Author: Admin

A massive fire at a resort hotel in the Dominican Republic left one person dead and forced close to 1,700 tourists to evacuate, according to local authorities.

The blaze broke out at the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach Hotel in Bayahibe, a community situated on the southeastern coast of the Dominican Republic. Officials announced the details of the incident on Friday, June 19.

Authorities confirmed the large-scale evacuation was carried out as the fire swept through the property, displacing hundreds of guests staying at the resort.

LA PAZ — Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz reached an agreement Friday with the Bolivian Workers’ Confederation, known as the COB, in what could be a turning point in a standoff that has brought the country to a near standstill over the past 50 days.

The ongoing unrest has had a severe impact on everyday life in Bolivia, with citizens facing lengthy lines at fuel stations and struggling to obtain basic necessities like food and medical supplies due to widespread roadblocks set up by protesters.

The head of the COB’s executive leadership, Mario Argollo, expressed cautious optimism about the agreement. “There is a country waiting for white smoke to appear today,” Argollo said. “We believe we must begin to iron out our differences; we must start building a country based on consensus, with workers participating in the decisions.”

HAVANA (AP) — Analysts are describing Cuba’s newly announced economic reforms as the most dramatic transformation of the island’s communist economy since the Cuban revolution, as the grandson of former President Raúl Castro declared in a published interview that Cuba must chart a new path forward economically.

The sweeping package of 176 measures is designed to loosen the grip of Cuba’s centrally controlled economy, which has been severely strained by a tightened U.S. embargo under President Donald Trump. Under the current system, the Cuban government controls what gets produced, who produces it, the prices goods are sold at, and how national resources are distributed.

Among the proposed changes are greater opportunities for private businesses to operate, the ability to import and export goods without going through government intermediaries, the freedom to hire workers directly, the authorization of private banks, and the ability for Cubans living abroad to invest back home. The reforms would even allow fast-food chains to open on the island.

“Elements that for decades were listed as pillars of the revolutionary economy, such as the state monopoly on foreign trade and the centralization of productive forces, have been dismantled,” said Luis Carlos Battista, a Cuban-American political scientist and lawyer who is a doctoral candidate at the University of Salamanca.

Former President Raúl Castro — who continues to hold considerable influence in Cuba — has previously attempted more modest economic reforms, but those efforts were repeatedly slowed by bureaucratic obstacles. Cuban authorities acknowledged when announcing the current reforms that implementation may proceed slowly, and they stressed the measures will not be fully effective unless the U.S. lifts its energy and financial embargo against the island.

Since January, Cuba has faced a severe U.S. energy and financial embargo that has effectively cut the island off from fuel — its primary energy source — worsening a crisis that had already been building for five years. Power outages have stretched as long as 20 hours per day, limiting access to healthcare, transportation, and education.

President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have both acknowledged they are pursuing a maximum pressure campaign aimed at changing Cuba’s political and economic system, which has persisted for six decades in the face of U.S. pressure. Neither has ruled out the use of military force.

In a video interview published Friday by the United Arab Emirates-based outlet The National, Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro — the grandson of the revolutionary leader — stated that Cuba “doesn’t even slightly represent a threat” to the United States.

Rodriguez Castro added that Cuba’s government is pursuing what he described as a “very Cuban” approach to its economy.

“Our country must seek a path to economic development where we must inevitably diversify our economy, diversify the way we do business and diversify the way we do investments,” he said.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel indicated the proposed measures were modeled in part on the economic approaches of Vietnam and China — communist nations that have incorporated market-based elements into their economies.

Lee Schlenker, a research associate at the Quincy Institute in Washington, said ongoing U.S. sanctions are likely to present a major stumbling block to the reforms.

“With these new measures, along with others that are likely on the table, they will only have a true effect if complemented with the gradual lifting of U.S. prohibitions and sanctions more broadly,” Schlenker said.

Schlenker and other analysts noted that without sanctions relief, many of the announced measures will be difficult or impossible to implement — particularly because potential investors face penalties within the U.S. financial system if they conduct business with Cuba.

Additional challenges include a lack of trust from potential investors and what Battista described as a “slow and inefficient” bureaucracy that could hinder meaningful progress.

Despite those hurdles, Paolo Spadoni, an associate professor in the Department of Social Sciences at Augusta University in Georgia, said Cuba’s government has only a narrow window to produce real results.

“If Cuban leaders hope to survive this unprecedented crisis and the pressure from the United States, they must move quickly with the implementation of reform and the achievement of tangible results,” Spadoni said.

Diplomatic decorum collapsed at the United Nations on Friday when Israel’s ambassador and a senior UN official became embroiled in a loud, public argument during an official hearing in New York.

The confrontation took place at a meeting commemorating the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon directed his anger at Pramila Patten, the U.N. secretary-general’s special representative for children and armed conflict, calling on her to step down and accusing her of bias after her report placed Israel on a blacklist for alleged abuses for the first time.

“You caved to the secretary-general’s obsession with targeting Israel,” Danon said, referring to U.N. chief Antonio Guterres.

Another UN official, Vanessa Frazier — Guterres’ representative for children and armed conflict — interrupted the exchange by shouting a point of order. She urged Danon to stop making “personal attacks” and stated that she had “verified evidence.”

Danon responded by telling Frazier to be silent.

“We are a member state, and you work for the U.N., and you will be quiet now. You will be quiet … you and your shameful report,” he said.

Frazier, who previously served as Malta’s ambassador to the United Nations, released her own report this week on behalf of Guterres. That report warned that Israeli settler groups could be added to a global blacklist for violations against children, with Guterres describing a “staggering” rise in such violations against Palestinian children.

Israel already appears in the annexes of that report — often referred to as the “list of shame” — for alleged violations.

When Patten’s report was released last month, Danon called it “a new low,” and Israel’s foreign ministry announced it would cut all ties with Guterres, who is set to leave his position after 10 years when his term ends at year’s end.

Both reports also include Israel’s adversary Hamas on their blacklists.

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone — Asylum seekers who were deported by the United States to Sierra Leone now face the possibility of being transferred to their home countries — the same places where they fear persecution — even though U.S. courts had previously ordered that they could not be sent there, according to an attorney involved in the case and documents reviewed by The Associated Press.

Roughly a dozen people arrived in Sierra Leone on Thursday following a deportation flight from the U.S. — the second such flight to the country. A previous flight brought nine West African migrants there last month. Attorney Erica Reilly, who represents one of the migrants, shared these details on Friday.

