Month: September 2022

By HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of Ukraine’s atomic energy operator accused Russia on Thursday of trying to “steal” Europe’s largest nuclear plant by cutting it off from the Ukrainian electricity grid and leaving it on the brink of a radiation disaster. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been without

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Swedish court has sentenced an 18-year-old man to life in prison for killing two teachers with an ax at a southern Swedish high school in March. In Sweden, such a sentence generally means a minimum of 20 to 25 years in prison, but it could be extended. The defendant, a student

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s prosecutors have charged four journalists from one of the country’s few remaining independent news outlets of spreading false news and disturbing public peace. Mada Masr, a news website, said in a statement Wednesday that the journalists were released on bail overnight following their interrogation. At issue is an article saying that

By EDITH M. LEDERER and FRANK JORDANS Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly has approved veteran Austrian diplomat Volker Türk to be the global body’s human rights chief and the world’s advocate for adherence to the universal rights at a time when the office is facing harsh criticism from China for

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — The U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has arrived in Pakistan on a two-day solidarity visit during which he will travel to flood-hit areas. On his arrival at an airport near Islamabad, he was received by senior officials. His visit comes hours after Pakistan’s prime minister urged the world

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer VENICE, Italy (AP) — The 79th edition of the Venice International Film Festival is starting to wind down, but they’ve saved one of the most anticipated films of the slate for last. “Blonde,” Andrew Dominik’s Marilyn Monroe film starring Ana de Armas, is having its world premiere Thursday night

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — More than 1,000 people have been evacuated as firefighters battle a wildfire in southern Turkey for a second day running. The fire broke out in the district of Gulnar, in the Mediterranean coastal province of Mersin on Wednesday and spread to parts of the nearby district of Silifke. Turkey’s disaster and

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — The death toll from a fire at a karaoke parlor in southern Vietnam has climbed to 33, with police blaming some of the fatalities on customers who failed to heed employees’ warnings to flee and remained inside locked rooms. The death in a hospital of a person who was injured in

By MATTHEW LEE and KARL RITTER Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Thursday as the Biden administration announced major new military aid worth more than $2.8 billion for Ukraine and other European countries threatened by Russia. In meetings with senior Ukrainian officials,

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities say an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.4 has struck off the western islands of Zakynthos and Cephalonia, but no damage or injury has been reported. The Athens Geodynamic Institute said the undersea quake occurred at 10:36 a.m. (0736GMT) some 57 kilometers (35 miles) southwest of Lixouri on

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says President Joe Biden has approved additional military aid to Ukraine worth up to $675 million. The announcement Thursday came as he gathered allies to renew their commitment to military support “for the long haul.” Austin said at the start of a meeting with

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese state media say a man has been found safe after he spent two days aloft in a hydrogen balloon, traveling about 320 kilometers (200 miles), after it became untethered and flew away while he was using it to harvest pine nuts from a tree. The man and a partner were collecting

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Lawmakers in the Solomon Islands have voted to delay their nation’s general election from next year until 2024, a move that opponents say is a power grab and some fear could lead to further civil unrest. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare argued the delay was necessary

By JILL LAWLESS and SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Liz Truss says her Conservative government will cap domestic energy prices for homes and businesses to ease the cost-of-living crisis. She also says she will approve more North Sea oil drilling and lift a ban on fracking to increase the United

Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A bomb has detonated outside of a Hezbollah-backed Lebanese minister’s home in the eastern Bekaa valley. Caretaker Public Works Minister Ali Hamieh’s press office said in a statement Thursday that the explosive was wrapped in electrical cables and placed in his garden in the village of Taraya. The statement did

BERLIN (AP) — A Swiss court has granted the operating company for the never-opened Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was built to bring gas from Russia to Germany but put on ice shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine, a four-month extension to its “stay of bankruptcy.” The stay for Nord Stream 2 AG was extended from

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The last staff of the Iranian Embassy in Tirana have left the building after they were given 24 hours to leave Albania over a major cyberattack that the Albanian government blames on Iran. It is the first known case of a country cutting diplomatic relations over

JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian officials say Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian teen, who the military says hit a soldier with a hammer. The soldier was lightly wounded in Thursday’s violence, in the occupied West Bank. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Haitham Mubarak, 17, was killed. Rights groups accuse Israeli forces of using excessive

BEIJING (AP) — Heavy rains are complicating earthquake recovery efforts in southwestern China, where the death toll from Monday’s disaster has risen to 82. More than 20,000 people have been moved to temporary shelters amid the threat of landslides and buildings collapsing in the mountainous region of Sichuan province. Another 35 people are missing and

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian benchmarks rose Friday, cheered by gains on Wall Street as comments from the Federal Reserve chairman assured markets on the expected rate rise. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% in morning trading to 28,181.50. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5% to 6,881.30. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s Parliament has enshrined in law the government’s elevated target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 43% below 2005 levels by the end of the decade. The Senate passed legislation supporting the target in a vote of 37 to 30 on Thursday despite several senators who backed the bill calling for

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank made its largest-ever interest rate increase Thursday, following the U.S. Federal Reserve and other central banks in a global stampede of rapid rate hikes meant to snuff out the inflation that is squeezing consumers and pushing Europe toward recession. The bank’s

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME and SEBABATSO MOSAMO Associated Press BELA-BELA, South Africa (AP) — South Africa is flying cheetahs to India and Mozambique as part of ambitious efforts to reintroduce the distinctively spotted cats in regions where their population has dwindled. Four cheetahs captured at reserves in South Africa have been flown to Mozambique this week

By JOHN ANTCZAK and BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — California avoided rolling outages during extreme heat, as operators of the state’s electricity grid continued to warn that unprecedented demand on energy supplies could force them to periodically cut power to some customers. The California Independent System Operator on Wednesday thanked residents and

By ADRIAN SAINZ Associated Press MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The killing of jogger Eliza Fletcher has shocked the Memphis community and has led to a flood of support for her family. Police say the wife, mother of two and 34-year-old kindergarten teacher was killed after being kidnapped during a pre-dawn run near the University of

MARTHA IRVINE AP National Writer Oak Park, Ill. (AP) — In May, police got a tip and arrested student Keyon Robinson with a gun on his high school campus in suburban Chicago. Robinson he says he brought the gun in a backpack for protection after fighting with a relative. He faces felony charges. He’s now

MARTHA IRVINE AP National Writer Oak Park, Ill. (AP) — Keyon Robinson was just a month away from graduating from high school when he took a loaded gun, placed it in his backpack and headed to campus. He’d fought with a relative that morning. He was angry, and scared someone would come after him. The

By ROB GILLIES and ROBERT BUMSTED Associated Press ROSTHERN, Saskatchewan (AP) — The last suspect in a horrific stabbing rampage that killed 10 and wounded 18 in western Canada is dead following his capture. The manner of his death after being taken into custody has prompted fresh investigations. One official says 32-year-old Myles Sanderson died

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan and India have agreed to expand military cooperation by holding more joint exercises and pursuing combined development of defense equipment such as unmanned vehicles amid growing tensions with China and Russia in the region. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi says there is “an increasing need” for

By BRIAN SLODYSKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — In Orange County, California, the typical house sells for $1 million. That makes congresswoman Katie Porter’s four-bedroom, three-bath residence in a leafy subdivision on the University of California Irvine campus a bargain. The progressive Democrat and law professor purchased it in 2011 for $523,000, a below-market price

By SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — In recent days, President Joe Biden has sharpened his attacks against Donald Trump and the so-called MAGA Republicans for posing a threat to democracy. Biden has likened the philosophy undergirding the dominant strain of the modern-day GOP to “semi-fascism.” And Democrats are taking notice. The president’s

By BRIAN INGANGA and JULIE WATSON Associated Press KAMPI ya SAMAKI, Kenya (AP) — Winnie Keben had felt blessed to be raising her children in her husband’s childhood home in the community of Kampi ya Samaki – just over a quarter mile (500 meters) from the shoreline of Lake Baringo. The vast freshwater lake buzzing