US-Canada bridge commotion deepens

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Donald Trump has the right to amend a permit for a new bridge between Canada and Michigan, prolonging the latest dispute between the US and its northern neighbor hours after its prime minister signaled there could be a detente. The Gordie Howe International Bridge, which would connect Ontario and Michigan and would be a vital economic artery between the two countries, is scheduled to open in early 2026. But Trump has now threatened to block the br

Feb. 11, 2026

Trump hints at 2nd carrier in Mideast

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday ​said he was considering sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East, even as Washington and Tehran prepare to resume negotiations aimed at averting a new conflict. Oman facilitated talks between Iran and the US, which a spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry said had allowed Tehran to gauge Washington's seriousness and showed enough consensus for diplomacy to continue. The talks came after Trump had positioned one aircraft carrier in the region, r

Feb. 11, 2026

Violence breaks out at anti-government protest in Albanian capital

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at protesters throwing Molotov cocktails and flares during a demonstration Tuesday night in central Tirana by thousands of opposition supporters demanding the resignation of Albania’s government. Sixteen protesters were treated in a hospital for burns and other injuries, police said, adding that 13 protesters were arrested. Prime Minister Edi Rama's government has come under fire over corruption allegations involving Deputy Prime

Feb. 11, 2026

UK's Starmer pledges to never walk away

LONDON (Reuters) -- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged Tuesday to never walk away from his job to change Britain, brushing off a challenge to his authority by the Labour leader in Scotland and other figures in the party who have called on him to quit. Under pressure over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington because of the Labour veteran's close ties to the late US sex offender ‍Jeffrey Epstein, Starmer came out fighting, urging his party to fight the real enemy -- t

Feb. 11, 2026

Netanyahu orders Palestinian-Israelis to be stripped of citizenship

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday he had ordered two Palestinian citizens of Israel convicted on terror charges to be stripped of their citizenship and deported to areas under Palestinian control. It is the first time such measures are being taken under a 2023 law, which allows for the revocation of Israeli citizenship or residence permits from perpetrators of anti-Israeli attacks whose families subsequently received compensation from the West Bank-based Pa

Feb. 11, 2026

Lutnick admits Epstein Island lunch but denies closer ties

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admitted Tuesday to having lunch on the private island of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2012, but denied closer ties, amid bipartisan calls for his resignation. A rising number of US lawmakers have called for Lutnick to step down from US President Donald Trump's Cabinet, as files released by the Justice Department contradicted earlier comments that he severed ties with Epstein more than two decades ago. Trump "fully supports" Lutnick despite

Feb. 11, 2026

Person detained in Guthrie's disappearance

TUCSON, Arizona (AP) — A person has been detained for questioning in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, according to two people familiar with the matter. The people said the person was detained in an area south of Tucson on Tuesday. They did not immediately provide additional details, and it wasn’t clear if the person being questioned is the person captured on surveillance video from outside Guthrie's house released earlier Tuesday. The people were not authorized to discuss details of an ongoin

Feb. 11, 2026

[Graphic News] Portugal leads world in wine consumption

The world’s highest wine consumers are not the French or Italians — it is the Portuguese, according to recent data. A 2024 report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Organization of Vine and Wine shows that Portugal’s average wine consumption was 61.1 liters per person, far above Italy (42.7 liters) and Luxembourg (41.8 liters) on a per capita basis. Portugal’s top ranking reflects the country’s long-standing wine culture. The top rankings are d

Feb. 11, 2026

Russian forces pressuring Pokrovsk as 'last battles' rage

KYIV, Ukraine (Reuters) -- Russian forces were trying to press forward ​around the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv's military said Monday, hoping to conclude a monthslong campaign to seize the strategic hub as Moscow seeks to capture the whole of the Donetsk region. Ukraine has struggled to halt slow Russian advances around Pokrovsk and elsewhere along the 1,200-kilometer front line while it comes under US pressure to reach a peace deal to end the four-year war in ongoing talks. Kyiv's

Feb. 10, 2026

Iran steps up arrests while remaining positive on US talks

PARIS (AFP) -- Iran stepped up its crackdown Monday after recent protests, making more arrests while holding the door open to Washington for further nuclear negotiations. The arrests -- including that of Javad Emam, the spokesperson for the main reformist coalition -- came after Iranian and US officials held talks in Oman that both sides painted as positive. On Saturday, Iran heaped more jail time on Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, and on Monday arrested Hossein Karoubi, the son of pr

Feb. 10, 2026

Arctic's climate threat overshadowed by geopolitical tensions

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — As rising global temperatures speed up the melting of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, it’s set off a boom of ships taking routes that previously were frozen and not traversable. The increase in marine Arctic traffic, which received increased attention as US President Donald Trump pushed for the US to take over Greenland, has come with a heavy environmental cost: black carbon, or soot, that spews from ships and makes the ice melt even faster. Several countries are making a

Feb. 10, 2026

Cuba airlines can no longer refuel

HAVANA (AP) — Cuban aviation officials have warned airlines that there isn't enough fuel for airplanes to refuel on the island, the latest step in its moves to ration energy as the Trump administration cuts the Caribbean nation off from its fuel resources. The government of Cuba published the notices to airlines and pilots Sunday night, warning that jet fuel won’t be available at nine airports across the island, including Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, starting Tuesday and continuin

Feb. 10, 2026

Prime Minister Takaichi’s party wins supermajority in lower house

TOKYO (AP) — The governing party of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a two-thirds supermajority in a parliamentary election Sunday, Japanese media reported citing preliminary results, earning a landslide victory thanks to her popularity. Takaichi, in a televised interview with public television network NHK following her sweeping victory, said she is ready to pursue policies to make Japan strong and prosperous. NHK, citing results of vote counts, said Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party, or

Feb. 9, 2026

Trump says China's Xi to visit US 'toward the end of the year'

WASHINGTON (AFP) -- US President Donald Trump has said he will host Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the White House late this year, as the world's top two economies look to reset ties marred by a roiling trade war. Trump made the comment in an interview with NBC News taped Wednesday -- the same day he and Xi had a wide-ranging conversation about trade, Taiwan, Russia's war in Ukraine, and the situation in Iran. Trump is expected to go to China in April, before Xi would then visit the US. "He's comi

Feb. 9, 2026

HK's Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years

HONG KONG (AP) — Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media tycoon and a fierce critic of Beijing, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in one of the most prominent cases prosecuted under a China-imposed national security law that has virtually silenced the city’s dissent. Judge Esther Toh said 18 years of Lai’s sentence should be served consecutively to his jail term in his fraud case, for which he received a jail term of five years and nine months. Lai can appeal his case. His co-defen

Feb. 9, 2026