Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent urged Senate Republicans to end the filibuster as a fiscal year 2026 budget battle is expected in January and could trigger another government shutdown. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Dec. 27 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump and Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent »»»

EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa on Saturday promised the European Union's unfaltering support for Ukraine ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's talks with US President Donald Trump on Sunday. The Ukrainian president first spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney d»»»

Italian officials on Saturday announced the arrests of nine people who are accused of using charities to raise $8.2 million, most of which funded Hamas. File Photo by Mohammed Saber/EPA Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Nine people who are accused of raising more than $8 million in Italy to help fund Hamas have bee»»»

US President Donald Trump has expressed skepticism about Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s latest peace proposal to end the conflict with Moscow, arguing the discussions could move forward only with his blessing. Trump’s remarks come as he is expected to hold talks with Zelensky in Florida on Su»»»

The J. Edgar Hoover Building will close permanently after the FBI moves its headquarters to the Ronald Reagan Building, FBI Director Kash Patel said on Friday. File Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI | License Photo Dec. 27 (UPI) -- The FBI Hoover headquarters in Washington soon will be vacant as the»»»

1 of 4 | Russia targeted Kyiv with 40 missiles and nearly 500 drones that killed one and injured 27 during an early morning aerial assault on the Ukrainian capital on Saturday. Photo by Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Russian attacks on Kyiv killed at least one and injured 27 early Saturday m»»»

The head of the Kennedy Center in Washington DC has demanded $1m (£740,000) in damages from a musician who cancelled a concert after President Donald Trump's name was added to the venue. Chuck Redd called off his Christmas Eve performance, which he has hosted annually since 2006, citing a vote by t»»»

Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Seiha, left, and Thai Defense Minister Natthaphon Narkphanit exchange cease-fire agreement documents after three days of negotiations to end a weeks-long battle along the two countries border. Photo by Defense Ministry of Thailand/EPA Dec. 27 (UPI) -- Weeks into a vic»»»

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Saturday his country is in a full-scale war with the US, Israel and Europe ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ’s meeting Monday with US President Donald Trump. Pezeshkian said in an interview published on the website of the country’s Supreme »»»

A teacher at a school in Britain says he was “likened to a terrorist” for showing his students several videos of US President Donald Trump, The Telegraph has reported. According to the paper, the man was forced to resign from Henley College in Oxfordshire, after he was accused of radicalizing stude»»»

The EU should listen to US President Donald Trump but never yield to his demands, Teresa Ribera, the European Commission’s vice-president, stated in an interview with the Financial Times published on Friday. Brussels should listen to but not blindly accept demands from Washington to ditch laws on ‘»»»

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to meet US President Donald Trump in Florida on Monday, an Israeli official told AFP, in what is seen as a crucial visit for the next steps of the fragile Gaza truce plan. It will be Netanyahu's fifth visit to see key ally Trump in the United States »»»

NATO boss, Mark Rutte, says that Western Europe could be heading toward a war with Russia “like our grandparents experienced.” Which implies that he has a phenomenal memory of World War II, 80 years ago. This is especially impressive coming from a man known in the Netherlands, where he spent fourte»»»

US President Donald Trump’s envoys in negotiations with Moscow, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, see Russia as an “El Dorado” with vast natural resources and rich investment opportunities, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with their thinking. Both believe that lif»»»

When Israel launched a lightening attack on Iran’s military and nuclear sites on June 13, it kickstarted a conflict dubbed the “12-day war” by US President Donald Trump. Although the whirlwind clash lasted less than two weeks, it caused unprecedented destruction in Israel and considerably weakened »»»

The African Union and Somalia denounced Israel's announcement on Friday that it viewed Somaliland as an "independent and sovereign state". Israel is the first country to recognise Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991.  Somalia and the African Union reacted angrily on Fr»»»

The EU would only hurt itself if it decides to go its own way in the field of security, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has told dpa news agency. The European members of the bloc need to comply with Washington’s demands and spend more on their militaries instead, he stated on Friday. Rutte was re»»»

US President Donald Trump has said he will likely speak with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the near future to discuss the Ukraine conflict. His comments come as the US leader is expected to hold talks with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky this weekend. In an interview with Politico on Frid»»»

U.S. President Donald Trump will ask Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in their upcoming meeting to continue the path of diplomacy with Lebanon, a media report said. President Joseph Aoun and the Lebanese state have learned from Washington that Trump will call on Netanyahu to "carry on with»»»

Somalia and the African Union reacted angrily after Israel became the first country to formally recognize the northern region of Somaliland as an independent state. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has pushed for international recognition for decades, with president Abdirah»»»

TradeGlobal issuesPeak Oil: Why the world can't break its fossil fuel habitNik MartinClimate change shifted the oil production debate from scarcity to demand. But without delivering on ambitious green pledges, one expert predicts production may peak within two years, forcing a chaotic decline. http»»»

Kyiv, Ukraine: A Russian drone and missile barrage on Kyiv and its suburbs Saturday killed one person, wounded two dozen and cut off heating and electricity for hundreds of thousands of people left in freezing temperatures. An air alert lasted several hours after loud overnight explosions, some acc»»»

Polish fighter jets have been scrambled on its border with Ukraine, after the Ukrainian capital Kyiv was hit by Russian missiles and drones overnight. Poland's military said its air force took a "preventative" response to secure its airspace, after at least one person was killed and 28 others were »»»

Thailand and Cambodia on Saturday agreed to an "immediate" ceasefire after three weeks of fighting killed at least 47 people and displaced more than a million. The truce comes after three days of talks, and it applies to "all types of weapons, including attacks on civilians, civilian obje»»»

