Month: June 2022

By MARI YAMAGUCHI, ANDI JATMIKO and EDNA TARIGAN Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese man accused of defrauding the government of $7.3 million intended for small Japanese businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic has been arrested on board a flight after being deported from Indonesia. Police confirmed the arrest of Mitsuhiro Taniguchi. He was

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s prime minister says a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose will be offered to nursing home residents and people age 50 and over in Denmark this fall. There is a rise in cases of the BA.5 coronavirus variant in Europe. And Denmark’s government wants to move swiftly to avoid potential restrictions or

By JIM VERTUNO and JAKE BLEIBERG Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The first public hearings in Texas looking into the Uvalde school massacre have centered on law enforcement blunders, school building safety and mental health. But there’s been only brief mentions of the shooter’s AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle and gun reform. Only near the end

By ILAN BEN ZION Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli lawmakers have voted in favor of dissolving parliament in a preliminary vote, setting the wheels in motion to send the country to its fifth national election in 3 1/2 years. The development on Wednesday was the first step in a series of votes before the

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has blasted the violence that plagues Mexico as he mourned the slaying of two “brother” Jesuits who were gunned down in a remote Mexican church. Francis, an Argentine Jesuit, offered prayers to the Jesuit community at the end of his weekly general audience on Wednesday. The 79- and 80-year-old

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italy’s political landscape has shifted after Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio formalized his departure from the 5-Star Movement.Di Maio announced his departure after Premier Mario Draghi briefed the Senate on Italy’s continued commitment to helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia.  The president of the lower Chamber of

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is calling on Congress to suspend federal gasoline and diesel taxes for three months — an election-year move meant to ease financial pressures. But it’s not clear Biden has the votes to suspend the taxes. Many lawmakers in his own party have expressed reservations.

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL and AL-EMRUN GARJON Associated Press SYLHET, Bangladesh (AP) — Scientists say climate change is a factor behind the erratic and early rains that triggered unprecedented floods in Bangladesh and northeastern India, killing dozens and making lives miserable for millions of others. Although the region is no stranger to flooding, it typically takes

By AHMED AL-HAJ Associated Press SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemeni officials say suspected al-Qaida militants have attacked a security post in a southern province, sparking clashes that left five troops and three militants dead. The early morning Wednesday attack took place in Ataq, the capital of the mountainous province of Shabwa, the officials said. At

By KRISHAN FRANCIS Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s debt-laden economy has “collapsed” after months of shortages of food, fuel and electricity, its prime minister told lawmakers Wednesday, in comments underscoring the country’s dire situation as it seeks help from international lenders. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament the South Asian country

By SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Myanmar’s defense minister has been welcomed to an annual meeting of his counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations despite being sanctioned by the United States, Britain and other countries for abuses committed by his military. Gen. Mya Tun Oo wore his uniform as

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — A woman representing India’s poor tribal community is likely to be the next president. The governing Bharatiya Janata Party picked Draupadi Murmu on Tuesday as its candidate for the ceremonial post. Her election is a formality with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party in a strong position

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — More than a thousand firefighters, aided by water-dropping planes and helicopters, are battling a wildfire that erupted overnight near a popular resort in southwestern Turkey forcing dozens of home evacuations. An official voiced hope Wednesday that the blaze — one year after the worst wildfires in

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean prosecutors have barred dozens of people connected to Terraform Labs from leaving the country as they expand an investigation into a $40 billion collapse of the company’s cryptocurrency that devastated traders around the world. The Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office said Wednesday it plans to summon them for

By ALEKSANDAR FURTULA Associated Press STROE, Netherlands (AP) — Thousands of farmers have gathered in the central Netherlands to protest the Dutch government’s plans to rein in emissions of nitrogen oxide and ammonia. They drove their tractors across the country in slow-moving convoys and snarled traffic on major highways Wednesday. The protest was organized after

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s inflation rate hit 9.1% in May, a new 40-year high and up slightly from the previous month. The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that consumer price inflation rose slightly from 9% in April, itself the highest level since 1982. Chief economist Grant Fitzner said “continued steep food price rises and

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday after Wall Street edged lower amid fears higher interest rates will chill global economic growth. Shanghai and Hong Kong advanced, while Tokyo and Seoul declined. Oil prices fell more than $2 per barrel to near $100. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome

By DENG MACHOL Associated Press JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Some young girls are still auctioned off into marriage for cows in South Sudan — one of the social challenges that activists had hoped to highlight during Pope Francis’ now-postponed visit. The price of a daughter, determined in negotiations between her father and would-be husband,

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian state has become the first in the country to pass a law banning the public display of Nazi swastikas, as concerns grow about the rate at which local young people are being radicalized. The Parliament of Victoria, Australia’s second-most populous state, passed laws late

By SUZAN FRASER and AYSE WIETING Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey and Saudi Arabia have declared their readiness to start a “new era of cooperation.” The declaration came Wednesday during a visit by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — his first to Turkey since the brutal slaying of Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer Briana Scurry’s soccer jersey from the 1999 Women’s World Cup is at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. It’s part of a permanent display that recognizes Title IX and its contributions to leveling the playing field. The law paved the way for the Black

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Two men have pleaded guilty in New Zealand to their involvement in running the once wildly popular pirating website Megaupload. The pleas by Mathias Ortmann and Bram van der Kolk at the Auckland High Court ended their 10-year legal battle on charges that included racketeering.

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — A Chinese court has sentenced a man to 18 months in prison after an Alibaba employee went public about being sexually assaulted at a business dinner. The man represented a supermarket in talks for business dealings with the Chinese e-commerce giant and met the Alibaba employee

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian President Joko Widodo is planning to meet the leaders of Russia and Ukraine following the Group of Seven summit in Germany later this month. Indonesia’s foreign minister says Widodo will travel to Kyiv and Moscow after attending the G-7 summit in the Bavarian village of Elmau on June 26-27. He

By KRUTIKA PATHI and BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, the worst in its history, has completely recast the lives of the country’s once galloping middle class. For many families that never had to think twice about fuel or food, the effects have been instant and painful, derailing

By MATTHEW BROWN and AMY BETH HANSON Associated Press YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK (AP) — Throngs of tourists gleefully watched the legendary Old Faithful geyser shoot towering bursts of steaming water while others got stuck in “bison jams” on picturesque valley roads as visitors returned Wednesday for the partial reopening of Yellowstone National Park after destructive

By SAM METZ Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Firefighter groups are applauding the Biden administration’s steps to raise pay but warn that the temporary wage hikes won’t be enough to combat staffing problems, as federal agencies compete with local fire departments and big box stores in a tight labor market. “It’s an effort

BEIJING (AP) — Major flooding has forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people in southern China, with more rain expected. Parts of the manufacturing hub of Guangdong suspended classes, office work and public transport amid rising waters and the threat of landslides. In the neighboring province of Jiangxi, almost 500,000 people have seen