Simon Lewis

Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified that his longtime friend and former Congressman David Rivera did not tell him that he had a $50 million ‌contract with a company owned by the Venezuelan state when he took a meeting about Venezuela with Rivera in 2017 reut.rs/4c8E3cn

NEW: An Iranian girls school that took a direct hit on the first day of the war had a yearslong online presence, including dozens of photos of the children and their activities, before it was bombed along with at least six other buildings in an adjacent military compound.

NEW: As the first explosions from Iran's retaliatory attack sounded across Gulf Arab states last Saturday, the State Dept was still scrambling to finalize a key bureaucratic task - securing approvals for U.S. embassies in the region to evacuate non-essential personnel. 🧵

SCOOP: The U.S. State Department is developing an online portal that will enable people in Europe and elsewhere to see content banned by their governments, a move Washington views as a way to counter censorship, three sources familiar w/the plan tell me @Simondlewis @G_Slattery

NEW: The Trump administration has unleashed an unprecedented pressure campaign on the ICC since taking office. In internal meetings,political appointees clashed w/some career diplomats who urged for a calibrated approach. Our deep dive on how US actions risk destroying the ICC👇

NEW: In early 2024, USAID staffers drafted a warning to senior officials in Joe Biden’s administration: Northern Gaza had turned into an “Apocalyptic Wasteland” w/ dire shortages of food and medical aid. But top US envoys in Israel blocked the cable from wider distribution 1/X

Sargeant: "I think Delcy will, when the time is right, be willing to transition the country to democracy and, you know, and see free and fair elections," he said.

Scoop: US officials have discussing sending lump sum payments of up to $100,000 per person to Greenlanders to coax them away from Denmark and potentially toward a union with the US, per sources Copenhagen and Nuuk say they're not for sale reuters.com/world/europe/t…

SCOOP: The United States gathered intelligence last year that Israel’s military lawyers warned there was evidence that could support war crimes charges against Israel for its military campaign in Gaza, five former U.S. officials told @ErinBanco @JonathanLanday and me 1/x

Joint Statement on Press Restrictions at the Pentagon

NEW: Trump officials hosted an event on the sidelines of UNGA on Thursday purporting to promote free speech, the latest stage in a push against what Washington calls censorship in Europe that has seen the U.S. align itself with far-right European politicians. W/@Simondlewis

The City of David archeological park sits in the shadow of the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, a flashpoint that has triggered outbreaks of violence over the decades and remains at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reuters.com/world/middle-e…

A man holds the equipment used by Palestinian cameraman Hussam al-Masri, who was a contractor for Reuters, at the site where he was killed along with other journalists and people in Israeli strikes on Nasser hospital, in Khan Younis, August 25, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled

Cameraman Hussam al-Masri, a Reuters contractor, was killed in the first strike, according to the officials. Photographer Hatem Khaled, who was also a Reuters contractor, was wounded in a second strike on the hospital, they said. reuters.com/world/middle-e…

Israeli strikes on Nasser Hospital in Gaza killed at least 15 people, including four journalists, one of whom worked for Reuters. Reuters statement: reut.rs/3HPt6kE

🧮 reuters.com/data/how-many-…

Reuters wins #Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting for ‘Fentanyl Express.’ Read the full series here: reuters.com/investigates/s… @PulitzerPrizes

Read the story here: reuters.com/world/us/rubio…

NEW: Secretary Rubio has appointed Brendan Hanrahan, a former Bain and McKinsey consultant, as the U.S. State Department's top official for Europe, according to an internal email sent on Friday seen by Reuters and two officials.