National-World

By Mostafa Salem, Tal Shalev, CNN (CNN) — As rain poured on the northern provinces of Iran in late March, a somber crowd snaked through the mountain ranges of Asara carrying the coffin of Mohammad Reza Kia. The city of just a few thousand people was draped in banners now hailing the young nuclear scientist

By Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN (CNN) — As a new multinational force musters in Haiti, its foreign police and soldiers could soon find themselves face-to-face with hundreds of children. Children make up about 50% of armed groups in the country, experts estimate. In 2024 alone, at least 302 children were “recruited and used” by gangs across

By Ashley Strickland (CNN) – The Artemis II mission has broken the record for the farthest distance humans have traveled from Earth, which was set by the Apollo 13 mission in 1970. The Apollo record was 248,655 statute miles from Earth. Artemis II surpassed that marker at 1:56 p.m. ET. Artemis II is expected to

By Jessie Yeung, CNN (CNN) — US President Donald Trump issued new threats and mused about negotiations at a White House press conference Monday as the war with Iran continues. Earlier, Tehran rejected a temporary ceasefire proposed by negotiators, and Israel announced a new strike on a petrochemical plant in southern Iran. Meanwhile, the humanitarian

By Tim Lister, Max Saltman, CNN (CNN) — Hungary and Ukraine are again trading accusations after two backpacks containing explosives were allegedly found by a gas pipeline near the Hungarian border, days before the country’s election. The devices were found in northern Serbia on Sunday, according to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, close to the pipeline

By Sophie Tanno (CNN) — The second US serviceman whose aircraft was shot down on Iranian soil has been rescued in a bold operation which marks a clear success for the US president at a time when he is under mounting pressure to end a war which has choked global energy supplies and sparked fears

By Christopher Lamb, Billy Stockwell, CNN Rome (CNN) — Pope Leo XIV called for dialogue and for those with the power to unleash wars to choose peace, in his first Easter Sunday message since becoming the head of the Catholic Church last year. Speaking from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo said: “Let

By Tal Shalev, CNN (CNN) — As Israelis prepared to mark Passover Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier this week delivered a defiant wartime address replete with biblical references of ancient Jewish triumphs over their enemies. He likened Israel’s strikes on its enemies as the Ten Plagues that God is believed to have inflicted on Egypt

By Tim Lister and Svitlana Vlasova (CNN) — This week, for the third time since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia claimed it fully occupied Ukraine’s Luhansk region. The Russian military has held almost all of Luhansk – one of four eastern regions that Moscow has illegally sought to annex – since the first year

By Issy Ronald, CNN (CNN) — A retired matador was killed by a bull on Friday as he prepared the animals for a bullfight at an arena in Málaga, in southern Spain, organizers said. Ricardo Ortiz was handling the bulls in their enclosures at La Malagueta, a historic bullring in Málaga, when one of the

By Stephanie Yang, CNN Taipei, Taiwan (CNN) — In the face of growing Chinese military aggression, Taiwan has increased defense spending, extended mandatory conscription and revamped its combat exercises, signaling its determination to fight off a potential invasion. Some of its people, like 51-year-old Nelson Yeh, have been making different plans. Three years ago, Yeh

By Barbie Latza Nadeau (CNN) — Italian authorities have opened a double murder investigation following the deaths of a mother and her teenage daughter following a Christmas Eve meal last year, after prosecutors said preliminary blood tests showed the pair had the poison ricin in their systems. Antonella Di Ielsi, 50, and Sara Di Vita,

By Max Saltman, Caitlin Stephen Hu, Hira Humayun, CNN (CNN) — A United Nations report from February details four sexual abuse investigations, one involving a 12-year-old child, that implicate members of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) forces, a Kenyan-led and US-backed military mission to combat gang violence in Haiti. “In 2025, the United Nations received

By Lauren Kent, CNN (CNN) — US President Donald Trump said this week that Iran’s new leadership is “less radical and much more reasonable.” Trump and the Pentagon have repeatedly claimed that regime change has happened. “If you look already because the one regime was decimated, destroyed. They’re all dead. The next regime is mostly

By Jessie Yeung, Patrick Oppmann, CNN Havana (CNN) — Cuba’s government will free 2,010 prisoners in the largest such release in years, it announced Thursday, as the island buckles under increasing pressure from the Trump administration. The government decided to grant its pardon based on the inmates’ good conduct, their health status, and the nature

By Joseph Ataman, CNN Paris (CNN) — French President Emmanuel Macron hit back at Donald Trump on Thursday after the US president mocked Macron’s relationship with his wife as he chided France for refusing to join the US-Israeli offensive against Iran. The two leaders have touted their friendly relationship in the past, especially during Trump’s

