World

  In this photo provided by the Israeli army, armed Israeli Air Force planes depart from an unknown location to attack Iran, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (Israeli Army via AP) cairo — Arab governments reacted with mostly tepid condemnation of Israeli strikes overnight on Iran, expressing concern that a wider conflict could erupt, but avoiding strong language or taking any concrete action to protest the Israeli strikes. Iranian officials and government media denied that Israeli strikes on several locations in the country did serious damage to infrastructure, claiming that Iranian air defenses had "stopped a number of Israeli missiles." Tehran did admit, however, that two soldiers were killed in strikes on Iranian military faciliti...

  FILE - U.S. Representative Greg Casar, left, speaks in Washington, May 25, 2023. He is one of more than 60 members of Congress urging President Joe Biden to secure the release of people being held in Pakistan, including former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Islamabad, Pakistan — More than 60 members of Congress wrote to President Joe Biden on Wednesday, urging his intervention "to secure the release of political prisoners" in Pakistan, including former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The letter stated that in February, the Pakistani parliamentary elections saw a historic level of irregularities, including widespread electoral fraud, state-led efforts to disenfranchise voters, and the arrest and detention of political leaders, journali...

  Russian President Vladimir Putin reacts during a press conference at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Oct. 24, 2024. Russia\'s President Vladimir Putin said Moscow will use "a range of responses" if the United States and its NATO allies allow Ukraine to use Western long-range weapons to strike inside Russia, according to remarks published on Sunday. "[The Russian defense ministry] is thinking about how to respond to the possible long-range strikes on Russian territory, it will offer a range of responses," Putin told state TV reporter Pavel Zarubin in video remarks published on Zarubin\'s Telegram messaging account. Meanwhile, Russia\'s air defense destroyed or intercepted 51 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian defen...

  Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to the media at the Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) headquarters, Oct. 27, 2024 in Tokyo. Tokyo — The make-up of Japan\'s future government was in flux on Monday after voters punished Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba\'s scandal-tainted ruling coalition, leaving no party with a clear mandate to lead the world\'s fourth-largest economy. The uncertainty sent the yen currency to a three-month low as analysts prepared for days, or possibly weeks, of political wrangling to form a government and potentially a change of leader. That comes as the country faces economic headwinds, a tense security situation fueled by an assertive China and nuclear-armed North Korea, and a week before U.S. voter...

  Palestinians walk past damaged and destroyed buildings in Beit Lahia the northern Gaza Strip, Oct. 26, 2024. cairo — Israeli forces withdrew from a hospital complex in northern Gaza on Saturday, one day after storming it, and the Palestinian enclave\'s health ministry said the troops had detained dozens of male medical staffers and some of the patients. Later on Saturday, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA said at least 30 people were killed in Israeli strikes on several houses in northern Gaza\'s Beit Lahiya. There was no immediate Israeli comment and no official confirmation from the health ministry on the death toll. Health officials said on Friday Israeli forces had stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of three medical facili...

  A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child in a neighborhood of Lahore, Pakistan, Nov. 27, 2023. As the global community marks World Polio Day on October 24, Pakistan faces 40 cases so far this year, compared to six in 2023. Islamabad, Pakistan — Pakistan\'s fight to eradicate polio is marked with hopeful highs and disappointing lows. As the global community marks World Polio Day on October 24, the nuclear-armed nation faces a staggering 40 cases so far this year, compared to six in 2023 and 20 the year before. In 2021, the South Asian nation briefly seemed on track to eradicating the paralytic virus, with just one reported case the entire year. Going door to door to vaccinate children 5 years old and younger against the pol...

  Georgian oligarch and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili gives a speech during a gathering at the party's headquarters after exit polls were announced during parliamentary elections in Tbilisi on Oct. 26, 2024. Tbilisi, Georgia — The streets of Tbilisi echoed with despair on Sunday as the Central Election Commission said the ruling Georgian Dream party won Saturday’s parliamentary election. The opposition parties are disputing the results. With 99% of the precincts reporting, Georgian Dream had secured 54.8% of the vote, reinforcing its grip on a nation polarized over its political future. Most of the leaders of the opposition parties say the vote, seen as a referendum on Georgia’s path toward deeper Wes...

  FILE - A woman in a traditional kimono votes during the general election at a polling station set up at a local school in Tokyo on October 27, 2024. Seoul, South Korea — Japan faced a period of political instability on Monday after its longtime ruling party suffered its worst election performance in 15 years, leaving Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba under pressure to resign and casting doubt on the makeup of the next government. Sunday’s vote saw the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, fail to secure a majority in the country’s powerful lower house, setting off a scramble to find smaller partners to form a government within 30 days. Ishiba, who became prime minister just last month, had hoped the elect...

  Sistan-Baluchistan, Iran DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — An attack on an Iranian police convoy Saturday in the country\'s restive southern province of Sistan and Baluchestan killed at least 10 officers, authorities said. Details remain scarce over the attack in Gohar Kuh, some 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) southeast of the Iranian capital, Tehran. Initially, reports simply described an attack by "miscreants" without more information. But shortly after, Iranian state media said 10 officers had been killed. HalVash, an advocacy group for the Baluch people of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, posted photos and video of what appeared to be a disabled truck painted with the green stripe used by Iranian police vehicles. One graphic ph...