Month: May 2023

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank has slowed the pace of its interest rate increases, stepping back like the U.S. Federal Reserve from a string of jumbo hikes aimed at snuffing out inflation. The ECB’s quarter-point hike Thursday follows evidence that its efforts are working by making

By JOVANA GEC and DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A shooter killed at least eight people and wounded 13 in a drive-by attack near a town close to Belgrade late Thursday, the second such mass killing in Serbia in two days, state television reported. The attacker shot randomly at people near the

By JERRY HARMER Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Opinion polls show Paetongtarn Shinawatra to be the heavy favorite to take the prime minister’s post after Thailand’s May 14 general election. But there are fears that victory for Paetongtarn, the youngest daughter of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, could plunge Thailand back into a familiar

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — The United States Agency for International Development has suspended all food assistance to the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray “until further notice” while it investigates the theft of humanitarian supplies. The U.N. confirmed a similar suspension. USAID Administrator Samantha Power said that her agency has “uncovered that food aid, intended

By WASBIR HUSSAIN Associated Press GUWAHATI, India (AP) — The governor of a remote Indian state issued orders allowing district magistrates to shoot protesters, as soldiers patrolled the streets and enforced a curfew after thousands of people clashed, causing deaths and damage to homes and vehicles. Officials say internet services were also suspended for five

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israelis have blocked roads and demonstrated against a contentious government plan to overhaul the judiciary. The protesters hope Thursday’s events will ramp up pressure on lawmakers days after parliament reconvened following a month-long recess. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paused the overhaul in March after intense

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian President Putin will face an international war crimes court when Ukraine wins the war. He was speaking on a visit to the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Putin. Zelenskyy’s visit to The Hague, Netherlands,

By ISABEL DEBRE and TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press NABLUS, West Bank (AP) — Israeli troops on Thursday killed three Palestinian militants wanted in connection with a shooting attack that killed a British-Israeli woman and two of her daughters, the Israeli military said, the latest bloodshed in a relentless wave of violence. In a rare daytime

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — On his way to be crowned this week, King Charles III will travel by gilded coach through streets swathed in red, white and blue Union flags — and past a warning from history. At Trafalgar Square stands a large bronze statue of King Charles I, the 17th-century

By JACK JEFFERY Associated Press KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — We were a diverse group of more than a dozen people, hunkered down in a small hotel in central Khartoum — a Sudanese family and the Sudanese hotel staff, a few British and French citizens, a Syrian family and a Lebanese man. In better times, the

PRAGUE (AP) — Police says eight people have died in an overnight fire in the second largest city in the Czech Republic. The fire broke out about two hours after midnight in Brno, located 200 kilometers (125 miles) southeast of Prague. Czech public television says those who have died were likely homeless people who had

By ED DAVEY Associated Press An influential shipping industry group has quietly warned shippers to think carefully before they sign up for a new plan to reduce pollution and eventually eliminate their contribution to climate change. The International Chamber of Shipping in 2021 committed to the Paris Agreement’s target to reduce greenhouse gases down to

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks sank on Wall Street Thursday as worries cranked higher about a cracking U.S. banking system. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% to add to its loss for the week so far. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 286 points, or 0.9%, and is now down

By GEOFF MULVIHILL Associated Press In Montana, a court rebuffed one abortion restriction, but the governor quickly signed others into law. In Maryland, the governor signed protection for access. Those are among the latest developments in the sprawling saga of abortion law in the aftermath of last year’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe

By GRANT PECK Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Human rights groups are calling for an investigation into the shooting of a political and social activist in Laos whose posts on Facebook criticized the Southeast Asian nation’s communist government. Initial reports said Anousa Luangsuphom was killed in the attack at a coffee shop Saturday in the

By BROOKE SCHULTZ Associated Press/Report for America In Philadelphia’s first mayoral race since crime spiked during the coronavirus pandemic, the crowded Democratic field is trying to make public safety a campaign cornerstone. Candidates are advocating approaches that range from mental health interventions and cleaner streets to echoes of “tough-on-crime” Republican rhetoric. Six Democrats are considered

By CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press/Report for America PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Partisan tensions in Oregon skyrocketed this week because Republican state senators didn’t show up to work Wednesday, denying Democrats who control the chamber a quorum. The move cast doubt on planned votes on legislation about gun control, abortion rights and gender-affirming health care. Here’s

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Taiwan’s chief trade representative says his country’s semiconductor makers will expand production in the U.S. as much as they can afford to do so. But John Chen-Chung Deng tells The Associated Press that Taiwan remains an ideal place for U.S. trade, business and investment. Deng spoke to

