Month: June 2022

By LOLITA C. BALDOR and MIKE CORDER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. announced it will send an additional $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine, as America and its allies provide longer-range weapons they say can make a difference in a fight where Ukrainian forces are outnumbered and outgunned by their Russian invaders.

By LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel hopes President Joe Biden’s visit to the region next month will bolster its efforts to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia. That’s according to Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid Wednesday. Asked about his expectations on Israel-Saudi relations during Joe Biden’s whirlwind trip to both countries, Lapid said

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has acknowledged it plans two tests for its new solid-fueled rocket after satellite photos showed preparations at a desert launch pad previously used in the program. That’s even as tensions remain high over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. The Islamic Republic will launch

By MICHAEL CANTU Edmunds The 2022 Audi A3 has been completely redesigned with new tech, updated styling and improved fuel efficiency. But can it outperform the sophisticated and highly rated Volvo S60? Each one is its brand’s entry-level offering loaded with lots of value. Will Swedish styling and comfort win over Audi’s sharp lines and

By MARIA CHENG AP Medical Writer LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization is creating a new vaccine-sharing mechanism to stop the spiraling outbreak of monkeypox in more than 30 countries beyond Africa. The move could result in the U.N. health agency distributing scarce vaccine doses to rich countries that otherwise can afford them. To

By JOHN LEICESTER and YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press MAKARIV, Ukraine (AP) — The truck driver had the radio on, his daughter’s stuffed toy keeping him company, and was bouncing his lumbering vehicle down one of the innumerable dirt tracks in Ukraine that are vital thoroughfares in the country’s vast agricultural heartlands. Then the right rear

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian President Joko Widodo has announced a Cabinet reshuffle, replacing key economic ministers amid a national cooking oil shortage and rising food prices. Zulkifli Hasan, the chairman of a political party that joined the ruling coalition last year, was tapped as Indonesia’s new trade minister on

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press President Joe Biden on Wednesday called on U.S. oil refiners to produce more gasoline and diesel, saying their profits have tripled during a time of war between Russia and Ukraine as Americans struggle with record high prices at the pump. “The crunch that families are facing deserves immediate action,” Biden

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s highest court has backed a far-right party’s complaint against comments by former Chancellor Angela Merkel that the election of a state governor with the party’s support must not be allowed to stand. The Federal Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday that the comments the then-chancellor made in 2020 violated Alternative for Germany’s

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is launching legal action against the U.K. in response to unilateral moves to rewrite parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol in the post-Brexit deal between both sides. The proposed U.K. bill seeks to remove customs checks on some goods entering Northern Ireland from the

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s showpiece investment gathering begins Wednesday, and organizers are telling foreign participants to be sure to bring cash — not necessarily for making investments, but for spending money. The advice for the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that runs through Saturday is a quiet acknowledgment of the

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Egypt, Israel and the European Union have signed a deal to increase liquified natural gas sales to EU countries, who aim to reduce their dependence on supplies from Russia as the war in Ukraine drags on. The deal, stamped Wednesday in an upscale Cairo hotel, will see

By The Associated Press The European Central Bank has vowed to come up with a new, unspecified market backstop that could be used to buffer some countries against bond market turmoil similar to what shook the 19-country eurozone during a debt crisis more than a decade ago. The statement came after an unscheduled meeting of

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British government vowed Wednesday to organize more flights to deport asylum-seekers from around the world to Rwanda, after a last-minute court judgment grounded the first plane due to take off under the contentious policy. Home Secretary Priti Patel said ”preparation for the next flight begins now”

BEIJING (AP) — Heavy rain in China has claimed six lives this week and forced the evacuation of some 200,000 people. Five people died in southeastern China, according to state media reports: A house collapse took three lives in Fujian province on Tuesday, and two died Monday in a landslide caused by torrential rain in

GENEVA (AP) — Twenty-five people have been treated for burns after walking on hot coal in northern Switzerland, according to police. Emergency services were alerted to injuries at a private event on the Au peninsula on Lake Zurich Tuesday evening, Zurich canton (state) police said in a statement. They said that 25 people were given

GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland has reopened its airspace after a brief closure for safety reasons because of an unspecified “technical malfunction.” Air navigation service Skyguide initially said the closure Wednesday would be in effect “until further notice” after the malfunction early in the morning. A few hours later it said the airspace closure was lifted

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Seven earthquakes struck off Iran’s southern Kish Island on Wednesday, rattling Dubai and other areas across the Persian Gulf. The U.S. Geological Survey said six magnitude 4 temblors struck, as well as one magnitude 5.3 off the island near the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state television reported that

By CARA ANNA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A new study has found that Facebook has failed to catch Islamic State group and al-Shabab extremist content in posts aimed at East Africa as the region remains under threat from violent attacks and Kenya prepares to vote in a closely contested national election. An Associated

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A campaign strategist says the previous Australian government’s stance against a more aggressive China drove away many Chinese-Australian voters at recent elections who considered the administration’s language had licensed racism. The conservative coalition government lost elections last month after almost a decade in power to the

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares advanced Thursday after the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by three-quarters of a point and signaled more rate hikes were coming to fight inflation. Wall Street rallied Wednesday after the Fed’s hike, the biggest since 1994, as investors took heart from Chair

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan and Australia’s defense ministers have vowed to step up their ties to support democratic values in the Indo-Pacific region and agreed to work more closely with Southeast Asia and the Pacific island nations where China is seeking to expand its influence. Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles

NEW DELHI (AP) — U.S. media giant Walt Disney and India’s Reliance Industries have won the broadcasting rights for the Indian Premier League for more than $6 billion, making the Twenty20 cricket competition one of the most lucrative sports leagues in the world in terms of cost per game. Indian cricket board secretary Jay Shah

By COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press Ask a man about gender equality, and you’re likely to hear the U.S. has made great strides in the 50 years since the landmark anti-discrimination law Title IX was passed. Ask a woman, and the answer probably will be quite different. According to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC

By CARLA K. JOHNSON AP Medical Writer The number and rate of U.S. abortions increased from 2017 to 2020 after a long decline, according to figures released Wednesday. The report from the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights, counted more than 930,000 abortions in the U.S. in 2020. That’s up from about

By MATTHEW BROWN and LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Devastating floodwaters that wiped out miles of roads and hundreds of bridges in Yellowstone National Park and swamped scores of homes in surrounding communities moved downstream Wednesday and threatened to cut off fresh drinking water to residents of Montana’s largest city. Heavy weekend