Politics

  JOHANNESBURG / AP The World Health Organization has declared an end to the yellow fever outbreak that killed about 400 people in Congo and Angola, calling it “one of the largest and most challenging” in recent years. The WHO statement says 965 cases were confirmed but thousands of others had been suspected. Neither country had reported a new confirmed ...

  MOSCOW / AP Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied reports of intercepted phone calls between Russian intelligence officials and members of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. The New York Times said that the Russians made contact with Paul Manafort, who briefly served as Trump’s campaign chairman. Current and former US officials interviewed by the Times declined to identify other Trump ...

  WASHINGTON / AP As Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the White House, the Trump administration has suggested that peace between the Israelis and Palestinians may not come in the form of a two-state solution — a position that could represent a dramatic shift from 20 years of US policy. Speaking to reporters ahead of President Donald Trump’s meeting ...

  WASHINGTON / AP President Donald Trump’s embattled national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned following reports he misled Vice President Mike Pence and other officials about his contacts with Russia. His departure upends Trump’s senior team after less than a month in office. In a resignation letter, Flynn said he gave Vice President Mike Pence and others “incomplete information” about ...

  Bloomberg US President Donald Trump promised to deal “very strongly” with North Korea after Kim Jong Un’s latest missile test demonstrated progress in his quest to develop longer-range nuclear weapons. Trump called the nation a “big, big problem” during a joint news conference at the White House on Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “We will deal with ...

  BRUSSELS / AP NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is urging the allies to step up defense spending on the eve of a first meeting between new US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and his 27 counterparts in Brussels. Stoltenberg said on Tuesday that “fair burden-sharing and increased defense spending underpins the trans-Atlantic alliance.” US President Donald Trump hinted during the ...

  MIHAIL KOGALNICEANU / AP Five hundred US troops began to arrive in a Romanian Black Sea port with tanks and hardware to bolster defense in this East European NATO nation. The US embassy said the “Fighting Eagles,” 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, will be stationed in the Mihail Kogalniceanu air base in eastern Romania, on a rotational basis. US ...

  Bloomberg President Donald Trump’s attempt to close America’s borders to citizens of seven mostly Muslim countries suffered another blow as judges on both coasts issued rulings that will make it even harder for the administration to rescue the beleaguered plan. Together, the rulings mean that the administration may now have to start answering questions from state officials about whether ...

  SEOUL / AP South Korean prosecutors are attempting for a second time to arrest Samsung’s de facto leader, who faces bribery allegations in connection with a massive political scandal. Special prosecutors investigating the influence-peddling scandal that led to the impeachment of the president said on Tuesday they have asked a court to issue an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-yong, ...

  SATTAHIP / AP The highest-ranking US official to visit Thailand since a 2014 coup urged the country to restore democracy while reaffirming the partnership between the two nations, saying Tuesday that America needs “a strong and stable ally” in Southeast Asia. Adm. Harry B. Harris, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, spoke at the start of the annual ...