New York investigators have seized dozens of artifacts worth more than $13 million from the Metropolitan Museum of Art over the last six months, alleging they had been looted from around the world, according to the New York Times.
Why it matters: The seizures indicate that the Manhattan district attorney’s office is stepping up efforts to close backlogged repatriation cases and crack down on the theft, looting and illicit trafficking of cultural property.
Russia’s Gazprom said Friday its Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline to Europe will not restart Saturday as expected after it detected new maintenance issues with one of the pipeline's turbine engines.
Why it matters: Gazprom claimed Rostekhnadzor, Russia's federal agency that in part oversees hydraulic structures at energy sites, is requiring it to resolve an oil leak at the turbine before restarting deliveries.
An explosion at a crowded mosque in the western Afghanistan city of Herat killed at least 18 people, including a senior cleric with close ties to the Taliban, AP reports, citing officials.
The big picture: The blast, which also injured at least 21 people, took place as worshippers gathered for Friday noon prayers at Herat’s Guzargah Mosque. No group immediately claimed responsibility.
The finance ministers of the G7 agreed on Friday to move forward with a plan to put a price cap on purchases of Russian oil and petroleum products over the country's invasion of Ukraine.
Why it matters: The ministers said the cap, proposed by G7 leaders back in June, is aimed at limiting the invasion's effect on global energy prices while preventing the Kremlin from further profiting from its oil exports while damaging its ability to fund its war against Ukraine.
Iran's negotiators sent another written response to European Union's draft nuclear deal Thursday night local time, which was met with disappointment by the Biden administration.
Why it matters: It is now unlikely that a deal will be signed in the coming days. The back and forth written exchanges are expected to continue and could lead to the Biden administration deciding not to sign the deal before the November midterm election.
Argentina's Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner had a gun pointed at her as she greeted supporters outside her Buenos Aires home late Thursday in what some officials described as an "assassination attempt."
Details: President Alberto Fernández said in a national broadcast that the "homicide attempt" occurred when a "man pointed a firearm at her head and pulled the trigger," per AP, which reports that authorities have detained a suspect over the attack on Kirchner, who previously served as Argentina's president.
Two global powers are undercutting Western efforts to isolate Russia and depletethe Kremlin coffers as they scale up purchases of Russian oil and join Russia this week in major military exercises.
Why it matters: One of those countries is China, which has moved closer to Moscow amid its confrontation with the U.S. The other, though, is India — one of Washington's most valued partners, which has taken a neutral position on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
An Indiana man who allegedly fatally shot a Dutch soldier and wounded two others in downtown Indianapolis was charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder and disorderly conduct, prosecutors said Thursday.
Driving the news: Shamar Duncan, 22, was arrested Tuesday and is in custody, police said. The three Dutch soldiers he allegedly shot were in Indiana for urban combat training at a nearby base.
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died earlier this week at the age of 91, was "shocked and bewildered" by Russia's war in Ukraine, his interpreter of 37 years, Pavel Palazhchenko, told Reuters Thursday.
The big picture: Gorbachev has been lionized in the West for his role in presiding over liberalizing reforms in the Soviet Union and bolstering ties with the West, but his legacy, as the leader that oversaw the collapse of the Soviet Union, is more complicated in Russia.
Ravil Maganov, chairman of the board of directors for the Russian oil and gas giant Lukoil, died Thursday after falling out of a window at a hospital in Moscow, Russian news agency Interfax reports, citing an anonymous source.
Why it matters: Maganov is the latest in a series of Russian oligarchs, many of whom were involved in Russia's energy sector, who have died under unexplained circumstances.
Chileans once broadly supported the idea of a new constitution, but the one going to a referendum this Sunday faces an uphill battle after a misinformation campaign sowed confusion about it, experts say.
Why it matters: The new constitutional proposal, which tackles climate change and social issues like abortion, is an experiment unlike any in the recent history of the Americas. But polls show diminishing support.
Poland's leaders said Thursday the country will demand reparations from Germany to the tune of $1.3 trillion, which they argue is equivalent to the damages caused by the invasion and occupation of Poland during World War II.
What they're saying: "Germany invaded Poland and then caused us serious losses,” Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the Law and Justice party, said at a press conference for the report's release, Bloomberg reported.
Taiwan's military on Thursday shot down an unidentified drone over one of its islands after it ignored warnings and entered its restricted airspace, Reuters reports.
The latest: The drone entered restricted airspace over Lion Islet, a small island about 2.5 miles from the shore of Xiamen, China, around midday on Thursday and troops tried to warn it away before firing shots.
In the latest exampleof the seemingly absurd state of Europe's energy markets, natural gas prices plunged 30% this week — just as Russia officially cut off supplies Wednesday.
Why it matters: The juxtaposition of cratering prices, just as Europe's biggest supplier of gas turns off the taps, underscores how Europe's market-based energy system has been fundamentally broken amid the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin paid personal respects to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at a hospital in Moscow on Thursday but will not attend his funeral on Saturday due to his "working schedule," the Kremlin said.
The big picture: Gorbachev, who died Tuesday at the age of 91, was a valorized figure in the West. He oversaw liberalizing reforms in the Soviet Union and strengthened ties with the West, before ultimately presiding over its peaceful collapse.
America's biggest adversaries — China, Russia and Iran — are increasingly teaming up in ways that could undermine U.S. objectives.
Driving the news: Russian and Chinese forces began major military exercises Thursday in Russia's far east. Meanwhile, Russia has received an initial batch of drones from Iran to deploy on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Graphics-chip maker Nvidia announced in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday that the U.S. government is restricting sales to China, "effective immediately."
Driving the news: The U.S. government has imposed a new license requirement "for any future export to China (including Hong Kong) and Russia" in order to "address the risk that the covered products may be used in, or diverted to, a 'military end use,'" per the filing.
Ocean heat content, global sea levels and greenhouse gas concentrations all reached record highs in 2021, according to the State of the Climate report published Wednesday.
The big picture: The annual report showcases compelling scientific evidence that climate change has global impacts and shows no sign of slowing, said Rick Spinrad of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which led the study.
