US Secretary of State Antony Blinken makes unannounced visit to Iraq amid push to stabilize post-Assad Syria

Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken makes unannounced visit to Iraq amid push to stabilize post-Assad Syria.

Latest stories

  • South Korea's impeached President Yoon detained in massive law-enforcement effort

    South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol was detained in a massive law enforcement operation at the presidential compound Wednesday, defiantly insisting the anti-corruption agency didn’t have the authority to investigate his actions but saying he complied to prevent violence. In a video message recorded before he was escorted to the headquarters of the anti-corruption agency, Yoon lamented the “rule of law has completely collapsed in this country.” Yoon, the country’s first sitting president to be apprehended, had been holed up in the Hannam-dong residence in the capital, Seoul, for weeks while vowing to “fight to the end” the efforts to oust him.

  • Malaysia government to seek gag order on Najib house arrest bid

    Malaysia’s government is seeking to prevent public discourse on jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s bid for house arrest, a week after his court victory led to political unease.

  • Public health experts, scientists warn senators on confirming RFK Jr

    A new coalition of more than 700 public health professionals, scientists and activists signed an open letter to oppose Senate confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary, saying his “fringe” views and inexperience would put the country at serious risk from severe infectious diseases. The letter from the coalition called “Defend Public Health”…

  • Senior lawyer: Too late for gag order on Najib’s royal addendum; discussions won’t influence lawyers, courts

    Senior lawyer Datuk Seri Dr Jahaberdeen Mohamed Yunoos says it’s too late for the government to apply for a gag order on the royal addendum regarding Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s house arrest, as the matter has been in the public domain for nearly a year.

  • EU's executive branch denies cover up over the health of its president, Ursula von der Leyen

    The European Commission denied on Monday that it had tried to cover up the state of health of its president, Ursula von der Leyen, after the head of the EU’s executive branch was hospitalized with severe pneumonia. Von der Leyen, 66, is the EU’s most high-profile political figure. In September, she marked the start of her second five-year term as commission president by traveling to Ukraine and then later to South America for a major trade meeting.

  • South Korea’s impeached President Yoon arrested

    South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested over insurrection accusations related to his Dec 3 martial law declaration, investigators said on Wednesday.

  • South Korea's impeached president Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested

    This was the South Korean authorities' second attempt to arrest Yoon.

  • Syria’s new rulers invite Assad security officials to surrender

    Headquarters of intelligence service in Damascus is now ‘settlement centre’ where those who served inside turn themselves in

  • West Virginia governor axes DEI and enacts vaccine exemptions on first full day in office

    Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey issued a slew of aggressive executive orders on his first full day as West Virginia's chief executive Tuesday, including one enabling families to receive religious exemptions from required school vaccinations — a massive departure for a state with one of the strictest vaccine policies in the nation. Another order called for the termination of all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or DEI, initiatives from state-run institutions, something Morrisey said he believes will protect West Virginians from racial and gender discrimination — especially “inappropriate” preferential treatment for certain groups over others. According to U.S. Census estimates for 2024, West Virginia’s population is just under 93% white, making it among the least diverse U.S. states.

  • South Korean President Yoon arrested over failed martial law bid

    Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was arrested on Wednesday over his failed martial law bid, after hundreds of anti-graft investigators and police raided his residence to end a weeks-long standoff.A first attempt on January 3 failed after a tense hours-long standoff between the guards and anti-graft investigators working with police. 

  • Special counsel says Biden’s criticism of prosecution of son Hunter ‘undermines’ the justice system

    ‘I prosecuted the two cases against Mr. Biden because he broke the law,’ report reads

  • Arizona's Democratic governor faces uphill battle as Republicans control Legislature

    Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs knows she is outnumbered this legislative session, since Republicans expanded their majorities in the statehouse after the last election. While President-elect Donald Trump swept the battleground state, Hobbs noted in a recent interview with The Associated Press that Arizona voters also elected Democrat Ruben Gallego to the U.S. Senate, sending the message that they want their political leaders to work across the aisle to solve the thorniest of issues.

  • How Biden tarnished his own legacy

    The 46th president had his accomplishments - but for now these are partly overshadowed by certain missteps

  • Biden’s Final Attempts at Legacy Polishing Won't Boost His Standing. Here's What Might

    Biden's final acts, including two major speeches, won't improve his public standing. Something else might, writes Philip Elliott

  • South Korean investigators finally arrest president Yoon Suk Yeol after weeks-long standoff

    Yoon issues defiant video message claiming to have complied with arrest despite many days of defiance

  • Thompson, chair of Jan. 6 committee, has talked with White House about pardons

    Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who headed Congress’s special investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, said Tuesday that he has been in talks with the White House about presidential pardons. His comments confirmed a report, published hours earlier by Punchbowl News, that Thompson had at least one conversation in December with…

  • EU probe finds 'unfair' limits in China's medical device market, adding to trade rift

    An EU investigation has found discrimination against European companies in China's public procurement market for medical devices, opening up a new front in the bilateral trade dispute. A report published on Tuesday found "clear evidence of China limiting the access of EU medical devices producers to its government contracts in an unfair and discriminatory way". The report came after the conclusion of the first and so far only investigation under the European Union's international procurement ins

  • South Korea's impeached president gets pay rise

    Yoon Suk Yeol's annual salary will rise to 262.6 million won, as South Korea remains in turmoil.

  • Reeves faces grilling from MPs amid market turmoil

    The Chancellor will answer questions in the Commons for the first time since her return from a trip to China.

  • Trump's Cabinet picks are set for Senate hearings. Here's the schedule

    After the initial crush of personnel announcements for President-elect Donald Trump's incoming administration, now the nominations process officially begins. Senate hearings are scheduled this week for several of Trump's picks for the Cabinet. Many nominees have met with senators individually.