World

Russia plans nuclear power plant on the moon by 2036 as space powers race to build permanent bases Russia plans to build a nuclear power plant on the moon by 2036 to supply energy for its lunar program and a joint Russian-Chinese research station, accelerating a new phase of competition over the earth’s only natural satellite. Roscosmos, the state space corporation, said it has signed a contract with aerospace firm Lavochkin Association to develop the project, which would support rovers, a lunar observatory and the…

BETHLEHEM, West Bank — Scouts marched under a clear blue sky and bagpipes sent familiar carols ricocheting off stone alleys, as Bethlehem stepped out from the shadow of the Gaza war to celebrate its first festive Christmas in more than two years. For two consecutive holiday seasons, the biblical birthplace of Jesus scaled back gatherings amid the war that began after the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023. This year, with a fragile truce holding in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank city restored the sights and…

Two police officers were killed in an overnight explosion in Moscow after approaching a suspicious person near their service vehicle, Russia’s Investigative Committee said, underscoring rising security tensions in the capital days after a senior military commander was assassinated nearby. The committee, which investigates major crimes, said in a statement that “an explosive device was triggered” as the officers moved toward the individual. The blast occurred at around 1:30 a.m. local time, according to Russian media reports…

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Saturday made at least 8,000 additional documents from the Jeffrey Epstein investigation available online, a sweeping release that includes hundreds of videos and audio files — notably surveillance footage from August 2019, the month Epstein died in a New York jail cell — and internal emails referencing President Donald Trump’s flights on Epstein’s private jet in the 1990s. The expanded “Epstein files” arrive amid bipartisan anger over the pace of disclosures and the heavy redactions…

Analysis: Why Ukraine’s peace push keeps stalling as Putin digs in and Washington’s back channel loops Ten months into a U.S.-led effort to halt the war in Ukraine, talks have lurched from promise to paralysis. A draft framework now appears within reach, but the gaps that matter—territory and credible security guarantees—remain where they were at the start, while Moscow hardens its terms and presses the battlefield narrative of inevitability. For Ukrainians, the negotiations have unfolded against a relentless tempo of drone…

U.S. bars visas for ex-EU tech regulator Thierry Breton, four NGO leaders, escalating rift over online speech rules The U.S. State Department said it will deny visas to former European Union commissioner Thierry Breton and four prominent figures in the digital-speech arena, accusing them of trying to “coerce” American social media platforms into censoring viewpoints they oppose. “These radical activists and weaponised NGOs have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states — in each case targeting American speakers and…

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said a new 20-point plan aimed at ending Russia’s invasion would freeze the current front line and open the way to possible troop withdrawals and demilitarized zones, while dropping a requirement that Kyiv legally renounce its NATO aspirations. Zelensky said the latest draft, agreed by U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators, is now being reviewed by Russia. He acknowledged some provisions are unpalatable to him and warned that the Kremlin is unlikely to abandon its hardline territorial demands.…

Irish troops to spend Christmas on peacekeeping duty in south Lebanon as UNIFIL observes fragile Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire More than 300 Irish soldiers will spend Christmas Day on peacekeeping duties at Camp Shamrock in south Lebanon, serving with the UNIFIL mission to observe the fragile ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah in the region. The deployment means hundreds of service members will mark the holiday away from home. Their work will continue through the day, focused on maintaining stability and…

A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow on Wednesday, a high-profile blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegations held separate talks with U.S. envoys in Miami on a possible path to ending the war. Russia’s Investigative Committee said Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head of the General Staff’s training department, died when an explosive device planted under his parked car detonated in a residential district. The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had been briefed. Kyiv has not…

Two men were convicted of planning an Islamic State-inspired mass shooting against Jews in the Manchester area, a plot police say could have become Britain’s deadliest terrorist attack if not for an undercover operation that exposed it. A jury at Preston Crown Court found Walid Saadaoui, 38, and Amar Hussein, 52, guilty of preparing acts of terrorism between December 2023 and May 2024. Prosecutors said the pair intended to attack a mass gathering and then move on to north Manchester to kill more Jewish people, though no…