Month: July 2022

By The Associated Press A court in Moscow has sentenced a municipal council member to seven years in prison for his remarks opposing the war in Ukraine. The unprecedented sentence raises the stakes for Kremlin critics in Russia who speak out against Moscow’s invasion of its ex-Soviet neighbor. Alexei Gorinov was found guilty Friday of

By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press A Pennsylvania 911 operator faces a rare charge of involuntary manslaughter for failing to send an ambulance to the rural home of a woman who died of internal bleeding a day later, despite a plea from the woman’s daughter that without medical help “she’s going to die.” A Greene County

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is planning to restart his pilgrimages within Italy after a pandemic-induced lull and knee pain that has made walking and standing difficult. The Vatican said Friday that Francis would make back-to-back September day trips to the hilltop town of Assisi and the southern city of Matera. In Assisi, he’ll

BEIJING (AP) — A former Chinese vice minister of public security has gone on trial, accused of collecting 646 million yuan ($96.3 million) in bribes over nearly two decades. Sun Lijun faces charges of selling government positions, manipulating stock prices and illegally possessing firearms, in one of the most high-profile corruption trials in years. Sun,

By FOSTER KLUG and MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Shinzo Abe was a political blueblood groomed for power. Japan’s longest serving prime minister, he was also perhaps the most polarizing, complex politician in recent Japanese history. Abe, who was assassinated Friday, angered both liberals at home and World War II victims in Asia

By FRANCESCA EBEL and MARIA GRAZIA MURRU Associated Press POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian regional official is warning of deteriorating living conditions in a city captured by Russian forces two weeks ago. He said Friday that Sievierodonetsk is without water, power or a working sewage system while dead bodies decompose in hot apartment buildings.

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Europe’s banks aren’t sufficiently considering risks from climate change and must “urgently step up efforts” to make sure they understand the possible impact of floods, wildfires and losses on investments. That was a key conclusion from a climate stress test on 104 banks run by

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in broad daylight Friday shocked a world that has come to associate Japan with relatively low crime and strict gun control. Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, Abe was shot in the back while campaigning in the city of Nara for

By JILL LAWLESS and DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Former British Treasury chief Rishi Sunak formally launched his campaign to replace departing Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday, leaping to the front of what is set to be a large pack of Conservative Party contenders — even as some party lawmakers pushed to

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to Asia this month, her first trip to the Indo-Pacific since becoming head of the agency. Yellen will represent the U.S. at the Group of 20 finance minister meetings on Indonesia’s resort island of Bali. At the G-20 meetings and on

By BARRY HATTON Associated Press LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal’s government on Friday declared an eight-day state of alert due to a heightened risk of wildfires, as the drought-stricken country prepares for a heat wave packing temperatures as high as 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit). The torrid weather brings with it “a significant worsening

By DANIELLA MATAR AP Sports Writer BELLINZONA, Switzerland (AP) — Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini were acquitted on charges of defrauding FIFA by a Swiss criminal court on Friday, a rare positive outcome for the pair who were among soccer’s most powerful figures before being embroiled in corruption investigations. The case was centered around a

Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says Ghana has reported two possible cases of the Ebola-like Marburg virus disease, which if confirmed would mark the first-ever such infections in the West African country. WHO said the disease, a very infectious hemorrhagic fever in the same family as Ebola, is spread to people

PAMPLONA, Spain (AP) — Authorities say there were no gorings in the second San Fermín Festival bull run in the Spanish city of Pamplona. But the Red Cross said six people were taken to hospital with injuries. The run on Friday lasted three minutes and 10 seconds, and produced some hairy moments. Runners slipped or

By CARA ANNA and MSTYSLAV CHERNOV Associated Press KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — She had gone out to feed the cats when the shelling began. It was afternoon, a residential neighborhood, a time to get errands done. But there is nothing routine about life near the front line in Ukraine. Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city and

By EILEEN NG Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Leaders around the world condemned the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday as “despicable,” “cowardly” and “terrorism” while recalling him as a man devoted to peace, security and international cooperation. Tributes poured in as governments expressed sorrow and solidarity with Japan

