Month: July 2022

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — The spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry says the United States has shown disrespect for Russian law by characterizing basketball star Brittney Griner’s jailing on drug charges as “wrongful detention.” Griner has been jailed since she was arrested in mid-February at a Moscow airport after vape canisters containing

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia 76ers are taking the first steps toward building a privately-funded sports and entertainment arena. The team’s managing partners on Thursday announced the creation of a new development company to create its future home in the city’s Fashion District. They say 76 Place is anticipated to cost about $1.3 billion. Josh

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The death toll from five weeks of monsoon rains and flash floods jumped to at least 282 in Pakistan on Thursday, officials said, as the latest downpours continued lashing the impoverished country. The deluge has swollen rivers, damaged highways, bridges and about 5,600 houses since June 14, the National Disaster Management Authority

By MARIA CHENG and GREGORY GONDWE Associated Press BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — As the World Health Organization announces the next step in its rollout of the world’s first authorized malaria vaccine in three African countries, concerns about its value have come from an unlikely source: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, arguably the vaccine’s biggest

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Michelle Obama will have a book out this fall, “The Light We Carry,” in which she reflects upon her experiences and shares insights on navigating an increasingly stressful world. It’s the former first lady’s first entirely new work since the 2018 release of her acclaimed

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank has raised interest rates for the first time in 11 years by a larger-than-expected amount. It’s joining steps already taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve and other major central banks to target stubbornly high inflation. The ECB’s surprise hike Thursday of

MADRID (AP) — Europe’s recent spate of wildfires is abating amid cooler temperatures. No outbreaks were reported Thursday in Portugal. And French firefighters started to get the upper hand over two major blazes while Spain tamed a fire that killed two people last weekend. Spanish firefighters were tackling nine blazes with two of them said

By MARIA CHENG AP Medical Writer LONDON (AP) — As the World Health Organization’s emergency committee convened Thursday to consider for the second time within weeks whether to declare monkeypox a global crisis, some scientists said the striking differences between the outbreaks in Africa and in developed countries will complicate any coordinated response. African officials

By EMILY ROSE Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has testified that he wasn’t to blame for the events that led to a deadly stampede at a holy site in northern Israel last year, the worst civilian disaster in the country’s history. The April 2021 incident took place during a

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden abruptly canceled a trip to Pennsylvania, where he had planned to propose a steep funding increase for police on Thursday, after testing positive for COVID-19. The Democratic president was set to ask Congress to spend roughly $37 billion for fighting and

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has imposed more sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine. The bloc’s 27 members backed measures that include a ban on gold imports and tighter export export controls on some high-technology goods. The EU has described the new round of sanctions as minor

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Reports by the World Bank and other experts say army-ruled Myanmar’s economy remains fragile as civil strife, inflation and onerous policy decisions add to troubles facing farmers and businesses. The World Bank said Thursday that while conditions have improved since last year, the country “remains a

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The two candidates to become Britain’s next prime minister have begun a head-to-head battle for the votes of Conservative Party members who will choose the country’s new leader. Former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak is promising fiscal prudence. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is offering immediate tax cuts to

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s state TV says the country’s foreign ministry recalled its ambassador from Sweden after an Iranian citizen was sentenced to life by a Swedish court for committing war crimes and murder during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. The report Thursday quoted ministry spokesman Naser Kanani as saying the

BEIJING (AP) — A tornado blew through 11 villages in a farming region of eastern China, damaging homes, killing at least one person and injuring 25 others. The homes and property of more than 2,000 people were damaged when the twister struck Wednesday in a province south of Beijing. Media reported the estimated cost of

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Activists have opened a campaign in the Philippines to prevent a repeat of the abuses and plunder of the martial-law era that began 50 years ago under the father of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Pro-Marcos propaganda has portrayed the late president’s reign as a “golden era.”

HELSINKI (AP) — Wireless and fixed-network equipment maker Nokia has reported second-quarter profit above analyst expectations on strong demand for 5G technology from phone operators and improved competitiveness of its main business units. The Espoo, Finland-based company reported net profit of 585 million euros ($597 million) on Thursday for the April-June period compared with 539

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — China’s internet watchdog has fined ride-hailing firm Didi Global more than 8 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) following an investigation into the company’s cybersecurity practices. The Cyberspace Administration of China said Didi’s collection of large amounts of data was found to have violated China’s network security law,

By NICOLE WINFIELD and FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italy is headed for an early election after its president accepted Premier Mario Draghi’s resignation and decided there was no possibility for cobbling together another government. The election was set for Sept. 25. The demise of Draghi’s coalition and the uncertainty of what Italian

BERLIN (AP) — The Buchenwald concentration camp memorial says that seven trees dedicated to the memory of victims of the Nazi camp in eastern Germany have been chopped down. The foundation that runs the memorial tweeted on Wednesday that the trees near the site apparently were attacked the previous day. It posted pictures showing the

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican Museums are home to some of the most magnificent artworks in the world, from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel to ancient Egyptian antiquities and a pavilion full of papal chariots. But one of the museum’s least-visited collections is becoming its most contested before Pope Francis’ trip

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican Museums are home to some of the most magnificent artworks in the world, from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel to ancient Egyptian antiquities and a pavilion full of papal chariots. But one of the museum’s least-visited collections is becoming its most contested before Pope Francis’ trip

By The Associated Press The message to U.S. lawmakers from Ukraine’s first lady, delivered amid stark and graphic images of civilian bloodshed, couldn’t have been clearer: After nearly five full months since Russia launched its invasion, Olena Zelenska said that her country needs more Western weapons. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent her to Washington to

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher on Friday after another day of gains on Wall Street amid a deluge of news about the economy, interest rates and corporate profits. Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced while Seoul and Shanghai declined. U.S. futures edged lower while oil prices

YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japan has reported its trade deficit for the first half of this year totaled nearly 8 trillion yen, or about $58 billion, because of surging oil prices and a weakening yen. The deficit for January- June was the second consecutive half-year of deficits. Finance Ministry data released

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press BAR ELIAS, Lebanon (AP) — Sitting outside her tent in a camp in eastern Lebanon, a 30-year-old Syrian refugee contemplated the sunset and her worsening options. Umm Jawad fled to Lebanon in 2011 to escape a Syrian government siege of her hometown of Homs. She managed to survive over the

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom is demanding an explanation from UCLA officials about their move to the Big Ten Conference. Newsom attended Wednesday’s UC Board of Regents meeting in San Francisco. The closed-door meeting was the first since UCLA and Southern California announced on June 30 that the schools would be leaving