Trump's talk of 51st US state met with near-silence in Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Twice this week, U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed interest in turning Venezuela into his country’s 51st state. The latest came via a Truth Social post Tuesday with a map showing the South American country filled with the U.S. flag.

Oil prices keep swinging, and so do stocks worldwide

NEW YORK (AP) - Oil prices and stock markets worldwide kept swinging with uncertainty about what will happen with the Iran war. The S&P 500 ended 0.1% lower Monday. The Dow Jones added 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.5%. Stock prices moved in the opposite direction of oil prices.

BRICS foreign ministers meet in India as Iran war tests the bloc's unity

NEW DELHI (AP) – Foreign ministers from the BRICS nations began a two-day meeting in New Delhi on Thursday as the expanding bloc faces divisions over the war in Iran, rising energy prices and growing global economic uncertainty. The meeting brings together diplomats from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa along with newer member countries.

Top Asia Pacific Breaking News: Latest Updates

MANILA, Philippines (AP) – The Philippine Senate convened as an impeachment court Monday for the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte over criminal charges, in a time of deep divisions that erupted into an exchange of gunfire last week in the chamber.

Brazil's beloved instant payment system faces scrutiny from Trump

SAO PAULO (AP) – Brazil is a politically divided country, but there’s one thing that those on all sides of the political spectrum love: PIX, the country’s instant payment system that allows users to pay for everything, from ice cream on the beach to clothes in a shopping mall and even a car.

Russia unleashes aerial barrage on Ukraine as long-range strikes escalate

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Russia targeted eight regions of Ukraine in its latest nighttime drone and missile barrage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, with local authorities reporting that the strikes wounded more than two dozen civilians, including three children.

Brazil presidential hopeful Flávio Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing

SAO PAULO (AP) – Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro denied any wrongdoing Wednesday in his reported request for millions from jailed banker Daniel Vorcaro, a revelation that could harm the lawmaker’s expected run for the country’s presidency in October against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Editorials from The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times and others

Editorials from The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times and others

Mass protests in Argentina decry Milei's funding cuts to prized public universities

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) – Tens of thousands of Argentines flooded the streets of major cities nationwide on Tuesday to protest funding cuts by libertarian President Javier Milei to the public university system that represents a near-universal point of pride in this crisis-prone country.