BUENOS AIRES (Sputnik) - The United States will not be able to impose a model of colonial and slave domination on Venezuela to steal its natural resources, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said on Saturday. "It is impossible for the US decision-makers to fabricate a virtual reality and impose a »»»

Thailand and Cambodia on Saturday signed a ceasefire agreement to end weeks of armed combat along their border over competing claims to territory. It took effect at noon local time. In addition to ending fighting, the agreement calls for no further military movements by either side and no violation»»»

China on Saturday passed revisions to a key piece of legislation aimed at strengthening Beijing's ability to wage trade war, curb outbound shipments from strategic minerals, and further open its $19 trillion economy. The latest revision to the Foreign Trade Law, approved by China's top legislative »»»

Russia attacked Ukraine's capital with missiles and drones early Saturday morning, wounding at least 11 people a day before talks between Ukraine and the US, local authorities said. Explosions boomed across the capital for hours as ballistic missiles and drones hit the city. The attack began in the»»»

On Dec. 27, 2013, a car bomb in Beirut killed seven people, including Mohamad Chatah, Lebanon's former ambassador to the United States. 1 of 5 | Officials gather at the site of an explosion in downtown Beirut that killed seven people, including former Lebanese Minister Mohamad Chatah, on December 2»»»

Volodymyr Zelensky is due to meet President Donald Trump in Florida this weekend, but Russia accused the Ukrainian president and his EU backers Friday of seeking to "torpedo" a US-brokered plan to stop the fighting. Sunday's meeting to discuss new peace proposals comes as Trump intensifies efforts »»»

Israeli occupation forces committed ten new violations of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip since early Friday, local sources reported, further destabilizing the tenuous pause in the genocidal war. The violations included targeted demolitions and aerial attacks across the territory. In Gaza»»»

Kyiv, Ukraine: Several powerful explosions rocked Kyiv on Saturday as authorities warned that the Ukrainian capital was under threat of missile attack. "Explosions in the capital. Air defense forces are operating. Stay in shelters!" Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. Ukraine's air forc»»»

FRANCE 24 heads north to the kingdom of Denmark. The Scandinavian country has been in the spotlight this year, holding the rotating presidency of the European Council from July to December and pushing forward its priorities such as migration and the energy transition – topics that we dive»»»

Somalia and the African Union reacted angrily Friday after Israel became the first country to formally recognize the northern region of Somaliland as an independent state. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has pushed for international recognition for decades, with president »»»

President Donald Trump said he opposed US recognition of Somaliland in an interview with the New York Post published Friday, after Israeli Prime Minister and prominent Trump ally Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would become the first country to recognize it. "No," the president told the Post when as»»»

Efforts by mediators to advance the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement are intensifying, as Egypt issues fresh warnings that the process could be obstructed just days before it is due to take effect in January. Egypt’s position, which rejects fragmenting reconstruction, dividing the Gaza »»»

The Gaza war has shattered illusions of regional stability and exposed the limits of Israeli and American dominance, but most importantly, it has hinted at what appears to be a rediscovery of Arab agency after decades of accumulated pressures, through the end of the Cold War and the Arab Spring 20 »»»

Phnom Penh: Thailand and Cambodia agreed to an "immediate" ceasefire on Saturday, the two countries said in a joint statement, pledging to end weeks of deadly border clashes. At least 47 people were killed and more than a million displaced in three weeks of fighting with artillery, tanks, drones an»»»

Thailand and Cambodia have agreed to an immediate ceasefire, the defence ministers of the two countries said in a joint statement on Saturday. Both sides have agreed to freeze all troop movements and allow civilians living in border areas to return home, halting weeks of intense border clashes that»»»

After months of speculation over the trajectory of Egyptian-US relations, fueled by persistent talk of strain and an impending rift, a high-level meeting between President Donald Trump and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Sharm el-Sheikh reaffirmed the resilience of the strategic alliance between »»»

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump has positively assessed the chances of reaching an agreement with Volodymyr Zelensky during the latter's upcoming visit to Florida. Trump is expected to receive Zelensky at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Sunday, December 28. “Well, I think we»»»

The Japanese government on Friday approved a record $58 billion to bolster its coastal defenses and improve its long-distance strike capabilities. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo Dec. 26 (UPI) -- The Japanese government on Friday approved a record $58 billion defense budget for the 202»»»

New York’s Times Square will sparkle in red, white and blue on New Year's Eve as a patriotic ball drop rings in 2026, marking the start of celebrations for the United States’ 250th anniversary. Organisers have planned hundreds of events nationwide, including fireworks, parades and volunteer initiat»»»

Yemen's Southern Transitional Council (STC) separatists on Friday accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out air strikes on their positions in the east of the country, a claim Riyadh has not acknowledged. While vowing they will not be deterred, the STC said it remains open to coordination with the kingdo»»»

Secretary of State Marco Rubio banned visas for five Brits accused of "censorship." On Friday, a judge ruled against a deportation order against one of them, Imran Ahmed. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Dec. 26 (UPI) -- A federal judge has blocked the deportation of a British man targ»»»

1 of 3 | A second ball drop will occur for the first time in New York City's Times Square on July 3 to celebrate the nation's 250th birthday, the America250 committee said on Friday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo Dec. 26 (UPI) -- A red, white and blue glass ball will drop on July 3 in»»»

The Thai military moves armored vehicles on Thursday near the Thai-Cambodian border as cease-fire negotiations continue following military actions on Friday morning. Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA Dec. 26 (UPI) -- The Thai military advanced on Cambodia's Banteay Meanchey Province on Friday morning af»»»

China has slapped sanctions on 20 additional US weapons manufacturers and ten executives in retaliation for the latest US arms sale to Taiwan. The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced the measures on Friday, which expand an existing blacklist targeting the US defense sector. Beijing said it was respo»»»