Month: July 2022

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government has given the green light to a new nuclear power station that’s expected to generate enough low-carbon electricity to power 6 million homes. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said development consent was granted for the building of the plant, called Sizewell C, on eastern England’s Suffolk coast. French energy company EDF,

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and RASHID YAHYA Associated Press DOHUK, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi Kurdish officials and Iraq’s military say at least eight tourists have been killed and over 20 wounded after Turkish artillery strikes struck northern Iraq. The Wednesday attack hit a resort area in the northern semi-autonomous Kurdish region. All casualties in the attack

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press Trump officials tried to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census in a move experts said would benefit Republicans despite initial doubts among some in the administration that it was legal, according to an investigative report released Wednesday by a congressional oversight committee. The report offers a smoking gun

By PAUL WISEMAN and MARÍA VERZA The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States is putting pressure on Mexico over energy policies that Washington says unfairly favor Mexico’s state-owned electricity and oil companies over American competitors and clean-energy suppliers. Among the specific issues in dispute is an amendment to Mexican law last year that

By TERRY WALLACE Associated Press At least 16 homes have been destroyed and another five damaged as a two-day-old wildfire remained on the move near Glen Rose in North Texas. The Texas A&M Forest Service said embers from burning tree crowns were flying downwind up to 200 yards. The Chalk Mountain Fire near Glen Rose

By MIKE ECKEL Associated Press SCHÖNAU AM KÖNIGSSEE, Germany (AP) — Hikers looking for rugged trails, soaring vistas and convivial evenings drinking schnapps in mountain huts could do far worse than Germany’s Berchtesgaden national park. The park is in the Bavarian Alps near Germany’s southeastern border with Austria. AP writer Mike Eckel says that on

By GLENN GAMBOA AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Donations from Fidelity Charitable climbed 11% to a record $4.8 billion for the first half of 2022. The nation’s largest grantmaker says the growth in payouts from its donor-advised funds paints a far sunnier picture about philanthropy than other recent reports. Donor-advised funds let donors

By LEANNE ITALIE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — For the uninitiated, outfitting a college dorm room can be a dizzying experience. Doing it at a time of high inflation can make it even more daunting. The first step: Meticulously go over what the school allows and provides. If you want a microwave and minifridge,

By IVANA BZGANOVIC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Egypt and Serbia have agreed to boost political, economic and other cooperation as the two countries look for ways to deal with the global impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi is in Serbia on a three-day visit this week — the

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Italy’s political turmoil is making life harder for the European Central Bank as it hikes interest rates and raising bad memories of the eurozone debt crisis a decade ago. Premier Mario Draghi has offered to resign, and the threat of political changes as borrowing costs

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt has resumed hot air ballooning over the ancient city of Luxor following a two-day hiatus after two tourists were lightly injured during a ride. The Ministry of Civil Aviation says Wednesday it decided to resume the rides after reviewing “all safety measures and steps taken” to operate the popular flights. A

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he’ll host leaders from across Africa for a summit in Washington in mid-December. The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit will be held Dec. 13-15. Biden says the gathering will underscore the importance of U.S.-Africa relations and increased cooperation on shared global priorities. Biden says those priorities include a commitment to

BERLIN (AP) — A court that was considering a case against Dieter Wedel, one of Germany’s best-known TV directors and scriptwriters, says that he has died. He was 82. The Munich state court said that Wedel died in Hamburg on July 13, German news agency dpa reported. The court had been expected to announce Wednesday

By ALEX ROSENBERG of NerdWallet Medicare fraud is big business, and the COVID-19 pandemic has provided new opportunities for fraudsters. Fortunately, there are simple actions you can take to protect yourself from Medicare fraud. First, treat your Medicare number like it’s a credit card number or your Social Security number. Share it only with trusted

By SHEIKH SAALIQ Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top court has granted bail to a Muslim journalist more than three weeks after he was detained for allegedly hurting religious sentiments through his tweets. The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered fact-checker Mohammed Zubair’s immediate release from jail, saying there was no justification for keeping

By KATIE TAM and ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s annual book fair has kicked off with several publishers of political books prevented from taking part in the fair and others saying they had to be cautious about what they exhibited. The fair’s main organizer, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council,

By MILES BRANMAN Edmunds There are two key points within the life cycle of a vehicle: the introduction of a fully redesigned model and a significant midlife update. If you’re looking to maximize your new vehicle purchase, knowing these timelines can help you make the best decision. An automaker’s marketing might liberally describe the vehicle

