World

The United States is releasing Russian cryptocurrency kingpin Alexander Vinnik as part of an exchange deal that saw Moscow free U.S. teacher Marc Fogel a day earlier, a White House official said Wednesday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, replied "yes" when asked if U.S. authorities had released or would be releasing Vinnik in exchange for Fogel.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth gave away a major bargaining chip on Ukraine even before negotiating a settlement to end its war with Russia, according to some experts.

The Pentagon chief spoke Wednesday morning before a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group and said the possibility of the war-torn nation joining NATO was unrealistic and announced that the U.S. would prioritize its own security against China over its European allies and Ukraine, reported CNN.

Talks to form Austria's first far right-led government stalled on Wednesday, with the negotiating parties airing disagreements over key posts.

The far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) -- which topped national polls for the first time ever in September -- has been negotiating with the long-ruling conservative People's Party (OeVP) since early January.

American Marc Fogel is back on US soil Wednesday after being released from a Russian prison, in what US President Donald Trump said he hoped was the start of warming ties between Washington and Moscow.

Several US citizens remain in Russian prisons. Here are some of the most high-profile cases.

Multiple stories in recent days have highlighted the turmoil that President Donald Trump's policies of steep tariffs and the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development have been bringing American farmers.

Ben Palen, a Kansas farmer and agricultural consultant, has written a column for the Kansas Reflector in which he chides his fellow farmers for being "played for suckers" by the president during the 2024 campaign.

The World Health Organization on Tuesday wrapped up its executive board meeting, held against the backdrop of the United States -- by far its largest donor -- heading for the exit.

The agenda-setting eight-day gathering at the WHO's Geneva headquarters wrestled with the impact of US President Donald Trump's January 20 decision to start the one-year process of withdrawing from the UN health agency.

by Shaun TANDON

When President Donald Trump froze nearly all US foreign aid, Cambodia was forced to suspend workers removing dangerous mines from the country -- until China stepped in with the necessary funding.

by Tomohiro OSAKI

As peckish deer chase delighted tourists in Japan's temple-dotted Nara Park, a quiet but dedicated team of litter-pickers patrols the stone paths, collecting plastic waste that threatens the animals' health.

by Sam DAVIES

Animated Chinese blockbuster "Ne Zha 2", based on traditional mythology, has smashed multiple box office records on its way to becoming the country's most successful movie ever.

by Beiyi SEOW

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to open new fronts in his tariffs war by announcing reciprocal levies on other countries as soon as Tuesday, branding this "the only fair way" to trade.

A truck cabin swallowed by a sinkhole in Japan has been found in a sewer pipe and may contain the body of its missing driver, a fire department official said Wednesday.

Rescuers have been struggling to find the 74-year-old driver since the truck plunged into a chasm that appeared near Tokyo two weeks ago.

by Clément ZAMPA

With its flattering rhetoric, leniency in responding to U.S. trade threats and alignment with Washington this week at a summit on artificial intelligence, the United Kingdom has signalled a willingness to take President Donald Trump's side over Europe.

by Emilie Beraud

Expat "mumfluencers" are taking to TikTok to sing the praises of life in Saudi Arabia and to extol the virtues of its new NEOM megacity, filming their idyllic lives spent picnicking by turquoise waters and shopping in gleaming malls.