Month: March 2023

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s embattled Central Bank chief has appeared for questioning for the first time before a European legal team visiting Beirut in a money-laundering probe linked to the governor. Several European countries are investigating Riad Salameh, who in recent years has been charged with a handful of corruption-related

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer Fewer Americans applied for jobless claims last week as the labor market continues to thrive despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to cool the economy and tamp down inflation. Applications for jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ending March 11 fell by 20,000 to 192,000 from 212,000 the

LONDON (AP) — British authorities say they’re banning the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok from government mobile phones on security grounds, following similar moves by the U.S. and European Union. Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden told Parliament on Thursday that the ban will apply to work phones and other devices used by government ministers and civil

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will spend about $30 million to build 1,200 small homes across the state this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday, part of a plan to help house the nation’s largest homeless population and to address an issue that has persistently plagued the state during the

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press The stakes are higher in Ohio this year for March Madness — and not just because it’s a regional host for the first round of the men’s NCAA basketball tournament. For the first time, Ohio sports fans can click on a mobile app or tap into kiosks at bars,

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A senior Iranian official has visited the United Arab Emirates just days after Tehran agreed to restore diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia in a Chinese-brokered deal. The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said his visit was a “meaningful beginning for the two countries to enter a new

By DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Clashes have broken out in Athens and a southern city during a general strike in Greece that drew large protests called in response to a rail disaster last month. The strike on Thursday grounded flights and extensively disrupted services and also kept ferries to the Greek

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has presented plans to fundamentally revamp its policies on dealing with critical raw materials. It wants to impose limits on imports from countries like China while unleashing subsidies and other financial incentives to ramp up home production. The plans presented by the European Commission

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Virgin Orbit said Thursday it is pausing all operations amid reports that the company is furloughing almost all its staff as part of a bid to seek a funding lifeline. The California-based satellite launch company confirmed it’s putting all work on hold, but didn’t say how long

VIENNA (AP) — Austrian police have issued a terror threat warning for the city of Vienna, saying there was an “abstract” danger for Syrian institutions in the capital. The alert came a day after Vienna police warned of “a possible “Islamist-motivated attack” on churches and other houses of worship, citing undisclosed information received by the

By RASHID YAHYA Associated Press DOHUK, Iraq (AP) — An Iraqi Kurdish counterterrorism agency and a spokesperson for Iraq’s northern Kurdish-run region say at least five people were killed in a mysterious helicopter crash in northern Iraq. Passengers of the ill-fated helicopter included militants belonging to the outlawed Kurdistan Worker’s Party, or PKK, which is

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Polish court has given a life sentence to the man who fatally stabbed the popular mayor of Gdansk in 2019. The killing of Paweł Adamowicz shocked Poles and plunged the nation into grief. The judge said in her ruling Thursday that the killer committed an “unprecedented murder” in Poland’s history.

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — The Women’s World Cup is getting 300% increase in prize money for this year’s tournament. The $150 million fund for the first 32-team tournament is a huge boost from the 24-team edition in 2019 and 10 times what it was in 2015. FIFA president Gianni Infantino says some of that prize

By TRISNADI MARJAN Associated Press SURABAYA, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian court has acquitted two police officials charged with negligence leading to the deaths of 135 people in October when police fired tear gas inside a soccer stadium, setting off a panicked run for the exits. A panel of three judges at Surabaya District Court

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A week after the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday that the nation’s banking system “remains sound” and Americans “can feel confident” about their deposits. Her remarks, coming against the backdrop of deepening concerns about the

By SAM KEMMIS of NerdWallet Sticking with one airline, hotel or car rental brand and avoiding others is the basic premise of brand loyalty. The benefits are clear: more points toward future award travel and elite status benefits. Yet, brand loyalty means eschewing other options, which could cost less or be more convenient. High-level elite

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish authorities say the nation’s security services have detained members of a Russian espionage ring. They say that the alleged spies were preparing acts of sabotage in Poland and had been monitoring railroad routes used for the transport of weapons into Ukraine. The interior minster said Thursday that the Internal Security

By TAIJING WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The founder of the processor chip industry’s biggest manufacturer is warning that U.S. government efforts to move production from Asia to the United States will as much as double their cost. Morris Chang of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. said that would slow the spread of their

