Havana will not abide by any American “ultimatums” to release political prisoners as part of new talks, a Cuban diplomat said Thursday, while asserting that leaders are “preparing for all scenarios” if U.S. President Donald Trump makes good on threats to intervene in the island nation. In an interview with The Associated Press, Cuban Ambassador to the U.N. Ernesto Soberón Guzmán said internal issues regarding detainees “are not on the negotiating table.” The release of political prisoners was a key U.S. demand as the longtime adversaries held discussions in Cuba this month for the first time in a decade. “We...

Against a backdrop of rising global tensions and energy market instability, governments from around 50 countries will gather Friday in Colombia’s Caribbean city of Santa Marta for a summit aimed at accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels. The April 24–29 conference, co-hosted by Colombia and the Netherlands, will bring together ministers, subnational governments, academics and civil society groups to discuss how to move beyond oil, gas and coal while ensuring the transition is “just, orderly and equitable,” organizers said. The meeting reflects growing frustration among some governments and advocates that decades of U.N. climate negotiations have failed to directly...

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul on Friday during a visit aimed at strengthening the countries’ strategic partnership and expanding cooperation. The two agreed to strengthen collaboration in fighting transnational crime and cyberscams and other areas, Thai government spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek said. She said Anutin thanked China for its continued support for Thailand, while Wang congratulated Anutin on retaining his office after an election and expressed confidence that Thailand-China relations will continue to improve. Anutin greeted Wang at Government House in Bangkok. They shook hands while posing for photographs before the meeting. Wang also talked...

Pope Leo XIV urged the United States and Iran to return to talks to end the war Thursday and condemned capital punishment, in a wide-ranging press conference en route home from his trip to Africa. Leo also asserted that countries have the right to control their borders but mustn’t treat migrants worse than “animals,” and lamented that the church’s morality teaching is often reduced to sexual issues. On Iran, capital punishment and peace After a trip that was dominated by the very public back and forth between Leo and U.S. President Donald Trump over the war, Leo urged the United...

Edin Terzić is reportedly set to take over as head coach of Athletic Club once current manager Ernesto Valverde departs at the end of the season, marking a potential new chapter for the Basque side. Terzić, best known for his time at Borussia Dortmund, built a strong reputation in Germany through a series of high-profile achievements across multiple spells at the club. During his first stint in charge, he guided Dortmund to the 2021 DFB-Pokal title, securing silverware with a commanding 4–1 victory over RB Leipzig in the final. His early success established him as one of Europe’s emerging young...

The Trump administration is in discussions to potentially send more than 1,000 Afghans who assisted America’s war effort and relatives of U.S. service members stuck in Qatar to a third country, the U.S. government and some advocates said. Congo is an option, the advocates said. Shawn VanDiver, a Navy veteran who heads a coalition that supports Afghan resettlement efforts called #AfghanEvac, said Wednesday that U.S. officials informed him and other groups of discussions between the United States and Congo about taking the Afghan refugees who have been in limbo at a U.S. base in Doha for the past year. The...