By Matthew Chance, CNN Doha (CNN) — Even as President Donald Trump took to the White House podium to tout the military successes of his war on Wednesday night, Iranian drones and missiles rained down on a region bearing the brunt of the Islamic Republic’s stubborn retaliation. The United Arab Emirates – its image as

By Christian Edwards, CNN (CNN) — “When we are finished, take over your government,” Donald Trump told the Iranian people late February, announcing the war. “It will be yours to take.” Weeks on, the US president is delivering a similar message to Europe, which is battling a fresh energy shock after Iran effectively closed the

By Brad Lendon, CNN (CNN) — The USS Gerald R Ford, the US Navy’s newest and largest aircraft carrier, was only able to fly sorties two days after a March 12 laundry fire was extinguished, the US Navy’s top officer said, in the first indication that the blaze hindered combat operations against Iran. When the

By Chris Lau, CNN (CNN) — Iran’s president has written an open letter to America asking whether the Trump administration’s war with his country is putting “America First.” “Exactly which of the American people’s interests are truly being served by this war?,” Masoud Pezeshkian wrote in the letter, addressed “to the people of the United

By Max Saltman, CNN Miami (CNN) — We were living in “historic and prophetic times” at the Miami Security Forum. “God has anointed President Donald Trump as a modern-day Cyrus,” declared Pastor Mario Bramnick, referring to the ancient king of Persia. Think-tankers, Latin American politicians, officials from the US defense establishment and at least one

By Abbas Al Lawati, CNN (CNN) — US President Donald Trump is signaling that he may walk away from the Iran war, unilaterally stepping out without toppling the Islamic Republic, opening the Strait of Hormuz or securing a deal with Tehran to halt attacks on the United States and its allies. “Tonight, I’m pleased to

By Patrick Oppmann, CNN Havana, Cuba (CNN) — An FBI technical team is in Cuba to investigate a February shootout between Cuban soldiers and the crew of a boat from Florida, CNN has learned from two sources familiar with the visit. The rare visit by US law enforcement to the communist-run island comes amid some

By Christian Edwards (CNN) — President Donald Trump suggested in two new interviews that he’s considering withdrawing the US from NATO after repeatedly criticizing a lack of support from members for the Iran war. Asked by the right-leaning British publication The Telegraph in an interview published Wednesday if he would reconsider the US’ membership of

By Chris Lau, CNN (CNN) — When Jessica Johnston fell 180 feet down a waterfall in New Zealand, she was lucky to survive. She got even luckier a week later, when a helicopter crew found her missing dog Molly, shivering and alone, in the wilderness. Molly, a border collie, had been hiking with Johnston across

By Esha Mitra, Trista Kurniawan and Deepak Rao, CNN Loni, India (CNN) — The city of Loni is less than one hours’ drive from Delhi, but this rapidly growing industrial base beats the Indian capital when it comes to one unenviable title. Last year, according to Swiss company IQAir, it had the world’s worst air

By Lauren Kent, CNN London (CNN) — US President Donald Trump has asked European allies for a lot lately – the use of military bases, the potential relocation of missile defense systems and generally stronger support for US military action against Iran. Many responses have been lukewarm, with allies offering limited defensive support but also

By Abeer Salman, Zeena Saifi, Jeremy Diamond, CNN (CNN) — Dozens of Israeli settlers returned to the West Bank village of Tayasir on Wednesday to build a new illegal settler outpost on its outskirts, days after a separate one was dismantled following a CNN report covering its establishment. Local residents and eyewitnesses told CNN settlers

By Manuela Castro, Alessandra Freitas, CNN (CNN) — Along Vespucio Sur Avenue, one of the main strips of Santiago, Chile, a massive real estate billboard advertises a new housing complex: “Green areas, barbecue space, pet-friendly sector.” The growing focus on spaces for pets as a major real estate selling point for couples has spread across

By Tal Shalev, CNN Metula, Northern Israel (CNN) — From the border communities of northern Israel, the rooftops of Lebanese villages are visible in an area the Israeli government now holds as a “security buffer zone.” And for more than 60,000 Israelis living in the frontier towns, the war with Hezbollah is not a distant

By Lex Harvey, CNN (CNN) — The world-famous TV pop spectacle known as much for its elaborate costumes and theatrical performances as it is for its political controversies is setting up stage on a new continent. The Eurovision Song Contest is coming to Asia in 2026, with the Grand Final for the regional off shoot

