ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — The first direct Russia-Ukraine peace talks since the early weeks of Moscow’s 2022 invasion ended after less than two hours Friday, and while both sides agreed on a large prisoner swap, they clearly remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting.

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Russia and Ukraine on Friday held their first direct peace talks since the early weeks of Moscow's 2022 invasion, gathering in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations that officials and observers expected to yield little immediate progress on stopping the 3-year-old war.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that Iran has an American proposal over its rapidly advancing nuclear program as negotiations between the two countries go on.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump met with interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, the first encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years and one that could serve as a turning point for Syria as it struggles to emerge from decades of international isolation.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas terrorists on Monday released an Israeli-American soldier who had been held hostage in Gaza for more than 19 months.

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas said Sunday that the last living American hostage in Gaza, Edan Alexander, will be released as part of efforts to establish a ceasefire, reopen crossings into the territory, and resume the delivery of aid.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — India’s military strikes into Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and Pakistan earlier this week killed more than 100 militants, including prominent leaders, the head of India's military operations claimed Sunday.

GENEVA (AP) — The lead U.S. negotiator in trade talks with China cheered “a great deal of productivity” in resolving differences between the world’s two leading economic powers, after officials wrapped two days of bargaining in Switzerland following President Donald Trump imposing steep tariffs and Beijing retaliating.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday challenged Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to meet him personally in Turkey on Thursday, the latest move in a weekend-long exchange of proposals from both sides on the next steps in the U.S.-led peace effort.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A passenger bus skidded off a cliff in Sri Lanka’s tea-growing hill country on Sunday, killing 21 people and injuring 35 others, a police spokesman said.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia on Friday celebrated the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, as President Vladimir Putin presided over a massive parade of tanks, missiles and troops through Red Square and welcomed over two dozen world leaders — the most since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Indian and Pakistani soldiers exchanged heavy volleys of shells and gunfire across their frontier in Kashmir overnight, killing at least five civilians in a growing military standoff that erupted following an attack on tourists in the India-controlled portion of the disputed region.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia and Ukraine both reported attacks on their forces Thursday on the first day of a 72-hour ceasefire called by Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian lawmakers unanimously approved a landmark minerals deal with the U.S.

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Robert Prevost, a missionary who spent his career ministering in Peru and took over the Vatican’s powerful office of bishops, was elected the first pope from the United States in the 2,000-year history of the Catholic Church.

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — India fired attack drones into Pakistan on Thursday, wounding four soldiers, the Pakistani military said. India, meanwhile, accused its neighbor of attempting its own attack, as tensions soared between the nuclear-armed rivals.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that Russia was “asking for too much” in its initial peace offer as the United States looks to bring about an end to the war in Ukraine.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An F/A-18 fighter jet landing on the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Red Sea went overboard, forcing its two pilots to eject, a defense official told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — India fired missiles at Pakistan early Wednesday, in what it said was retaliation for last month’s massacre of Indian tourists. Pakistan called the strikes an act of war and claimed it downed several Indian fighter jets.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's military said Tuesday it launched airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen, fully disabling the country’s international airport in the capital, Sanaa, and striking several power plants.

All four international airports around Moscow temporarily suspended flights Tuesday as Russian forces intercepted more than 100 Ukrainian drones fired at almost a dozen Russian regions, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said.

BEIJING (AP) — Four boats capsized in a sudden storm at a tourist spot in southwestern China, killing 10 people, state media said Monday.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister held talks with top Pakistani officials on Monday to try and mediate in the escalation between Islamabad and New Delhi after last month’s deadly attack on tourists in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir.

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel approved plans Monday to capture the entire Gaza Strip and to stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time, two Israeli officials said, a move that, if implemented, would vastly expand Israel's operations there.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine had not arisen and that he hopes it will not.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Police in Brazil said on Sunday that two people have been arrested in connection with an alleged plot to detonate explosives at a free Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro.