Latest War and unrest News

Russian forces edge closer to a key eastern Ukraine city in intense fighting, officials say

Dec. 13, 2024 00:00 AM EST

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Fighting around the key eastern Ukraine city of Pokrovsk is “extremely intense” after a monthslong Russian push, Ukraine’s top military commander said, with analysts estimating Russian forces are now within just a few kilometers (miles) of the city. ...

American pilgrim imprisoned in Assad's Syria calls his release from prison a 'blessing'

Dec. 12, 2024 22:39 PM EST

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — An American who disappeared seven months ago into former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s notorious prison system said early Friday he was released by the “liberators” who arrived in Damascus a day after the longtime ruler fled the capital. Travis...

Middle East latest: Israeli strikes in Gaza kill more than 50 people, including kids

Dec. 12, 2024 19:20 PM EST

An Israeli airstrike flattened a multistory building in central Gaza, killing at least 25 people and wounding dozens more, according to Palestinian medical officials, after strikes Thursday across the Gaza Strip killed at least 28 others. The latest deadly strike hit the urban...

San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo

Dec. 12, 2024 19:01 PM EST

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A photojournalist who captured one of the most enduring images of World War II — the U.S. Marines raising the flag on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima — had a block in downtown San Francisco named for him Thursday. Joe Rosenthal, who died in 2006 at age 94,...

Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast

Dec. 12, 2024 17:27 PM EST

AQABA, Jordan (AP) — Top U.S. officials were in the Middle East on Thursday, pushing for stability in Syria and an end to Israel’s 14-month war in the Gaza Strip in a last-ditch diplomatic push by the outgoing Biden administration before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in a few weeks....

Israeli strike in Gaza kills 25 people as US makes new push for a ceasefire

Dec. 12, 2024 17:12 PM EST

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike hit the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 25 Palestinians and wounding dozens more, Palestinian medics said, as U.S. President Joe Biden’s two top national security officials were in the region making a renewed push for an...

Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what's next for those who oppose Trump

Dec. 12, 2024 13:53 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — She’s an Iraq War combat veteran and sexual assault survivor who has advocated for years to improve how the military handles claims of sexual misconduct. But when Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, appeared initially cool to the nomination of President-elect Donald Trump...

Paraguay reopens its embassy in Jerusalem, handing Israel a rare diplomatic victory

Dec. 12, 2024 11:51 AM EST

JERUSALEM (AP) — The small South American nation of Paraguay reopened its embassy in Jerusalem on Thursday, becoming the latest of just a small handful of countries to recognize the bitterly contested city as Israel’s capital. The move marks a welcome diplomatic victory for Prime...

Concern over Syria's chemical weapons stockpile triggers emergency meeting of global monitor

Dec. 12, 2024 10:50 AM EST

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The global chemical weapons watchdog opened an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the situation in Syria over concerns about the country’s stockpile of toxic chemicals in the wake of the overthrow of President Bashar Assad. The Organization for...

Migrant workers in Lebanon are trying to return home after abuses and then war

Dec. 12, 2024 10:07 AM EST

BEIRUT (AP) — Isatta Bah wakes up from a nap in a crowded shelter on the outskirts of Beirut, clutching her baby, Blessing. The 24-year-old from Sierra Leone spends her days waiting for an exit visa that could put her and her 1-year-old on a plane back to the West African nation....