LONDON — The Bank of England on Thursday announced a widely-expected hold on interest rates as it said restrictive monetary policy was taming inflation, but warned a June rate cut was not a done deal. Members of the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 to hold, with the latter favoring a cut. In the…

The U.S. began reviewing future transfers of military assistance to Israel in April, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government appeared to move closer to a Rafah operation despite the urging of Biden, other world leaders and humanitarian officials, the official said. No final decision had been made on whether to proceed with the weapons…

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron will seek to press China’s Xi Jinping to use his influence to move Russia toward ending the war in Ukraine during a two-day state visit to France. Both leaders were also expected to discuss trade disputes over electric cars, cognac, and cosmetics. Macron’s office said talks about diplomatic efforts to…

TEL AVIV — A high-level Hamas delegation arrived in Cairo on Saturday as months of stop-start talks for a cease-fire and hostage release deal appear to have reached a crucial stage, even as Israel continued to threaten a ground offensive in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah that United Nations officials have warned will worsen the…

‘We really felt inspired’ A growing number of protests have also been launched on campuses in the United Kingdom. “I think we felt really inspired seeing Columbia and just all the universities cropping up with the encampments,” Ella Ward, a 21-year-old environmental science student at the University of Leeds in northern England, said in a…

HONG KONG — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that U.S. ally Japan was struggling economically because of xenophobia, along with other countries, including China and Russia. Speaking at a campaign fundraiser in Washington that marked the start of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Biden said the U.S. economy was growing in…

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — U.S. and Arab leaders are expressing concerns that newly revived talks could be the last chance for a cease-fire and hostage release before the war could explode with a threatened Israeli attack on Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.  As Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Arab leaders in Saudi Arabia’s capital,…

Violence in the capital has left some 160,000 people homeless, according to the IOM. “This is hell,” said Nelson Langlois, a producer and cameraman. Langlois, his wife and three children spent two nights lying flat on the roof of their home as gangs raided the neighborhood. “Time after time, we peered over to see when…

Scotland’s sole clinic for treating transgender youths announced Thursday that it is pausing new prescriptions of puberty blockers for minors. Sandyford, a health clinic in Glasgow operated by Scotland’s National Health Service, said in a statement that it is indefinitely pausing new prescriptions of the medication for people under 18 who are experiencing “gender incongruence.”…

MUNICH, Germany — Two men have been arrested in Germany on suspicion of spying for Russia and collecting information on potential attack targets, including U.S. military facilities, authorities said Thursday. The German Federal Prosecutor’s office said in a statement that two German-Russian nationals — named only as Dieter S. and Alexander J. in line with…