World News at a Glance

Extended Siege on Afghan Hotel Caps Brutal Day of Taliban Attacks

The Taliban’s bloody, 14-hour siege on a major hotel in Kabul ended Sunday, after six assailants terrorized much of the city. Authorities said it might take days to determine the extent of the material damage. Najib Danish, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said that 14 foreigners and four Afghans had been killed in the attack, and that 10 others, including six members of the security forces, had been wounded. Local news outlets put the number of dead at 43. The siege capped a violent 24 hours across Afghanistan, where about 50 people were killed in four provinces.

Venezuela’s Most-Wanted Rebel Shared His Story, Just Before Death

Oscar Pérez, killed last Monday by government forces, had spent his final years starring in spectacular narratives — sometimes as a hero on the movie screen, other times as a real-life rebel. While his actions captivated many Venezuelans — and enraged the government — his audience was much diminished in his last days. But Pérez spent many afternoons and evenings this month crouched over a phone screen. The text messages sent in December and January, along with recordings and interviews done over the same period, are some of the last words of Venezuela’s most-wanted man.

Pence Says U.S. and Jordan Have ‘Agreed to Disagree’ on Jerusalem Decision

Vice President Mike Pence met with King Abdullah II of Jordan on Sunday, telling reporters afterward that they had “agreed to disagree” on the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The meeting in Amman, on the second day of Pence’s visit to the Middle East, came as tension has increased between the two allies over President Donald Trump’s decision on Jerusalem last month and his decision last week to withhold aid to the U.N. agency that serves Palestinian refugees. Pence had delayed his trip to the region amid the furor over Trump’s decisions.

Pope Lauds Peru’s Young, but Stays Silent on Church Sex Abuse

On the last day of his visit to Latin America, Pope Francis told Peruvians that they lived in a “sainted land” and commended young people for keeping their faith in the church. But he did not address the elephant in the room: a scandal involving a powerful Roman Catholic group, where dozens of former members say they were physically and sexually abused after dedicating their lives to prayer and worship. The issue of sexual abuse in the church has loomed large over Francis’ weeklong visit to Chile and Peru, where he discussed the plights of indigenous populations in the jungle.

Turkey Begins Ground Assault on Kurdish Enclave in Syria

Turkish troops crossed the Syrian border into the Kurdish enclave of Afrin on Sunday morning, beginning a ground assault against U.S.-allied militias there, as the first accounts of casualties emerged amid rising international criticism of Turkey’s military action. Turkish fighter jets were again in the skies Sunday bombing Kurdish militia targets in the border region. Ten people were reported killed in the bombing raids, according to Kurdish militants, and three people died on the Turkish side of the border in retaliatory shelling, local people said.

Greeks Protest Over Neighbor’s Use of the Name Macedonia

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Greece’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki, on Sunday to protest the inclusion of the word “Macedonia” in the name of the neighboring former Yugoslav republic amid talks by the two nations to resolve the long-standing dispute. Drawing what the police estimated at 90,000 people, the rally was the first major protest since Greece and the Republic of Macedonia agreed to join United Nations-mediated talks this month to settle the 25-year disagreement. Many Greeks argue that the name Macedonia implies a territorial claim to a region in the north of Greece with the same name.