Month: June 2022

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish officials say the Turkish and Greek defense ministers have met on the sidelines of a NATO meeting amid renewed tensions between the neighbors and allies. Their discussion on Thursday focused on the “importance of continuing the dialogue in order to reduce tensions,” according to Turkish officials. Greece and Turkey have

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s executive arm is preparing its recommendation on Ukraine’s request to join the EU. The European Commission’s endorsement of making the war-torn country a candidate for membership would only be a tentative step on a path that could take decades to complete. But it would send a strong symbol of

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The cryptocurrency company Circle says it will start issuing its first euro-denominated cryptocurrency, a stablecoin known as Euro Coin, later this month. It would be the first stablecoin in euros backed by a large player in the industry and could potentially become a major conduit

PARIS (AP) — McDonald’s France and related companies have agreed to pay over 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) to the French state to settle a case in which the fast-food giant was accused of years of tax evasion. A Paris court approved the settlement Thursday, the French national financial prosecutor’s office said. McDonald’s said the

LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Appeals judges at an international tribunal have sentenced two members of the militant Hezbollah group to life imprisonment for their roles in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and the deaths of 21 other people. The convicted men, Hassan Habib Merhi and Hussein Hassan Oneissi, remain at

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s Central Bank has issued a directive allowing licensed exchange offices to resume buying and selling foreign currency, days after traders protested over the worsening economic situation. The country’s state-run media reported on the development on Thursday. Iran had banned all trading by individuals at private exchanges since 2018, allowing these

By AYA BATRAWY Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar Airways, one of the Mideast’s largest carriers known for on-board comfort and luxury, says profits over the past fiscal year topped $1.5 billion. It marks the highest ever earnings for the state-owned carrier as it prepares to see a record surge in travelers

LONDON (AP) — Britain has announced a new round of sanctions against Russia. Those targeted include Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, who Britain said “repeatedly abused his position to justify” Russia’s war on Ukraine. Britain also sanctioned Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, who is accused of overseeing the forced transfer of 2,000 Ukrainian

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Violence has erupted in parts of India with thousands of angry youths setting train coaches and vehicles on fire, blocking highways and attacking police with rocks to protest a new short-term government recruitment policy for the military. Police used batons and tear gas to disperse the

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Blas whirled off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast Thursday, prompting a precautionary port closure in a region recovering from destruction brought by the season’s first big storm. A tropical depression also formed off Central America and was forecast to become a tropical storm while moving closer to El Salvador and Guatemala,

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Rich countries including the European Union and the United States have pushed back against efforts to put financial help for poor nations suffering the devastating effects of global warming firmly on the agenda for this year’s U.N. climate summit. Observers and campaigners attending a ten-day preparatory meeting

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer Severe weather has forced Abbott Nutrition to pause production at a Michigan baby formula factory that had just restarted after being closed for several months, contributing to a national shortage. Production for Abbott’s EleCare specialty formula has been suspended, but there is enough supply to meet demand until production

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — The European Union is beefing up its code of practice on disinformation by enlisting more tech companies and adding measures to prevent online purveyors of fake news from profiting. The EU’s executive Commission unveiled an update Thursday to its four-year-old voluntary code that, together with sweeping

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Revlon, a cosmetics maker that broke racial barriers and dictated beauty trends for much of the last century, is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company has been a mainstay on store shelves since its founding 90 years ago in New York City as

By CAROLYN THOMPSON Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The white man who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket made his first appearance in federal court on hate crime charges Thursday, and the judge urged prosecutors to quickly decide whether to pursue the death penalty given the “substantial” cost of those cases. In

By JILL COLVIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence won’t be testifying at the Jan. 6 committee hearing. But Pence will be in the spotlight Thursday as the committee turns its focus to then-President Donald Trump’s desperate attempts to persuade him to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Before the ceremony and the serious meetings about war, the European leaders witnessed the devastation wrought by Russia. A must. To understand Ukraine’s fight for survival, they had to see it themselves, with their own eyes. The blown up buildings. The smashed cars. And a message

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Swiss federal prosecutors said Thursday they have issued an indictment for murder and other charges against a 28-year-old Swiss-Turkish man in connection with the “jihadist-motivated homicide” of a man in western Switzerland two years ago. If the motive is confirmed, it would be a rare occurrence in

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Police in Nigeria say that at least 35 teenage girls have been rescued after being held captive and forced to work in a prostitution ring in southeastern Nigeria. According to a statement issued by Tochukwu Ikenga, Anambra police spokesman, the girls between the ages of 14

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Thousands of people have marched in Bangladesh’s capital to demand the governments of Bangladesh and India officially condemn comments by two Indian governing party officials deemed derogatory to Islam’s Prophet Muhammad. The march began at the country’s main Baitul Mukarram Mosque but was blocked by police as it headed toward India’s

By IRINA TITOVA and JIM HEINTZ Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — The head of the Russian Central Bank is warning that the country’s economy faces pressure from abroad that could persist indefinitely, dampening hopes that conditions could return to the way they were before Russia sent troops into Ukraine. Elvira Nabiullina said Thursday

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Police in Kosovo have reported a series of bomb threats to schools in Serb-dominated areas of the country and say they have confirmed some as hoaxes. A police statement said about 30 locations received electronic warnings or phone calls on Thursday morning. It did not identify the precise areas. Later police

By FRANCESCA EBEL and BOUAZZA BEN BOUAZZA Associated Press TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — A nationwide public sector strike in Tunisia is poised to paralyze land and air transportation and other vital activities with the North African nation already in the midst of a deteriorating economic crisis. Tunisia’s powerful General Labour Union (UGTT) announced Thursday’s walkout

GENEVA (AP) — After five weeks of declining coronavirus deaths, the number of fatalities reported globally increased by 4% last week, according to the World Health Organization. In its weekly assessment of the pandemic issued on Thursday, the U.N. health agency said there were 8,700 COVID-19 deaths last week, with a 21% jump in the

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Officials say a fire broke out in an apartment building in Slovakia overnight, killing at least four people. Police say the fire started in an apartment on the fifth floor of the building in the town of Handlova in central Slovakia. Firefighters say some 150 people were evacuated from the building.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s vice chancellor is stepping up an appeal for the country’s residents to save energy after Russia’s Gazprom announced significant cuts in natural gas deliveries through a key pipeline. State-owned Gazprom announced on Tuesday that it was cutting gas flows through the undersea Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany by 40%, then,

By CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will launch a new task force dedicated to fighting online harassment and abuse, according to senior Biden administration officials. Although the problem isn’t new, it has taken on new urgency following shooting massacres in Texas and New York that were predated by misogynist