World

The Washington Post World section provides information and analysis of breaking world news stories. In addition to our world news and video, Post World News offers discussions and blogs on major international news and economic issues.


The church in Gaza the pope used to call nightly hit by Israeli strike

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 12:05:22 +0000

The Rev. Gabriel Romanelli of the Church of the Holy Family used to speak every night with Pope Francis before the pontiff’s death.

By:Stefano Pitrelli, Claire Parker, Mohamad El Chamaa, Siham Shamalakh

New Russian law criminalizes online searches for controversial content

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 11:36:14 +0000

Russia previously criminalized sharing such content, but with officials saying censorship during wartime is justified, restrictive digital laws are being tightened.

By:Mary Ilyushina

Flames engulf Tomorrowland’s main stage 2 days before festival starts

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 10:57:57 +0000

Tomorrowland, in the Belgium town of Boom, is considered the world’s largest electronic dance music festival. The stage was “severely damaged” by the fire, organizers said.

By:Naomi Schanen

Under a rain of bullets, Haitian police rescue thousands of artworks

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 09:00:34 +0000

The Centre d’Art in Port-au-Prince has nurtured generations of Haitian artists and exhibited the country’s most important works of art. Then came the gangs.

By:Widlore Mérancourt, Amanda Coletta

Drugs, blood and terror: Inside a paramilitary massacre in Sudan

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 08:00:47 +0000

At least 31 people were massacred on April 27 in Salha, a neighborhood south of Khartoum, survivors said. The Post has reconstructed the events of that day.

By:Katharine Houreld, Hafiz Haroun, Carolyn Van Houten

Israel bombs Damascus, stoking conflict with Syria’s new government

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 21:53:19 +0000

Syrian troops are trying to intervene in sectarian violence in the south between the Druze minority and Bedouins. Israel said its strikes were to protect the Druze.

By:Salwan Georges, Kareem Fahim, Mohamad El Chamaa, Abbie Cheeseman

Ultra-Orthodox party quits Israeli coalition, weakening Netanyahu

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 21:07:51 +0000

The Shas party said it would resign over the government’s failure to enshrine into law the long-standing military exemption for the ultra-Orthodox community.

By:Shira Rubin, Lior Soroka

Stampede at Gaza aid distribution site kills at least 21, Health Ministry says

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 18:35:10 +0000

The deaths were the latest in a series of incidents surrounding new aid distribution points that have been faulted for their procedures by aid experts.

By:Miriam Berger, Siham Shamalakh

U.S. sends 5 men to Eswatini in third-country deportation, DHS says

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 16:41:40 +0000

The men sent to the African nation are from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Cuba and Yemen, a DHS spokesperson said, adding that they have criminal convictions.

By:Frances Vinall

France’s premier wants to ax two holidays to boost growth. Non, people say.

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 15:41:40 +0000

Prime Minister François Bayrou is staking the political future of his government on a budget aimed at significantly reducing France’s national debt.

By:Annabelle Timsit

Trump sends migrants to ‘third countries.’ Others have tried that.

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 15:15:49 +0000

The U.S. policy echoes approaches tried in Australia, Britain and elsewhere.

By:Sammy Westfall

Decades after a Nazi captain stole an erotic Roman mosaic, it returns to Pompeii

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 13:29:05 +0000

The travertine mosaic was plundered by an unknown German captain during World War II. The exact details of its provenance may never be known.

By:Leo Sands

Iceland volcano leaves visual spectacle in 12th eruption in four years

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 11:26:08 +0000

The eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula prompted evacuations including in the town of Grindavik and the Blue Lagoon. No damage or casualties have been reported.

By:Naomi Schanen

Can Trump revoke citizenship, and how often does it happen worldwide?

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 10:48:07 +0000

Trump has threatened to strip some Americans’ citizenship, which many countries allow in the name of security but critics say can lead to weaponization.

By:Vivian Ho

An asylum seeker abandons her claim and leaves Trump’s America

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 09:00:33 +0000

Kataleya Nativi Baca, permitted in 2021 to stay in the country while her claim was being decided, was awaiting an interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

By:Danielle Villasana, Maham Javaid, Yutao Chen

The first casualty is sleep as the bombs and missiles fall on Kyiv

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 07:00:29 +0000

Every night as Kyiv residents go to bed, they know they could be torn out of their dreams to seek safety in a bomb shelter where sleep is often impossible.

By:David Stern, Anastacia Galouchka

Trump casts a growing shadow on the 2026 World Cup

Wed, 16 Jul 2025 04:00:10 +0000

Sports commentators worry about the “Trumpification” of soccer ahead of next year’s World Cup. Rights groups are concerned about how international fans will be treated.

By:Ishaan Tharoor

Nvidia says Trump administration lifts ban on AI chip sales to China

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 20:54:22 +0000

Washington has been concerned China could use Nvidia’s chips to get a jump on the U.S. in high-tech fields, particularly when it comes to artificial intelligence.

By:Katrina Northrop, Eva Dou

Israeli airstrikes target Syrian government troops amid sectarian unrest

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 20:50:52 +0000

Syrian forces had deployed in the southern city of Sweida, despite Israeli warnings, trying to contain clashes between members of the Druze minority and Bedouin.

By:Abbie Cheeseman, Suzan Haidamous, Mohamad El Chamaa

Roughly 1,500 tarantulas found stuffed in boxes meant for chocolate cake

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 20:49:36 +0000

German customs officials found the hairy, venomous spiders crammed into small plastic containers inside bright-red cake boxes.

By:Maham Javaid

U.K. secretly resettled Afghans after data breach

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 20:39:46 +0000

Some personal information of Afghans evacuated after the Taliban returned to power was exposed and published on Facebook, prompting the government to offer resettlement.

By:Karla Adam

Duo sentenced to four years for ‘moronic’ killing of tree in England

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 19:28:12 +0000

The Sycamore Gap tree, a beloved symbol of northeast England located at a UNESCO heritage site, was cut down in 2023 in what prosecutors called a “moronic mission.”

By:William Booth

A timeline of Trump’s quotes, shifts and U-turns on Russia and Ukraine

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 15:01:14 +0000

President Donald Trump once called Putin’s war in Ukraine “genius” and “savvy.” Now he says he’ll send Patriot missiles to Ukraine. Here’s how his position shifted.

By:Victoria Bisset

As Trump turns toward Ukraine, Russians wonder if an opportunity was missed

Tue, 15 Jul 2025 14:09:26 +0000

President Donald Trump’s new weapons deal and his increasing criticism of Vladimir Putin have sparked fear among some Russians that Putin could overplay his hand.

By:Catherine Belton, Robyn Dixon