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The European Central Bank cut interest rates on Thursday, for the fifth consecutive time, amid slowing growth in the region’s economy. Policymakers lowered the bank’s key rate a quarter point to 2.75 percent as inflation remained relatively close to their 2 percent target. The moves comes a day after the U.S. Federal Reserve held rates […]

Ahmed al-Shara, the leader of the rebel coalition that swept to power in Syria last month, has been declared the country’s interim president, a role that will see him navigate a time of untold change for a fractured nation. Under Mr. al-Shara’s stewardship, Syria’s interim government will now face a delicate political transition after the

Growth slowed but remained resilient at the end of 2024, leaving the U.S. economy on solid footing heading into a new year — and a new presidential administration — that is full of uncertainty. U.S. gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, grew at a 2.3 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter of last year,

We have sad news: We are following the latest on the midair collision near Ronald Reagan National Airport outside Washington between an American Airlines flight carrying 64 people and a U.S. Army helicopter with three crew members aboard. No one was believed to have survived the crash, officials said. The C.E.O. of American Airlines has

The older he gets, the more Bill Gates is surprised by what the world dishes up. Take billionaires. There are many now from the tech industry, quite a few with politics that skew forcefully right. “I always thought of Silicon Valley as being left of center,” Mr. Gates said. “The fact that now there is

Tulsi Gabbard, President Trump’s nominee for director of national intelligence, has made headlines for years with her criticism of what she describes as “regime change” wars and abuses by the nation’s intelligence agencies. On Thursday she will be defending those comments. At her confirmation hearing, senators are likely to zero in on her sympathy toward

A court in Scotland blocked the production of oil and gas on Thursday at two large project sites being developed in British waters until their impact on climate change can be assessed. The decision was a blow for the sites’ developers, Shell and the Norwegian company Equinor, which have already spent or committed hundreds of

Hamas released eight hostages, including three Israelis and five Thais, on Thursday as part of a hostage-for-prisoner exchange, more than a year after they were taken captive during the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Agam Berger, an Israeli army soldier, was released first in a highly choreographed ceremony in northern Gaza.

The pre-dawn stampede at the massive Hindu festival in northern India created havoc. But order was restored swiftly in the next few hours. On Wednesday morning, ambulances cut through a swarm of millions of people who had gathered in the city of Prayagraj. They ferried dozens of people to hospitals, some who had been trampled

President Trump signed several executive orders on Wednesday aimed at reshaping American schools, including restricting how racism is taught in classrooms, curbing antisemitism and allowing taxpayer dollars to fund private schools. The orders are designed to advance the Trump administration’s goal of shaking up the nation’s education system, which Mr. Trump has long derided as