TOPOCK, Ariz. (AP) — A freight train carrying corn syrup, not hazardous materials, derailed in western Arizona, near the state’s border with California and Nevada, BNSF Railway said. The train derailed Wednesday evening near the town of Topock, Anita Mortensen, a spokeswoman for the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said, adding that she was not aware

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Chancellor Olaf Scholz says that Germany will have to do a better job at clamping down on “irregular migration” and deporting those who don’t legally reside in the country. But Scholz said Thursday that Germany would continue to provide protection for Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s war. More than

BEIJING (AP) — China accused the United States on Thursday of spreading disinformation and suppressing TikTok following reports that the Biden administration was calling for its Chinese owners to sell their stakes in the popular video-sharing app. The U.S. has yet to present evidence that TikTok threatens its national security and was using the excuse

By HELENA ALVES and BARRY HATTON Associated Press LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal’s center-left Socialist government is set to approve a package of measures to address the country’s housing crisis. A growing number of people are being priced out of the property market by rising rents, surging house prices and climbing mortgage rates. Affordable housing

By BABAR DOGAR and MUNIR AHMED Associated Press LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani court has rejected former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s petition to suspend a warrant for him to appear in court in a graft case linked to his term in office. Thursday’s development increased the likelihood of another police attempt to arrest Khan.

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese search giant Baidu has unveiled its artificial intelligence chatbot Ernie Bot, presenting its rival to the Microsoft-backed ChatGPT in a pre-recorded video presentation that appeared to disappoint investors. Baidu CEO Robin Li said Ernie Bot was still not perfected, but the company went ahead with

MOSCOW (AP) — A former mayor of Russia’s fourth-largest city has been detained on charges that could land him behind bars as part of authorities’ efforts to muzzle dissent. Yevgeny Roizman is a sharp critic of the Kremlin and one of the most visible and charismatic opposition figures in Russia. He enjoyed broad popularity while

By FAY ABUELGASIM and KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — On a recent school day, the Rene Mouawad High School in Beirut was empty, its classrooms dark, just like all of Lebanon’s public schools have been for most of the past three months. Its striking teachers were protesting in front of the Education Ministry,

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Thousands of students and other opponents of Hungary’s right-wing government have marched in the capital Budapest demanding educational reforms and a change in the Central European country’s political culture. The protest on Wednesday was dubbed a “freedom march” by organizers and was called by teachers unions

ROME (AP) — Italy’s highest court has ordered a retrial for two American citizens who were convicted in the slaying of an Italian carabiniere during a sting operation gone wrong. The Court of Cassation late Wednesday threw out the guilty verdicts against 23-year-old Finnegan Lee Elder and 22-year-old Gabriel Natale-Hjorth. Both men were convicted in

By THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Behind some great men, there is a bigger brother. Claude Monet’s older sibling is the focus of a landmark Paris exhibit illuminating the hitherto unknown role Leon Monet played in the French impressionist painter’s life and art. Leon — a color chemist four years his senior —

TOKYO (AP) — The U.S., Canada, India, Japan and South Korea are staging joint anti-submarine warfare drills amid talks between Japanese and South Korean leaders aimed at strengthening their alliance with Washington against threats from China and North Korea. The U.S. 7th Fleet said the Sea Dragon 23 exercises that started on Wednesday will culminate

By TED ANTHONY AP National Writer For nearly four decades, Jean-Luc Picard of “Star Trek” has largely been presented as genteel, erudite and — at times — quite buttoned up. Yes, he loses his temper. Yes, he was reckless as a callow cadet many years ago. Yes, he occasionally gets his hands dirty or falls

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Record snowfall and rain have helped to loosen drought’s grip on parts of the western U.S. as national forecasters and climate experts warned Thursday that some areas should expect more flooding as the snow begins to melt. The winter precipitation wiped out exceptional and extreme

By MARK THIESSEN and MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Biden administration’s approval this week of the biggest oil drilling project in Alaska in decades promises to widen a rift among Alaska Natives. Some say oil money won’t counter the damages caused by climate change and others defend the project as economically