Month: March 2023

By JAMEY KEATEN and COURTNEY BONNELL Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Credit Suisse violated a plea agreement with U.S. authorities by failing to report secret offshore accounts that wealthy Americans used to avoid paying taxes, U.S. lawmakers said Wednesday, releasing a two-year investigation that detailed the role employees at the embattled Swiss bank had in

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Swedish court has found 35-year-old woman guilty of war crimes for posting photos of herself with severed heads that were on display in a Syrian city in 2014. Fatosh Ibrahim who pleaded not guilty, was sentenced to three months in prison. Ibrahim used her cell phone to take photos on

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African police have launched a manhunt for convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester who escaped from a privately-run maximum security prison in the Free State province under bizarre circumstances. Bester, known as the “Facebook rapist,” was found guilty in 2012 of raping two women and killing

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission says a top EU transport official who accepted free flights and accommodation in Qatar has been transferred to another post at his own request.  Commission transport department head Henrik Hololei traveled for free with Qatar Airways nine times between 2015 and 2021. The trips were made when the department

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An oil tanker owned by a major U.S.-traded transportation company appears to be taking on Iranian crude oil in a key Asian maritime strait in violation of American sanctions, an advocacy group alleges. The firm allegedly involved, Euronav, said Wednesday it will “take appropriate

By ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press DNIPRO, Ukraine (AP) — The head of the U.N.’s atomic energy watchdog is warning of the danger of a catastrophic accident at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant because of increased fighting in the area. Rafael Mariano Grossi made the comment after returning from a visit to the plant, which is

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian diplomat says Moscow has suspended sharing any information about its nuclear forces with the U.S., including notifications about missile tests as envisioned by a U.S.-Russian treaty that the Kremlin has suspended. Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told Russian news agencies that Moscow had halted all

By SALLY FRENCH of NerdWallet The Flight Compensation Regulation in the European Union requires airlines to compensate passengers an amount from 250 to 600 euros for cancellations or delays of at least two hours. This regulation has largely helped passengers get paid out more regularly for delays, but it hasn’t made much of a difference

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden’s Foreign Ministry has summoned Russia’s ambassador after Moscow’s diplomatic mission in Stockholm said the Scandinavian country would become a “legitimate target for Russia’s retaliatory measures” if it joined NATO. Foreign Minister Tobias Billström on Wednesday called the statement posted on the Russian Embassy’s website

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Police say a man in the United Arab Emirates’ sheikhdom of Sharjah jumped off a balcony to his death after killing his wife and two children. Sharjah police say officers found the man, whom police only described as an Asian in his 30s, with a paper in his clothing

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday offered an optimistic outlook on the health of democracy worldwide, declaring that leaders are “turning the tide” in stemming a yearslong backslide of democratic institutions. Opening his second democracy summit, Biden looked to spotlight hopeful advancements over the past year despite Russia’s

BAGUIO, Philippines (AP) — Philippine police say they have seized more than half a ton of suspected methamphetamine concealed in tea bags and arrested a suspected Chinese drug dealer in a northern mountain resort city. The drug seizure on Wednesday in Baguio city had an estimated street value of $74 million was one of the

BO’AO, China (AP) — The chairman of Russian gas producer Gazprom says it is increasing gas supplies to China and expects soon to reach the maximum planned level through a Siberian pipeline. That highlights Beijing’s importance as Russia’s top export market in the face of Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Viktor Zubkov said

STRASBOURG, France (AP) — Swiss retirees are taking their government to a top European court over what they claim is its failure to take sufficient action on climate change. Lawyers and members of the group Senior Women for Climate Protection appeared Wednesday before the European Court of Human Rights for a rare public hearing that

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press Public outrage is swift following mass shootings, such as the killing of six people at a Christian elementary school in Nashville. Sorrow and sympathy are widespread. But what comes next from policymakers is likely to depend on which political party is in charge of a state. Don’t expect new

By OMAR FARUK Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — This year’s holy month of Ramadan coincides with the longest drought on record in Somalia. As the sun sets and Muslims around the world gather to break their daily fasts with generous dinners, Hadiiq Abdulle Mohamed and her family have just water and whatever food might

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A top U.S. diplomat says the Taliban must free detained Afghanistan activists, following the arrest of a girls’ education advocate. Matiuallah Wesa, the founder and president of Pen Path, a local nongovernmental group that travels across the country with a mobile school and library, was arrested on Monday. The U.S. charge d’affaires

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — UBS says it’s bringing back former CEO Sergio Ermotti to lead the Swiss bank as it moves forward with a government-orchestrated plan to take over struggling rival Credit Suisse. The bank said Wednesday that Ermotti’s appointment takes effect in a week. Ermotti was the bank’s top executive

By JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s prime minister has brushed aside criticism of his judicial overhaul plan from President Joe Biden. Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that the matter was an internal Israeli issue and would not be influenced by outside pressure. It marks a rare bout of public disagreement between the

By JENNIFER O’MAHONY Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Renewable energy investors who lost subsidies promised by Spain are heading to a London court to try to claw back $125 million from the government — a decadelong dispute with ramifications for clean energy financing across the European Union. The outcome will be closely watched by investors

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER and DANICA KIRKA Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — King Charles III has arrived in Germany for his first foreign trip as Britain’s monarch. The new king is hoping to cement his country’s improving the U.K.’s post-Brexit relations with Europe and to show he can win hearts and minds abroad like his mother

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks rose Wednesday as anxiety about the global financial system began to fade following three high-profile bank failures. Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Shanghai followed Wall Street lower. Oil prices gained. Fears global banks might be cracking under the strain of interest rate hikes

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam says its economy slowed sharply in the first quarter of this year, hit by rising costs and weaker demand for its exports. The General Statistics Office reported that the economy expanded at a 3.32% annual pace in January-March, down from 5.9% in the last quarter of 2022. That was much

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and FRANCIS KOKUTSE Associated Press ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — During her visit to Ghana, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has announced more than $1 billion in public and private money for women’s economic empowerment in Africa. Harris made the announcement Wednesday during a meeting with female entrepreneurs. The money is intended to

By ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press AL-AZZA REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) — In schools across the world, children are halfway into their second semester. But in a Palestinian refugee camp south of Jerusalem, kids wake up at 1 p.m. They kick soccer balls, hang out in barbershops and aimlessly scroll through TikTok. They watch television