Month: August 2023

By The Associated Press Gen. Sergei Surovikin, a former commander of Russia’s forces in Ukraine who was linked to the leader of a brief armed rebellion, has been dismissed as chief of the air force, Russian state media reported Wednesday after weeks of uncertainty about his fate. Surovikin has not been seen in public since

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Angry protesters have raided the local offices of the ruling Baath party in a southern Syrian province. The raid comes as protests intensify against the government during a severe economic and financial crisis that has battered the war-torn country. Opposition activists said Wednesday that protesters also partially

By ELENA BECATOROS and COSTAS KANTOURIS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Advancing flames are devouring forests and homes in Greece as wildfires that have killed 20 people are raging. Blazes are also burning in neighboring Turkey and in Spain’s Canary Islands. Greece’s largest forest fire was burning out of control for the fifth day

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. regulators on Wednesday announced a settlement with the company that runs Dollar Tree and Family Dollar aimed at improving worker safety at thousands of the bargain stores across the country. Labor Department officials cited hazards at the stores including blocked exits, unsafe storage of materials, and improper access to fire

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have held closed-door discussions on the possible expansion of their BRICS economic bloc. A decision on new members was expected late Wednesday, the second day of a three-day summit in Johannesburg. But officials said that was looking

By RIAZ KHAN and MUNIR AHMED Associated Press PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Schoolchildren who were rescued from a broken cable car dangling high above a valley in Pakistan say they repeatedly feared they were about to die during the 16-hour ordeal despite attempts by their parents to reassure them over cellphones. Six children and two

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — A year ago, Chair Jerome Powell delivered a stark warning: To fight persistently high inflation, the Federal Reserve would continue to sharply raise interest rates, bringing “some pain” in the form of job losses and weaker economic growth. Since Powell spoke at last summer’s annual conference

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian authorities say two tankers have collided in a single-lane stretch of the Suez Canal, briefly disrupting traffic through the global waterway. The Suez Canal authority says the BW Lesmes, a Singapore-flagged tanker that carries liquefied natural gas, suffered a mechanical malfunction and ran aground while transiting

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — The Hong Kong government has been given the green light to appeal a court’s refusal to ban a protest song. The decision Wednesday came after government lawyers cited national security concerns. “Glory to Hong Kong” was often sung by demonstrators during months of anti-government protests in

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has sentenced seven men and a woman to prison after their convictions over allegedly aiding two men earlier executed for killing a paramilitary volunteer during the nationwide protests last year that followed the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody. That’s according

By WASBIR HUSSAIN Associated Press GUWAHATI, India (AP) — Police say that a construction platform at a railroad bridge being built in northeastern India has collapsed, killing at least 26 workers and injuring two others. The platform collapsed Wednesday at a bridge in Sairang, a town on the outskirts of Aizawal, the capital of Mizoram

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A passenger bus veered off a key highway and crashed in Nepal, killing at least eight people and injuring many more. Police said the bus drove off the Prithvi highway near the town of Gajuri and fell into the river. The bus was partly submerged and rescuers were able to pull

By ASHOK SHARMA and KRUTIKA PATHI Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India became the first country to land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole on Wednesday — a historic voyage to uncharted territory that scientists believe could hold vital reserves of frozen water, and a technological triumph for the world’s most populous nation.

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose Thursday after Wall Street rallied to its best day since June after pressures from the bond market relaxed a bit. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.4% in morning trading to 32,146.33. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4% to 7,178.10. South Korea’s Kospi jumped

By JIM GOMEZ and AARON FAVILA Associated Press ABOARD BRP CABRA (AP) — As a United States Navy plane circled overhead, two Philippine boats breached a Chinese coast guard blockade in a dangerous confrontation Tuesday in the disputed South China Sea to deliver food and other supplies to Filipino forces guarding a contested shoal. Two

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA Associated Press BULIISA, Uganda (AP) — Alex Wakitinti is worried about the sacred natural sites he tends in the large swath of bushy grassland near Lake Albert. It’s the same slice of his homeland that oil companies are developing in order for Uganda to become an oil producer by 2026. But French

By AUDREY McAVOY, GENE JOHNSON and JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER Associated Press LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Authorities in Hawaii are pleading with relatives of those missing after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century to come forward and give DNA samples. Officials said Tuesday that the low number provided so far threatens to hinder

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Four years into its historic economic meltdown, Lebanon’s political elites, masters at survival, are pushing for a recovery that would sidestep tough reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund. Economic experts and former officials involved in designing Lebanon’s original IMF-approved recovery plan in 2020 say the political