Sierra Leone is among at least nine African nations that have entered into third-country deportation arrangements with the United States. Officials have indicated that only citizens of West African countries are being accepted. A number of Latin American and Caribbean nations have entered into similar agreements.

A pamphlet distributed to migrants when they arrived in the capital city of Freetown stated that the government and its contractors were working to “return you home as quickly and safely as possible.” The document described Sierra Leone as a “temporary transit location” and made clear that “no long-term settlement is provided for or permitted.”

The pamphlet was distributed by Kenvah Solutions, a private contractor hired by the Sierra Leone government to manage housing, meals, medical care, and transportation for the deportees. A copy was reviewed by the AP. Neither Kenvah Solutions nor Sierra Leonean authorities responded to requests for comment.

Advocates say the Trump administration has used a series of often-secret agreements to deport thousands of people to nearly two dozen countries that are not their own — a key part of the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement strategy. Immigration attorneys argue that these third-country deportations serve as a legal workaround to push asylum seekers back toward their home countries indirectly.

Sierra Leone’s foreign minister, Timothy Kabba, stated last month that the country’s agreement with the Trump administration comes with a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. government. The program allows up to 25 deportees per month and 300 per year, though the length of the arrangement has not been disclosed.

Reilly, who is representing a Nigerian man among those deported Thursday, said her client and others like him had legal protections from U.S. courts — judges had determined they faced credible fears of persecution if returned to their home countries. Now, she says, those individuals have almost no way to stop that from happening.

“They’re put in a position where they just don’t have a say at all,” Reilly said.

Earlier this month, human rights attorneys filed a case against Equatorial Guinea before Africa’s top human rights body, alleging that the central African nation has been forcing U.S. deportees back to their countries of origin in violation of their rights.

“The U.S. government knows exactly what’s going to happen in the vast majority of these situations,” Reilly said. “Our government is just saying, ‘What happens to them after they leave the United States is not our problem.’”

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is reportedly planning a visit to the Middle East next week, according to a Friday report from Axios citing two sources familiar with the matter.

The planned itinerary is said to include stops in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. A subsequent Axios report, drawing on a third unnamed source, indicated that Rubio is expected to host a summit with foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council during his time in Bahrain.

As of Friday, the State Department had not responded to requests seeking confirmation of the trip.

ACCRA, Ghana — Leaders from Africa and the Caribbean gathered in Ghana on Friday, calling on nations that once participated in the slave trade to issue formal apologies and provide reparations for the trafficking of millions of enslaved Africans.

The gathering, dubbed the “Next Steps” conference and held in the Ghanaian capital of Accra, produced a declaration demanding that countries involved in the Atlantic slave trade “offer full, formal and unconditional apologies as a foundational step towards reconciliation, trust-building and reparatory justice.”

The push comes on the heels of a United Nations resolution passed in March that described the transatlantic slave trade as “the gravest crime against humanity.” While the resolution is not legally binding, it carries significant moral weight on the world stage. Conference organizers said their goal was to shift the reparations conversation from symbolic acknowledgment to real, enforceable action — potentially requiring compensation under international law.

Historians estimate that roughly 12 million Africans were forcibly taken by European traders between the 16th and 19th centuries and enslaved on plantations, generating enormous wealth at an immeasurable human cost.

Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama told delegates that the U.N. resolution had opened a new door for serious dialogue on the issue. He stressed that the lasting damage caused by slavery continues to affect people across Africa, the Caribbean, and the broader African diaspora.

“We’re here because recognition creates responsibility, and because the enduring consequences of this history continue to demand thoughtful, coordinated, and sustained international engagement,” Mahama said, addressing representatives from more than 80 nations.

This is not the first time Ghana has hosted such discussions. At a reparations summit there in 2023, participants floated the idea of creating a Global Reparation Fund, though the details of how it would function were never fully spelled out.

Support for reparations is far from universal in the countries that would be expected to contribute. In the United States, for instance, public opinion leans heavily against the idea. A 2021 Pew Research Center survey found that only about three in ten American adults believed that descendants of enslaved people in the U.S. should receive some form of repayment, whether in the form of land, money, or other means.

Activists supporting reparations argue the effort should go beyond direct cash payments to individuals, and also include development assistance for affected nations and the return of resources taken during the colonial era.

WARSAW, Poland — Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced Friday that he intends to revoke Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Order of the White Eagle — Poland’s most prestigious state honor — following a controversial decision by the Ukrainian leader to name a military unit after a group accused of killing Poles during World War II.

Zelenskyy had received the Order of the White Eagle back in 2023, awarded by Poland’s then-President Andrzej Duda in recognition of Zelenskyy’s contributions to security, resilience, and the defense of human rights.

The honor will now be taken away after Zelenskyy signed a decree on May 26 designating a unit within Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces after the UPA — known as the Ukrainian Insurgent Army — a paramilitary organization that was active during the 1940s and 1950s and is accused by Poland of carrying out mass killings of Polish civilians.

In a 13-minute video address posted to social media, Nawrocki explained his reasoning: “For the majority of Polish society, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army remains above all a formation responsible for cruel crimes against the citizens of the Polish Republic during World War II.”

Despite revoking the honor, Nawrocki made clear that Poland’s backing of Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression would not waver as a result of this decision.

The timing is notable — Poland is set to host a major international conference next week focused on Ukraine’s postwar reconstruction, and Zelenskyy is expected to be in attendance.

According to Zelenskyy’s decree, naming the military unit after the UPA was intended to honor the unit’s battlefield performance in defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity and independence, while also restoring historical military traditions.

The UPA was a military organization that fought for Ukrainian independence, battling both Nazi German and Soviet forces during the war. However, Poland holds the group responsible for the wartime slaughter of tens of thousands of Polish civilians, primarily in the Nazi-occupied regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia. In 2016, the Polish parliament formally recognized those killings as genocide.

Ukraine’s position is that armed groups on multiple sides — including both the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and Polish underground forces — carried out attacks and reprisals that resulted in large numbers of civilian deaths among both Poles and Ukrainians.

Poland’s liberal Prime Minister Donald Tusk also voiced criticism of Zelenskyy’s decree, though he cautioned that Russian President Vladimir Putin could stand to gain from any deepening rift between Poland and Ukraine over historical grievances.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha issued a statement on June 3 calling on both nations to dial back the tension, saying the escalation was not in the interest of either Ukrainians or Poles. He urged both sides to let professional historians handle the more sensitive chapters of their shared past.

