Russia and China on Friday vetoed a U.S.-sponsored U.N. resolution calling for “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in theIsrael-Hamas warin Gaza to protect civilians and enable humanitarian aid to be delivered to more than 2 millionhungry Palestinians. The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 11 members in favor, three against and one abstention. Before the vote, Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow supports an immediate cease-fire, but he questioned the language in the resolution and accused U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey said Thursday that he will not run in the Democratic primary as he facesfederal corruption charges, but he left open the possibility that he would reenter the race as an independent later this year if he is exonerated at a trial. Menendez made the announcement in a video released Thursday afternoon. The decision comes as Menendez fights federal bribery charges, along with his wife, Nadine, and three business associates. Menendez and his spouse are charged with taking bribes of gold bars, cash and a Mercedes-Benz in return for the senator’s help with proje

The Sikh Anand karj Marriage Act 2018 of the Punjab province of Pakistan will be amended. This information was given by Ramesh Singh Arora, the first Sikh minister in the Maryam Nawaz government. He said that through this, marriage under the age of 18 will be banned in the Sikh community. While presiding over the meeting of the Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, Arora said that the new amendments in Pakistan's Sikh Act are going to be in favor of the minority community. Arora is the Cabinet Minister for Minority Affairs in Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz's government. He said that Punj

An Indonesian search and rescue ship located a capsized wooden boat that had been carrying dozens of Rohingya Muslim refugees, and began pulling survivors who had been standing on its hull to safety Thursday. An AP photographer aboard the rescue ship said 10 people had been taken aboard local fishing boats and another 59 were being saved by the Indonesian craft. Men, women and children, weak and soaked from the night’s rain, wept as the rescue operation got underway and people were taken aboard a rubber dinghy to the rescue boat.

Ukraine's capital was attacked by Russia for the first time in 44 days Thursday as Kyiv residents woke early to loud explosions. Ukraine's Emergency Service said 13 people were wounded, including one child, and that dozens of people were evacuated from their homes. Around 30 cruise and ballistic missiles were shot down over the city, said Serhii Popko, the head of Kyiv City Administration. In the Shevchenkivskyi district in western Kyiv, an apartment in a multistory building and cars were set on fire as a result of the Russian attack, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. The attack comes after Ukraine

A toddler climbed out of a car seat and got behind the wheel of a truck idling at a gas pump in Northern California, rolling toward a taco stand and killing a 2-year-old child, police said. The owner of the truck was inside the gas station store at the time of the tragedy over the weekend in the city of Woodland, northwest of Sacramento, the Woodland Police Department said in a statement. The child died after being taken to a hospital by family members. Police did not reveal any identities of those involved but said everyone has cooperated and there has been no arrest. Police said the results

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says he will step down as leader of the country soon as a successor is chosen. Varadkar announced Wednesday he is quitting immediately as head of Fine Gael party, part of Ireland’s coalition government. He’ll be replaced as prime minister after a party leadership contest. He said his reasons were “both personal and political.” Varadkar, 45, has had two spells as taoiseach, or prime minister between 2017 and 2020, and again since December 2022. He was the country’s youngest-ever leader when first elected, as well as Ireland’s first openly gay prime

Hong Kong lawmakers passed anew national security lawon Tuesday that grants the government more power to quash dissent, widely seen as the latest step in a sweeping political crackdown that was triggered by pro-democracy protests in 2019. The legislature passed the Safeguarding National Security Law during a special session Tuesday. It comes on top of a similar law imposed by Beijing four years ago, which has already largely silenced opposition voices in the financial hub. Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, which is packed with Beijing loyalistsfollowing an electoral overhaul, expedited the pr

Asifa Ali Zardari, the younger daughter of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, has also entered politics. Asifa will contest from the seat vacated by her father President Asif Ali Zardari. 31-year-old Asifa has filed her nomination form from Shaheed Benzirabad seat in Sindh. Eight days ago on March 11, she was made the first lady of Pakistan. This position usually belongs to the wife of the president, but Zardari broke with this tradition and appointed his daughter as the first lady. Zardari's wife and minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in 2007 and was Pakistan's first female presiden