U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday claimed that China has agreed not to provide weapons to Iran as reports circulate that Beijing has considered transferring arms. China’s Foreign Ministry has repeatedly denied in recent days that the country is providing any form of military support to Iran.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Congress is set to take up the reauthorization of a divisive program that lets U.S. spy agencies pore over foreigners’ calls, texts and emails, with supporters like President Donald Trump saying it has saved lives while critics point to long-standing concerns about warrantless surveillance of Americans.

Excerpts from recent editorials in the United States and abroad:

BEIRUT (AP) – Lebanon and Israel’s first direct talks in decades this week, spurred by the latest war between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, have been met by both high hopes and condemnation.

ISLAMABAD (AP) – Hopes rose for renewed talks between the United States and Iran on Wednesday, as the U.S. military said its blockade of Iranian ports was in full effect and Tehran threatened to retaliate by strike targets across the war-weary region.

BEIJING (AP) – Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that the stability and certainty of China-Russia relations are particularly “precious” in the face of an international landscape intertwined with change and chaos.

Today is Wednesday, April 15, the 105th day of 2026. There are 260 days left in the year. Today in history: On April 15, 1912, the British luxury liner RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland just over two and a half hours after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage.

MILAN (AP) – Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni was supposed to be Europe’s bridge to U.S. President Donald Trump. It may be burning. After chastising Pope Leo XIV, Trump turned his ire on Meloni, long one of his closest European allies, for calling his papal broadside “unacceptable” and not backing the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.