Latest Antony Blinken News

Ukrainian troops pull out of some areas and Zelenskyy postpones foreign trips amid Russian offensive

May. 15, 2024 14:00 PM EDT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces withdrew from some parts of the country's northeast and battled Russian troops in other areas Wednesday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decision to postpone all his upcoming foreign trips underscored the seriousness of the threat his soldiers face. ...

The Latest | Nearly half a million people flee fighting in Rafah and northern Gaza, UN says

May. 13, 2024 16:54 PM EDT

Nearly half a million Palestinians have been displaced in recent days by escalating Israeli military operations in southern and northern Gaza, the United Nations says. Around 360,000 Palestinians were driven out of Rafah in Gaza's south over the past week, the United Nations’...

Israel moves deeper into Rafah and fights Hamas militants regrouping in northern Gaza

May. 12, 2024 23:36 PM EDT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The exodus of Palestinians from Gaza’s last refuge accelerated Sunday as Israeli forces pushed deeper into the southern city of Rafah. Israel also pounded the territory’s devastated north, where some Hamas militants have regrouped in areas the military said it had...

Blinken delivers some of the strongest US public criticism of Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza

May. 12, 2024 22:08 PM EDT

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday delivered some of the Biden administration’s strongest public criticism yet of Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza, saying Israeli tactics have meant “a horrible loss of life of innocent civilians” but failed to...

Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows

May. 10, 2024 18:35 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — ABC’s “This Week” — Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del.; Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas. ___ NBC's “Meet the Press” — Secretary of State Antony Blinken; Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. ___ ...

Scammer who claimed to be an Irish heiress should be extradited to UK, judge rules

May. 09, 2024 17:38 PM EDT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A convicted scammer who claimed to be an Irish heiress and who is accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from several victims should be extradited to the United Kingdom, a federal court has ruled. Marianne Smyth, who accusers say has also fashioned...

Men behind the doomsday seed vault in the Arctic win World Food Prize

May. 09, 2024 14:52 PM EDT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — As Cary Fowler and Geoffrey Hawtin began thinking about ways to prevent starvation and protect the world's food supply, they came up with what Fowler called “the craziest idea anybody ever had” — a global seed vault built into the side of an Arctic mountain. ...

Western Hemisphere nations pledge to continue coordinating response to historic regional migration

May. 08, 2024 00:39 AM EDT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Representatives from 22 Western Hemisphere countries gathered in Guatemala renewed their commitment Tuesday to continue offering legal pathways to enter their countries, to provide aid to communities most affected by migration and to coordinate their response to manage...

US repatriates 11 citizens from notorious camp for relatives of Islamic State militants in Syria

May. 07, 2024 11:07 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — The United States has repatriated 11 of its citizens from sprawling camps in northeastern Syria that house tens of thousands of family members of suspected Islamic State militants, the U.S. State Department said Tuesday. The repatriation was the largest Washington has...

Hamas accepts Gaza cease-fire; Israel says it will continue talks but presses on with Rafah attacks

May. 06, 2024 22:12 PM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Hamas said Monday it accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but Israel said the deal did not meet its core demands and it was pushing ahead with an assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Still, Israel said it would continue negotiations. The...