war

Ukraine expands war crimes probe as evidence mounts for future Hague tribunal KYIV — Ukrainian investigators are escalating a sweeping, years-long effort to document alleged Russian war crimes across the country, collecting vast troves of physical evidence, eyewitness testimony and digital records with an eye toward future prosecutions at a special tribunal in The Hague. Now into the fourth year of full-scale war, authorities say the scope of the investigations continues to widen. Teams are working case by case to capture…

First lady Melania Trump on Monday chaired a United Nations Security Council session on children and education in conflict, a first for a spouse of a sitting world leader and a striking display of the Trump administration’s hands-on approach to global diplomacy by family members. The meeting in New York came two days after U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel launched attacks on Iran, drawing warnings from the United Nations about the safety of children amid a broader military escalation. UNICEF said the flare-up “marks a…

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that ongoing military operations against Iran will not become an “endless war,” describing a campaign focused on destroying Tehran’s missiles, navy and security infrastructure while U.S. commanders warned the effort will take time and carry a human toll. “We’re hitting them surgically, overwhelmingly and unapologetically,” Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. “This is not Iraq. This is not endless.” He emphasized the mission is not an attempt to build…

In Kharkiv, life threads through air-raid sirens as a city adapts to war’s long grind Kharkiv moves with a calm that belies its proximity to the frontline. Air-raid alerts roll across the snow and concrete, their whirling tone carried by loudspeakers and phones, yet buses, trams and the metro keep time. Pedestrians navigate the city’s broad, winter-bright boulevards as if the sirens were just another layer of weather. Four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kharkiv has become a study in endurance. City…

NEW YORK — The United States launched a sweeping series of strikes against Iran over the weekend under the banner of Operation Epic Fury, jolting a country that had not been primed for war and igniting a rapid clash of narratives at home and at the United Nations. Many Americans awoke to the news with confusion and unease. “No one in my circle ever talks about Iran,” a New Yorker told RTÉ News, adding he felt less safe and was unsure about gathering in public spaces. President Donald Trump addressed the Iranian public…

Pakistan bombed Taliban government forces in Kabul and Kandahar overnight in the first direct strikes on Taliban military sites since the group returned to power in 2021, a sharp rupture between the neighboring Islamic nations that Islamabad’s defense minister described as “open war.” The escalation raises the risk of a broader conflict along the 2,600-kilometer (1,615-mile) frontier and deepens a crisis already fueled by cross-border militant attacks. “Our cup of patience has overflowed. Now it is open war between us and…

Analysis: U.S. military buildup in the Middle East raises specter of war with Iran as diplomacy stalls The arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford — the world’s largest aircraft carrier — at a U.S. naval base on Crete has turned a simmering standoff with Iran into a test of resolve and restraint. With the USS Abraham Lincoln already in the region, hundreds of fighter jets, and critical enabling assets such as refueling tankers and airborne warning and control systems in place, Washington has amassed its most formidable presence in…

Trump weighs strikes on Iran as Vance rules out long Middle East war WASHINGTON — Vice President J.D. Vance said Thursday that while the White House is considering targeted military strikes in Iran — focused on nuclear facilities and long-range missile sites — President Donald J. Trump and senior officials still prefer a diplomatic path to ease tensions. In an interview with The Washington Post, Vance stressed that even if the administration authorizes limited action, the United States will not be drawn into an open-ended…

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine with an urgent appeal for an “immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire,” calling the war “a stain on our collective conscience” and warning of escalating global risks if the fighting continues. Speaking at a United Nations Security Council session convened to commemorate the anniversary, Guterres said “the cascading consequences of this blatant violation of international law” have rippled far beyond…

Dancan Chege left Kimende, a small town in Kenya’s Kiambu County, expecting to drive trucks in Russia. Within days, he says, he was wearing a Russian uniform in occupied Ukraine, his civilian clothes burned, and a trainer warning him and other recruits: “This is the Russian military, and once you are in, you either fight or die.” Chege’s account mirrors a growing pattern across Kenya and parts of Africa: fraudulent recruitment funneling young men into the Russia-Ukraine war. Kenya’s National Intelligence Service (NIS)…