Month: May 2023

RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — The U.N. food agency is warning that a widespread locust infestation in several Afghan provinces is of “huge concern” and could possibly decimate a quarter of the wheat crop. A statement from the Food and Agriculture Organization, which was dated on Wednesday, says that at least eight of

MILAN (AP) — A van that was transporting oxygen tanks to a nearby medical facility exploded in the center of the Italian city of Milan on Thursday, forcing the evacuation of a school and residential apartment buildings. The driver suffered minor injuries. Images on Sky TG24 show a plume of dark smoke rising from a

BERLIN (AP) — A senior security official says German police have detained a suspect in connection with an explosion at a residential building that injured twelve first responders. The interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state said 10 firefighters and two police officers were injured in the blast at a high-rise building in the town of

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — China is continuing its diplomatic push in Europe with a high-level visit to the Netherlands where Vice President Han Zheng will be meeting the king and the prime minister — and facing questions about China’s relations with Russia and the European Union. The visit comes amid difficult relations between China

By AVET DEMOURIAN Associated Press YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenian and Azerbaijani troops have exchanged artillery fire along their tense border. The clashes left at least one soldier dead and several others wounded in the latest bout of escalation between the longtime adversaries that threatened their latest attempts at peace talks. The two countries’ authorities

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish prosecutors say that a 50-year-old man has been charged with spreading sensitive military information online. Authorities didn’t identify the man who they say administered a database that was used for the exchange of secret information. The information was posted in a forum that he allegedly was responsible for. He was charged

BERLIN (AP) — A German labor union is calling for railway workers to stage a 50-hour strike next week to bolster its calls for an inflation-related pay raise. The EVG rail workers union called for its 230,000 members to walk off the job from 10 p.m. on Sunday evening until midnight on Tuesday. The strikes

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration proposed new limits Thursday on greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants, its most ambitious effort yet to roll back planet-warming pollution from the nation’s second-largest contributor to climate change. A rule announced by the Environmental Protection Agency could force power plants

By RIAZAT BUTT Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan is witnessing a wave of violence following the arrest of popular opposition leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan on corruption charges. The level of unrest has not been seen since 2007, when another former premier — Benazir Bhutto — was assassinated during an election campaign.

HELSINKI (AP) — Police say two dozen people, many of them children, were injured when a temporary pedestrian bridge collapsed in the southern Finnish city of Espoo. They said the pedestrian bridge crossing a construction site in Espoo’s Tapiola region collapsed mid-morning on Thursday. No one died but 24 people were injured, 10 of them

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Japanese automaker Nissan is reporting a seven-fold surge in January-March profit and forecasting strong sales for this fiscal year riding on the popularity of its new model offerings. Nissan’s net profit for the fiscal fourth quarter totaled 106.9 billion yen, or $798 million, up dramatically from

BERLIN (AP) — A man opened fire at a Mercedes-Benz factory in southwestern Germany on Thursday, leaving two people dead, authorities and the company said. The shooting occurred in Sindelfingen, a city near Stuttgart. The suspect, a 53-year-old Turkish citizen, was taken into custody, the Stuttgart prosecutor’s office said. Police received the first emergency calls

By MUNIR AHMED and RIAZAT BUTT Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ordered the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, whose arrest earlier this week sparked a wave of violence across the country by his supporters. For this nation accustomed to military takeovers, political crises and violence, the turmoil is unprecedented.

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer NIIGATA, Japan (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says that in her personal opinion, the United States should adopt a different system for national finances that might forestall repeated standoffs with Congress over spending. Emphasizing that it was her own opinion, not the position of the Biden administration, Yellen

By SUSIE BLANN and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine is delaying its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia’s occupying forces, saying that while such a campaign would succeed, too many of his troops’ lives would be lost. His remarks, in an interview with European broadcasters, came shortly before Britain

By ALICIA RANCILIO Associated Press Jacklyn Zeman, who for 45 years played nurse Bobbie Spencer on ABC’s ‘General Hospital,” has died at age 70. Her family confirmed the news Wednesday and says she died after a short battle with cancer. Zeman earned four Daytime Emmy Award nominations for her portrayal of Bobbie. The character projected

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has parlayed his country’s NATO membership and location straddling Europe and the Middle East into international influence, is favored to win reelection in a presidential runoff Sunday, despite a host of domestic issues. Erdogan, 69, finished a first-round election on

