The United States has launched airstrikes against alleged Islamic State (ISIS) targets in Syria in what President Donald Trump described as “very serious retaliation” for the killing of American personnel earlier this month. In a statement on Friday, Trump said the strikes were ordered in response »»»

Mouth-watering kebabs, fragrant biryani and whipped cloud-like desserts. The northern Indian city of Lucknow has always been a food lovers' paradise, with locals and visitors swearing by its cuisine. Last month, Unesco recognised it as a Creative City of Gastronomy - adding it to a select list of g»»»

Slovakia will not provide further funding for Ukraine’s military because the conflict cannot be settled on the battlefield, Prime Minister Robert Fico has said. Fico, who survived an assassination attempt by a pro-Ukraine activist in 2024, was speaking after EU leaders failed to reach agreement on »»»

The line for a selfie with South Korea's disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol stretched around Seoul's iconic Gwanghwamun gate. Except Yoon wasn't there; it was just a picture of him. The real Yoon is in prison facing insurrection charges. But that didn't matter to the thousands of excited youn»»»

1 of 4 | Workers make final adjustments after President Donald Trump's name is added to The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on Friday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Dec. 19 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump's name was affixed Friday to The Kennedy Center »»»

Reporters ask world leaders questions all the time. No big deal. Right? But what's it like putting a question to Vladimir Putin - the president who ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the leader whose country was accused this week by the head of MI6 of "the export of chaos"? And imagine ask»»»

WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (KUNA) -- Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the US forces have commenced "OPERATION HAWKEYE STRIKE" in Syria against the so-called Islamic State (ISIS).The operation aims "to eliminate ISIS fighters, infrastructure, and weapons sites in direct response to the attack on US fo»»»

The U.S. military began striking suspected ISIS targets in central Syria on Friday during an hours-long assault after President Donald Trump promised to retaliate for the shooting deaths of two U.S. soldiers and their civilian interpreter on Saturday. Photo by Graeme Sloan/UPI | License Photo Dec. »»»

1 of 3 | Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican serving a district in New York state appears at a bill signing in the White House's Oval Office to award Congressional Gold Medals to the 1980 U.S. Olympic ice hockey team. The team won the gold medal in her district. Photo by Francis Chung/UPI | License P»»»

The US says its military has carried out a "massive strike" against the Islamic State group (IS) in Syria, in response to a deadly attack on American forces in the country. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Operation Hawkeye Strike was aimed at eliminating IS "fighters, infrastructure, and weapon»»»

The US justice department has launched a civil legal case against a man accused of being a Bosnian war criminal to revoke his citizenship. Kemal Mrndzic did not disclose during his US immigration process that he served as a guard at Bosnia's notorious Celebici prison camp, where atrocities were com»»»

This article contains descriptions of sexual abuse and violence which some readers may find distressing. Two Palestinian men have told the BBC they personally experienced the kind of beatings and sexual abuse highlighted in recent reports into the treatment of prisoners in Israeli detention. The Un»»»

Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives to the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. On Friday he gave a year-end news conference and spoke about deals to end the war in Ukraine and Russia. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Dec. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that U.S. negotia»»»

Israel’s disclosure of a naval commando operation in the northern Lebanese town of Batroun has thrust back into focus a case that straddles security, political, and legal fault lines. The announcement, accompanied by Israeli claims surrounding Imad Amhaz, comes at a delicate moment, coinciding with»»»

An Iraqi official said security cooperation with the United States is intensifying in the fight against terrorism, following a rare joint helicopter raid by Iraqi special forces inside Syrian territory. An Iraqi intelligence unit, coordinating with Syrian security forces and the US-led internationa»»»

It’s not clear if the Trump administration wants to genuinely resolve the proxy war with Russia, or if it is merely trying to extricate itself from the mess Washington helped instigate. But one thing is clear: the major Western European capitals are desperate to keep the war going. Various pretexts»»»

