By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/2/2025 12:14 PM
Indian officials confirmed Saturday the country is not altering policy and will continue buying oil from Russia, despite threats of a financial "penalty" from U.S. President Donald Trump. ... Read full Story
Hundreds of thousands of young Catholics filled Rome for a Holy Year vigil with Pope Leo XIV, marking his first major encounter with the Church’s next generation. ... Read full Story
Canadian aid groups say child starvation in Gaza is worsening, as blocked aid and soaring malnutrition now affect even clinic workers' families. ... Read full Story
Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee toured a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution site in Rafah, but did not meet with UN officials. ... Read full Story
The youngest victim in Thursday’s strikes was 2 years old, and 16 of the injured were children, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/1/2025 3:40 PM
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Vélez was sentenced Friday to 12 years of house arrest for bribery in criminal proceedings and procedural fraud. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/1/2025 2:48 PM
X says Britain's newly-enacted Online Safety Act "seriously" is on the cusp of violating free speech masked as the fight to protect kids from explicit online content. ... Read full Story
Trump's order sharply escalated a social media battle with former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, who currently serves as the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/1/2025 1:04 PM
Russian drones and missiles hit Kyiv in a barrage killing 31 and collapsing an apartment block. Three dead were children, ages 3, 6, and 17. About 159 injured. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/1/2025 1:03 PM
Slovenia on Friday became the first European country to ban weapons trading with Israel over the growing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave in Israel's ongoing war. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/1/2025 12:52 PM
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has introduced a bill in the National Assembly to regulate the funding and activities of non-governmental organizations. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/1/2025 9:27 AM
El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele received a green light from lawmakers to stay in office as long as he can keep getting elected after they axed term limits. ... Read full Story
Officials said Yoon Suk Yeol took off his prison uniform and laid down on the floor at his detention room in an effort to continue to resist questioning. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/1/2025 7:28 AM
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Gaza to see aid operations for himself and speak to Palestinians as international pressure mounts over humanitarian crisis. ... Read full Story
When Trump signed to order for more than 66 countries, the start date of the punishing import taxes was pushed back seven days so that the tariff schedule could be updated. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 8/1/2025 3:24 AM
The top diplomats of the United States and South Korea reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea during a meeting Thursday. ... Read full Story
At least 91 Palestinians were killed and more than 600 wounded while attempting to get aid in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said on Thursday. ... Read full Story
The joint statement from 14 countries called increasing attempts by Iran to 'kill, kidnap, and harass people' in Europe and North America a 'clear violation' of their sovereignty. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/31/2025 12:48 PM
The Guatemalan government is trying to enact key legislation to modernize its money laundering laws, with the bill submitted to Congress on Tuesday. ... Read full Story
By United Press International, Inc. | | 7/31/2025 12:32 PM
South Korea's special prosecutor has expanded an investigation into the Unification Church, zeroing in on senior leadership for alleged financial crimes.. ... Read full Story
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 2, 2025 is:
palimpsest \PAL-imp-sest\ noun
Palimpsest in its original use refers to writing material (such as a parchment manuscript) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased; the underlying text is said to be “in palimpsest.” Palimpsest in extended use refers to something that has usually diverse layers or aspects apparent beneath the surface.
// Scholars believe the motive for making palimpsests was often economic—reusing parchment was cheaper than preparing a new skin.
// The ancient city is an architectural palimpsest.
“My aim was to trace the course of … the Aqua Marcia, built between 144 and 140 B.C. by Julius Caesar’s ancestor Quintus Marcius Rex. … The original tuff arches carried the Marcia across a steep ravine. Subsequent retaining walls and buttresses have transformed the bridge into a palimpsest of building styles.” — David Laskin, The New York Times, 24 Apr. 2024
Did you know?
Long ago, writing surfaces were so highly valued that they were often used more than once. Palimpsest in its original use referred to an early form of recycling in which an old document was erased to make room for a new one when parchment ran short. (The word is from the Greek palimpsēstos, meaning “scraped again.”) Fortunately for modern scholars, the erasing process wasn’t completely effective, so the original could often be distinguished under the newer writing. De republica, by Roman statesman and orator Cicero, is one of many documents recovered from a palimpsest. Nowadays, the word palimpsest can refer not only to such a document but to anything that has multiple layers apparent beneath the surface.