The dispute comes despite recent signs of progress between the two countries. A presidential meeting held in December in Warsaw had suggested momentum toward historical reconciliation, including advances on the question of exhuming Polish victims.

Emergency crews responded quickly Friday evening after two trains slammed into each other on rail lines north of London, with disturbing images circulating on social media showing passengers with bandaged head wounds.

The crash took place south of the town of Bedfordshire, along routes that link St. Pancras station in central London to towns throughout central England. Crews from Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue were dispatched after the incident was reported at 6:45 p.m. As of early reports, emergency officials had not yet released any figures on the number of people hurt.

One passenger who was riding in the front carriage of one of the trains described the terrifying moment of impact. “I felt like I’d been in a bomb explosion,” witness Peter Knapp told the BBC.

Knapp went on to paint a grim picture of the aftermath, describing “bloodied faces,” passengers who appeared to have suffered broken legs, and “smoke everywhere.” He also noted the presence of ambulances, fire engines, and police officers who had arrived at the scene.

Photographs taken after the collision appeared to show both trains still sitting on the tracks, with visible damage to the cars. According to The Times of London, staff at Bedford hospital were put on standby and warned to prepare for the possible arrival of as many as 50 injured individuals.

HAVANA — Cuba’s government has given the green light to its most sweeping market-oriented economic reforms in decades, but residents of the capital city are greeting the news with a complicated blend of hope, doubt, and sheer exhaustion.

Lawmakers approved a package of 176 measures following the Communist Party’s endorsement of the plan earlier in the week. The reforms include expanding opportunities for private enterprise, drawing in more foreign investment, allowing private involvement in banking, and opening certain state-owned companies to private shareholders. Government officials have emphasized that the changes are designed to preserve socialism — not dismantle it.

For many Cubans, the announcement signals something larger: that one of the world’s few remaining Soviet-style economies may be gradually shifting toward a model more like China or Vietnam, as a worsening crisis continues to take a toll on everyday life.

But on the streets of Havana, the mood was far from celebratory.

Olian Valdes, a 50-year-old resident, said he didn’t even hear about the announcement until hours after it was made — because power outages had left his home without electricity. “First, let’s see whether these measures are actually implemented,” he said. He added, “I don’t think it will make much difference for ordinary Cubans because they have nothing to invest. The gap between salaries and prices will remain the same.”

Cuba has been grappling with chronic shortages of food, fuel, and medicine for years. Conditions have deteriorated sharply in 2026 as fuel supplies have tightened and widespread blackouts have become increasingly common.

Not everyone was dismissive of the changes. Omara Oliva, 53, acknowledged that the current system has reached a breaking point. “We’re at a point where the current system simply isn’t working,” she said. “If new measures — even capitalist ones — help people eat better and improve their lives, then they are welcome.”

Despite the scale of the announcement, authorities have offered little clarity on how quickly the measures will go into effect, how they will be regulated, or who stands to benefit first. That lack of detail is particularly unsettling in a country where inflation has gutted wages and many households depend on money sent from abroad or income earned through the informal economy.

Leonardo Benitez, 61, summed up the cautious sentiment shared by many. “For now, we have to wait and see,” he said, noting that the reforms would only matter if they were applied fairly.

African and Caribbean nations gathered in Ghana this week to endorse a comprehensive reparations plan, demanding formal apologies, debt cancellation, and financial compensation from countries that benefited from the transatlantic slave trade.

The 19-point plan was adopted at the close of a three-day conference and represents a joint effort by the African Union and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Commission on Reparatory Justice. The document does not specify which individual countries should issue apologies.

Among its key provisions, the plan calls for the creation of a Global Reparations Fund, broad debt relief and cancellation for affected nations, and reforms to international financial institutions aimed at giving countries in the Global South a greater voice. It also demands the return of looted cultural artifacts and ancestral remains, climate justice funding, and targeted measures to address the specific suffering endured by African women and girls during slavery.

Additionally, the plan urges African nations to offer diaspora Africans pathways to citizenship and the right of return, while committing to preserving historic coastal forts and castles as memorials to the slave trade.

The conference builds on momentum from a United Nations resolution passed in March, which recognized transatlantic slavery as the “gravest crime against humanity.” That resolution passed with 123 votes in favor, though the United States, Israel, and 52 other nations — including European Union members and Britain — either voted against it or abstained. Both the EU and the U.S. expressed concern that the resolution could create a ranking system among crimes against humanity.

Historians estimate that at least 12.5 million Africans were kidnapped and forcibly transported aboard European ships between the 15th and 19th centuries. Advocates argue that the lasting effects of that era — including systemic racism and economic inequality — demand a formal, coordinated response.

Previously, CARICOM and the African Union had each been developing their own separate reparations frameworks. The Ghana conference allowed both organizations to combine their work into a single unified document, which will now be presented at the next U.N. General Assembly.

Several heads of state addressed the conference, many striking a tone that distinguished between personal guilt and collective responsibility. Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama told delegates: “None of us gathered in this hall today can be held personally responsible for the atrocities of the transatlantic slave trade. History does not ask us to inherit guilt, but it asks us to inherit responsibility.”

Leaders from Namibia, Liberia, Senegal, Barbados, and Sao Tome and Principe attended in person, along with the vice president of Equatorial Guinea.

French President Emmanuel Macron participated virtually from the Elysee Palace, saying that enslaved people “were torn from their homelands, deported, dehumanised, and treated as goods.” He cautioned that reparations should not be viewed “as an end point, or a cheque written to bring the story to a close.”

Last month, French lawmakers voted to formally repeal slavery-era laws that had classified enslaved people as “movable property” and permitted abuse and corporal punishment — though the legislation stopped short of including any reparations demands.

British Transport Police announced Friday they were responding to a two-train collision approximately 60 miles north of London, with multiple people reported injured in what authorities described as a major incident.

Video footage circulating on social media appeared to show the front end of one train tangled with the rear of another, with both trains remaining on the tracks following the crash.

The East of England Ambulance Service confirmed it dispatched several emergency resources to the scene, including an air ambulance, and asked members of the public to stay away from the area. The collision occurred on the railway line just south of Bedford.

Transport minister Heidi Alexander took to X to express her reaction, writing that she was “deeply concerned” by what was being reported about the collision.

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service also confirmed its crews were on scene at the railway south of Bedford, echoing the call for the public to avoid the area.

Train operator East Midlands Railway announced it would be unable to operate any trains into or out of London for the rest of the day as a result of the crash. Thameslink also reported that all rail lines running between Luton and Bedford were blocked while the situation was being investigated.

WARSAW — Polish President Karol Nawrocki announced Friday that he has made the decision to revoke Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s Order of the White Eagle, the highest honor Poland can bestow upon an individual.

The move comes after Zelenskiy drew sharp condemnation from Poland when he renamed a Ukrainian army unit after nationalist insurgents who carried out massacres of Polish civilians during World War Two. The decision triggered widespread outrage across Poland.

From a concealed location somewhere in Bolivia’s Chapare forest region, former president Evo Morales is biding his time — and keeping a close eye on the chaos unfolding across the country.

For 50 days, highway blockades organized by labor unions and indigenous groups have brought Bolivia to a standstill. The disruptions have left at least 14 people dead and pushed the center-right government of Rodrigo Paz dangerously close to collapse.

In an exclusive video interview with Reuters, Morales said he has maintained regular communication with protesters. He acknowledged that the wave of public anger in the streets has “made him think” about re-entering politics — though he insisted he is not actively running for anything.

The blockades have severed critical roadways, leaving trucks stranded and cutting off supplies of fuel, food, and medicine to communities across the country.

The crisis began after Paz made a sudden decision to eliminate long-standing fuel subsidies in an effort to reduce Bolivia’s budget deficit. The country, a major lithium producer, has been struggling with a deepening dollar shortage and is in ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund over a potential rescue package.

Paz later adjusted fuel prices and reversed some unpopular land reform policies, but the blockades continued to grow as frustration expanded beyond fuel costs. Unions are now demanding wage increases, an end to fuel and dollar shortages, and Paz’s resignation.

Paz took office in November 2025 with the support of President Donald Trump, as part of a broader U.S. effort to expand its influence in the region. He has pointed the finger at Morales — who ruled Bolivia for nearly 14 years and remains a towering figure on the political left — for fanning the flames of the unrest.

Andres Arauz of the Center for Economic and Policy Research told Reuters that the government has leaned heavily on casting Morales as the villain in order to shift attention away from the underlying social problems. He said Paz is “trying to spin this and frame it as political confrontation, and thus basically wait it out.”

Morales is currently the subject of an arrest warrant on charges of trafficking a minor, tied to allegations that he fathered a child with a teenager in 2016 while serving as president. Morales denies any wrongdoing, calling the charges “fabricated” and driven by political motives.

In his Reuters interview, Morales rejected any suggestion that he is behind the protests, saying the “indigenous rebellion” is rooted in economic suffering.

“In my experience as a former president, if there is a conflict, it is the fault of the state if it is a social demand,” Morales said, adding that Paz had made “unfulfilled commitments.”

As Paz attempts to negotiate an end to the blockades, Morales’ presence looms large over the talks. On Wednesday, Paz opened dialogue with union leaders in La Paz, striking a conciliatory tone.

“We must build the nation, but we have to build it by accepting diverse ways of thinking,” Paz said, urging both sides to move past mutual distrust.

A Capital Under Siege

In La Paz, the high-altitude capital, daily life has taken on a grim character. Restaurants sit nearly empty, hospitals are running short on medications, and grocery store shelves in the meat section have gone dark after selling out.

“We feel deeply suffocated,” said Pamela Espada, a regional supermarket manager, explaining that she has resorted to flying meat in from Santa Cruz and waking at 2 a.m. to track down eggs.

The cost of basic foods has skyrocketed since the blockades began — tomato prices have doubled, and chicken has become 70% more expensive.

The economic ripple effects have been severe. Ernesto Olivares, who leads the Gastronomic Association of La Paz, said 42% of the city’s restaurants have been forced to shut down. “The exhaustion has reached its limits,” he said. “La Paz is being held hostage by politics.”

Hospitals have also been pushed to a breaking point. The blockades have made transferring patients between facilities nearly impossible.

Outside La Paz’s main public hospital, cancer patients and their families gathered to chant, “We want to live!”

Erika Alvarez, whose brother is fighting cancer in the mining city of Oruro — roughly 140 miles, or 225 kilometers, south of La Paz — was brought to tears. “They tell me he needs chemo, but in Oruro there is nothing, there are no medicines. With these political problems, with these blockades, I cannot bring my brother here,” she said.

Rosario Calle, president of the Association of Cancer Patients and Families, said she is aware of patients — particularly those in rural areas — who have already died after being unable to receive care in time.

Inside the capital, critical pain medications including morphine and tramadol are in short supply.

“They cry out and they don’t know how to soothe the pain,” Calle said. “What we want are solutions. Enough already.”

Morales has called on Paz to step down and allow new elections to be held. He warned that the standoff could reach a breaking point if his movement is shut out of any future vote — though he said he does not support such an escalation.

“If they don’t want it with votes, it’s with bullets,” he said.

CAIRO — A vessel packed with migrants attempting to reach European shores capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya last week, killing or leaving missing 51 people, according to a monitoring organization that announced the findings on Friday.

The shipwreck took place on June 12 in waters off the eastern portion of the North African country. Ten migrants managed to survive, according to the Abreen group, which monitors migrant activity in eastern Libya. Eleven bodies have been pulled from the water, while 40 additional people remain unaccounted for.

The Libyan coast guard and the Red Crescent, operating out of the eastern city of Tobruk, reported recovering bodies that began washing ashore over the previous 24 hours. Video shared by the coast guard showed rescue personnel carrying remains in white body bags to shore.

This disaster is the most recent in a string of deadly incidents along this stretch of the Mediterranean. The Libyan coastline serves as one of the primary launching points for migrants from North Africa who are attempting to reach Europe in search of a better life. Smugglers routinely pack these individuals onto small, dangerous watercraft, and thousands have lost their lives making the treacherous crossing.

Between January 1 and May 16 of this year, more than 800 migrants were reported dead or missing along the central Mediterranean route, according to the International Organization for Migration. The previous year saw that number exceed 1,300 along the same path.

Libya has become the primary transit hub for people fleeing conflict and poverty across Africa and the Middle East in recent years. The country descended into widespread instability following a NATO-backed revolt that overthrew and killed its longtime ruler, Moammar Gadhafi, in 2011.

Human traffickers have exploited that instability, moving migrants across Libya’s extensive borders — borders it shares with six different nations. These migrants are typically forced onto dangerously overcrowded boats, including inflatable rubber vessels, to make the sea crossing.

