N. Korean Leader Kim Jong Un Ends Two-Day Trip to China
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will return to Pyongyang Wednesday after a two-day visit to China, the chief economic and diplomatic ally of his impoverished regime.
War
45 rockets launched from Gaza amid night of intense IDF, Hamas fire
Rocket sirens blared in the south throughout the early morning hours Wednesday, as barrages totaling some 45 rockets and mortar shells were fired toward Israeli towns, prompting three rounds of Israeli airstrikes on Hamas military sites in the Gaza Strip.
Iran says Europe’s proposals not enough to save nuclear deal: IRNA
Iran’s nuclear chief said on Tuesday that Europe’s proposals to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal after the U.S. withdrawal from the pact were not satisfying for Tehran, warning that all sides would lose if Iran is sidelined by the West, the IRNA state news agency said.
Russia-to-Germany undersea pipeline unnerves U.S., riles region
It has driven a wedge between America and its allies, given Russia a chance to put a stranglehold on European energy markets and may even threaten U.S. national security, some observers suggest, by potentially doubling as a spy device.
Republicans abandon Trump, demand end to zero-tolerance border policy
Congressional Republicans beat a full-scale retreat Monday from the administration’s zero-tolerance border policy, joining Democrats to demand that President Trump stop jailing parents and find ways to keep families together while trying to stop a new surge of illegal immigration.
UN chief warns Gaza violence is close ‘to the brink of war’
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the escalation of violence in Gaza is ‘a warning to all how close to the brink of war the situation is,’ and he is urging Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers to recommit to the cease-fire that ended their 2014 war.
North Korea’s Kim visit Beijing; South Korea, U.S. halt military drill
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, where he will likely brief Chinese President Xi Jinping on his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump last week, as Washington and Seoul agreed to suspend a major joint military exercise.
Russia argues the Marine Corps’ beefed-up presence in Norway is an attack
Russia just can’t let it go that Norway recently decided to invite several hundred more Marines to the region for cold-weather training.
Trump heading to Capitol Hill Tuesday to sell GOP members on both immigration bills
President Trump will reportedly meet with the entire Republican caucus on Capitol Hill Tuesday to push the caucus toward passing two immigration bills in the coming days.
Syria says US-led strike hits troops in east, US denies
Syrian state media reported Monday that an airstrike against pro-government forces in the far east of the country caused casualties, while Iraqi officials said 20 Shiite paramilitaries were killed just across the border.
House expects to finish work on opioid bills, with eye toward Senate
The House expects to finish passage next week on nearly 20 bills aimed at fighting the opioid epidemic, with an eye toward a conference with the Senate over the summer.
Benjamin Netanyahu tells Vladimir Putin: ‘Iran has to withdraw from all of Syria’
Russian President Vladimir Putin can expect Israel to attack his Iranian partners anywhere they operate in Syria, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.
Trump and Giuliani go to war against Mueller as White House looks on
As President Trump seeks to de-escalate tensions with North Korea, he and his personal legal team are ratcheting up their rhetoric against special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
Saudi-led coalition conducts air strikes on Yemen’s Hodeidah airport
Houthi forces fought to keep control of the airport in Yemen’s main port city of Hodeidah on Sunday as Saudi-led coalition air strikes struck the compound, in an offensive that could be a turning point in the three-year conflict.
Magnitude 6.1 quake kills three, stops factories in Japan’s Osaka area
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake shook Osaka, Japan’s second-biggest metropolis, early on Monday morning, killing three people, halting factory lines in a key industrial area and bursting water mains, government officials and broadcaster NHK said.
Trump to slap tariffs on nearly $50 billion in Chinese goods
President Trump is ready to slap tariffs on nearly $50 billion in Chinese goods, according to reports, reigniting fears of a trade war between the world’s two largest economies.
Gene-edited ‘designer babies’ offer miracle cures, questionable ethics
A generation of designer babies is both an exciting and a daunting prospect for scientists who dare to imagine a future free of genetic disease but can’t say how the effects of choice and accessibility will affect society.
Israel warned to avoid Syria strikes as World Cup kicks off in Russia
With the 2018 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament kicking off on Thursday, host nation Russia has made it clear that it expects Israel and other Middle Eastern states to avoid an escalation in the Syrian civil war during the month-long championship, Israel Hayom has learned.
Palestinians prep 5,000 kite bombs in Gaza to mark end of Ramadan
The IDF struck a target in the southern Gaza Strip on Thursday, two hours after it fired warning shots in the same area toward Palestinians who were preparing airborne incendiary devices near the Bureij refugee camp.
New DOJ Initiative Protects Churches Against Zoning Discrimination
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday its new ‘Place to Worship Initiative,’ which aims to protect ‘the ability of houses of worship and other religious institutions to build, expand, buy, or rent facilities—as provided by the land use provisions of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).’