Live updates: Xi and Putin meet in Moscow, affirm ties amid war in Ukraine

Chinese leader Xi Jinping's state visit was billed by Beijing as a peace mission. It is a show of solidarity for an increasingly isolated Vladimir Putin.

By Rachel Pannett, Leo Sands, Kelly Kasulis Cho, Robyn Dixon, Lily Kuo, Miriam Berger and Adam TaylorMarch 20, 2023

Xi and Putin open talks in Russia, trading compliments, amid war in Ukraine

With war raging in Ukraine, Chinese leader Xi Jinping landed in Russia for a three-day state visit that Russian officials have billed as the most important diplomatic event of 2023.

By Francesca Ebel and Lily KuoMarch 20, 2023

American hostage freed from captivity in Africa

Jeffery Woodke, a Christian aid worker, was abducted in Niger in 2016.

By John HudsonMarch 20, 2023

Amid turmoil, Israel shows signs of slowing judicial overhaul

While promising to pause some aspects of the overhaul, the right-wing government still vowed to enact measures to give it more say in selecting Supreme Court judges.

By Steve HendrixMarch 20, 2023

Drone strikes, sabotage, shelling: Russia’s war on Ukraine comes to Russia

The war now encroaches on the daily lives of Russian citizens with near-constant reports of fires, drone attacks and shelling.

By Janice Kai Chen and Mary IlyushinaMarch 20, 2023

How the U.S. broke Iraq

The war, driven by the hubris of the Bush administration and a cheerleading Washington establishment, is now widely seen as a generational American mistake.

By Ishaan TharoorMarch 20, 2023

What is China’s relationship with Russia, and with Ukraine?

Xi Jinping is set to travel to Russia on Monday to meet with Vladimir Putin. Here’s how relations between their countries stand amid the war in Ukraine.

By Adam TaylorMarch 20, 2023

How Iraq’s children of war found their voice

Fayhaa, Mohamed and Hajer belong to a generation that grew up in the shadow of the American invasion and are still reckoning with what it means to be Iraqi.

By Louisa Loveluck and Mustafa SalimMarch 20, 2023

Indian officials cut internet for 27 million people amid search for fugitive

The ban for all of Punjab state, as officials searched for Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh, is one of the broadest internet shutdowns in recent years in India.

By Gerry Shih, Karishma Mehrotra and Shams IrfanMarch 20, 2023

As the Cuban national baseball team visits Miami, emotions run deep

The team's visit for the World Baseball Classic brought protest and possibility on a rare stage.

By Chelsea JanesMarch 19, 2023

Biden warns Israeli leader on judicial changes

President tells Netanyahu that democratic values "must remain a hallmark of the U.S.-Israel relationship"

By Yasmeen AbutalebMarch 19, 2023

Ukraine live briefing: Russia has ‘high’ expectations for Xi Jinping’s visit, Putin says, and is open to a diplomatic resolution to the war

Russian leader Vladimir Putin's trip to Mariupol and Crimea, announced by his office, comes after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for him.

By Rachel Pannett, Leo Sands, Ben Brasch, Paulina Villegas and Kyle RempferMarch 19, 2023

As Xi visits Russia, Putin sees his anti-U.S. world order taking shape

Ostracized by the West over his war in Ukraine, the Russian president has sought to build alliances with China, Iran and others in challenging the United States and NATO

By Robyn DixonMarch 19, 2023

Putin visits occupied Mariupol, staking claim to invaded Ukrainian lands

A day after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant accusing the Russian president of war crimes, German officials said Sunday they would arrest him if he visited their country.

By Mary IlyushinaMarch 19, 2023
Middle EastPerspective

The Iraq I never knew

Washington Post photojournalist Salwan Georges recently returned to Iraq for the first time since he and his family left in 1998 to document how Iraq has changed.

By Salwan GeorgesMarch 19, 2023

Millions of dead fish clog Australian river

“There are dead fish everywhere,” said Graeme McCrabb, a Menindee resident, describing the smell from the Darling-Baaka River as far-reaching and pungent.

By Jennifer HassanMarch 19, 2023

The children of troops lost to Iraq War are all grown up

American families shattered by the Iraq War face an enduring sense of absence and the endless quest to understand their parents’ legacies.

By Alex HortonMarch 19, 2023

‘Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich’ — Russian conscripts decry ‘criminal orders’

Russian military conscripts have issued a series of video appeals to President Vladimir Putin pleading with him to intervene so they are not sent to certain death in Ukraine.

By Francesca EbelMarch 19, 2023

At least 14 killed after 6.8-magnitude earthquake hits Ecuador and Peru

Another 381 people were injured in Ecuador as an earthquake shattered buildings and crushed a car. Tremors were felt as far as northern Peru.

By Kelly Kasulis ChoMarch 19, 2023

France protests: What to know as Macron forces a retirement-age hike

The French government angered protesters after using Article 49.3, an executive power, to raise the retirement age without the consent of the National Assembly.

By Niha Masih, Rick Noack and Claire ParkerMarch 18, 2023