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DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa will not attend an Arab League summit in Iraq this week and the country’s delegation will be headed by the foreign minister, the president’s office said Tuesday.A short statement released by the office of President Ahmad al-Sharaa did not give a reason why he will not attend the summit but an invitation by the Iraqi government last month trigged sharp political divisions in Iraq. The summit is scheduled to be held in Baghdad on Saturday.Al-Sharaa and his interim government in Syria have been scrambling to establish ties with countries across the Middle…

LONDON (AP) — Human rights groups launched a court fight Tuesday challenging the U.K. government’s decision to supply parts for F-35 fighter jets, saying they are being used by Israel in Gaza in violation of international law.The legal challenge in the High Court alleges that the government is breaking domestic and international law and is complicit in atrocities against Palestinians by allowing essential components for the warplanes to be supplied to Israel.“There’s such clear evidence of the use of weapons parts from the U.K. being used in war crimes, including in genocide,” Sacha Deshmukh, chief executive of Amnesty International UK,…

CNN  —  Virat Kohli, one of India’s greatest ever players, announced his retirement from Test cricket on Monday. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket. Honestly, I never imagined the journey this format would take me on. It’s tested me, shaped me, and taught me lessons I’ll carry for life,” Kohli wrote on Instagram. “There’s something deeply personal about playing in whites. The quiet grind, the long days, the small moments that no one sees but that stay with you forever. As I step away from this format, it’s not easy – but…

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that he will be waiting for Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Turkish capital this week to conduct face-to-face talks about the more than three-year war.Putin hasn’t yet said whether he will be at the talks, which U.S. President Donald Trump has urged the two sides to attend as part of Washington’s efforts to stop the fighting.Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv that he will be in Ankara on Thursday to conduct the negotiations. He plans to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the two will wait for Putin…

TOKYO (AP) — Nissan is slashing about 15% of its global work force, or about 20,000 employees, as the Japanese automaker reported a loss Tuesday for the fiscal year that just ended amid slipping vehicle sales in China and other nations, and towering restructuring costs.Nissan Motor Corp. said it will reduce the number of its auto plants to 10 from 17, under what it called its recovery plan to carry out “decisive and bold actions to enhance performance and create a leaner, more resilient business that adapts quickly to market changes.” It did not say which plants were being closed…

CNN  —  Dallas Mavericks fans have spent the last few months in something akin to open rebellion against the team’s front office after franchise icon Luka Dončić was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. On Monday, that all might have just become incredibly turbulent water under the bridge. The Mavs won the NBA lottery, getting the first pick in the draft and the chance to replace Dončić with Duke phenom Cooper Flagg. Going into the night with just a 1.8% shot of getting the No. 1 pick, the Mavericks might have just lucked into one of the all-time great draft…

CNN  —  “Barbie” actor and Marvel star Simu Liu has announced his engagement to girlfriend Allison Hsu. The Chinese-Canadian actor, who was Marvel’s first Asian superhero and played a Ken doll in the 2023 hit “Barbie” movie, shared a series of romantic snaps on Instagram Sunday. “Us forever,” Hsu wrote in a joint post, followed by a string of diamond ring and white heart emojis. Often dubbed the “city of love,” the pair shared several photos taken in Paris against the backdrop of the city’s skyline, with Hsu sporting an impressive diamond ring. “From weekends in Paris, day trips to…

Jiupeng, Taiwan Reuters  —  Taiwan on Monday test-fired for the first time a new US-supplied rocket system that has been widely used by Ukraine against Russia and could be deployed to hit targets in China if there is a war with Taiwan. The United States is Taiwan’s most important arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties. Taiwan has faced increased military pressure from China, including several rounds of war games, as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims over the island. Taiwan has bought 29 of Lockheed Martin’s precision weapon High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, with…

People in entertainment Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Crime Human rights See all topics Facebook Tweet Email Link Coercion or consent? That is the central question posed to a federal jury Monday on the first day of testimony in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ racketeering and sex trafficking trial in New York City. The criminal trial represents a dramatic fall from grace for Combs, 55, who founded the record label Bad Boy in 1993 and launched an illustrious musical career under the stage names Puff Daddy and Diddy. He has earned three Grammy wins and 14 nominations, and he successfully expanded from rapper into…

Manila, Philippines Reuters  —  Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was almost certain to be elected mayor of his home city by a landslide on Monday, unimpeded by his detention at the International Criminal Court on charges of murder as a crime against humanity. With 80% of votes counted in an unofficial tally, Duterte, who was brought to The Hague in March over his bloody “war on drugs” that killed thousands of people, was winning the Davao mayoral contest with eight times more votes than his nearest rival. The victory during nationwide midterm elections is testament to the 80-year-old’s enduring influence…