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The United States, key allies and Arab nations engaged in high-level diplomacy in hopes of avoiding another U.S. veto of a new U.N. resolution on desperately needed aid to Gaza ahead of a long-delayed vote now scheduled for Thursday morning.
The U.S. has been struggling to change the text's references to a cessation of hostilities in the Israel-Hamas war. Another sticking point is the inspection of aid trucks into Gaza to ensure they are only carrying humanitarian goods. The current draft proposes a U.N. role, an idea Israel is likely to oppose.
Full StoryA high-ranking member of Hezbollah's Islamic Jihad Organization was charged with terrorism offenses, including the bombing of a building in Argentina in 1994 that killed 85 people, in an indictment unsealed Wednesday in Manhattan federal court.
Samuel Salman El Reda, 58, who remains at large and is believed to be in Lebanon, was described by federal authorities as the leader of terrorist activity carried out by Hezbollah since at least 1993.
Full StoryTesla has found itself locked in an increasingly bitter dispute with union workers in Sweden and neighboring countries. The showdown pits the electric car maker's CEO Elon Musk, who's staunchly anti-union, against the strongly held labor ideals of Scandinavian countries.
None of Tesla's workers anywhere in the world are unionized, raising questions about whether strikes could spread to other parts of Europe where employees commonly have collective bargaining rights — notably in Germany, Tesla's most important market.
Full StoryZac Efron didn't realize how much he needed a hug.
He'd transformed himself into a mass of muscle and repressed emotion to play professional wrestler Kevin Von Erich in the new film "The Iron Claw." It was a taxing role and unlike anything he'd done before, both physically and psychologically. He often found himself with real bruises from recreating fights in the ring. Downtime between shots, too, was usually spent lifting.
Full StoryBayern Munich has handed experienced forward Thomas Müller a one-year contract extension through to the end of the 2024-25 season, putting him within sight of the club's all-time appearance record.
The new deal has the 34-year-old Müller in line to mark a quarter of a century at the club he joined at the age of 10.
Full StoryThe president of a Turkish soccer team ordered his players to leave the field in protest of an officiating decision during a game Tuesday, just over a week after a referee was punched in the face.
Halil Umut Meler had been attacked on the pitch last Monday after a 1-1 draw in a Super Lig game between Caykur Rizespor and MKE Ankaragucu. Faruk Koca, who was president of Ankaragucu, resigned and was banned by the Turkish Football Federation for punching Meler.
Full StoryThe tide turned against inflation.
Artificial intelligence went mainstream — for good or ill.
Full StoryInflation in the U.K. as measured by the consumer prices index eased back to its lowest level in more than two years, official figures showed Wednesday, in a development that stoked speculation that the Bank of England may start cutting interest rates sooner than expected.
The Office for National Statistics said inflation dropped to 3.9% in the year to November, its lowest level since September 2021, from 4.6% the previous month. That decline was bigger than anticipated in financial markets.
Full StoryJust days after taking office, Argentine President Javier Milei's government announced drastic economic measures that angered some social and labor groups, and warned it would crack down on any protests blocking streets.
The right-wing populist on Wednesday will face the first test of how his administration responds to demonstrations after those groups called on people to turn out to protest the economic shock measures, which Milei has said are needed to address Argentina's severe crisis.
Full StoryEuropean Union leaders and top officials hailed on Wednesday a major breakthrough in talks on new rules to control migration, but critics said the reforms will weaken the rights of asylum-seekers and encourage more morally dubious deals with countries that people leave to get to Europe.
After overnight talks, visibly exhausted EU lawmakers emerged expressing relief that agreement was found "on the core political elements" of the Pact on Asylum and Migration — a major overhaul of rules that many hope will address the challenges posed by migrant arrivals over the last decade.
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