By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Delays of up to 10 hours in mostly opposition strongholds have forced electoral officials to extend voting till Thursday in Zimbabwe as President Emmerson Mnangagwa seeks a second and final term. The country has a history of violent and disputed elections. This is the second general

By JOCELYN GECKER AP Education Writer Ron DeSantis ’ path to national prominence started in Florida’s classrooms, where he harnessed culture war passions and deployed them in education policies. In the name of “parental rights,” the Republican governor has banned instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity and limited what Florida schools can teach about

By REBECCA BOONE, HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH, CLAUDIA LAUER and CHRISTOPHER L. KELLER Associated Press As flames tore through a West Maui neighborhood, car after car of fleeing residents headed for the only paved road out of town in a desperate race for safety. And car after car was turned back toward the rapidly spreading wildfire by

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has renewed her pledge to strengthen Taiwan’s self-defense as she visited a war memorial from the last time Taiwan and China battled. Tsai, visiting the outlying islands of Kinmen where the conflict was fought, commemorated those who had died in the conflict.

By MARTÍN ADAMES ALCÁNTARA and DÁNICA COTO Associated Press SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Tropical Storm Franklin unleashed heavy floods and landslides in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday after making landfall in the country’s southern region, killing at least one person and leaving two others missing. The storm began to slowly spin away late

By GARY FIELDS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The last part of the speech took less time to deliver than it takes to boil an egg, but “I Have A Dream” is one of American history’s most famous orations and most inspiring. On Aug. 28, 1963, from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Martin Luther King

By JOHN FLESHER and ED WHITE Associated Press BELLAIRE, Mich. (AP) — A prosecutor says three men accused in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wanted to start a civil war. Eric Molitor and twin brothers William Null and Michael Null went on trial Wednesday in Antrim County, Michigan. They are charged with

By AARON MORRISON AP National Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Sixty years ago, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. issued his resounding call for racial harmony that set off decades of push and pull toward progress. The historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom remains a marker by which progress is measured. But that progress

By AARON MORRISON AP National Writer Sixty years ago, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. issued his resounding call for racial harmony that set off decades of push and pull toward progress. The historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom remains a marker by which progress is measured. But that progress — namely civil

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN and SONIA PÉREZ D. Associated Press GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Bernardo Arévalo’s experience in peacebuilding and diplomacy eminently qualify him to lead Guatemala as the conflict-riven country’s next president, those who know him say. But first he will have to overcome forces that could keep him from taking power. Guatemalans voted for

By STEVE PEOPLES AP National Political Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Eight presidential candidates will meet on the debate stage for the first time in what may be the biggest moment in the GOP’s 2024 presidential primary so far. Former President Donald Trump won’t participate Wednesday night. But Trump’s absence offers the other candidates opportunity.

By SARA BURNETT, JILL COLVIN and JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Republican presidential candidates vying to be the leading alternative to front-runner Donald Trump fought — sometimes bitterly – over abortion rights, U.S. support for Ukraine and the future of the party during the first primary debate of the 2024 campaign. But on

By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s divisive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been transferred from prison to a hospital less than a day after he returned from 15 years of exile and started serving an 8-year sentence. He returned to Thailand on the same day that a party linked to him

By SAM MEDNICK Associated Press NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — After three months of crossing the desert and then watching other migrants die at sea in his failed attempt to reach Europe, Sahr John Yambasu gave up on getting across the Mediterranean and decided to go back home. The 29-year-old from Sierra Leone reached Niger in

By SUSIE BLANN Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia and Ukraine traded drone attacks early Wednesday, officials said, with Kyiv apparently targeting Moscow again and the Kremlin’s forces launching another bombardment of Ukrainian grain storage depots in what have recently become signature tactics in the almost 18-month war. Later Wednesday, the Ukrainian intelligence agency

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Police say a shooting outside a residence hall at an Alabama college campus has left two people injured. A spokesperson for the Huntsville Police Department says in an email that Tuesday’s shooting occurred at Alabama A&M University. Investigators say the shooting stemmed from a fight between two people and was an

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Kazutaka Yonekura dreams of a world where everyone will have their very own digital “clone” — an online avatar that could take on some of our work and daily tasks, such as appearing in Zoom meetings in our place. Yonekura, chief executive of Tokyo startup Alt Inc.,

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. special envoy for Libya says the oil-rich North African country’s stability is at greater risk following recent militia clashes and amid the danger of spillover from the turmoil in neighboring Sudan and Niger. Abdoulaye Bathily told the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday that