WASHINGTON (AP) — For over four decades, a series of sketches by American illustrator Norman Rockwell depicting scenes from the White House visitors’ lobby hung inside the West Wing, viewed by every president from Jimmy Carter through Donald Trump. Now, the artwork will be accessible to the public for the first time after a nonprofit group purchased the sketches for more than $7 million when they were placed up for auction following a family disagreement over ownership. The four drawings,

Kyiv, Ukraine – On May 22, Ukraine’s president, prime minister, parliament speaker, senior ministers and top military commanders stood in silence at a military cemetery outside Kyiv as soldiers carried the coffins of Andriy Melnyk and his wife, Sofiya, past the assembled officials. The ceremony, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, was intended to honour “Ukrainian heroes.” Melnyk had been a leading figure in the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), a movement that sought an independent Ukrainian

The sweeping landscape of heathland and woodland, thicket and stream that inspired the Heffalump, the Woozle and, most famously, Winnie-the-Pooh, has welcomed a new and curious inhabitant. Sliding through the bracken and releasing soft coos and purrs, this shapeshifting being sports a long tubular nose and eyes reminiscent of adders. Its body glimmers with iridescent flashes and the vivid purple of late-summer heather. Poppet, a remarkable puppet designed by costume artist Jack Irving and

• Ukraine could reconsider its current ceasefire proposal to Russia if the UN Security Council does not adopt a resolution calling for a complete and unconditional halt to the fighting, Kyiv’s ambassador to the UN has cautioned. Andrii Melnyk stated that recent Ukrainian strikes have shifted the momentum of the war, noting that roughly 40% of Russia’s oil refining capacity has been damaged. Ukraine could reconsider its current ceasefire proposal to Russia if the UN Security Council does not

Damon Albarn has momentarily lost track of himself. It’s Friday evening at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and rehearsals are underway for Gorillaz’s first full-scale stadium performance — a sprawling, globe-spanning pop spectacle packed with visuals, surprise guests and more moving parts than a festival lineup. As the band tears into Dirty Harry, the long advertising boards circling the pitch flicker to life with animated choir members belting out the refrain, “all I do is dance”. Caught off guard,

FORMOSO DO ARAGUAIA, Brazil (AP) — On a vast river island in northern Brazil, a complex debate is unfolding over cattle ranching and environmental protection. Last year, federal authorities ordered the removal of livestock from protected Indigenous territory on Bananal Island, the largest river island on the planet. Officials argued that the land is designated for Indigenous communities and conservation, and that herds owned by non-Indigenous ranchers were illegal and damaging local ecosystems.

United States Vice President JD Vance has arrived in Switzerland to meet Iranian officials for discussions on putting into practice the interim agreement aimed at ending the US conflict with Iran. Earlier this week, Washington and Tehran agreed to extend their negotiations under a 60-day ceasefire. However, tensions escalated on Saturday when Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in response to Israeli strikes in Lebanon. Despite the

If anti-Ukrainian forces were to prevail in Poland, around 1.5 million Ukrainians could either return to their homeland or move further west into Europe, former Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski has warned. In his view, such a development would inevitably weaken key sectors of Poland’s economy, including public services, healthcare, elderly care, and construction. “And then we would have no one to blame but ourselves in the years to come,” he said in an interview. Kwaśniewski noted that

Sign up for Unlocking the World, CNN Travel’s weekly newsletter. Receive updates on destinations, along with the latest developments in aviation, dining, and accommodation. In this week’s travel news roundup: the city crowned the world’s top food destination, the reason umbrellas have been prohibited on one Italian beach, and an increase in airline passengers ignoring crew directions. Don’t grab bags, don’t stop to film It’s a message that really shouldn’t need repeating. A new safety

Travelers have been warned that a breathtaking Greek island—long considered one of Europe’s most sought-after sunny getaways—has turned into what some are calling “one long queue for the toilet.” This was reported by the Daily Express. Travel content creator Mambo Italiano shared a video filmed at 7 a.m., showing large crowds of tourists—men, women, and children—standing in lines that stretched along the streets at a well-known photo location. “Social media trends have transformed the most

NEW YORK (AP) — When Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri was honored earlier this month with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he joked about how often it might actually be noticed. “Years from now, people strolling down Hollywood Boulevard will see my name,” he told the crowd. “And unless they’re family, they’ll probably wonder, ‘Who was that?’” Still, in an industry defined by constant change, the low-key Meledandri has quietly built one of Hollywood’s most dependable hit-making

Mukalla, Yemen – A few weeks before the start of this year’s World Cup, Adel Mohsen’s backup battery stopped working. Without the money to replace it, he knew his home would be plunged into darkness whenever the frequent power cuts hit. At the same time, a fuel shortage swept through his hometown of Mukalla in eastern Yemen. He struggled to find enough petrol for his motorbike, limiting his movement and making it harder to gather with others to watch matches. Adel is deeply disappointed. Now

A new agreement extending the ceasefire between the United States and Iran has been signed and is now in force, according to confirmation from a White House official speaking to the BBC. President Donald Trump formally approved the accord during the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France. The agreement is expected to pave the way for the reopening of the crucial Strait of Hormuz. The 14-point document, described as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), states that Iran will never acquire a nuclear

Donald Trump has endorsed a joint statement by G7 leaders welcoming the agreement he has reached with Iran, while emphasizing that a broader follow-up deal will be required to curb Tehran’s ballistic missile programme. That issue is not directly covered in the memorandum of understanding expected to be signed by the United States and Iran on Friday. The statement notes that any future negotiations with Iran would benefit from the participation of a broader range of regional and international

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that following consultations between G7 leaders and U.S. President Donald Trump, a “first opportunity for peace” has emerged in the war between Russia and Ukraine, according to media reports. Merz explained that the leaders discussed concrete next steps toward ending the conflict and agreed to continue supporting Ukraine while simultaneously increasing pressure on Russia. The German chancellor specifically highlighted the stance of U.S. President Donald

My wife and I relocated from London to Marseille just over five years ago, back when our British passports still granted us the right to live in France. During that first winter, standing on the beach in short sleeves while our daughters splashed in the jewel-toned Mediterranean beneath a cloudless sky, I finally understood why artists have long been drawn to this stretch of southern France. I was reminded of that feeling while talking with the painter Fanny Nushka and her husband, the sailor

After more than a decade of negotiations, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have reached an agreement to preserve passengers’ rights to free cabin baggage and financial compensation for flight delays, according to media reports. Airlines have repeatedly warned that tightening compensation rules and increasing financial obligations would inevitably lead to higher ticket prices. Nevertheless, European lawmakers opted to maintain the current level of passenger

The announcement of an agreement to halt hostilities between the United States and Iran has handed Donald Trump a timely political boost for his birthday – though the package comes with considerable uncertainty. In a social media post celebrating the breakthrough, the US president stated that the Strait of Hormuz would once again be accessible to commercial shipping and that the United States would end its naval blockade. "Let the oil flow!" Trump declared on Sunday. He went on to

A Ukrainian drone strike on a maritime terminal in southern Russia has left one person dead, Russian officials have said, marking another incident in a series of attacks targeting key infrastructure. According to Veniamin Kondratyev, governor of Russia’s Krasnodar region, falling drone fragments ignited a fire at part of the facility in the Temryuk district on Saturday. While the governor did not provide extensive details, Russian media outlets reported that damage occurred at a Black Sea