World

Zuckerberg disputes claim he misled Congress as LA jury hears emails on time-spent goals in youth social media addiction trial Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushed back in a Los Angeles courtroom against a lawyer’s suggestion that he misled U.S. lawmakers about how the company designed Facebook and Instagram, as a landmark jury trial over youth social media addiction pressed forward. Questioned about his 2024 congressional testimony — in which he said Meta did not direct teams to maximize time spent on its apps —…

White House warns Iran to ‘be wise’ and take deal as U.S. weighs strikes, bolsters forces The White House urged Iran to “be wise” and strike an agreement with the United States as Washington readies military options and builds up forces near Iran, even as Oman-mediated talks resume in Geneva. U.S. forces could be prepared to launch strikes as early as this weekend, CNN and CBS reported, though President Donald Trump has not made a final decision. “Iran would be very wise to make a deal with President Trump and with his…

Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee was among 32 foreign ministers to cosign a joint statement denouncing possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Sudan’s nearly three-year war, urging urgent protection for civilians and the unhindered delivery of aid. The ministerial statement, backed by EU nations, the United Kingdom and Canada among others, calls out “widespread violations” and presses for accountability. “These violations may amount to war crimes or crimes against humanity and must be promptly and…

GENEVA — The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said talks between Iran and the United States in Geneva made “a step forward,” but warned that time is running out to lock in an agreement as military threats hover over the diplomacy. “We made progress, but there is still work to be done, and the problem is that we don’t have much time,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi told France’s LCI television in an interview. “There is the possibility of a dialogue that is really beginning, for the first time, to…

Top UN official warns of ‘gradual de facto annexation’ as Israel tightens West Bank control; Al‑Aqsa access curbed for Ramadan A senior United Nations official warned the Security Council that recent Israeli steps to expand control over parts of the occupied West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority amount to “gradual de facto annexation,” escalating diplomatic tensions as Ramadan begins with new limits on access to Jerusalem’s Al‑Aqsa Mosque. “We are witnessing the gradual de facto annexation of the West Bank, as…

France braces for worsening floods as a man went missing in the Loire River and the country marked a record 35 consecutive days of rain, national forecasters said Wednesday, with Storm Pedro set to drive fresh downpours across the west. Meteo-France, the national weather service, said the streak is the longest series of rainy days since measurements began in 1959, surpassing a previous record set in 2023. The relentless precipitation has saturated soils and swollen rivers across western regions, pushing several waterways to…

Environmental and public health groups sued the Trump administration to block its repeal of a cornerstone climate finding that has underpinned federal regulation of greenhouse gases for more than a decade, filing their challenge in a federal appeals court in Washington. The petition argues the administration acted illegally in scrapping the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2009 “endangerment finding,” a scientific determination that six greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare by driving climate change. The move…

In the sweltering heat of southeastern Oklahoma, drums thudded as 60 men fanned around a single wooden post, each gripping a pair of hickory sticks. The small rubber ball—faster than it looks, heavier than it seems—pinballed through a scrum of bodies until it cracked against the four-meter post and the sideline exploded. This is stickball, or Ishtaboli to the Choctaw Nation. It is a game, an identity, and a living archive of survival that now binds Oklahoma to Ireland as much as it binds generations of Native players to…

DNA from glove yields no match in search for Nancy Guthrie as Arizona abduction probe enters 17th day A promising DNA lead in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie failed to produce a match in a national database, delivering a setback to investigators as the search for the 84-year-old mother of NBC’s Savannah Guthrie reached its 17th day, authorities said. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department, working with the FBI, said a DNA sample taken from a glove recovered last week did not return a “hit” in CODIS, the Combined DNA Index…

‘Not now and not anytime soon’: Ukraine’s 18–22 exit rule sends a wave of young men to Poland and beyond On a gray December morning in Warsaw, Vadym, a 22-year-old from Chernihiv, stepped off a bus, opened his phone and started calling. Within days, he had a job with a Ukrainian logistics firm operating in Poland. Within weeks, he had a plan. “As for returning to Ukraine, in my view, not now and not anytime soon after the war ends,” he said. “Now I can only think about what lies beyond its borders.” Vadym is part of a new,…