Travelers are scrambling for ways out of the Middle East as the Iran war keeps much of the region’s airspace closed and flights grounded.

Travelers stranded by a widening war have started leaving the United Arab Emirates aboard a small number of evacuation flights.

Cartel-linked violence in parts of Mexico may have some spring break travelers rethinking their plans.

The State Department has expressed its displeasure over Ukraine's recent attacks on the Russian port of Novorossiysk that have impacted U.S. oil interests in Kazakhstan.

Somalia’s government is denying an allegation by the U.S. government that authorities in Mogadishu destroyed an American-funded warehouse belonging to the World Food Program.

France, Germany, the European Union and the United Kingdom are hitting out at a U.S. decision to impose travel bans on five Europeans the Trump administration accuses of pressuring tech firms to censor or suppress American views.

The Trump administration has designated another Latin American drug cartel as a foreign terrorist group, increasing financial pressure on its members and opening the door to potential military action against them.

The U.S. State Department says it has “credible reports” that Hamas could violate the ceasefire with an attack on Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

Venezuela has warned of an alleged plan by extremists to attack the shuttered U.S. Embassy complex in Caracas with explosives.

Colombia's foreign minister has renounced her U.S. visa to protest the U.S. State Department's decision to revoke Colombian President Gustavo Petro's visa.

The top U.S. diplomat in Denmark has been summoned by the government after a report that people connected to President Donald Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations in Greenland.

The U.S. State Department has approved a possible $346 million weapons sale to Nigeria to help improve security in the sub-Saharan country.

Pakistani officials have welcomed the U.S. State Department's decision to designate the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army as a foreign terrorist organization.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Israel to discuss the disintegrating humanitarian situation in Gaza.

British police have launched a criminal investigation into a performance by rap-punk duo Bob Vylan at the Glastonbury Festival on Saturday, when the group led chants of “death to the IDF,” or Israel Defense Forces.

Congo and Rwanda have committed to signing a peace agreement in Washington on June 27.

The U.S. State Department says it’s restarting the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas but says all applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for review.

The popular Mexican regional music band Grupo Firme has announced that it's cancelling a performance in a music festival in California over the weekend after the Trump administration decided to suspend the musicians’ visas.

The U.S. State Department has announced sanctions on an unknown number of current and former Thai officials for their role in deporting at least 40 Uyghur men to China despite worries that they could be jailed or even face death there.

Most of the world has dirty air, with just 17% of global cities meeting WHO air pollution guidelines, a report Tuesday found.

The U.S. State Department has frozen funding indefinitely for thousands of scholars participating in long-established cross-cultural programs connecting the U.S. to other parts of the world.

The State Department says the United States and other countries made repeated offers to Thailand to resettle more than three dozen Uyghur men before they were deported back to China, where rights groups fear they may face torture and other abuse.

A federal judge has refused to immediately block the Trump administration’s abrupt halt to funding of the nation’s largest private refugee resettlement program.

China’s Foreign Ministry has taken issue with a revised U.S. government fact sheet that removed a line on American opposition to independence for Taiwan.

President Donald Trump’s abrupt freeze of U.S. foreign aid is sending shockwaves through Eastern Europe.

A month has passed since U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin delivered an ultimatum to Israeli officials.

An Iranian-American journalist who once worked for a U.S. government-funded broadcaster is believed to be detained by Iran for months now.

The United States and South Korea have tentatively agreed to a new deal covering the costs of maintaining the American military presence there.

North Korea is condemning the United States and its allies for “stirring up military confrontations still further” by engaging in war games in the Asia-Pacific region and discussing regime change in the diplomatically isolated nation.

Esai Reed, at only 6 years old, has endured three emergency evacuations from orphanages across Haiti as gangs pillage and plunder their way through once peaceful communities.

Iran says it launched a satellite into space with a rocket built by the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

A man who worked as a U.S. State Department diplomatic security officer has pleaded guilty to joining a mob’s attack on the U.S. Capitol over three years ago.

The U.S. State Department has announced new sanctions on Russian state media, accusing a Kremlin news outlet of working hand-in-hand with the Russian military and running fundraising campaigns to pay for sniper rifles, body armor and other equipment for soldiers fighting in Ukraine.

The Chinese government is ending its intercountry adoption program.

Sudan’s paramilitary leader has announced plans to attend cease-fire talks in Switzerland next month arranged by the United States and Saudi Arabia.

The United States has repatriated 11 of its citizens from sprawling camps in northeastern Syria that house tens of thousands of family members of suspected Islamic State militants.

