An active-duty U.S. Marine has been arrested on accusations of kidnapping a 12-year-old girl from Indiana with the intent of sexually assaulting her, the FBI said Thursday. William Richard Roy, 24, who was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, flew to Chicago last week, met the girl in a park and then took her to a hotel overnight before boarding a bus to Durham, North Carolina, the FBI said in a statement. The girl’s grandmother first reported her missing on Friday, according to the statement. The FBI arrested Roy when he arrived in Durham on Sunday and the girl was...

Taiwan does not want China’s “one country, two systems” and must uphold its freedom and democracy, and resolve to defend itself, President Lai Ching-te said Friday, rejecting Beijing’s latest push to get the island to come under Chinese control. China said this week that it “absolutely will not” rule out using force over Taiwan, striking a much tougher tone than a series of articles in state media that pledged benign rule if the self-ruling island comes over to Beijing under a system of autonomy it uses for Hong Kong and Macau. Lai, whom China views as a “separatist,” told soldiers at a military base in northern Taiwan’s...

The United States on Wednesday lifted sanctions against separatist Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and his family, turning back financial penalties that were imposed by the Biden administration in 2022. Dodik is staunchly pro-Russian and has called for the Serb-run half of Bosnia to break off and join Serbia. Until recently he was the president of the Bosnian Serb republic in Bosnia, sharing the tripartite presidency with a Bosniak and a Croat. Dodik agreed to step down this month after a Bosnian court banned him from politics over his separatist actions. Dodik’s separatist threats have stoked fears in the fragile Balkan country,...

The daughter of a woman who was left behind by a cruise ship on a remote island and later found dead has accused the operator of a “failure of care and common sense”. The body of Suzanne Rees, 80, was found by rescue workers on Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef on Sunday. The day before, she had been hiking on the island with her fellow passengers but was not on the ship when it left hours later. Katherine Rees said she was “shocked and saddened” that the Coral Adventurer left “without my mum”, whom she described as healthy,...

Pakistan and Afghanistan are expected to resume peace talks in Istanbul to revive a dialogue that collapsed earlier this week, Pakistan’s defense minister and state media in both countries said Thursday. The new round of negotiations, facilitated by Turkey and other friendly nations, was aimed at easing border tensions between the two sides who earlier this month exchanged fire, leaving dozens of soldiers, civilians and militants dead. Despite the collapse of the previous round of talks, a ceasefire has largely held and no new border clashes were reported this week. However, both countries have kept major crossings closed, leaving hundreds of trucks...

It’s an unprecedented space streak: 25 years of people living off-planet without even a moment’s pause. The International Space Station marks a quarter-century of continuous occupancy this weekend, boasting a guest list of nearly 300 — mostly professional astronauts but also the occasional space tourist and movie director. The first full-time residents opened the hatch on Nov. 2, 2000. With only five years left at the scientific outpost, NASA is counting on private companies to launch their own orbiting stations with an even bigger and wider clientele. Here’s a look at what has been and what is ahead: The space station’s first astronauts NASA’s Bill Shepherd and Russia’s Sergei...