The ousted chair of Ben & Jerry's has accused the company which owns the brand of threatening to launch a public smear campaign against her. Anuradha Mittal, who chaired Ben & Jerry's independent board for seven years, told the BBC that Magnum had threatened to publish "defamatory statements" about»»»

Two Wisconsin Republican lawmakers on Friday told Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan to resign or be impeached after being convicted of felony obstruction in federal court on Thursday. File Photo by Brian Kersey/UPI | License Photo Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Wisconsin's Republican leaders will begin»»»

Police trying to capture a wild boar near a school in Evosmos, Thessaloniki, recently drew online attention and renewed debate over the growing presence of wildlife in Greek cities. Wild boars, wolves and foxes are increasingly appearing in urban areas, troubling residents and farmers. According to»»»

Farmers in the EU have protested on many occasions over unfair foreign competition and the viability of their businesses. They gathered again in Brussels on December 18, while an EU summit was going on, this time focusing their ire on the Mercosur free trade agreement between the EU and Latin Ameri»»»

Polish President Karol Nawrocki, right, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the Ukraine War and matters between Ukraine and Poland while at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw, Poland, on Friday. Photo by Pawel Supernak Poland Out/EPA Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Ze»»»

Pope Leo XIV waves from the popemobile as he arrives for the weekly General Audience in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City on May 21. He appointed Bishop Richard Moss as the new leader of the Roman Catholic church in England on Friday. Photo by Angelo Carconi/EFE Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Pope Leo XIV on Fr»»»

Danish Defense Intelligence Service, led by Director Thomas Ahrenkiel, said that Russia was behind two recent cyberattacks. File Photo by Emil Helms/EPA Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The Danish government Friday said that Russia is behind two cyberattacks in 2024 and this year that were "destructive and disrupt»»»

There is no longer famine in Gaza thanks to improved aid access, but the war-ravaged territory still faces emergency conditions, a UN-backed global hunger monitor said on Friday, with around 1.6 million people forecast to face "crisis" levels of food insecurity over the coming months. A famine decl»»»

Mostafa Madbouly vows to avert Israeli escalation. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) shakes hands with Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of Beirut, Lebanon, on Friday. Photo by Lebanese Presidency Press Occie/EPA BEIRUT, Lebanon, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- E»»»

The widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has said the Turning Point USA organisation he founded will help elect JD Vance for president in 2028, although Vance, the current US vice-president, has yet to announce he is running. Erika Kirk's endorsement on Thursday came on the opening day of Tu»»»

A court in the German city of Aachen has sentenced a man to eight-and-a-half years in prison for repeatedly drugging and raping his wife, filming the acts and then posting them online. The man, named only as Fernando P in line with German privacy laws, was found guilty of aggravated rape, grievous »»»

The UK has announced sanctions against militia leaders and groups it says were involved in violence against civilians in Syria. Three groups and four commanders have had their assets frozen over their involvement in suspected atrocities during clashes in coastal regions which saw about 1,400 killed»»»

Speaking on bTV on Friday, outgoing Deputy Prime Minister and Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) leader Atanas Zafirov said that if they receive the third government-forming mandate, they will discuss it and decide whether to return it. Under the Constitution, the third exploratory mandate goes to a p»»»

Earlier this month a group of Palestinian boys turned out to train at their local football pitch in the shadow of the wall separating Israel from the West Bank's Aida refugee camp -- and found a note at the gate. The children took the ominous message from Israeli authorities to Muhannad Abu Srour, »»»

More than a month after Iraq's parliamentary elections, the country's top leaders remain locked in talks to form a government while facing pressure from Washington to exclude Tehran-backed armed groups. Amid seismic changes in the Middle East, where new alliances are forming and old powers waning, »»»