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Conservative Party chose former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss — a fiscal moderate and a low-tax crusader — as the two finalists in an election to replace departing Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The result came on the day the divisive, unrepentant Johnson

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Reps. Elaine Luria and Adam Kinzinger, who will lead questioning in the closing summer hearing of the Jan. 6 committee on Thursday night, are from different parties but agree emphatically on one thing: The investigation into the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is worth sacrificing their

By CATHY BUSSEWITZ AP Energy Writer NEW YORK (AP) — When long-haul trucker Deb LaBree sets out on the road to deliver pharmaceuticals, she has strategies to hold down costs. She avoids the West Coast and the Northeast, where diesel prices are highest. She organizes her delivery route to minimize “deadheading” — driving an empty

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s head office on Wednesday proposed that member states cut their gas use by 15% over the coming months as the bloc braced for a possible full Russian cutoff of natural gas supplies that could add a big chill to the upcoming winter. While the

By SEUNG MIN KIM and MATTHEW DALY Associated Press SOMERSET, Mass. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced modest new steps to combat climate change and promised more robust action to come, saying, “This is an emergency and I will look at it that way.” The president stopped short, though, of declaring a formal

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s highest court says it has thrown out complaints against a ban on the use of subcontractors in slaughterhouses that was prompted by coronavirus outbreaks early in the pandemic. The Federal Constitutional Court said Wednesday that it rejected complaints by a sausage manufacturer and several temporary employment agencies against the new rules,

LONDON (AP) — Inflation in the United Kingdom has accelerated to a new 40-year high, driven by rising food and fuel prices that are contributing to a cost-of-living crisis. The Office of National Statistics said Wednesday that consumer prices rose 9.4% in the year through June, up from 9.1% the previous month. The new figure

By RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — The United Nations says in a new report that despite an overall improved security situation in Afghanistan, at least 700 people have been killed since the Taliban took over last year. The majority of those casualties were linked to attacks by the Islamic State group’s affiliate in

By FABIANO MAISONNAVE RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Environmental criminals in the Brazilian Amazon destroyed public forests equal the size of El Salvador over the past six years, yet the Federal Police — the Brazilian version of the FBI — carried out only seven operations aimed at this massive loss, according to a new study.

MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan’s police say they have arrested at least two people after a 21-year-old American woman reported that she was gang raped at a hotel when she was visiting a tourist resort in the eastern Punjab province. The detainees included her host, who took her to a hotel where she says she

By THANASSIS STAVRAKIS and DEREK GATOPOULOS PALINI, Greece (AP) — Nearly 500 firefighters struggled to contain a large wildfire that threatened hillside suburbs outside Athens for a second day Wednesday, after hundreds of residents were evacuated overnight. Fires continued to burn across southern Europe, but authorities in France, Spain and Portugal all reported improved conditions

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria says it is formally breaking diplomatic ties with Ukraine in response to a similar move by Kyiv.  Syria is a strong ally of Russia, which joined Syria’s conflict in September 2015 helping tip the balance of power in favor of President Bashar Assad. In late June, Damascus said it would

By DANICA KIRKA and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s record-breaking heatwave has spurred calls for the government to speed up efforts to adapt to a changing climate, especially after wildfires created the busiest day for London firefighters since bombs rained down on the city during World War II. The country got a

By SUSIE BLANN Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces have damaged a bridge that is key to supplying Russian troops in southern Ukraine. Russia’s foreign minister said Wednesday that Moscow is trying to consolidate its territorial gains in that part of the war-torn country. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Russia plans to retain

By ILAN BEN ZION Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Installing an elevator doesn’t normally involve a 2,000-year plunge into an ancient city’s history. But in Jerusalem, even seemingly simple construction projects can lead to archaeological endeavors. Archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem say they have made numerous discoveries, including an ornate first-century villa with

By NICOLE WINFIELD and FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Mario Draghi has won a confidence vote in the Senate, but boycotts by three of his key coalition allies in the voting have likely doomed his unity government’s prospects of survival. The vote Wednesday went 95-38 in the favor of Draghi’s government,

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press SERRASTRETTA, Italy (AP) — From a rustic, tiny synagogue she fashioned from her family’s ancestral home in this mountain village, an American rabbi is keeping a promise made to her Italian-born father: reconnect people in this southern region of Calabria to their Jewish roots, links nearly severed five centuries ago