David R. Sands

Three more hostages released in Haiti, Ohio missionary group says

Three more U.S.-based missionaries were freed by their Haitian kidnappers Sunday evening, Berlin, Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries said in a statement Monday.

December 6, 2021

Merkel set to leave as Germany’s Greens agree to join new government

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's era will officially end this week as the final piece fell into place Monday for a new center-left-led coalition government headed by Finance Minister Olaf Scholz and his Social Democratic party.

December 6, 2021

Carlsen seizes two-game lead in chess title fight after Russian’s blunder

A stunning blunder by Russian challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi gifted world champion Magnus Carlsen his second win in three games in their scheduled 14-game world chess title match in Dubai Sunday.

December 5, 2021

Taliban deny targeted killings of officials linked to U.S.-backed government

Afghanistan's Taliban leadership on Sunday rejected sharp criticism from the U.S. and a host of Western allies that the regime has embarked on a campaign of targeted killings of security officials linked to the ousted U.S.-backed government in Kabul.

December 5, 2021

Carlsen keeps lead in world chess title fight after tame Game 7 draw

After a titanic 136-move victory Friday that clocked in as the longest game in the 150-year history of world chess championship matches, Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen comfortably held a draw with the Black pieces against Russian challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi, retaining a one-point lead at the halfway point of their scheduled 14-game title fight in Dubai.

December 4, 2021

Champion Carlsen takes lead in chess title fight with epic 136-move win

It took 136 grueling moves, but world chess champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway broke through to score the first decisive result of his title match with Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi Friday in Dubai.

December 3, 2021

Oklahoma sues Biden administration over vaccine mandate for state National Guard

The state of Oklahoma has sued the Biden administration over a Defense Department mandate that its National Guard forces must get the COVID-19 vaccine, calling it an unconstitutional and dangerous overreach by the federal government.

December 3, 2021

Champ Carlsen suffers, but holds draw to keep chess title fight tied

There were some uncomfortable moments for Norwegian world chess champion Magnus Carlsen, but he was able to secure a draw with the Black pieces in Wednesday's Game 5 of his scheduled 14-game title match with Russian challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi.

December 1, 2021

Critics pan Pentagon’s strategic posture review, lack of action on China threat

Critics across the spectrum say the strategic blueprint ordered up by President Biden and outlined by Pentagon officials Monday falls far short of its own self-described mission: to reorient the U.S. military to face what Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin calls the "pacing threat" posed by a rising China in the Indo-Pacific region.

November 30, 2021

Drawn out: Bloodless opening to Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi world chess title match

'We try." That was a more than slightly peeved Magnus Carlsen, as the Norwegian world chess champion and challenger GM Ian Nepomniachtchi of Russia faced questions Sunday over the three (now four) draws to open their scheduled 14-game title match in Dubai.

November 30, 2021

New opening produces another draw in chess title match

Chess champion Magnus Carlsen tried a new opening with White Tuesday, but the result was the same: yet another draw in Game 4 of his title defense against Russian challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi.

November 30, 2021

Iranian demands raise fresh doubts as nuke talks resume

Iran refused to meet face-to-face with American diplomats as talks over the Islamic republic's suspect nuclear programs resumed Monday in Vienna following a five-month hiatus -- a period in which a hardline new government has come to power.

November 29, 2021

Honduras election a cause for celebration — in China

The apparent victory of leftist challenger Xiomara Castro in Sunday's presidential election in Honduras is being warmly welcomed in another capital -- Beijing.

November 29, 2021

Israeli leaders warn: Iran can’t be trusted as nuclear talks resume

Israeli leaders are escalating a lobbying campaign against the nuclear deal with Iran, even as expectations are low that resumed negotiations in Vienna this week will produce a breakthrough to revive the accord.

November 29, 2021

Low-key struggle leads to quiet draw as world chess title fight remains tied

They avoided the theatrics of the first two games, but a draw was again the result Sunday as world chess champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway and Russian challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi remain tied with 1 1/2 points apiece in their scheduled 14-game match in Dubai.

November 28, 2021

Seesaw battle leads to second draw to open world chess title match

Both players had chances in a sharp struggle, but the result was 58-move draw in the second game of the 14-game world chess championship match between titleholder Magnus Carlsen of Norway and challenger Ian Neponiachtchi of Russia Saturday in Dubai.

November 27, 2021

Carlsen presses but held to draw in world chess championship match’s first game

World chess champion Magnus Carlsen of Norway, playing the Black pieces, survived some early pressure and then mismanaged a favorable position to draw Russian challenger Ian Nepomniachtchi in the first game of the scheduled 14-game title match in Dubai Friday.

November 26, 2021

‘Squid Game’ smuggler gets death sentence as North Korea cracks down

In totalitarian North Korea, it's not just the fictional characters competing in "Squid Game" who are in mortal danger.

November 25, 2021

Carlsen, Nepomniachtchi square off for chess crown this week

Magnus Carlsen is sounding a little cocky -- and history suggests he may have a right to preen. There have been some 60 or so world championship matches (the numbers get a little fuzzy with the Split Crown Era of the late 1990s and early 2000s) since the mid-19th century, and there have been no real shocking upsets on the order of Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson or the 1969 Mets winning the World Series.

November 23, 2021