More than 1,000 patients have died while waiting for urgent medical evacuation from war-ravaged Gaza in the last year and a half, the World Health Organization said Friday. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X that the UN agency and its partners had "evacuated over 10,600 patients from Ga»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US State Secretary Marco Rubio said on Friday that the decision to shut down the Agency for International Development (USAID) was the right move, and all predictions of negative consequences have not occurred. On December 16, Vanity Fair published an interview with White Hous»»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that there are nontrivial factors that contribute to the continuation of the Ukraine conflict, and that only the United States is able to negotiate with both parties to the conflict. "There's a reason why this war hasn't ended,»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during his annual live broadcast press conference with Russian federal, regional, and foreign media in Moscow. Photo by Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was determined to continue the war in Ukraine until his condi»»»

Police in Australia are investigating a trip made by the suspects of the Bondi Beach anti-Semitic terrorist attack to the southern Philippines island of Mindanao, just weeks before they shot and killed 15 people and wounded dozens more. The region has long grappled with Islamist militancy, but Pres»»»

CAIRO (Sputnik) - Moscow is concerned over the security guarantees for Ukraine that are being discussed in the European Union, as collective guarantees approved by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) are more important, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Frid»»»

Syria’s government and its allies on Friday welcomed the final lifting of the most draconian sanctions imposed on the country in recent decades. The US Congress imposed the so-called Caesar Act sanctions on Syria’s government and financial system in 2019 to punish then-President Bashar al-Assad for»»»

TikTok said on Thursday it had agreed to a joint venture with investors to keep operating in the United States, averting a potential ban tied to its Chinese ownership, US media reported. CEO Shou Chew said ByteDance approved the deal, with Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX as major invest»»»

Argentina's nuclear plan will roll out in stages. The first phase involves building small modular reactors, or SMRs, at the Atucha Nuclear Power Plant site, already underway, to ensure nationwide energy supply and reduce power outages. Photo by CNEA/EPA BUENOS AIRES, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- Argentina has »»»

PRESS REVIEW – Friday, December 19: A new batch of Epstein files includes photos of famous men, chat screenshots and "Lolita" quotes written on a woman's body. Next, Kristin Cabot, the HR boss caught on the Coldplay kiss cam, speaks out in an exclusive interview. Finally, we bring you some Christma»»»

In tonight's edition, Rwandan-backed AFC/M23 rebels say they have begun pulling out from the strategic town of Uvira in eastern DR Congo. Also, 11 detained Nigerian Air Force personnel have been released in Burkina Faso. Plus Sudanese football finds an unexpected new home in Rwanda.»»»

A French court on Thursday sentenced a woman repatriated from Syrian camps holding Islamic State group members to 10 years in prison for terrorist conspiracy. Carole Sun, 30, left France for Syria in 2014 and was arrested by Kurdish forces in 2017 as the Islamic State group collapsed. The seco»»»

The justice department plans to release the long-awaited files related to Jeffrey Epstein as required by a new law, but not all documents would be published on Friday, an official says. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has said they expect to publish "several hundred thousand pages", and then o»»»

Russia's President Vladimir Putin has said there will be no more wars after Ukraine if Russia is treated with respect - and claims that Moscow is planning to attack European countries are "nonsense". In a marathon televised event lasting almost four and a half hours, he was asked by the BBC's Steve»»»

Despite being a neutral country, Switzerland counts hundreds of thousands of fallout shelters – enough to accommodate its entire population in the event of armed conflict. This culture of civil protection is a legacy of the Cold War. Now the war in Ukraine has revived interest in&nbs»»»

At his annual press conference on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the ball was in Kyiv and its allies' court to end the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin chief also said he was certain that Moscow would take more cities and towns in eastern Ukraine before the end of the year. »»»

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Friday charged that the quorum for Thursday’s legislative session was secured due to the “collusion” of President Joseph Aoun, Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, warning against the emergence of a new “troika.” "In some ways, the»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that blockade of the Kaliningrad exclave would spark escalation, stressing that all threats would be neutralized. "This implies using the full range of available tools," Alexander Stepanov, a military expert at the Institute of Law and National Security at th»»»

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused European governments of portraying Russia as an enemy to hide their systemic mistakes. What's behind that?"NATO and the EU interpret Russian military modernization and forward deployments as offensive," Marco Marsili, a researcher at Cà Foscari University of»»»