TOKYO (AP) — Born into a prominent political family, Shinzo Abe, who was fatally shot at a campaign event Friday in western Japan, had been the country’s longest-serving prime minister. While credited with bringing a degree of stability following a period of economic malaise and constant turnover among leaders, he angered neighbors South Korea and

By KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES and VESELIN TOSHKOV Associated Press SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — Nightly protests in North Macedonia over the last week have left dozens of people injured. At the heart of the turmoil is the small Balkan country’s long-running quest to join the European Union. The most recent hurdle was a veto by EU

By STAN CHOE, DAMIAN J. TROISE and ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writers NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street capped a winning week with a sputtering finish Friday, as stocks waffled following a stronger-than-expected report on the U.S. jobs market. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% after earlier flipping between a loss of 0.9% and a gain

ISLAMABAD (AP) — At least 10 people — including two children — have been killed by heavy and unseasonal flooding in Afghanistan’s eastern and northern provinces. A statement by the United Nations Friday said the rainfall and consequent flooding also wounded 11 people. The provinces suffering the heaviest casualties and damage were eastern Nangarhar, Nuristan

By AMR NABIL Associated Press MOUNT ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims from around the world were raising their hands to heaven and offering prayers of repentance on the sacred hill of Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia. Friday was an intense day of worship considered to be the climax of

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia and New Zealand’s prime ministers have agreed that security concerns regarding China’s expanding influence must be discussed at a meeting of western Pacific leaders. The neighboring countries are the wealthiest in the 18-member Pacific Islands Forum whose leaders will meet next week in Fiji. Australia

By NOMAAN MERCHANT and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press LANGLEY, Virginia (AP) — President Joe Biden is lauding the CIA as the “bedrock of our national security,” He visited the agency Friday to mark 75th anniversary since its founding after World War II. Biden thanked the CIA for its work in Ukraine and called America’s intelligence

BEIJING (AP) — China has demanded the U.S. cease military “collusion” with Taiwan during a virtual meeting between the joint chiefs of staff from the two countries whose relationship has grown increasingly fractious. Gen. Li Zuocheng told Gen. Mark Milley on Thursday that China had “no room for compromise” on issues affecting its “core interests,”

By HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Concerns about inflation and personal finances have surged while COVID has evaporated as a top issue for Americans, a new poll shows, marking an upheaval in priorities just months before critical midterm elections. Forty percent of U.S. adults specifically name inflation in an open-ended question as one

By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Hours after a gunman killed seven people at a July 4th parade in suburban Chicago, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker tapped into the frustration of many fellow Democrats at the seeming inability of the U.S. to curb gun violence. “If you’re angry today, I’m here to

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The Chinese capital Beijing appears to have backed off a plan to launch a vaccine mandate for entry into certain public spaces after pushback from residents. While not explicitly saying it had dropped the plan, a city official was quoted in state media late Thursday saying

By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — A new exhibit at Bishop Museum in Honolulu is drawing attention to a more than 500-year-old story about four high-ranking visitors from Tahiti who healed the sick. The healers were mahu, which in Hawaiian language and culture refers to someone with dual male and female spirit and

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council has failed to extend humanitarian aid deliveries to 4.1 million Syrians in the rebel-held northwest from Turkey after Russia vetoed a resolution for a year-long extension and got insufficient support for its resolution for a six-month extension. The failure on Friday

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — A strong hiring report for June has assuaged fears that the U.S. economy might be on the cusp of a recession — and highlighted the resilience of the nation’s job market. Yet the figures the government released Friday also spotlighted the sharp divide between the healthy

By GUILLERMO GARAT Associated Press MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (AP) — Uruguay has stopped administering coronavirus vaccine to children under age 13. The halt began after a judge ordered on Thursday that all inoculations in that age group halt until officials present documents relating to contracts signed with vaccine manufacturers. The government says it will appeal the

By KATHLEEN FOODY and CLAIRE SAVAGE Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Mourners on Friday remembered a woman who worked tirelessly at her synagogue and a gentle man who loved art in the first formal services to be held for the seven people killed by the gunman who opened fire on a July Fourth parade. Synagogue

By MARI YAMAGUCHI, CHISATO TANAKA and FOSTER KLUG Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated Friday on a street in western Japan by a gunman who opened fire on him from behind as he delivered a campaign speech — an attack that stunned a nation with some of the strictest