Month: July 2023

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday announced the expelling of nine Finnish diplomats and shutting down Finland’s consulate in St. Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, in retaliation for Finland expelling nine Russian diplomats last month. The ministry said in a lengthy statement that it summoned Finland’s ambassador to Russia, Antti Helantera, on Thursday, and

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings slipped in May but remained at levels high enough to show the American labor market remains resilient in the face of sharply higher interest rates. The Labor Department said Thursday that employers posted 9.8 million job vacancies, down from 10.3 million in April.

By MELISSA LAMBARENA of NerdWallet So-called alternative credit cards from financial technology companies can offer you the opportunity to build credit when your options are limited, and they tend to lower or eliminate many barriers along that path. But they aren’t without their potential drawbacks. Some such products have changed their terms or features over

BRUSSELS (AP) — The trial of 10 men accused over the 2016 suicide bombings at Brussels airport and a subway station is taking a major step toward its conclusion. More than half a year after the trial started, the court held its last audience and the jury will begin the drawn-out process of deciding on

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — There are, as a rule, only so many places you can go as an action movie after leaving Tom Cruise clinging to the side of an Airbus A400M and flinging him out a cargo plane at 25,000 feet. But in the kinetic, headlong world of

By CHRIS LEHOURITES AP Sports Writer WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — The courts are finally dry at Wimbledon and the sun is even shining through the clouds at times. That gives organizers hope of fitting in a full day of tennis for the first time at this year’s tournament. The first three days of action at

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME and GERALD IMRAY Associated Press BOKSBURG, South Africa (AP) — The death toll in a toxic gas leak in South Africa blamed on an illegal gold processing operation in a settlement of closely packed shacks has risen to 17. At least three children are among the dead. A person died on arrival

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits rose last week, but remains at healthy levels despite the Federal Reserve’s attempt to cool the labor market by raising interest rates. U.S. applications for jobless claims rose by 12,000 to 248,000 for the week ending July 1, from 236,000  previous

By JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli court has acquitted a border police officer who was charged with reckless manslaughter in the deadly shooting of an autistic Palestinian man in Jerusalem’s Old City three years ago. Jerusalem’s district court ruled Thursday that the officer was acting in self defense when he shot

By PETER SMITH Associated Press More than 6,000 United Methodist congregations — a fifth of the U.S. total — have now received permission to leave the denomination amid a schism over theology and the role of LGBTQ people in the nation’s second-largest Protestant denomination. Those figures emerge following the close of regular meetings in June

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A missing 2-year-old Michigan girl who disappeared during an attack on her mother was found dead nearly 100 miles (161 kilometers) away in Detroit, three days after she vanished. Wynter Cole Smith’s body was discovered Wednesday evening by FBI agents in an overgrown alley in a neighborhood on the east side

PAMPLONA, Spain (AP) — Tens of thousands of people have packed the town hall square in the northern Spanish city of Pamplona to celebrate the traditional “chupinazo” firework blast that starts the San Fermín bull-running festival. Nearly everyone was dressed in the traditional white trousers and shirt with red sash and neckerchief. The multitude heaved

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Two firefighters were killed battling a blaze that began when cars caught fire deep inside a cargo ship carrying 5,000 cars at a New Jersey port, Newark’s fire chief said Thursday. Responding firefighters found five to seven vehicles already on fire when they reached the 10th floor of the cargo ship

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A girl was killed Thursday when an SUV crashed into an elementary school on a very narrow road in the Wimbledon district of southwest London, police said. The Metropolitan Police said there have been further injuries, but didn’t provide any new details. Earlier, police said that seven

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police have arrested another person accused of supporting overseas activists who allegedly endangered national security, in a further expansion of a government crackdown on pro-democracy dissidents. Police detained the 24-year-old man at the city’s airport a day after four other people were arrested for

LONDON (AP) — The head of global energy giant Shell says it would be “irresponsible” to cut oil and gas production at a time when the world economy is still dependent on fossil fuels. In an interview with the BBC released Thursday, Shell CEO also refused to rule out moving the company’s headquarters and stock

YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The minister charged with an overhaul of this nation’s digitized system to assign a number to all Japanese has apologized, as doctors protested glitches with health insurance and local governments begged for clarity on how to go about handling the problems. The MyNumber, or “MaiNa” for short, system

BERLIN (AP) — Lawmakers in Germany have failed to agree on new rules regulating assisted suicide. They voted Thursday to reject two proposals drawn up after the country’s highest court ruled that legislation banning the practice on a “business” basis was unconstitutional. The Federal Constitutional Court ruled in 2020 that the ban violated the rights

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Authorities in Nigeria say they have activated a national response plan ahead of what’s expected to be another round of deadly floods blamed mainly on climate change and infrastructure problems. Floods last year killed more than 600 people in the West African nation. The National Emergency

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Turkish man has been found guilty of attempted aggravated extortion, weapons possession and attempted terrorist financing, saying he was acting on behalf of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party. On Thursday, a Swedish court sentenced Yahya Gungor to 4.5 years in prison, after which he would be expelled from Sweden and banned

By CIARÁN GILES Associated Press MADRID (AP) — A Spanish migrant rights group says 951 migrants have died while trying to reach Spain by sea in the first six months of 2023. Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) says the figure includes 112 women and 49 children. The organization compiles its figures from families of migrants and

By SIBI ARASU Associated Press The president of this year’s United Nations’ climate talks urged the oil and gas industry Thursday to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by or before 2050 in a speech to oil producing states. Speaking at a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna, Sultan al-Jaber

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to tell Chinese officials that Washington wants healthy economic competition but will defend trade curbs imposed by the U.S. on security grounds. She also will express concerns about Beijing’s export controls on metals used in semiconductors and solar panels, according to

By ANNA FRANTS Associated Press MINSK, Belarus (AP) — The mercenary leader who led a short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin is in Russia and his troops are in their field camps, the president of Belarus said Thursday, raising new questions about the deal that ended the extraordinary challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule. Belarusian President

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A human rights advocacy group says it found allegations of dozens of labor and environmental abuses by Chinese-invested companies involved in mining or processing minerals used in renewable energy. The report released Thursday by the Business and Human Rights Resource Center found cases of alleged abuses

BEIJING (AP) — The leader of the Solomon Islands will visit China next week, highlighting the accelerating contest between Beijing and Washington for influence in the South Pacific. China’s Foreign Ministry says Manasseh Sogavare will meet top officials in Beijing and travel to Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces, among China’s most developed. A ministry spokesperson says

By BASSEM MROUE and KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Israeli forces have shelled a southern Lebanese border village after several explosions were heard in a disputed area where the borders of Syria, Lebanon and Israel meet. Tensions continue to flare in the border area over two tents erected by the militant group Hezbollah

By ASHWINI BHATIA Associated Press DHARMSALA, India (AP) — The Dalai Lama has celebrated his 88th birthday among hundreds of supporters and exiled Tibetans at his hillside headquarters in India. Artists played traditional welcome tunes Thursday as the Tibetan spiritual leader arrived at the celebrations at Tsuglakhang Temple. He was smiling when he said: “We