World News

The US Senate on Wednesday voted 95-1 in overwhelming approval of the applications by Sweden and Finland to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Axios reports. NATO was established in 1949 by 12 countries, including the US, Canada, Italy, and France, to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.

Explosions have been reported in the south and east of Ukraine as the ongoing Russian invasion of the country continued despite a mounting death toll on both sides. The clashes came as advocacy group Amnesty International expressed concerns about how Ukrainian forces are trying to stop the invasion.

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) nuclear watchdog said in a report to member states Wednesday that Iran has finished installing three advanced IR-6 centrifuges at its Natanz fuel enrichment plant, Israel Hayom reports.

The U.S. government this week signed off on the sale of 300 Patriot missiles and related support equipment to Saudi Arabia in a deal valued at more than $3 billion, defense officials said Tuesday.

The U.S. State Department posted a “Worldwide Caution” warning to travelers on its website Tuesday following Sunday’s counterterrorism strike in Afghanistan that killed Osama bin Laden’s successor, Ayman al-Zawahri.

Iran said Wednesday it was sending a delegation to Vienna to resume talks to revive the frayed 2015 agreement on its nuclear program that have been halted since March.

Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall mountain near Keflavik airport is erupting again, the government confirmed on Wednesday.

NATO exercises near Russian territory, and a U.S. policy of seeking “to dominate the world’s oceans” are among the greatest threats to Russia’s national security, according to a new naval doctrine signed by President Vladimir Putin on Sunday.

President Joe Biden on Monday called on China and Russia to work with his administration on nuclear arms reduction efforts amid growing concerns over conflict with those governments and the continued development of Iran’s nuclear program.

The Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Saturday said that it can develop a nuclear weapon within a rapid-fire amount of time and obliterate New York with ballistic missiles.

The first grain ship to depart Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February arrived at Turkey’s Bosphorus strait, leaving behind a wartorn nation where a food tycoon was killed.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi touched down in Taiwan as part of a tour of Asia, despite China branding the landmark visit “extremely dangerous.”

Kosovo’s government has postponed new border rules after clashes in the north of the country where ethnic Serbs blocked roads and gunmen fired on police. The unrest in the Balkans have added to concerns within the NATO military alliance and the European Union about a possible new conflict in Europe, which is already facing war in Ukraine.

The United States is greenlighting another military assistance package to Ukraine, sending $550 million in ammunition for advanced rocket systems and other equipment to the country to fight the Russian invasion.

The White House on Monday warned China against overreacting to a trip by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, saying she would have every right to visit the self-ruled island despite Beijing viewing it as a highly provocative challenge.

Returning to the 2015 nuclear deal remains the best outcome for the United States, Iran and the world, according to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking at the United Nations about global nonproliferation discussions on Monday.

American President Joe Biden said late Monday that “justice has been delivered” after a U.S. drone strike killed terror group al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Russian and Ukrainian authorities say they have launched criminal investigations into strikes that reportedly killed at least 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war at a pre-trial detention center in eastern Ukraine. The attacks overshadowed attempts by Ukraine to begin exporting grain to hungry nations.

Thousands of protesters have breached Iraq’s parliament for a second time this week.

Iran is building a new nuclear research reactor at a nuclear facility in Isfahan, Iranian Atomic Energy Organization head Mohammad Eslami announced on Wednesday, according to Iranian media.