Foreign Affairs
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Rubio and Wang discuss a possible Trump-Xi-Putin meeting on denuclearization ahead of the APEC summit in Shenzhen
The State Department says the two agreed on the value of leader-level talks, including any three-way meeting with Russia; China’s account of the call did not mention it, and Beijing has said joining trilateral disarmament talks…
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ExxonMobil signs a preliminary agreement to weigh a return to Venezuela, nearly two decades after its assets were seized
The nonbinding memorandum with PDVSA commits the company to no project; the Trump administration calls it a sign that its Venezuela policy is drawing investment, while Exxon says any spending depends on stable rules and investor…
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U.S. negotiators say they want a ‘final end’ to the war as Russia-Ukraine talks in Abu Dhabi enter a second day
Secretary Rubio called Tuesday’s session very productive and President Zelenskyy called it constructive, while Russia’s foreign minister rejected a ceasefire; for Sacramento’s Ukrainian community, one of the largest in the country, the outcome is personal.
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Trump says the Iran war is militarily “effectively over” after meeting Qatar’s prime minister, and the naval blockade stays in place
The president says the United States is ready to resume strikes if needed while talks continue; Iran calls its own proposal the most reasonable offer, and California drivers are paying about $1 a gallon more than…
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Inquirer Investigation: The $87.6 billion Operation Epic Fury request, line by line, as Congress faces a Dec. 11 deadline
The White House request would send $67.1 billion to the Department of War and about $15.6 billion to farm aid, the Ebola response and domestic projects; the Pentagon now puts the war’s cost at $47.1 billion.
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What California has at stake as Trump and Xi prepare to meet at APEC in Shenzhen
The administration says it wants China to deliver on farm purchases and critical-mineral supplies promised in last year’s Busan arrangement; Beijing says U.S. restrictions are the problem.
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Qatar steps up mediation between Iran and the U.S. as Rubio says talks have “never stopped”
Qatari mediators spent three days in Tehran and Doha on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as the Trump administration says it prefers a diplomatic outcome but will not accept one that leaves its…
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Inside the $2.1 billion Patriot sale to Ukraine that allies, not U.S. taxpayers, will fund
A State Department notice to Congress for 500 PAC-3 MSE interceptors, paid for by Canada, Germany, Norway and a European Union loan, starts a 30-day review as Kyiv warns that deliveries may be years away.
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Israel’s election count puts Netanyahu’s bloc ahead but short of a majority
With more than half the ballots counted, neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition nor Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc has the 61 seats needed to govern, leaving Bay Area Israelis who flew home to vote waiting on…
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Flávio Bolsonaro drops call to annul Brazil’s election, vows abuse-of-power case against Lula
Brazil’s electoral court says a late two-hour voting extension did not change the result. President Trump, pointing to that extension, said the vote “looked like another rigged election,” and a U.S. statement recognizing the outcome has…