Month: February 2023

By NICOLE WINFIELD, CHRISTINA MALKIA and JEAN-YVES KAMALE Associated Press KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Pope Francis led Congo’s young people in a rousing denunciation of political corruption on Thursday, turning an otherwise scripted meeting with church catechists into a rally that shook the capital’s sports stadium. Francis was repeatedly interrupted as some of the 65,000

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Senior members of the European Union’s executive branch are in Ukraine looking to boost relations with the war-torn country and pave the way for it to one day join the bloc. But not all of the EU’s 27 member countries think Ukraine should join. At least not

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank has hiked interest rates by another half-point and vows a similar hike at its next meeting. ECB President Christine Lagarde said Thursday that even beyond an intended hike in March, “we know that we are not done.” The bank is aggressively

By SUSIE BLANN Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian missiles hit residential areas in an eastern Ukrainian city Thursday for the second time in 24 hours, while top European Union officials held talks with the government in Kyiv as the war with Russia approaches its one-year milestone. The latest strikes in Kramatorsk came as

By RIAZ KHAN Associated Press PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police say a suicide bomber who killed 101 people in the northwestern city of Peshawar this week had disguised himself by wearing a police uniform. The provincial police chief said on Thursday that the guards at the site assumed the bomber was a police officer

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press Hong Kong (AP) — Hong Kong will give away air tickets and vouchers to woo tourists back. The international financial hub is racing to catch up with other popular travel destinations in a fierce regional competition. During the pandemic, the city has largely aligned itself with mainland China’s “zero-COVID” strategy

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s attorney general says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must not be involved in an overhaul of the country’s judicial system proposed by his government. She said that if he gets involved, he risks a conflict of interest in his ongoing corruption trial. The attorney general’s

VIENNA (AP) — An Austrian court has convicted four men of terrorist offenses and participation in murder over their alleged links to a sympathizer of the Islamic State group who carried out a deadly shooting in Vienna in 2020. Two of the men were sentenced to life in prison by the Vienna state court on

VIENNA (AP) — The Austrian government says it has ordered four diplomats based in Vienna, including two at Moscow’s mission to United Nations agencies in the city, to leave the country. The Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement on Thursday that two diplomats the Russian Embassy had “engaged in acts incompatible with their diplomatic

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has formally blamed Israel for a drone attack that targeted a military workshop in its central city of Isfahan over the weekend, warning that it “reserves its legitimate and inherent right” to retaliate. Iran’s mission to the United Nations, in a letter it

By KRUTIKA PATHI and SHEIKH SAALIQ Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian conglomerate Adani Enterprises called off its $2.5 billion share offering after it lost tens of billions of dollars in market value due to fraud claims by a U.S.-based short-selling firm. Billionaire Gautam Adani ‘s company said Thursday it will review its plans

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has raised interest rates by half a percentage point as it sought to tame double-digit inflation that is fueling a cost-of-living crisis, public-sector strikes and fears of recession. The bank’s monetary policy committee voted Thursday to push its key rate to 4%. It’s

By RIO YAMAT Associated Press NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) — A former “Dances With Wolves” actor accused of sexually abusing Indigenous girls and leading a cult must remain held without bail until his next court hearing, a judge ordered Thursday morning. Nathan Chasing Horse, 46, faces charges of sex trafficking, sexual assault against a

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press London (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has angry unions to the left of him, anxious Conservative Party lawmakers to the right and, in the middle, millions of voters he must win over to avert electoral defeat. It’s a daunting situation for Sunak, who on Thursday marks 100 days

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE and TERRY SPENCER Associated Press TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida could make it easier for juries to hand down the death penalty. Republicans encouraged by Gov. Ron DeSantis have introduced legislation making it easier to send convicts to death row by eliminating a unanimous jury requirement. The movement began after the Parkland

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s West Bank settler population now makes up more than half a million people, a pro-settler group said Thursday, crossing a major threshold. Settler leaders predicted even faster population growth under Israel’s new ultranationalist government. The report, by WestBankJewishPopulationStats.com and based on official figures, showed the settler

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The United States has opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands in its latest move to counter China’s push into the Pacific. The embassy is starting small, with a chargé d’affaires, a couple of State Department staff and a handful of local employees. The U.S.

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — French naval forces in January seized thousands of assault rifles, machine guns and anti-tank missiles in the Gulf of Oman coming from Iran heading to Yemen’s Houthi rebels. That’s according to comments by officials on Thursday. While Iran did not immediately acknowledge the seizure,

By ANDREW SELSKY Associated Press SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Police in rural southwest Oregon were on high alert: A man with a history of kidnapping and torturing women in two states was on the run in their territory. When a tip came in from a cab company that had given him a ride, they went

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — A furry critter in a western Pennsylvania town has predicted six more weeks of winter during an annual Groundhog Day celebration. People gathered Thursday at Gobbler’s Knob as members of Punxsutawney Phil’s “inner circle” summoned the groundhog from his tree stump at dawn to learn if he has seen his shadow

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Officials say Pakistan’s police have arrested a prominent political ally of a former prime minister in an overnight raid on the outskirts of the capital, Islamabad. Thursday’s arrest of Sheikh Rashid Ahmed came days after he accused Asif Ali Zardari, a former president of the country, of

By JIM GOMEZ and ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines says it is allowing U.S. forces to broaden their footprint in that Southeast Asian nation. It is the latest Biden administration move bolstering an arc of Indo-Pacific alliances to better counter China. That includes in any future armed confrontation over Taiwan.

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Sony has appointed a company veteran as its president to lead the Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate through times of change. Hiroki Totoki, Sony’s chief financial officer, will become the president and COO. Kenichiro Yoshida remains chairman and chief executive, signaling continuity at the Tokyo-based maker

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mixed Friday ahead of a closely watched U.S. jobs report that may affect global interest rates. Weaker than expected earnings reports from U.S. technology companies, announced after Wall Street trading ended, pulled Chinese benchmarks lower. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.4% in

By COLLEEN LONG and EMILY SWANSON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — More U.S. adults disapprove than approve of the way President Joe Biden has handled the discovery of classified documents at his home and former office, a new poll shows, but that seems to have had little impact on his overall approval rating. The new

By CHRIS MEGERIAN, FARNOUSH AMIRI and SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have left a meeting with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris with an agreement on how to address the issue of policing in America after the recent killing of Tyre Nichols. Rep. Steven

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Bitter divisions dominated a recent national Republican Party gathering. And come this weekend, Democrats are holding their own meeting, and they’re eager to showcase just how much they agree on. There’ll be no party chair fight since Jaime Harrison isn’t up for reelection. There is no candidate

By KEVIN FREKING and LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have voted to oust Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The vote in a raucous session on Thursday to remove the Somali-born Muslim lawmaker came after her past comments critical of Israel. It was also a response by

By CORA LEWIS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve raised its key rate by a quarter point Wednesday, bringing it to the highest level in 15 years as part of an ongoing effort to ease inflation by making borrowing more expensive. The rate increase will likely make it even costlier to borrow

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee took nearly eight hours of testimony Wednesday before adjourning without a vote on whether to advance a bill that would outlaw abortion at a point before many women know they’re pregnant. Hundreds of people crowded the halls

By JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — The two small monkeys who were found in a vacant house a day after being taken from the Dallas Zoo lost a bit of weight during their ordeal but show no signs of injury, the zoo said Wednesday. The disappearance Monday of the two emperor tamarin monkeys

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two people have been accused of stealing nearly $3 million from a wealthy ailing investor, moving into his Malibu beach home and giving him drugs. The U.S. attorney’s office says Anthony Flores, of Fresno, and Anna Moore, of Mexico, face decades in prison if convicted of conspiracy, wire fraud and money

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Attorneys for a former Houston police officer charged with murder in connection with a deadly drug raid three years ago are decrying publicity in the case. They’re also suggesting newly discovered evidence could undermine prosecutors’ claims that the couple who lived at the raided home were