Those who are caught at sea and returned to Libya face detention in government-run facilities where abuse is rampant. According to investigators commissioned by the United Nations, conditions in these centers include forced labor, beatings, sexual violence, and torture — treatment that rises to the level of crimes against humanity.

Chile’s foreign ministry announced Friday that it is working alongside prosecutors investigating how Haitian children and teenagers entered the country through a family reunification program — after officials discovered that a number of those minors could not be found at the addresses listed for them.

The situation has attracted significant attention in Chile due to a dramatic increase in arrivals from Haiti in the early months of 2025, many of which took place on charter flights. The case has raised broader concerns about how immigration controls were applied within a program designed to bring families back together.

Earlier this week, Chile’s prosecutor’s office confirmed it had launched a formal investigation into the large-scale entry of Haitian minors that occurred last year.

The foreign ministry stated it has been turning over all documents requested by investigators. Foreign Minister Francisco Perez also dispatched a team to Haiti to examine how Chile’s consulate there was handling the reunification process.

According to local media reports, approximately 2,800 Haitians entered Chile under family reunification between January 1 and April 30 of last year. That figure represents the majority of the more than 3,200 Haitian arrivals who came in on temporary residence permits during that same window. Reports indicate that roughly half of those who entered under the family reunification category arrived on charter flights, most of which were linked to small Caribbean airlines.

Haitian migrants have been settling in Chile in growing numbers over the past decade, making Haitians one of the largest immigrant communities in the South American nation. In recent years, Chile has tightened its entry requirements, and President Jose Antonio Kast — who assumed office in March — has pledged to take a firm stance against unauthorized migration.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy issued a stark warning Friday, giving Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko one week to remove equipment stationed in Belarus that Russia has been using to carry out attacks on Ukraine — and threatening Ukrainian action if the deadline is not met.

Zelenskiy stated that signal relay stations are positioned in two Belarusian regions along the Ukrainian border, and that Russian forces have been using them to help guide strikes against Ukrainian civilians. Reuters was unable to independently confirm those claims.

Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv, Zelenskiy challenged Lukashenko’s insistence that Belarus does not want to be part of the conflict. “What’s the point of saying he doesn’t want to be in the war? Let him remove this equipment, let him switch it off. I think a week will be enough for him to do that,” Zelenskiy said.

He then added a pointed warning: “If he doesn’t do it, we’ll do it” — offering no further details on what that would mean.

Over recent months, Zelenskiy has repeatedly cautioned that Russia intends to pull Belarus deeper into the ongoing war. Russian troops used Belarusian soil as a launching point when they first invaded Ukraine back in February 2022.

Last month, Lukashenko brushed aside suggestions that his country would become more deeply entangled in the conflict, though he did say Belarus and Russia would jointly defend themselves if faced with aggression. Earlier this week, in an interview with Al Arabiya television, Lukashenko said Ukraine had nothing to fear from Belarus and called on both sides to make compromises to bring the war to an end.

Meanwhile, Russia accused Ukraine this week of carrying out a fatal drone strike on a bus transporting Belarusian children through Russian territory. Ukraine denied any involvement. One woman accompanying the children was killed, and eight people were injured in the incident — among them six children. Belarus’ Foreign Ministry responded by demanding “complete explanations” from Ukraine.

Belarus has been Russia’s most steadfast ally throughout the war. Russian drones have been documented crossing Belarusian airspace while targeting Ukraine, and Belarus has announced the deployment of Russia’s Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile system. The two countries also conducted joint nuclear drills in May.

YEREVAN, Armenia — Multiple members of Armenia’s opposition were taken into custody on Friday, as a prominent pro-Russia political party asked the country’s Constitutional Court to nullify Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recent election victory, claiming the vote was marred by violations and efforts to suppress opposition voices.

The opposition Strong Armenia party filed an appeal with the Constitutional Court seeking either to void the election results entirely or to require a second round of voting. The party also condemned the arrests of opposition figures, calling them an attack on democratic principles. Several additional opposition parties joined the effort, each accusing the ruling party of pressuring government workers to cast ballots in its favor and paying other voters for their support.

Armenian authorities have flatly denied any wrongdoing related to the election and have instead pointed the finger at the opposition, accusing them of being the ones who bribed voters.

The Constitutional Court is expected to decide within two days whether it will take up the case.

According to final tallies released by the Central Election Commission, the June 7 election saw Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party capture 49.7% of the vote — enough to form a new government as it continues efforts to pull Armenia away from Moscow’s orbit and build stronger relationships with Western nations.

International observers offered a mixed assessment of the vote. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) acknowledged that Armenian voters had a “genuine choice” at the ballot box, but also pointed out that the campaign was “highly confrontational” and plagued by allegations of violations that spawned numerous criminal cases against opposition candidates — creating a perception of “selective justice.”

Strong Armenia is headed by Armenian-Russian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, a businessman who built his wealth in Russia and is currently under house arrest on charges of calling for the government to be overthrown — allegations he has dismissed as politically motivated. Armenian investigators had already issued six arrest warrants targeting Strong Armenia members the day before the election, accusing them of purchasing votes.

On Friday, additional opposition members were arrested on comparable voter bribery charges. Ruslan Barsegyan and Ashot Egiazaryan, both of whom ran for parliament under the Strong Armenia banner, were remanded into custody for two months while an official investigation proceeds. Asatur Kocharyan, affiliated with the opposition Armenia bloc, was placed under house arrest.

Former lawmaker and government critic Ruben Akopyan was also arrested Friday, and another opposition politician, David Kazinyan, had been jailed the day before on Thursday.

Strong Armenia characterized the wave of arrests as an “attempt to completely destroy democracy in the country.” In a formal statement, the party declared: “Investigative bodies, the prosecutor’s office, and the courts have been turned by this government into instruments for punishing and suppressing the opposition. We will not tolerate this and will fight to the end with the full force of the law and with determination.”

Analyst and former lawmaker Mikayel Zolyan offered a different interpretation, suggesting the arrests reflect the government’s determination to prevent the opposition from stirring up instability. “Pashinyan is showing pro-Russian forces that if they think they can manage to incite unrest and thereby achieve certain goals … then they shouldn’t even try,” Zolyan said.

Russia, which maintains a military base on Armenian soil, has cautioned that Yerevan’s pivot toward the West could bring serious political and economic fallout. President Vladimir Putin has drawn comparisons between Armenia’s direction and Ukraine’s path, in what many viewed as thinly veiled threats, suggesting that Russia’s conflict with Ukraine stemmed from Ukraine’s pursuit of an association agreement with the European Union.

In the weeks leading up to the election, Moscow imposed a series of trade restrictions on Armenia — including import bans on flowers, brandy, wine, and various fruits. OSCE election monitors described these measures as “direct pressure” on the Armenian vote, while Russia maintained the bans were tied to agricultural import rule violations.

Allies of a Belarusian opposition figure who went missing last year are calling on the U.S., Poland, the EU, and the U.N. to open investigations into his case, following a newly published report pointing to Russian involvement in his disappearance.

Anatol Kotau, 46, was last seen in August after traveling from his home in Poland to Turkey. Shortly after arriving, he went silent — no longer responding to messages from his wife.

A joint investigative report released this week by Deutsche Welle, the Belarusian Investigative Center, and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project found that Kotau boarded a yacht departing from the Turkish city of Trabzon. Also on board were two Russian men, a woman from Azerbaijan, and four crew members.

According to the report, the yacht was stopped in the Black Sea by the Russian coast guard, and Kotau was taken off the vessel. What led him to travel to Turkey — and why he would have gotten on a boat heading toward Russia, given his status as a Belarusian dissident — remains unknown.

Kotau has already been convicted in absentia in Belarus, a close Russian ally, and sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of extremist activity and conspiracy to seize power — charges he denied.

Reuters has reached out to the Russian embassy in London for a response to the allegations of Moscow’s involvement.

Dmitry Bolkunets, an exiled activist who heads a group known as the Belarus Democratic Forum, sent a letter to U.S. National Security Adviser Andy Baker requesting help in locating Kotau. Reuters obtained a copy of the letter.

“The facts presented indicate that this was not a random event, but the result of a meticulously planned special operation,” Bolkunets wrote, characterizing it as a kidnapping carried out by Russia’s FSB security service.

Bolkunets also reached out to John Coale, an envoy for President Donald Trump who has been involved in negotiations with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko over the release of political prisoners. Coale replied that he would bring up the matter with authorities in Minsk.

Additional appeals were directed to Poland’s prime minister and president, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, and the U.N. Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.

Kotau’s wife, Anastasia, told Reuters she is hopeful the appeals will lead to a serious investigation by both the U.S. and Poland, where her husband had been living under refugee status.

DAKAR, Senegal — Gunfire and explosions tore through Niger’s primary international airport recently, serving as the latest indicator that armed extremist groups are shifting their focus toward cities and urban areas across Africa’s Sahel region as they battle for territory and influence, according to analysts.

The jihadi organization JNIM, which has ties to al-Qaeda and is considered the most powerful militant group operating in the Sahel — the vast stretch of land just south of the Sahara desert — has claimed responsibility for Thursday’s assault on Diori Hamani International Airport in Niamey. The attack resulted in the deaths of 11 soldiers and two civilians.

This was actually the second time this year that the airport has come under attack. The facility is considered a critical strategic location, functioning as the command center for Niger’s ruling military government and housing the majority of the country’s air force, drones, and aircraft. It also serves as headquarters for a regional military alliance uniting forces from Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso.

Back in January, the Islamic State group’s Sahel Province, known as ISSP, claimed credit for a similar strike in which gunmen on motorcycles stormed the airport, targeting high-value drone equipment. These attacks on Niger, unprecedented at this scale in recent memory, come alongside a major raid and an ongoing fuel blockade carried out by al-Qaeda in and around Mali’s capital city of Bamako.

Both al-Qaeda-affiliated fighters and those backed by the Islamic State group — rival factions with competing visions for the region — began ramping up their operations last year as they each seek to expand their foothold in what has become one of the world’s most active terrorism hotspots.

Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, who serves as deputy project director for the International Crisis Group think tank, noted that the recent wave of attacks signals a broader strategic shift. Militant groups are no longer limiting themselves to isolated, under-policed rural communities — they are now increasingly setting their sights on urban areas.

The three neighboring countries of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali sit at the center of this militant activity. All three are currently governed by military juntas that took power through coups, driven in large part by frustration with Western partners and elected governments.

All three nations have since pivoted away from Western allies and toward Russia as their primary security partner. French and American military forces have pulled out of the region, while Russian military personnel have taken their place.

Ibrahim noted that while Thursday’s attack was less significant in scale than the January strike, it still carries weight for JNIM’s broader strategy. “JNIM in Niger is trying to mark its territory. This is a message to the government but also to IS,” he said, referring to the Islamic State group.

Niger’s geographic position makes it especially valuable to these competing factions. The country shares borders with Mali and Burkina Faso to the west — where JNIM holds its strongest presence — and with Nigeria and Chad to the south and east, where groups like Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province, or ISWAP, are active. To the north, Niger extends deep into the Sahara toward Libya and Algeria.

Analysts are raising alarms that ISSP and ISWAP are working to use the border between Niger and Nigeria as a bridge to link the two organizations, potentially creating a connected extremist corridor across a massive stretch of African territory — something JNIM is actively working to prevent.

Wassim Nasr, a senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, described the situation bluntly. “Niger is a territory of competition between them,” he said. “If JNIM loses the upper hand in Niger against the Islamic State, it will jeopardize its upper hand in Mali and Burkina Faso. … You have an open space like the Wild West, where each is looking to mark its territory.”

A Toronto court delivered a guilty verdict Friday against Frank Stronach, the 93-year-old Austrian-Canadian billionaire who founded one of the world’s largest auto parts companies, convicting him of sexual assault and indecent assault against two women in incidents that took place decades ago.

Stronach had originally faced 12 charges stemming from allegations made by seven different complainants, and he entered a not guilty plea to all of them.

Ontario Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy handed down the guilty findings on two of those charges, each related to a separate complainant.

Stronach built his fortune by launching auto parts giant Magna out of his garage in 1957, eventually becoming one of Canada’s wealthiest individuals. He later founded The Stronach Group, a business focused on horse racing.

He stepped down as Magna’s chairman in 2011, and the following year launched a political party in his home country of Austria.

The trial got underway in February. By the time closing arguments concluded in April, prosecutors had dropped one charge entirely and agreed Stronach should be acquitted on four others. Friday’s verdict found him guilty on two of the charges that remained.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iranian state media are celebrating what they call a “magnificent defeat” of the United States, and Tehran is wasting no time capitalizing on the moment — rushing to get oil flowing again under this week’s interim peace agreement and working to bring an end to Israeli military action in Lebanon.