By DAVID RISING and HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press NEAR KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — By the time Kyiv residents hear the air-raid sirens signaling an imminent Russian attack, Ukraine’s air-defense units are already on the move. From camouflaged positions, they dart out by truck to farm fields around the capital, ready to take down enemy drones

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — Authorities around the world are racing to draw up rules for artificial intelligence, including in the European Union, where draft legislation faces a pivotal moment on Thursday. A European Parliament committee is set to vote on the proposed rules, part of a yearslong effort to draw

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street slipped, sending the S&P 500 down 0.2%. Disney was one of the heaviest forces dragging the market lower on Thursday after it lost streaming subscribers during the latest quarter. Some banks beaten down by the industry’s mini-panic also came under pressure. PacWest tumbled

By FARES AKRAM and ILAN BEN ZION Associated Press GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip killed two militant commanders Thursday, while a 70-year-old man was killed by Palestinian rocket fire in the first fatality inside Israel amid the current wave of fighting. The continuing bloodshed, which has left 30

By FELICIA FONSECA Associated Press GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — Carletta Tilousi hit the trail as the sun rose, the light revealing a grouping of cottonwood and ash trees deep in the Grand Canyon. Birds soared above and reptiles scampered across the rocks as the canyon walls grew taller and taller behind her.

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Long-haul carrier Emirates says it saw its most-profitable year ever in 2022, earning $2.9 billion after bouncing back from the coronavirus pandemic shutting down global aviation. The airline offered the figures in its annual report published Thursday, which said the carrier had revenue of

By VALERIE GONZALEZ Associated Press MATAMOROS, Mexico (AP) — Migrants rushed across the Mexico border Thursday, racing to enter the U.S. before pandemic-related asylum restrictions are lifted in a shift that threatens to put a historic strain on the nation’s beleaguered immigration system. The imminent end of the rules known as Title 42 stirred fear

By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho prosecutors have spent the last four weeks painstakingly detailing their case against a woman accused of killing her two youngest children and a romantic rival in a bizarre doomsday-focused plot. On Thursday morning, Madison County Prosecutor Rob Wood gave an impassioned speech to jurors, urging

By The Associated Press FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Lainey Wilson was seemingly everywhere at the Academy of Country Music Awards, collecting four trophies on a night that saw Chris Stapleton win the entertainer of the year honor. Wilson performed twice Thursday –- back-to-back –- and delivered heartfelt speeches after her wins, which put her next

By JUAN A. LOZANO and TIM SULLIVAN Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Thirteen people dead in two mass shootings. Eight immigrants killed when an SUV slams into a crowded bus stop. The likely approval of legislation that would let the Republican governor overturn elections in the most populous county, a Democratic stronghold. All in the

By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The formal end of the national Public Health Emergency on Thursday is largely a symbolic and psychological step, representing the country’s formal emergence from the COVID-19 pandemic. But behind the scenes, several core aspects of America’s pandemic-era emergency safety net are also coming to a close, from

TOKYO (AP) — An earthquake has shaken Japan’s capital, Tokyo, and surrounding areas, injuring several people and causing minor damage. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the quake on Thursday had a 5.4 magnitude and its epicenter was in Chiba prefecture, southeast of Tokyo. No tsunami warning was issued. Japan’s Kyodo news agency said four people

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Protecting a narrow, four-vote majority, Republican leaders in the House are making clear that they intend to let the legal process play out with New York Rep. George Santos before they take steps to force his resignation or expel him. The freshman congressman was accused Wednesday by

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The debate over free speech and racial equity on Wisconsin’s college campuses is intensifying. It’s mirroring a national battle as Republicans work to close campus diversity offices and demand students and faculty treat conservative speakers with respect. In just the past two weeks in Wisconsin, a

By JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press/Report for America DENVER (AP) — Colorado’s chaotic legislative session this year underscores the once-purple state’s leftward shift. Republican’s historically small minority was relegated to grasping for power or resorting to obstruction while Democrats faced deep, internal rifts over just how progressive Colorado should be. Such dynamics may be commonplace in

By EDNA TARIGAN and JIM GOMEZ Associated Press LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian President Joko Widodo has somberly acknowledged to fellow Southeast Asian leaders that no progress has been made to end the civil strife gripping Myanmar. He renewed a call for an end to the violence, including a recent deadly airstrike that a