A news conference between Zelenskyy and Trump’s Ukraine envoy is canceled as tension rise
A news conference that was planned to follow talks between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump’s Ukraine envoy was canceled Thursday as political tensions deepened between the two countries over how to end the almost three-year war with Russia. The event was originally supposed to include comments to the media by Zelenskyy and retired U.S. Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, but it was changed at the last minute to a simple photo opportunity where the two posed for journalists. They did not deliver statements or field questions as expected. The change was requested by the U.S. side, Ukrainian presidential spokesman Serhii Nikiforov said.
Series of explosions on buses in a parking lot rattles Israel
A series of explosions on three buses in a parking lot rattled central Israel on Thursday in what authorities suspected was a militant attack. No injuries were reported. The explosions happened on a day when Israel was already grieving after Hamas returned the bodies of four hostages from Gaza. The bus explosions were reminiscent of bombings during the Palestinian uprising of the 2000s, but such attacks are now rare.
Inside Mexico's border troop deployment following Trump's tariff threats: Can it make a difference?
More than 2,500 Mexican troops, from the states of Tlaxcala, Durango, Yucatán and Mexico City, have fanned out along this historically violent border city in a show of force. The troops are part of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s attempt to stave off President Donald Trump’s executive order announcing tariffs on Mexican, Canadian and Chinese goods coming to the U.S., a move aimed at pressuring the three countries into stopping the flow of fentanyl and immigrants into the U.S.
Renewable energy ambitions in northern Colombia collide with Indigenous worries
Giant wind turbines tower over a cemetery sacred to Zoyla Velasquez and her Indigenous Wayuu community, native to the La Guajira region in northern Colombia. This arid, wind-swept region, dotted with cacti and roaming herds of goats, holds immense potential to position Colombia as a wind and solar energy leader. However, resistance from the Wayuu community has stalled many proposed projects by multinational companies and the government. The Wayuu have concerns about the environmental and cultural impacts and the lack of prior consultation in what’s one of the nation’s poorest regions. Now, these companies are also eyeing the region’s offshore wind farm prospects.
Brazil’s top court justice orders X to pay $1.4 million fine for non-compliance
Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered X to pay 8.1 million Brazilian reais ($1.4 million) in fines for failing to comply with judicial orders, according to a judicial ruling. The ruling, signed on Wednesday and made public by the court on Thursday, said the social media platform refused to provide registration data for a profile attributed to Allan dos Santos, an ally of former President Jair Bolsonaro accused of spreading falsehoods.
Florida files suit against Target, claiming DEI initiatives ‘misled investors’
Florida’s new attorney general filed a federal court lawsuit against Target on Thursday, claiming the discount store chain “misled investors” by promoting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that prompted a backlash and hurt sales, ultimately costing shareholders. Before it scaled back its DEI efforts last month, Target was long considered a corporate advocate for the rights of Black and LGBTQ+ people. The retailer’s decision in 2023 to roll out LGBTQ+ merchandise in honor of Pride month outraged some shoppers and sparked confrontations in some stores.
South Korea requests to be excluded from Trump’s efforts to increase tariffs
South Korean officials have asked the Trump administration to exclude their country from U.S. plans to impose aggressive tariffs on trade partners, emphasizing that Seoul is already applying low duties on American products under the free trade agreement between the two nations. South Korea’s government on Friday said Deputy Trade Minister Park Jong-won made the request while traveling to Washington this week for meetings with unspecified officials from the White House, the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The South Korean Trade Ministry didn’t say what Park heard from the Americans.
Ukrainians rally around their president after Trump seeks to denigrate him
Days before the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainians are as somber and tense as they were right before Moscow launched the war. Only now, they aren’t just worried about their longtime enemy. Ukraine’s stunning new threat comes from its once staunchest ally, the United States, whose support appears to be fading as President Donald Trump parrots the propaganda of Russian President Vladimir Putin while pledging to stop the fighting between the two countries.
Thousands rally in Belgrade to support students’ fight against corruption
Thousands flooded the streets of Serbia’s capital on Thursday in a noisy support rally for protesting university students and their monthslong struggle against corruption and for changes in the Balkan country. Belgrade residents organized in five columns from various parts of the city before marching to a key intersection where striking students have been holding their daily protest blockades for more than two months.
AP PHOTOS: Pilgrims make offerings to Hindu deities at a biennial festival in southern India
Chants of “Om Linga, Om Linga” resonated as barefoot Hindu pilgrims, many balancing offering-filled baskets and clay pitchers on their heads, climbed more than 100 steps to a hilltop shrine in southern India. One family led a goat wearing a marigold garland around its neck. A burly man carrying two young children in his arms gripped a live chicken in his free hand while another man carried a goat across his shoulders.