Month: March 2023

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australians expect to vote this year in a referendum that would enshrine in the nation’s constitution a mechanism for Indigenous people to advise Parliament on policies that effect their lives known as the Voice. Proponents say embedding the Voice in the constitution would recognize the special

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer GENEVA (AP) — The Gymnastics Ethics Foundation was created in 2019 to help protect athletes after the American sexual abuse scandal and it has now published its strategy to set new safeguarding standards with a view to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The “Gymnasts 2028” plan sets goals to

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co.’s electric vehicle business has lost $3 billion before taxes during the past two years and will lose a similar amount this year as the company invests heavily in the new technology. The figures were released Thursday as Ford rolled out a new way

By JAIME HANSON of NerdWallet An estimated 68 million Americans are expected to place bets on this years NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. And with a recent explosion in legalized online sports gambling across the United States, the opportunities to bet on this year’s bracket will reach far beyond your office pool. But should you give

BEIJING (AP) — China’s government says it would oppose possible U.S. plans to force TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell the short-video service as a security risk and warned such a move would hurt investor confidence in the United States. Governments are worried TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, might give browsing history or other data about users to

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A new report from the American Library Association says attempted book bannings and restrictions at school and public libraries continue to surge, setting a record in 2022. The report released Thursday says more than 1,200 challenges were recorded by the association in 2022, nearly double

MADRID (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping has invited Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to Beijing for a state visit as Xi tries to galvanize support for China’s peace proposal for Ukraine. Spain’s minister for the presidency, Félix Bolaños, confirmed late Wednesday that Sánchez would visit China on March 30-31, citing Xi’s “possible mediation in

By ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian health officials say that Israeli security forces killed a Palestinian militant during a raid in the northern West Bank. Thursday’s incident marks the latest escalation of violence in what has been the deadliest start of a year for Palestinians in the occupied territory in more than

By WILL WEISSERT and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Biden likes to say he’s the most pro-union president in U.S. history. When Biden announces his expected Democratic reelection campaign in the coming weeks, he’ll get the chance to prove it to his own staffers. Biden’s will be the first White House reelection

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II, whose half-century reign makes her Europe’s longest-serving monarch, is expected to resume most of her official duties after last month’s back operation, on her 83rd birthday next month. The palace said Thursday that following her Feb. 22 operation, her physical rehabilitation was “going well, but there will

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — China Evergrande, a real estate developer whose struggle to manage more than $300 billion in debt rattled global financial markets has announced a long-awaited plan to restructure what it owes to foreign bondholders. The Evergrande Group is the global real estate industry’s most heavily indebted company.

By JAMEY KEATEN and DAVID McHUGH Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The Swiss central bank has hiked its key interest rate and declared that a government-orchestrated takeover of troubled Credit Suisse by rival bank UBS ended the financial turmoil. In a statement, the Swiss National Bank said Thursday that it’s providing large amounts of support

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has focused on fighting inflation with an 11th consecutive interest rate increase despite concerns about the economic fallout from troubles in the global financial system. Britain’s central bank boosted its key rate by a quarter-percentage point to 4.25% on Thursday. It’s a day

By DAVID RISING Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — The U.S. is denying Chinese claims that its military had driven away an American guided-missile destroyer from operating around disputed islands in the South China Sea, in an incident that comes as tensions in the region between the two powers continue to rise. The U.S. Navy’s 7th

By ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press DONETSK REGION, Ukraine (AP) — Their hands are blackened and grimy from the fight. Some are still wearing their combat boots, small flecks of black soil from the battlefield clinging to their torsos, bare under the emergency blanket. With bandaged heads and splinted limbs, the wounded soldiers are stretchered into

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s parliament has passed the first of several laws that make up its contentious judicial overhaul. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition approved a motion on Thursday that would protect the Israeli leader from being deemed unfit to rule because of his corruption trial and claims

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN and LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders are poised to endorse a plan for sending Ukraine 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition within the next 12 months to help the country counter Russia’s invasion. EU foreign and defense ministers approved the plan for a fast-track purchasing procedure earlier

By ALEXANDER TURNBULL, NICOLAS GARRIGA and ELAINE GANLEY Associated Press PARIS (AP) — More than 1 million people demonstrated across France on Thursday against unpopular pension reforms, and violence erupted in some places as unions called for new nationwide strikes and protests next week, coinciding with King Charles III’s planned visit to France. The Interior

By JACK JEFFERY Associated Press KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — The first daily fast of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has begun. The observance beginning Thursday in the Middle East comes at a time when numerous countries and governments across the region are taking tentative steps towards calming conflicts and crises, even as Mideast nations

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares fell Friday in Asia as worries over turmoil in the banking sector and recession risks overshadowed gains on Wall Street. Benchmarks declined in most major markets, while U.S. futures were higher. Oil prices fell. Investors are worried that more banks might suffer a debilitating exodus

By JOHN MARSHALL AP Basketball Writer Aliyah Boston recalls her parents prodding her to be more active on social media, to extend her brand as her basketball prowess began to draw national attention. She said she would be more active — and then post just one photo in two months, which is no way for

By LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s prime minister says his government has ”no intention” to return to four settlements in the occupied West Bank dismantled in 2005 under a law that was repealed by the Israeli parliament this week. Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement on Wednesday comes after the Biden administration summoned Israel’s ambassador

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A bill to punish oil companies for profiting from price spikes at the pump has passed the California Senate. The first-in-the-nation proposal is in response to price spikes last summer. The average price of a gallon of gas in California hit a record high of $6.48

By SAM METZ Associated Press PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Gwyneth Paltrow’s attorneys asked the daughter of a man suing the actor-turned-lifestyle influencer over a 2016 ski collision about missing GoPro camera footage that they called “the most important piece of evidence” at trial Thursday. Steve Owens, Paltrow’s attorney, asked one of the man’s daughters,

By R.J. RICO Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Civil liberties groups and defense attorneys are outraged at the domestic terrorism charges that have been levied against 23 people who were arrested after a masked group attacked an Atlanta-area police training center construction site. The suspects were taken into custody March 5 at a music festival

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Chinese diplomats have expressed their strong opposition to the expanded United States military presence in the Philippines during a closed-door meeting with their Filipino counterparts in Manila, underscoring the intense U.S.-China rivalry in the region. That’s according to a Filipino official who attended the meeting. The

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A former New Zealand soldier who co-founded a charity to help struggling veterans has been killed in Ukraine, authorities said Thursday. Ukrainian authorities had confirmed the death of Kane Te Tai and the New Zealand embassy in Poland was trying to find out more details,

By NOMAAN MERCHANT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Two decades ago, U.S. spy agencies wrongly believed Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. That intelligence drove the rationale for one of America’s most costly and deadly wars. Those intelligence failures deeply shaped American spy agencies and a generation of officers and lawmakers trained to be

By TARA COPP Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia has issued a full-throated warning that the West risks further escalation in Ukraine after the British government announced it’s providing depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine. Moscow falsely claims the munitions have nuclear components. The White House denounces Russia’s claims as disinformation. While depleted uranium is a

By ROB GILLIES Associated Press OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — A Canadian lawmaker is leaving Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party after a media report raised questions about his dealings with China. The report Wednesday comes amid an investigation into allegations of Chinese meddling in Canada’s elections. Member of Parliament Han Dong said late Wednesday that