Month: August 2021

By DARIA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — A court in Moscow has sentenced another ally of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny to 1½ years of parole-like restrictions in a controversial case targeting opposition supporters in the wake of mass protests earlier this year. Kira Yarmysh was found guilty of inciting people to violate coronavirus

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — An appellate court in Poland has rejected a lawsuit brought against two Holocaust scholars in a case that has been closely watched. Their case has been expected to serve as a precedent for research into the highly sensitive issue of Polish behavior toward Jews during World

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — New York-based Human Rights Watch is urging the United Nations to lead an independent investigation into the alleged disappearances of government critics and others at the hands of security forces in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi and global human rights groups have long raised such allegations, which have been  denied by the government of

By ROB HARRIS AP Global Soccer Writer LONDON (AP) — Nine of the teams who were part of the ill-fated launch of a breakaway Super League have been welcomed back into the decision-making organization overseeing the European club game. Six English clubs — Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham — will be

NEW YORK (AP) — Megan Rapinoe is such a fan of #MeToo pioneer Tarana Burke that the soccer star chose Burke’s upcoming memoir, “Unbound,” for her new online book club before she had even read it. Rapinoe says she’s sure whatever Burke is writing will be worth reading. Rapinoe has made several choices for her

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government has opened a formal investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot partially automated driving system after a series of collisions with parked emergency vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced the action Monday in a posting on its website. The agency says it has identified

By JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press The Taliban have seized power in Afghanistan two weeks before the U.S. is set to complete its troop withdrawal after a costly two-decade war. The insurgents stormed across the country, capturing all major cities in a matter of days as Afghan forces trained and equipped by the U.S. and its

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — A court in Bosnia has convicted a former Bosnian Serb policeman and soldier of war crimes and sentenced him to 20 years in prison. The Court of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday found Rade Garic guilty of atrocities in the eastern town of Vlasenica in 1992 and later in Srebrenica in 1995. The

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A man suspected of shooting five people, three fatally, outside a San Antonio sports bar following an argument has been arrested. The shooting happened about 3:30 a.m. Sunday in the Boom Boom Sports Bar parking lot. Police Chief William McManus says the man went to his car, got a rifle and

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer TOKYO (AP) — All fans will be barred from the Paralympics because of the coronavirus pandemic just as they were from the recently-completed Tokyo Olympics. The Paralympics open on Aug. 24 with about 4,400 athletes. That is a far smaller event than the Olympics with 11,000 athletes. But the

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s government has decided that a coronavirus state of emergency will continue through Sept. 12 rather than finishing at the end of this month as initially planned. With the virus continuing to spread in the country, the state of emergency for Tokyo, Osaka, Okinawa, and three

By KIMBERLY PALMER of NerdWallet This year’s back-to-school shopping will include some unwanted lessons in dealing with supply-chain challenges. But some solid advice from the past still holds true: Check to see what you already have before shopping and keep a running list of what your child needs. Avoid buying more than your child is

By ELENA BECATOROS and NICHOLAS PAPHITIS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — More wildfires have broken out in hard-hit Greece, with two blazes triggering the evacuation of 11 villages southeast and northwest of Athens, the Greek capital. Hundreds of firefighters, backed up by water-dropping planes and helicopters, have been battling the blazes. Greece has been

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s interior minister says that unaccompanied child migrants being sent back to Morocco in groups of 15 at a time wanted to go home. He has denied accusations by rights groups of breaking international law. Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska told the Cadena SER radio station Monday that the return of the children from

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has appealed to its international allies for help in fighting wildfires raging outside of Jerusalem. Israeli firefighters were working for a second straight day to bring the blaze under control. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid says he spoke to his Greek counterpart on Monday and that Greece has agreed to offer assistance.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Rescuers have recovered more bodies from the sites of severe flooding that devastated parts of northern Turkey, bringing the death toll to 77. Torrential rains battered the country’s northwestern Black Sea provinces on Aug. 11, causing floods that demolished homes and bridges, swept away cars and blocked access to numerous roads.

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s president has pledged to improve COVID-19 testing and treatment in a speech marking the country’s independence. President Joko Widodo says the pandemic has changed Indonesian culture in ways that will be a foundation for advancement. He says avoiding people was once taboo and working and

JERUSALEM (AP) — Air raid sirens have sounded in southern Israel after a rocket was fired from the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said Monday that one rocket launch that was intercepted by aerial defense. That comes at a tense time, after Palestinian health officials said four Palestinians were killed in a shootout with Israeli

By SUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials have declared the first-ever water shortage from a river that serves 40 million people in the West. The forecast Monday means some Arizona farmers will get less water from the Colorado River next year, forcing them to make adjustments. A prolonged drought made worse by

The Associated Press Tropical Depression Grace is drenching Haiti, dumping up to 15 inches of rain on a quake-damaged landscape as thousands of people huddle in fields and search for survivors. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Fred weakened after hitting Florida’s Gulf Coast Monday afternoon near Cape San Blas and moving inland. The U.S. National Hurricane Center

By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — Zambia’s veteran opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema has won the southern African country’s presidency with more than 50% of the vote. Hichilema was declared president–elect after getting more than 2.8 million votes to President Edgar Lungu’s 1.8 million votes, achieving one of the biggest electoral wins in

QUINCY, Calif. (AP) — Firefighters battling flames in Northern California forests are girding for new bouts of windy weather, and a utility has warned thousands of customers it might cut their electricity to prevent new fires from igniting if gusts damage power lines. Conditions that suppressed the huge Dixie Fire overnight gave way Monday afternoon

By AHMAD SEIR, TAMEEM AKHGAR, KATHY GANNON and JON GAMBRELL Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — At least seven people are dead after the main airport in the Afghan capital descended into chaos. Thousands of Afghans rushed onto the tarmac Monday, a day after the government fell to the advancing Taliban. Some people were so

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s most populous state has reported its worst day of the pandemic with 478 new infections and seven COVID-19 deaths as pandemic restrictions tightened in other parts of the country. The previous record daily tally in New South Wales before Monday was 466 new cases reported

By EILEEN NG Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has resigned less than 18 months in power, apologizing for his shortcomings but blaming those he said were “hungry for power.” Muhyiddin says he hoped to stay on until the coronavirus vaccination program is completed and the economy has recovered,

By ZEKE MILLER, JONATHAN LEMIRE and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he stands “squarely behind” his decision for the U.S. to leave Afghanistan. Speaking about the chaotic situation in Kabul, Biden says he faced a choice between sticking with an agreement to leave or sending thousands more U.S. troops

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press The chop of U.S. military helicopters whisking American diplomats to Kabul’s airport has punctuated a frantic rush by thousands of other foreigners and Afghans to flee to safety as well, as a stunningly swift Taliban takeover reached Afghanistan’s capital. U.S. reports of gunfire at the airport Sunday

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press Earthquakes have been wreaking havoc in Haiti since at least the 18th century, when the city of Port-au-Prince was destroyed twice in 19 years. Saturday’s powerful quake killed hundreds and injured thousands more. Eleven years earlier a temblor killed tens of thousands of people, if not hundreds of thousands. Haiti

By MARK STEVENSON and EVENS SANON Associated Press LES CAYES, Haiti (AP) — Haitian authorities have raised the death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck southwestern Haiti over the weekend to 1,419. The country’s Civil Protection Agency also said Monday that the number of injured people has grown to 6,000. The earthquake destroyed thousands

By ASHRAF KHALIL and JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has approved a significant and permanent increase in the levels of food stamp assistance available to needy families. It’s the largest single increase in the program’s history. Starting in October, average benefits for food stamps  will rise more than 25 percent

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER, ROBERT BURNS and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is calling the violent chaos at Kabul’s airport “gut-wrenching,” but he’s standing by America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Biden spoke from the White House on Monday in his first in-person remarks since the Taliban over the weekend rolled over an

By SHEIKH SAALIQ Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s harsh anti-terror law is coming under rare scrutiny. Some Indian courts and legal experts say the law allows for arbitrary arrests and is being used to squash dissent. Tough requirements for granting bail mean people often spend months, sometimes years, in jail without being found

By The Associated Press A young Chinese woman says she was held for eight days at a Chinese-run secret detention facility in Dubai along with at least two Uyghurs. While so-called “black sites” are common in China, the account of 26-year-old Wu Huan is the only testimony known to experts that Beijing has set one

By The Associated Press A young Chinese woman says she was held for eight days at a Chinese-run secret detention facility in Dubai along with at least two Uyghurs. While so-called “black sites” are common in China, the account of 26-year-old Wu Huan is the only testimony known to experts that Beijing has set one

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets have declined amid turmoil in Afghanistan and unease about China’s economic outlook after July activity was weaker than expected. Shanghai, Hong Kong and South Korea retreated while Tokyo rose. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose to a new high despite rising American