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White House Withdraws Nomination for US Hostage Envoy

FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo
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White House Withdraws Nomination for US Hostage Envoy

FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo

The Trump administration has withdrawn the nomination of Adam Boehler to serve as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, the White House said on Saturday.
Boehler, who has been working to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, will continue hostage-related work as a so-called "special government employee," a position that would not need Senate confirmation.
"Adam Boehler will continue to serve President Trump as a special government employee focused on hostage negotiations," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
"Adam played a critical role in negotiating the return of Marc Fogel from Russia. He will continue this important work to bring wrongfully detained individuals around the world home."
A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Boehler withdrew his nomination to avoid divesting from his investment company. The move was unrelated to the controversy sparked by his discussions with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
"He still has the utmost confidence of President Trump," said the official.
"This gives me the best ability to help Americans held abroad as well as work across agencies to achieve President Trump’s objectives," Boehler told Reuters in a brief statement.
Boehler recently held direct meetings with Hamas on the release of hostages in Gaza. The discussions broke with a decades-old policy by Washington against negotiating with groups that the US brands as terrorist organizations.
The talks angered some Senate Republicans and some Israeli leaders. According to Axios, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer expressed his displeasure to Boehler in a tense phone call last week.

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Zelensky Seeks Patriot Systems from US to Counter Russia's Power Grid Attacks

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky listens during a press conference in Kyiv on October 31, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky listens during a press conference in Kyiv on October 31, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)
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Zelensky Seeks Patriot Systems from US to Counter Russia's Power Grid Attacks

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky listens during a press conference in Kyiv on October 31, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky listens during a press conference in Kyiv on October 31, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Tetiana DZHAFAROVA / AFP)

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday he wants to order 25 Patriot air defense systems from the United States, as Ukraine desperately tries to fend off relentless Russian aerial attacks that have brought rolling blackouts across Ukraine on the brink of winter.

Zelensky acknowledged that the Patriot systems are expensive and that such a large batch could take years to manufacture. But he said European countries could give their Patriots to Ukraine and await replacements, stressing that “we would not like to wait.”

Combined missile and drone strikes on the power grid have coincided with Ukraine’s frantic efforts to hold back a Russian battlefield push aimed at capturing the eastern stronghold of Pokrovsk. Meanwhile, international peace efforts appear to have dissipated, nearly four years after Russia invaded its neighbor.

Zelensky said Ukraine recently received more Patriot systems from Germany. It is not known how many Patriot systems are in Ukraine. But on the whole air defenses remain stretched thin across wide expanses of Ukrainian territory, and the threat to the provision of heating and running water in the bitter winter is acute.

NATO is coordinating regular deliveries of large weapons packages to Ukraine. European allies and Canada are buying much of the equipment from the United States. The Trump administration is not giving any arms to Ukraine, unlike the previous Biden administration.

Russia’s attacks on energy infrastructure have grown more effective. It launches hundreds of drones, some equipped with cameras to improve targeting, that overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses, especially in regions where protection is weaker. Also, this year it is striking region by region, hitting local switchyards and substations, instead of taking aim at the centralized national grid.

Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said Monday that Russian attacks caused more damage to its power infrastructure, resulting in scheduled blackouts in most of the country’s regions. It urged Ukrainians to rationalize their use of electricity, especially during peak consumption hours in the mornings and evenings.

Meanwhile, the two sides were locked in a battle for control of Pokrovsk, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region where Zelensky says Russia has assembled 170,000 troops for a renewed push.

There has been a relative lull in fighting in recent days, according to reports gathered by the Institute for the Study of War. But the Washington-based think tank said it expected Russian forces to quicken the tempo of their attacks in coming days as they move more troops into the city.

 

World

IAEA Inspectors Visited Iranian Nuclear Sites Last Week, Foreign Ministry Says 

People walk on a street in Tehran, Iran, November 5, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People walk on a street in Tehran, Iran, November 5, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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IAEA Inspectors Visited Iranian Nuclear Sites Last Week, Foreign Ministry Says 

People walk on a street in Tehran, Iran, November 5, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People walk on a street in Tehran, Iran, November 5, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) visited Iranian nuclear sites last week, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday, according to state media, a week after the IAEA urged Iran to "seriously improve" cooperation.

The UN nuclear watchdog has carried out about a dozen inspections in Iran since hostilities with Israel in June, but last week highlighted it had not been given access to nuclear facilities such as Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, which were bombed by the United States.

"As long as we are a member of the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons), we will abide by our commitments, and just last week, IAEA inspectors visited several nuclear facilities, including the Tehran Research Reactor," Esmaeil Baghaei said, without naming the others.

IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said last week that Iran must "seriously improve" cooperation with the United Nations inspectors to avoid heightening tensions with the West.

Iranian officials have blamed the IAEA for providing a justification for Israel's bombing in a 12-day war in June, which began the day after the IAEA board voted to declare Iran in violation of obligations under the NPT.

Baghaei's comments on Monday were in response to Grossi saying last week that Iran "cannot say 'I remain within the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons treaty’, and then not comply with obligations".

World

Kremlin Denies Veteran Foreign Minister Lavrov Is in Putin’s Bad Books

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speak during the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia July 11, 2025. (AFP)
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speak during the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia July 11, 2025. (AFP)
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Kremlin Denies Veteran Foreign Minister Lavrov Is in Putin’s Bad Books

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speak during the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia July 11, 2025. (AFP)
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speak during the 15th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia July 11, 2025. (AFP)

The Kremlin on Monday denied reports that veteran Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had fallen out with Russian President Vladimir Putin after the diplomat's protracted public absence raised questions.  

Speculation about Lavrov's future arose following reports of a tense phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that resulted in a planned summit between Putin and President Donald Trump being cancelled.  

Lavrov was notably absent from the Kremlin chief's high-profile televised meeting with top officials on nuclear testing last week, and was also not named as Russia's envoy to the G20 summit in South Africa later this month -- a forum where he typically stepped in for Putin.  

"All these reports are absolutely false," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in response to a question by AFP over the alleged spat, adding Lavrov was continuing to work. 

"When appropriate public events take place, then you will see him."  

Lavrov, a 75-year-old heavyweight of Russian politics, has been in office for 21 years and is the longest-serving member of Putin's cabinet.  

According to the foreign ministry website, Lavrov last appeared in public at a live event on October 28, though video interviews of him have been published since. 

Trump in October shelved a planned summit with Putin over the Ukraine war and slapped Moscow with new sanctions after saying the Kremlin leader was not serious about ending the conflict.  

Known for his sardonic humor and sometimes obscene remarks, he accompanied Putin to Alaska for a summit with Trump in August, where he wore a shirt emblazoned with "USSR" on it for media interviews.