But the Islamic Republic has taken serious hits of its own and faces a difficult road ahead. The country’s economy has been devastated by the conflict, mass protests shook the nation in January, and its supreme leader has not been seen publicly. Iran is now heading into nuclear negotiations with the U.S. after having been struck during two previous rounds of talks.

The agreement offers badly needed relief from international sanctions, though much of that relief depends on Iran scaling back its nuclear program — at the very least by diluting its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. That requirement has drawn sharp criticism from hard-line factions within Iran. Meanwhile, the U.S. is insisting Iran stop uranium enrichment altogether, a demand Tehran has rejected for decades.

Iran’s leadership is putting on a confident front, having held onto power through weeks of intense American and Israeli airstrikes. Officials also believe U.S. President Donald Trump is unlikely to restart the war, given Iran’s demonstrated capability to shut down the Strait of Hormuz and send shockwaves through the global economy.

“It’s too much to say that Iran has emerged a victor, but it could have been much worse,” said Farzan Sabet, an Iran expert at the Geneva Graduate Institute think tank. “I think that the real victory for Iran was … survival.”

As part of the interim agreement, the U.S. has agreed to issue waivers permitting Iranian crude oil exports. According to Lloyd’s List Intelligence, at least three state-owned Iranian oil tankers have already departed as the U.S. naval blockade was lifted.

Tracking firm TankerTrackers.com reported Friday that Iran has shipped nearly 18 million barrels of oil over the past five days, worth an estimated $1.44 billion.

Dozens of additional tankers carrying oil could soon leave from Kharg Island, Iran’s primary export hub on the Persian Gulf, which would put further downward pressure on global oil prices.

Benchmark Brent crude, which was trading above $110 per barrel last month, has dropped to around $80 since the agreement was reached. The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States has also fallen below $4 — a closely watched figure as midterm congressional elections approach.

Before the deal, international sanctions had forced Iran to move its oil through a so-called “shadow fleet,” selling primarily to China at discounted prices. The new arrangement allows Iran to pursue more buyers and command better rates.

That revenue will be critically important as Iran confronts the economic wreckage left by the war.

Since authorities lifted a months-long internet blackout, many Iranians have been sharing photos online of their bare refrigerators.

Basic food items like meat have become unaffordable for many families. The Iranian rial, which exchanged at 32,000 to the dollar at the time of the 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers, has now collapsed to more than 1.5 million to the dollar.

“The conflict is estimated to have cost at least one million Iranian jobs, with 20% of workforce losses tied to the state-imposed internet shutdown,” said Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

“Ordinary Iranians, already struggling under systemic mismanagement and corruption as well as U.S. sanctions, have felt those burdens compounded by hyperinflation that has rendered the Iranian rial effectively worthless,” Dagres added.

The collapse of the rial triggered the nationwide demonstrations that spread across Iran in January, threatening the rule of then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran’s security forces responded with the deadliest crackdown in the country’s history, killing thousands.

The 86-year-old Khamenei and other senior leaders were killed in Israel’s opening strikes on February 28. State funeral ceremonies are scheduled for July 4 through 9, timed to coincide with the six-month mark of the protest crackdown. The government has organized continuous rallies since the war began as a show of strength.

More moderate voices inside Iran are urging the country to pursue the economic opportunities that negotiations could bring. In addition to a full lifting of sanctions, the agreement promises a $300 billion investment fund for Iran if a final deal with the U.S. is reached — though the source of that funding has not been made clear.

The key question is how far Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei — the son of the late leader — and establishment hard-liners are willing to compromise. In a statement carried by state media, he expressed support for the interim deal, saying the talks “will not mean accepting the enemy’s opinion,” while also acknowledging he held a “different viewpoint” without providing specifics.

The ongoing conflict in Lebanon has already put the broader agreement in jeopardy. Negotiations that were set to take place Friday in Switzerland were called off as fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah militants escalated — though the two sides did agree to halt hostilities by Friday.

Israel has stated it will maintain its military presence across large portions of southern Lebanon and continue operations against Hezbollah until the group no longer presents a threat. Hezbollah has refused to stop its attacks unless Israel withdraws its forces.

The interim U.S.-Iran deal — which neither Israel nor Hezbollah is party to — calls for an end to military operations on all sides and for Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity to be respected.

“The end of the war in Lebanon is an inseparable part of (the) complete end of the war,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday. “And the end of the war also includes the end of the occupation.”

That stance leaves American negotiators with little room to maneuver, and Vice President JD Vance’s planned trip to Switzerland was subsequently postponed.

Looking at the broader negotiations, Iran appears to have succeeded in keeping two long-standing U.S. and Israeli demands off the table: discussions about its missile program and its backing of Hezbollah and other militant organizations.

On the nuclear front, Iran agreed to “downblend” its highly enriched uranium stockpile, addressing one of Washington’s primary concerns.

However, Raja News, a media outlet aligned with ultra-conservative hard-line factions, slammed that concession, claiming Iran had “given up its most important levers” — reflecting the intense internal pressure not to yield on other nuclear issues, particularly the broader enrichment program.

“I’m not very optimistic about the kind of second round of discussions that are going to focus on the nuclear issue,” Sabet said. “It’s not actually clear to me yet that those will go anywhere, at least this year.”

Speaking at the conclusion of a two-day European Union summit in Brussels, French President Emmanuel Macron declared Friday that France will not support the establishment of so-called “return hubs” — offshore detention facilities for migrants — in third countries.

Macron expressed doubt about whether such facilities have ever proven effective. “We are in favour of a more effective return policy, but … I have never seen a return centre in a third country that actually works,” he told reporters.

The French leader also raised concerns about whether these hubs are consistent with the values Europe was founded on. “I’m not sure that’s what our Europe is about. I’m not sure that these are the fundamental principles on which our Europe was built, and I don’t believe it’s effective either,” Macron said.

His comments came just days after the European Parliament approved a sweeping migration reform package aimed at speeding up deportations and permitting offshore detention centers. Critics of the measure argue it takes a harsh approach and undermines protections for those seeking asylum.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez also voiced opposition to the return hubs during a press briefing Friday following the summit. However, he acknowledged that Spain’s position puts it in the minority among European nations. Sanchez argued the hubs would amount to a financial drain, saying they are “simply going to waste economic resources, and Europe doesn’t have many of those.”