By LAÍS MARTINS Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) — Jonathan Schmidt just made the deadline, arriving at Federal Police headquarters in the center of Rio de Janeiro with a travel bag carrying a golden pistol and seven rifles, one peeking out of the zipper. “I’m in love with guns,” said Schmidt. “I’d have over 2,000

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge is set to hear arguments Thursday in a lawsuit challenging the state’s 174-year-old abortion ban. The law was effectively voided for almost 50 years after the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion nationwide. When the high court struck down Roe v. Wade

By The Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Carrie Fisher received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Thursday, a May the Fourth tribute to a beloved “Star Wars” actor that had a touch of stardust. The late star’s daughter, Billie Lourd, wearing her mother’s portrait printed on her metallic dress, accepted the

By KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Big-name, nationally known musical artists are always part of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Lizzo and Ed Sheeran played last weekend. John Mayer and Mumford and Sons are among upcoming acts. But old-guard, New Orleans-based musical artists like George Porter Jr., Irma Thomas and

By ALLEN G. BREED AP National Writer It might just be the coolest caption in newspaper history: “AP Wirephoto via jet bomber from London” On Saturday, The Associated Press will deploy a small army of writers, photographers, radio correspondents and video journalists to cover the coronation of Britain’s King Charles III. But for his mother’s

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer Tori Bowie, the sprinter who won three Olympic medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, has died. She was 32. Bowie’s death was announced Wednesday by her management company and USA Track and Field. No cause of death was given. “USATF is deeply saddened by the passing of

By KRUTIKA PATHI Associated Press PANAJI, India (AP) — Russia is unlikely to face backlash over its war in Ukraine from Central Asian foreign ministers and instead could flex its influence at their regional meeting Friday. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was formed by Russia and China as a counterweight to U.S. influence. Moscow faces Western

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria evacuated hundreds of its citizens from Sudan late Wednesday after days of delays that left many of them stranded. More than 370 Nigerians arrived the capital, Abuja, aboard a military and local aircraft. “They’ve gone through a very traumatising period but we are glad…no life

By FABIOLA SÁNCHEZ Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican officials celebrated Wednesday the announcement that the country finally developed its own COVID-19 vaccine, more than two years after inoculations from the U.S., Europe and China were rolled out. It was unclear what use would be made of the vaccine, named “Patria” or “Motherland,” developed

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Officials say about a dozen people were arrested Wednesday night while protesting in Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Florida Capitol Office. State law enforcement officials say the 14 arrested were charged with misdemeanor trespass and were booked into the Leon County Jail. The protestors said they refused to leave until they had

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against The New York Times over a 2018 investigative series into his family’s wealth and tax practices was dismissed by a state judge Wednesday. The lawsuit accused the Times and three of its investigative reporters of relentlessly seeking out his estranged niece, Mary Trump, as a

LOS ANGELES (AP) — For the first time, researchers have captured and radio-collared a bear in the Santa Monica Mountains near Los Angeles where mountain lions have been studied for two decades, the National Park Service said Wednesday. The 210-pound (95-kilogram) black bear dubbed BB-12 was caught April 23 in a natural area south of

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Michelle Obama announced Wednesday that she has co-founded a new company to make and sell healthier food and drinks for kids, products that she says will be less detrimental to their long-term health because of their lower sugar and higher nutrient content. The former first lady’s work

By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP Business Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk threatened to reassign NPR’s Twitter account to “another company,” according to the non-profit news organization, in an ongoing spat between Musk and media groups since his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter last year. “So is NPR going to start posting on Twitter again, or

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Several families have challenged Kentucky’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. They say in a new lawsuit that the ban interferes with parental rights to seek medical treatment for their children. They are asking that a judge block a portion of a sweeping measure passed

DALLAS (AP) — Authorities say Dallas was hit with a computer ransomware attack that brought down its Police Department and City Hall websites and caused some jury trials to be canceled. The attack Wednesday didn’t appear to affect 911 calls. However, a fire department spokesman says it did cause problems with a computer-assisted dispatch system

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press/Report for America RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Transgender youth in North Carolina would have to wait until they turn 18 to receive gender-affirming surgeries under a bill advancing in the North Carolina House. House lawmakers passed the proposal 74-44 on Wednesday and sent it to the Senate. Two Democrats and all

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A Silicon Valley city councilman accused of leaking a grand jury report criticizing the San Francisco 49ers’ outsize political influence and then lying about the leak has pleaded not guilty. Santa Clara City Councilmember Anthony Becker faces one felony charge of perjury under oath and a misdemeanor count of willful

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has approved a measure that would reinstate tariffs on solar panel imports from several Southeast Asian countries after President Joe Biden paused them in a bid to boost solar installations in the U.S. Lawmakers also approved a separate plan late Wednesday to undo federal protections