Mexican authorities say three bodies have been recovered in an area of Baja California near where two Australians and an American went missing last weekend.

A U.S. citizen arrested on drug charges in Moscow amid soaring Russia-U.S. tensions has appeared in court and had his case adjourned until mid-May.

Venezuela’s main opposition coalition says that the country’s government allowed them to register a provisional candidate for the upcoming presidential elections.

A charter flight carrying dozens of U.S. citizens fleeing spiraling gang violence in Haiti has landed in Miami.

A number of government and aid agencies in Haiti have reported their facilities and aid supplies have been looted as Haiti spirals into another wave of gang violence.

The U_S_ State Department has hosted a screening of the award-winning Associated Press-PBS “Frontline” Ukraine war documentary “20 Days in Mariupol."

Sen. Bernie Sanders has forced a Senate vote testing the political unease over the Israel-Hamas war.

The U.S. ambassador to Serbia says the United States has received Kosovo’s request for the purchase of Javelin anti-tank missiles.

A U.S. citizen has been arrested on drug charges in Russia, a move that comes amid soaring Russia-U.S. tensions over Ukraine.

Israel's military says its ground troops have advanced to “the gates of Gaza City” amid heavy fighting.

The State Department in a first-of-its-kind report has laid out Beijing’s growing efforts to reshape the global narrative on China, while spending billions of dollars to do so.

The Biden administration will withhold less military aid from Egypt over its human rights abuses this year.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has declared two U_S_ diplomats “persona non grata” and is ordering them to leave the country within seven days for alleged involvement in “illegal activity.”.

A Houston woman known online as the “Sassy Trucker” has left the United Arab Emirates after being stranded for months over an altercation at a car rental agency.

A woman from New Hampshire who works for a nonprofit organization in Haiti and her young daughter have been reported as kidnapped as the U.S. State Department issued a “do not travel advisory” in the country and ordered non-emergency personnel to leave there.

A Houston woman known online as the “Sassy Trucker” has been stuck in Dubai for weeks after an altercation at a car rental agency.

The Biden administration has quietly suspended satellite monitoring of coca crops in Colombia amid a surge of cocaine flowing into the U.S. from South America.

The refugee system in Texas and nationally is still recovering from major cuts under the Trump administration. The latest casualty is Texas’ largest resettlement agency, Refugee Services of Texas.

The State Department says it's “unfortunate” the House Foreign Affairs Committee's chairman has threatened to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress if the department doesn't turn over classified cables related to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The Pentagon has deployed forces and is developing options to assist in the possible evacuation of U.S. Embassy personnel from Sudan, but the White House said Friday there are no plans for now for a broader pullout of the potentially thousands of other Americans from the African country where warring factions are in a violent conflict.

The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of an anti-tank mine-laying system to Taiwan amid the rising military threat from China.

The Senate has voted overwhelmingly to confirm the new U.S. ambassador to Russia.

President Joe Biden has formally nominated a veteran foreign service officer with years of experience in Russian affairs to be the next U.S. ambassador to Russia.

The Biden administration has selected a veteran foreign service officer with years of experience in Russian affairs to be the next U.S. ambassador to Russia.

The U.S. State Department has issued a security alert warning that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities.

Brittney Griner's guilty plea has not lessened the support the Olympic gold medalist continues to receive from her WNBA peers.

The families of two military veterans from Alabama who are missing in Ukraine have joined together to seek information about their whereabouts.

A top State Department official says the American diplomatic push aimed at countering China’s increasing influence in the Asia-Pacific region appears to be paying dividends, with many nations showing a willingness to partner with the United States.

The United States is poised to remove five extremist groups, all believed to be defunct, from its list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Two days before the opening of migration talks between Cuba and the United States, which have been paralyzed for four years, a high-ranking Cuban official is lamenting Washington’s “incoherent” and “differentiated” migration policies, and exhorted Washington to comply with current agreements.

The U.S. State Department says its special envoy to the Horn of Africa will end his appointment “in the coming days” after a year marked by deadly crises in Ethiopia and Sudan.

Stolen artifacts that date back to 800 A.D. were returned to the Republic of Mali on Nov. 22 with the help of a Rice University professor, federal authorities said.

The Biden administration has revoked the terrorist designation of Colombia’s former FARC guerrilla army, five years after the rebel group signed a peace deal with the government.

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry concedes upcoming climate talks are likely to fall short of the target level for emissions cuts needed to stave off more devastating scenarios of global warming.