What was once seen as one of the closest relationships between a European leader and U.S. President Donald Trump has taken a dramatic turn, with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni publicly calling out the American president over remarks she says were simply made up.

When Trump was inaugurated for his second term in 2025, Meloni stood out as the only European leader invited to attend the ceremony — a sign, many believed, of a special bond between Washington and Rome. A year and a half later, that relationship appears to have collapsed, leaving Meloni in a difficult position on the world stage, according to political analysts.

The friction between the two right-leaning leaders began building with the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, a conflict that hurt Europe’s economy and stirred strong anti-war feelings among the Italian public.

Footage from this week’s G7 summit in France seemed to suggest the pair had patched things up. But any hope of reconciliation was dashed on Friday when Trump told an Italian television channel that Meloni had “begged” him to take a photograph with her.

Meloni responded sharply, saying Trump had invented the story. She went even further, accusing him of showing more respect toward the West’s adversaries than toward its longtime allies.

“There is one thing he should remember: neither I nor Italy ever beg,” she said.

Her forceful response on social media drew praise from across Italy’s political spectrum, with most parties viewing Trump’s comments as a direct insult to the country. However, analysts cautioned that Meloni would now face pressure to take a firmer and more consistent stance toward Washington, rather than continuing to seek goodwill from an unpredictable president who has repeatedly broken with traditional diplomatic norms.

“Meloni cannot keep changing her approach depending on Trump’s unpleasant remarks. She must decide whether to adopt a less accommodating stance or, like other countries such as Canada, a firmer approach,” said Piero Ignazi, a political analyst at the University of Bologna.

Opposition figures wasted no time pointing out that the extraordinary public dispute exposed the failure of Meloni’s original plan to win Trump over through flattery and friendship.

“Have you finally understood that allying with those people means going against Italy? Enough with MAGA caps and enough with building bridges with Trump,” said former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who leads a centrist opposition group.

Trump’s 2024 election victory had initially seemed to open the door for Meloni to cultivate a unique relationship with a political ally who shared her ideological outlook, positioning herself as a go-between for Washington and a largely skeptical Europe. Trump had heaped praise on her at various points in 2024 and 2025, describing her at different times as “a fantastic leader and person,” “a beautiful young woman,” “a very successful politician,” and “an inspiration to all.”

When Trump rolled out sweeping tariffs against the European Union, Meloni stood apart from other European leaders by keeping her tone measured, arguing that preserving Western unity against shared threats was more important. She also refrained from publicly criticizing Trump even as fellow European leaders voiced frustration over his handling of the Ukraine-Russia war and his reluctance to press Israel on the Gaza conflict.

But the Iran war backed Meloni into a corner. Things deteriorated sharply in April when Trump lashed out at Pope Leo for criticizing the conflict. Meloni came to the pope’s defense, which prompted Trump to accuse her of lacking courage. She also refused U.S. military planes carrying weapons for the Iran war access to an airbase in Sicily, saying the Americans had not followed the required procedures.

“This was the original sin, in Trump’s eyes,” said Francesco Galietti of political risk consultancy Policy Sonar.

In the near term, Galietti noted that standing up to Trump — who polls very poorly in Italy — could give Meloni a boost at home. But he warned that the falling out threatens a key part of her political identity heading into elections scheduled for next year.

“This is like a horrible slap in the face,” Galietti said. “It completely jeopardizes her strategy that when we hold elections, the Italians will eventually choose her because she is the safest pair of hands.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has agreed to work with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on a new push for peace in the ongoing war with Russia, according to a Ukrainian presidential adviser who spoke to reporters on Friday.

The two leaders crossed paths on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit held at the French resort of Evian-les-Bains on Wednesday. At the gathering, Zelenskiy called on allied nations to ramp up pressure on Russia to bring the more than four-year-old conflict to an end.

During their meeting, the two presidents explored what steps might breathe new life into diplomatic efforts. Lula put forward several ideas, including reaching out to the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. Presidential communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn shared details of the conversation with the press.

“They agreed that, in particular, based on such ideas and contacts, they would try to achieve something and later they would discuss it based on the results,” Lytvyn said.

Beyond the United States, France, and Britain — nations with which Ukraine already maintains close diplomatic ties — the permanent Security Council members also include Russia and China.

An earlier U.S.-backed mediation effort fell apart earlier this year after Russia demanded additional territorial concessions from Ukraine, a condition Kyiv has firmly rejected.

Zelenskiy has also called on U.S. President Donald Trump to re-engage in peace mediation and arrange a direct meeting between him and Russian leader Vladimir Putin — something Putin has said he is not willing to do at this time.

Speaking after the G7 meeting in Brazil, Lula noted that Zelenskiy had previously shown little interest in his diplomatic overtures, but that his stance had now changed. Lula told reporters at a news conference that he had already been in contact with all five permanent Security Council leaders and planned to reach out to them again.

Ukraine has been stepping up its diplomatic activity in recent weeks as the U.S.-led peace process stalled, partly due to the conflict involving Iran.

OSLO — Norway is cracking down on artificial intelligence in the classroom, announcing a near-total prohibition on the use of generative AI tools for young students while also placing tight limits on how older children can use the technology.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere made the announcement at a press conference Friday, saying that relying on AI puts younger children at risk of bypassing critical stages of their education.

“The most important thing in school is that our children learn to read, write and do mathematics,” Stoere said. He confirmed the new standards will go into effect when the school year begins in late August.

Under the new guidelines, students in first through seventh grade — ranging from ages 6 to 13 — should generally not be using AI at all. Teenagers in lower secondary school, between the ages of 14 and 16, may use AI tools carefully and only under the direct supervision of a teacher.

For students in upper secondary education, ages 17 to 19, the government says learning to use AI appropriately is encouraged so they are ready for higher education and the workforce.

The announcement comes as Norway has been grappling with a widespread drop in student test scores. In 2024, the government already banned smartphones from schools and restored greater authority to teachers to maintain classroom discipline.

Norway first began bringing computers into classrooms during the 1990s and later embraced tablets following the launch of the iPad in 2010, gradually moving away from traditional books and handwriting instruction.

On Friday, the government also said it plans to introduce legislation that would fund a return to printed books in classrooms, signaling a deliberate reversal of the shift toward digital tablets.

In April, Norway also announced plans to prohibit children from using social media until they reach age 16, joining a growing movement led by Australia and other countries aimed at limiting young people’s use of electronic devices.