World

Zelensky outlines U.S.-led peace proposal for Ukraine, seeks Russian feedback KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday detailed a U.S.-led proposal aimed at ending the war, saying negotiators from Kyiv and Washington agreed on a framework that has been sent to Moscow for feedback. He did not publish a draft but described the plan’s provisions point by point in a briefing with journalists. The document envisions a “full and unconditional non-aggression agreement” between Russia and Ukraine, reinforced by a…

Brussels condemned a new round of U.S. visa bans on European figures involved in combating online hate and disinformation, calling the move unjustified and warning the European Union could respond swiftly to defend its regulatory autonomy. France and Germany joined the EU in denouncing the restrictions, which target five Europeans, including former EU commissioner Thierry Breton, over alleged efforts to curb free speech and impose burdensome regulation on U.S. tech companies. The decision, announced by the administration of…

Pope Leo XIV is expected to renew his calls for peace on Monday as he delivers his first Christmas blessing from St. Peter’s Basilica, closing a year overshadowed by war but punctuated by fragile hopes for a truce in Gaza. The “Urbi et Orbi” message, scheduled for 11 a.m. Irish time, traditionally surveys global conflicts and urges reconciliation. The pontiff’s appeal for a one-day worldwide cease-fire went unheeded in Ukraine, where fighting continued. On Christmas Eve, Leo celebrated his first Christmas Mass, calling the…

DOJ finds more than a million additional Epstein documents, pushing full release back by weeks The U.S. Justice Department has identified more than a million additional documents potentially tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, delaying a full release of records for weeks as officials carry out legally required redactions to protect victims, the department said. The disclosure, made in a statement and echoed in a Justice Department social media post on Tuesday, further complicates a congressionally mandated…

Russia, China decry U.S. ‘cowboy’ tactics on Venezuela at UN Security Council; Washington defends moves UNITED NATIONS — Russia and China sharply criticized the United States for military and economic pressure on Venezuela during an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting requested by Caracas, denouncing what they called “cowboy” conduct and “intimidation” as Washington defended its actions as necessary to protect the hemisphere. Backed by Moscow and Beijing, Venezuela accused the United States of waging an unlawful campaign…

Putin briefed on Trump envoys’ Ukraine peace proposals as Zelensky outlines concessions Russia is evaluating a U.S.-led draft framework to end the war in Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin was briefed on contacts between Kremlin representatives and envoys for U.S. President Donald Trump, the Kremlin said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Kirill Dmitriev, a Kremlin envoy, updated Putin following a trip to Miami for talks with Trump’s team. Peskov declined to detail the proposals or Russia’s response,…

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…