing the most bruising test of his quiet power. The prime minister’s chief of staff has been pulled into the fallout from the appointment of Peter Mandelson as U.K. ambassador to the United States, a decision now tainted by Mandelson’s continued association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Starmer has apologized to Epstein’s victims and for “believing lies,” while insisting…

WASHINGTON — Ireland’s foreign minister defended the European Union’s Digital Services Act during a visit to the U.S. capital, arguing the online safety law protects consumers and children without undermining free speech, even as a House Judiciary Committee hearing questioned whether the framework infringes on Americans’ First Amendment rights. Helen McEntee, Ireland’s minister for foreign affairs, trade and defense, met U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington as part of advance preparations for Ireland…

Storm Leonardo unleashed more than 40 centimeters (about 16 inches) of rain in 24 hours across parts of the Iberian Peninsula, killing one person in Portugal, forcing thousands from their homes in southern Spain, shutting schools and canceling trains. In Portugal’s Alentejo region, a man in his 60s died after being swept away as he tried to drive through floodwaters near a dam in the municipality of Serpa, a spokesman for the national civil protection authority said. “A vehicle was found with one occupant, so there is one…

Russia said there had been “progress” in talks with Ukraine in Abu Dhabi as Kyiv accused Moscow of launching a “massive” overnight drone attack on railway infrastructure in the country’s north, underscoring the gulf between diplomatic messaging and battlefield realities nearly four years into the war. Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian negotiator, told state media that discussions in the United Arab Emirates were advancing. “There is definitely progress, things are moving forward in a good, positive direction,” he said on the second…

A stunning Democratic win in a Texas state Senate race that former President Donald Trump carried by 17 points in 2024 has jolted Republicans and sharpened questions about their midterm prospects. The upset, following a string of Democratic gains in recent months, suggests shifting political currents in even reliably red terrain as November approaches. Trump had urged supporters in Texas on Truth Social to “GET OUT AND VOTE” for the “phenomenal” Republican candidate, declaring, “Today is the day!” Twenty-four hours later,…

Israeli tank shelling and airstrikes killed 24 Palestinians, including seven children, across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, health officials said, in a surge of violence that threatens to further unravel a nearly four-month-old ceasefire. Among the dead was a medic who had rushed to treat casualties in the southern city of Khan Younis and was killed by a subsequent strike on the same location, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which operates under Hamas authorities. In Gaza City, health officials said a five-month-old boy…

UK MPs vote to release Peter Mandelson appointment files after Starmer hands security veto to Parliament watchdog British lawmakers have approved the release of government documents relating to Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the United States, after Prime Minister Keir Starmer abandoned plans to let the Cabinet Secretary decide what should be withheld on national security or foreign relations grounds. Under pressure from Labour MPs led by former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, Starmer agreed that the…

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi has launched a hunger strike from prison to demand access to phone calls, her lawyers and family, her Paris-based attorney said, as authorities tighten restrictions on one of the country’s most prominent human rights defenders. Mohammadi, 53, was arrested on Dec. 12 in the eastern city of Mashhad and “has been on hunger strike for the last three days,” lawyer Chirinne Ardakani told AFP. “She is demanding her right to make a phone call, have access to her lawyers in Iran and…

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Ryan Routh, the 59-year-old man found hiding in the bushes along a Florida golf course with a semi-automatic rifle during an attempt to assassinate Donald Trump less than two months before the 2024 election, was sentenced to life in prison in federal court. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon imposed the punishment after a jury in September convicted Routh on five counts, including attempted assassination. “It’s clear to me that you engaged in a premeditated, calculated plot to take a human life,” Cannon…

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer accused Peter Mandelson of “betraying our country” by leaking information to Jeffrey Epstein and said the former Labour grandee “lied repeatedly” during the process that led to his appointment as U.K. ambassador to the United States. Mandelson, a former Cabinet minister and ex–EU trade commissioner, resigned from the House of Lords on Tuesday. Hours later, British police said they were investigating “misconduct in public office offences” linked to the matter. Starmer said he regretted…