By Adam Pourahmadi, CNN (CNN) — Iranian universities and scientific research centers have come under a series of attacks in recent days, raising concerns that academic institutions are becoming a new frontline in the widening war. Iran’s Ministry of Science said at least 21 universities have been damaged in strikes since the war began, and

By Jessie Yeung, Issy Ronald, CNN (CNN) — Gas prices in the United States soared past $4 per gallon for the first time since 2022, as energy infrastructure is increasingly targeted and threatened by all major parties in the war. Overnight, a Kuwaiti oil tanker was struck by what Kuwait said was an Iranian drone

By Patrick Oppmann, Abel Alvarado, CNN (CNN) — If the Castros are – as some Cubans refer to them – “the royal family” of the island, then Sandro Castro seems to be applying for the role of court jester. In a country where regular access to the internet is still considered a luxury, Cuban nightclub

By Hira Humayun, CNN (CNN) — A bloody gang rampage continued into a third day in Haiti as armed groups attacked the town of Marchand Dessalines on Wednesday, according to police and rights groups. Dozens of people have been killed and thousands forced to flee their homes amid the chaos in Artibonite, Haiti’s major agricultural

By Tal Shalev, CNN Tel Aviv, Israel (CNN) — The Israeli parliament finalized a controversial bill Monday that would effectively expand the death penalty for Palestinians convicted of terrorism and nationalistic murders — a cornerstone issue for the country’s far right for over a decade. The bill stipulates that residents in the West Bank who

By Tim Lister, Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN (CNN) — One month into an expanding conflict in the Middle East, an increasing amount of civilian infrastructure is being struck – frequently by design. Factories producing steel, aluminum and chemicals; refineries; reservoirs; desalination plants; civilian airports and universities have all been hit. A few such targets might be

By Jack Guy, CNN (CNN) — Thieves have stolen more than 400,000 KitKat chocolate bars weighing around 12 tons from a truck in Europe. The confectionery, which is manufactured by Swiss firm Nestle, was stolen when the vehicle was distributing the bars along a route running from a factory in central Italy to Poland, KitKat

By Brad Lendon, Isaac Yee, Thomas Bordeaux, CNN (CNN) — The destruction of a US Air Force E-3 Sentry aircraft in an Iranian strike on a Saudi Arabia air base could damage US abilities to spot incoming Iranian threats at distance, analysts say. Dramatic images of the wrecked aircraft, geolocated by CNN, show its tail

By Hilary Whiteman, CNN Brisbane, Australia (CNN) — One of the largest manhunts ever conducted in Australia has ended with the fatal shooting of a fugitive authorities believe to be Dezi Freeman, a self-proclaimed “sovereign citizen” who’d been on the run for seven months after killing two police officers. Freeman disappeared into dense Australian wilderness

By Jessie Yeung, Issy Ronald, CNN (CNN) — Even as regional leaders scramble to find diplomatic off-ramps to the war, the main players — Israel, the United States and Iran — are doubling down on their positions. In a Truth Social post, President Donald Trump threatened to “completely obliterate” all of Iran’s energy sources if

By Danya Gainor, Chris Lau, Anna Chernova, CNN (CNN) — A Russian-flagged oil tanker has reached Cuban waters after US President Donald Trump allowed it to break his administration’s fuel blockade of the island nation as its energy crisis deepens. There have been conflicting reports about the ship’s exact location. The Russian transport ministry said

By Tal Shalev, Jeremy Diamond, CNN Tel Aviv (CNN) — The Israeli military’s top general suspended all operational activities of a reserve battalion involved in the detention and assault of a CNN team in the West Bank last week – including dismissing one soldier from military service – the Israeli military said Monday. The reserve

By Tim Lister and Nadeen Ebrahim (CNN) — After a month of threats, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels finally entered the Middle East conflict on Saturday, firing two missiles towards Israel. And in recent days they have also warned they could close a key waterway at the southern entrance of the Red Sea – raising the

By Christopher Lamb, Tim Lister, CNN (CNN) — Following a widespread backlash, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had asked “relevant authorities” to allow Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch, to hold services at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre “as he wishes.” On Sunday, the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem said Israeli police prevented

By Mostafa Salem, Leila Gharagozlou, CNN (CNN) — When Iran’s covert nuclear program came to international attention over two decades ago, Tehran insisted that its intentions were peaceful and that it had no plans to develop weapons. The country’s then-supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, even went as far as issuing a fatwa, or legal ruling

By James Legge, Issy Ronald, CNN (CNN) — As the conflict in the Middle East enters its second month, all the major parties are doubling down on their positions, seemingly weighing the option of further escalation. Israel said it is prepared for a “multi-front war,” Iran’s parliament speaker said the country’s forces are “waiting” for