Russia announced Thursday that it will expel 150 diplomats, including 60 Americans, and close the United States Consulate in St. Petersburg after Western nations banded together in solidarity with the U.K. over the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in southern England earlier this month. The 60 expelled American diplomats are a tit-for-tat response to the 60 Russian diplomats Washington has expelled, The New York Times reports. Likewise,

Russia is working with members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to help hammer out a deal that would impact world oil supplies for the next decade, according to reports. Saudi Arabia’s millennial Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, told Reuters that his Kingdom and Moscow are considering whether to prolong an agreement they struck in response to low oil prices. The agreement between Russia and Saudi Arabia cut back on oil production and helpe

BEIJING (AP) — North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping sought to portray strong ties between the long-time allies despite a recent chill as both countries on Wednesday confirmed Kim's secret trip to Beijing this week. The visit highlights Beijing and Pyongyang's efforts to better position themselves by showing they support each other ahead of Kim's planned meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and President Donald Trump in the coming

next prev BAGHDAD – On a desolate highway in northern Iraq last week, nine federal police officers packed into a large SUV were stopped at a checkpoint they had never seen before. Behind them, a taxi carrying a handful of other officers lagged behind on the long drive from the northern city of Kirkuk back to the capital, Baghdad. Men dressed as Shiite paramilitaries asked the policemen to hand over their IDs and weapons for inspection, and then took them hostage. When the ta

After news broke that Facebook Messenger and Lite scraped call logs and text history from Android devices, the social network stressed that it didn't do so in secret and with an ulterior motive. It got access to those data due to Android's wonky permission system, and it only inadvertently collected info from users who agreed to give the app access to their contacts list. That explanation, however, wasn't enough for the three users who filed a lawsuit against the social netwo

BEIRUT/AMMAN (Reuters) - Thousands of people departed eastern Ghouta for Syrian rebel territory near the Turkish border on Tuesday, the third group to leave under a deal brokered by Russia to surrender the enclave near Damascus to the Syrian government. Some 7,000 people - most of them fighters and their families - left on 100 buses in the early hours of the morning, to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. More buses drove into eastern Ghouta ahead of a further evacu

A 2,500-year-old ancient Egyptian coffin—left untouched for 157 years—has been found to contain the remains of a mummy believed to be that of a prestigious high priestess. The coffin was acquired by academics at the University of Sydney in 1860. Successive researchers assumed that grave robbers had stolen the mummy inside, leaving behind only tattered bandages and debris, the university’s Muse magazine reported. As such, it remained untouched for over 150 years. Thanks to a r

Raheem Sterling says Pep Guardiola "killed" him after Manchester City drew with Crystal Palace in December, although he insists the manager is bringing the very best out of him. City dropped points away from home in the Premier League for the first time this season at Selhurst Park and would have lost the match were it not for a late penalty save by Ederson. Guardiola was unhappy with aspects of his team's performance and Sterling says he was subjected to some stern words in

When Bolton steps into the national security role on April 9, he’ll become the third person to serve in the position under Trump. H Bolton, a former United Nations ambassador whom Trump named to the role last Thursday, is known for his hostile foreign policy stances. He fiercely advocated for the Iraq War and promoted the false justification for it, has called for bombing Iran and North Korea, damagedthe United States’ foreign policy reputation, and has aligned himself with a

EXCLUSIVE – After he escaped from Al Qaeda in Syria, American photojournalist Matt Schrier investigated his own kidnapping and uncovered what he describes as a pattern of "betrayal" by FBI agents handling his case. Schrier is now asking hard questions of former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who now leads the special counsel Russia probe, and former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by President Trump in May 2017. "Not every FBI agent is bad. Some are very good people,"