The end of an exemption on tariff duties for low-value packages coming into the United States is causing multiple international postal services to pause shipping as they await more clarity on the rule.
The exemption, known as the " de minimis" exemption, allows packages worth less than $800 to come into the U.S. duty free. A total of 1.36 billion packages were sent in 2024 under this exemption, for goods worth $64.6 billion, according to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol Agency.

No Hollywood star seems as intrinsically tied to Venice as George Clooney.
Twenty-seven years ago he attended his first Venice Film Festival with the instant classic "Out of Sight"; 20 years ago, it's where he debuted his sophomore film, "Good Night, and Good Luck," which earned him his first best director nomination; and 11 years ago, it's where he exchanged vows with then Amal Alamuddin, at the Aman Venice, a five-star hotel perched alongside the Grand Canal.

India has alerted Pakistan about possible cross-border flooding after heavy monsoon rains in the South Asian region, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said on Monday, in what marks the first public official contact between the two nuclear-armed rivals in months.
The ministry said New Delhi conveyed the information through diplomatic channels instead of the Indus Waters Commission, the permanent mechanism created under the 1960 World Bank-brokered Indus Waters Treaty.

Norway's multibillion-dollar military and civilian support for Ukraine's fight to defeat Russia's invasion will stretch into next year, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Monday during a visit to Kyiv, as uncertainty surrounds U.S.-led efforts to secure a peace settlement.
Store, whose country borders Russia, told a news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukraine is "defending a critical principle on the European level" by refusing to accept Russia's seizure of territory.

Thousands of people will paint a town red with tomato pulp Wednesday, flinging the fruit at one another in the 80th anniversary of Spain's famous "Tomatina" tomato street fight.
The hourlong event brings 120 tons of overripe tomatoes to the eastern town of Buñol, where tarp-covered buildings flank a crowd of up to 22,000 participants awaiting their ammo. Non-local attendees pay 15 euros ($17.50) for a ticket and arrive from countries across the globe or cities a bus ride away.

President Donald Trump is hosting Lee Jae Myung, the new president of South Korea, at the White House on Monday for talks expected to center on trade and defense.
The first in-person meeting between the two leaders could help flesh out details of a July trade deal between the two countries that has Seoul investing hundreds of billions of dollars in the U.S. The agreement set tariffs on South Korean goods at 15% after Trump threatened rates as high as 25%.

Strong winds and heavy rain whipped southern China's Hainan island and nearby parts of Guangdong province on Sunday, as Typhoon Kajiki passed over open waters to the south and headed toward Vietnam's central coast.
About 20,000 people were evacuated from potentially hazardous areas ahead of the storm, China's official Xinhua News Agency said. Fishing boats returned to port and more than 21,000 crew members came onshore.

Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen 's capital on Sunday, days after the Houthi rebels fired a missile toward Israel that its military described as the first cluster bomb the rebels had launched at it since 2023.
The Iranian-backed Houthis said multiple areas across Sanaa were hit, while the Houthi-run health ministry said at least six people were killed and 86 others were wounded, seven of them in critical condition.

France has summoned the American ambassador to Paris after the diplomat, Charles Kushner, wrote a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron alleging the country did not do enough to combat antisemitism.
France's foreign ministry issued a statement Sunday announcing it had summoned Kushner to appear Monday at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and that his allegations "are unacceptable."

Just days away from a European deadline, Iran said Friday its foreign minister would hold a telephone conference call with his French, German and British counterparts to avoid the reimposition of United Nations sanctions over Tehran's nuclear program.
The call, planned for Friday by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi according to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency, comes as the three parties to Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal threaten to reimpose those sanctions under a mechanism known as "snapback" in the accord. The European Union's chief diplomat will also join the call, IRNA said.