U.S. officials say a drone strike has blown up a vehicle carrying “multiple suicide bombers” from Afghanistan’s Islamic State affiliate before they could attack Kabul’s international airport.

The U.S. State Department has announced that it is pulling the travel visas of 100 legislators, judges and prosecutors who aided the regime of President Daniel Ortega.

The South African government has urged calm and restraint in Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, which has been engulfed by pro-democracy protests this week amid growing reports of state violence against demonstrators.

A court in Myanmar extended the detention of American journalist Danny Fenster for another two weeks, while the U.S. State Department urged that it be granted consular access to him.

The U.S. State Department has called on Nicaragua to free opposition figure Cristiana Chamorro, who is being held incommunicado at her home after her laptops and cellphones were taken away.

The U.S. State Department says it’s talking with allies about China’s human rights record and how to handle next year’s Beijing Winter Olympics.

This file photo from Jan.29.2021 shows Marta Lempart, a key leader of the Polish Women's Strike, in Warsaw, Poland. Lempart has been charged with criminal felonies for her role in organizing mass protests during a pandemic. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski/file)WARSAW – A leader of the Polish Women’s Strike, the movement that has led mass nationwide protests against a near total abortion ban in Poland, has been charged with criminal felonies. The charges against her include insulting a police officer and causing an epidemiological threat for organizing protests during the coronavirus pandemic. Under Polish law, a person can face from six months to eight years of imprisonment for causing an epidemiological threat.

Myanmar's military stand guard at a checkpoint manned with an armored vehicle in a road leading to the parliament building Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. State Department officials said Tuesday they were satisfied the move met the legal definition of a coup. The United States gave Myanmar $135 million in aid last year. The United States already has sanctioned many of the country's military leaders and withheld assistance from the military overall. “The United States will stand up for democracy wherever it is under attack,” Biden said.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani rejected a request to block the U.S. from handing Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, over to Japan. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani rejected a request to block the U.S. from handing Michael Taylor and his son, Peter Taylor, over to Japan. AdGhosn is now in Lebanon, where he has citizenship but which has no extradition treaty with Japan. Meanwhile, Ghosn headed to the Grand Hyatt in Tokyo and met up with Peter Taylor, who was already in Japan. Peter Taylor hopped on a flight to China, authorities say.

In this photo released by the Taiwan Ministry of National Defense, a Chinese People's Liberation Army H-6 bomber is seen flying near the Taiwan air defense identification zone, ADIZ, near Taiwan on Friday, Sept. 18, 2020. The second high-level U.S. envoy to visit Taiwan in two months began a day of closed-door meetings Friday as China conducted military drills near the Taiwan Strait after threatening retaliation. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said China on Saturday sent eight bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons and four fighter jets into its air defense identification zone just southwest of the island. In another sign of support for Taiwan, the island's de-facto ambassador to Washington, Hsiao Bi-khim, was an invited guest at Biden's inauguration. Taiwan and China separated amid civil war in 1949 and China says it is determined to bring the island under its control by force if necessary.

Ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft speaks during a news conference at the U.S. State Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)TAIPEI – Taiwan said Friday it welcomed the visit of the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the closing days of the Trump administration, in a move that brought China's renewed condemnation of Washington. Kelly Craft will visit Taipei, the island's capital, on Jan. 13-15, a week before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. In defiance of China's warnings, Congress and the Trump administration have pushed for more visits by sitting government officials, along with arms sales and political support. ___Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a joint statement with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020. Nonetheless, they illustrated the deep ties between the outgoing Trump administration and the hard-line government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Pompeo was joined by Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Avigdor Kahalani, a decorated retired Israeli general famous for leading Israeli forces against a Syrian tank invasion during the 1973 Mideast war. “We will regard the global, anti-Israel BDS campaign as anti-Semitic,” Pompeo said, referring to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. “The BDS movement for Palestinian freedom, justice and equality, stands with all those struggling for a more dignified, just and beautiful world," it said.

A bill received by one of the Texans stranded abroad. It has sent some 24,000 billing notices worth about $41.4 million and received about $21.5 million in payments so far, according to data provided by the State Department official. Texans who received the bills said it’s the latest episode in a disorganized government effort to retrieve citizens stranded abroad. The State Department warned Americans to avoid all international travel on March 19, several days after the Peruvian borders were sealed. The State Department official said the agency is processing an “unprecedented” volume of bills and that its website notes there are a huge number of emails due to the large-scale nature of the repatriation efforts.

Hong Kong's pro-democracy legislators pose a picture before a press conference at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. The U.S. has already imposed such sanctions on a number of officials, including Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam. “These actions underscore U.S. resolve to hold accountable key figures that are actively eviscerating the freedoms of the people of Hong Kong and undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy,” the State Department said in its statement. Steve Li Kwai-Wah; and deputy director of the central government’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office Deng Zhonghua. Also Tuesday, a Hong Kong journalist who helped produce a documentary about the actions of Hong Kong police during anti-government protests last year appeared in court on charges of making false statements while obtaining information from a vehicle database.

FILE - In this Aug. 21, 2019 file photo, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok speaks during a press conference in Khartoum, Sudan. The deal would enter into force after U.S. Congress passes legislation needed to implement the agreement. Sudan was also believed to have served as a pipeline for Iran to supply weapons to Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. De-listing Sudan from the blacklist was part of the U.S. administration's efforts to have Sudan normalize its ties with Israel. Sudanese transitional authorities have promised to hold elections by 2022.

FILE - In this Sunday, Sept. 13, 2020 file photo, Turkey's research vessel, Oruc Reis anchored off the coast of Antalya on the Mediterranean, Turkey. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File)BERLIN – Germany's foreign minister on Tuesday criticized Turkey for “unilateral steps" in the eastern Mediterranean that are undercutting efforts to de-escalate tensions with Greece and Cyprus over sea boundaries and drilling rights. Ankara's redeployment of the Oruc Reis survey vessel for new energy exploration around Kastellorizo has reignited tensions over sea boundaries between Greek islands, Cyprus and Turkey’s southern coast. “We have every interest in engaging with Turkey in a constructive dialogue.”The Oruc Reis left the port of Antalya on Monday for a mission expected to end Oct. 22. Another Turkish survey ship is currently operating in waters where Cyprus claims exclusive economic rights.

FILE - This Jan. 23, 2018, file photo shows 16-month-old Ethan Dvash-Banks, left, and his twin brother, Aiden, playing in the living room of their apartment in Los Angeles. A federal appeals court has ruled against the U.S. State Department in its quest to deny the citizenship of the son born abroad to a gay married couple. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a lower court ruling recognizing the citizenship from birth of Ethan Dvash-Banks, a twin boy born abroad by surrogacy to Andrew and Elad Dvash-Banks, a married gay couple. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)LOS ANGELES – A federal appeals court has ruled against the U.S. State Department in its quest to deny the citizenship of one of two twins born abroad to a gay married couple. “Every federal court that has heard the government's argument has ruled against them.”The State Department said it was reviewing the decision with the Department of Justice.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference to announce the Trump administration's restoration of sanctions on Iran, Monday, Sept. 21, 2020, at the U.S. State Department in Washington. The agency's inspector general, however, said in a report issued Friday that her social media posts critical of Trump were the primary reason the award was rescinded. “Because decisions as to IWOC awardees are solely within the department’s discretion, the decision to rescind Ms. Aro’s award appears to have been an authorized exercise of the Department’s broad discretion to select awardees," it said. The State Department “misled the public and Congress about why it rescinded Ms. Aro’s award, covering up that her social media posts were the reason the award was withdrawn. At a department press briefing, a spokesman characterized assertions that the decision was based on Aro's social media statements as “speculation” and refused to discuss the selection process further.

KABUL The U.S. State Department says COVID-19 infections have been reported at its embassy in the Afghan capital and the staff who are affected include diplomats, contractors and locally employed staff. The State Department did not say how many were affected. The embassy is implementing all appropriate measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the U.S. State department said. The infected staff are in isolation in the embassy while the remainder on the compound are being tested, said the embassy official, who also said the embassy staff have been told they can expect tighter isolation orders. At the U.S. Embassy, the State Department said a sanitization of the premises was being carried out to prevent further outbreak."

White, a Navy veteran who's been detained in Iran for nearly two years has been released and is making his way home, with the first leg on a Swiss government aircraft. (U.S. State Department via AP)TEHRAN TEHRAN, IranAn Iranian doctor based in Florida returned to his homeland Monday after being part of a swap that saw a U.S. Navy veteran held by Iran return to America. He was also accused of structuring a series of bank deposits below $10,000 to evade reporting requirements under federal law. Iran allowed Michael White, of Imperial Beach, California, to leave the country Thursday. Earlier last week, an Iranian scientist named Sirous Asgari separately returned to Tehran after being acquitted in a federal trade secrets case and deported.