Month: November 2023

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The governor of Sri Lanka’s Central Bank says he is confident it will receive the second instalment of a $2.9-billion bailout package from the International Monetary Fund before the end of the year. Payment of the money was delayed due to inadequate oversight and debt

By ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian officials say Ukraine has launched one of its biggest drone attacks on the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula since the full-scale war began. The Moscow-appointed governor for the Russian-occupied part of southern Ukraine’s Kherson region said Ukraine launched a major drone attack early Friday. He claimed that

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A plan for how Vietnam will spend $15.5 billion to transition to cleaner energy has been finalized and will be announced formally at the COP28 climate conference, which begins in Dubai next week. The climate counselor for the British Embassy in Hanoi did not give the

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The process of forming a new government in the aftermath of far-right Geert Wilders’ stunning election victory is getting underway. Leaders of political parties met on Friday with the chair of parliament’s lower house to appoint a “scout” to investigate possible coalitions. Wilders’ far-right, anti-Islam

LONDON (AP) — Nissan will invest more than $1.3 billion to update its factory in northeast England to make electric versions of its two best-selling cars. It’s a boost for the British government as it tries to revive the country’s ailing economy. The Japanese automaker manufactures the gasoline-powered Qashqai and smaller Juke crossover vehicles at

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Indian authorities have released a prominent Kashmir journalist on bail nearly two years after he was arrested on accusations of publishing “anti-national content” and “glorifying terrorism.” Fahad Shah, founder and editor of news portal The Kashmir Walla, was arrested in February 2022 under India’s sedition and anti-terror laws. A court last

BEIJING (AP) — China has announced that it will allow visa-free entry for citizens of five European countries and Malaysia as it tries to encourage more people to visit for business and tourism. Starting Dec. 1, citizens of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia will be allowed to enter China for up to

UTTARKASHI, India (AP) — Rescuers in India racing to evacuate 41 construction workers who have been trapped in a collapsed tunnel for nearly two weeks are hoping to resume drilling after a mechanical problem forced them to halt. The workers have been trapped since Nov. 12, when a landslide in Uttarakhand state caused part of

LONDON (AP) — Irish police have arrested 34 people after suspected far-right protesters in central Dublin attacked police, damaged shops and set fire to vehicles. The rioting happened on Thursday night after an unidentified man stabbed three children outside a school earlier in the day. The head of the Irish police, Commissioner Drew Harris, said

By SAM METZ Associated Press MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — The Marrakech International Film Festival begins on Friday, bringing American and international movie stars to the Arab world as war in the Middle East has led to the cancellation of other film festivals. The festival will feature directors Martin Scorsese and Richard Linklater and actors Jessica

BEIJING (AP) — French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna says France and China should work together to reduce global tensions and address issues such as climate change and biodiversity. She met with Chinese officials in Beijing on Friday ahead of a major U.N. climate conference starting next week and an EU-China leaders meeting next month. The

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The top diplomats from South Korea, Japan and China are gathering in South Korea this weekend to discuss resuming their leaders’ summit, among other regional issues. Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Friday that the meeting will take place Sunday in the southeastern city of Busan. An

MOSCOW (AP) — The shelves at Moscow supermarkets are full of fruit and vegetables, cheese and meat. But many of the shoppers look at the selection with dismay as inflation makes their wallets feel empty. Russia’s Central Bank has raised its key lending rate four times this year to try to get inflation under control

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — After the latest, horrifying killing of a college student allegedly by her resentful and jealous ex-boyfriend, students from Turin to Palermo have taken to pounding on classroom desks in unison to demand a stop to the slaying of women in Italy at the hands of men. Just

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal inspectors have twice found hundreds of defects in the locomotives and railcars Union Pacific was using at the world’s largest railyard in Nebraska, but none of those seem to explain why a shipping container filled with toxic acid exploded there this fall. The Sept.

By GERALD IMRAY and MARIA CHENG Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa, Colombia and other countries that lost out in the global race for coronavirus vaccines are taking a more combative approach towards drugmakers and pushing back on policies that deny cheap treatment to millions of people with tuberculosis and HIV.

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mixed in Asia on Friday, with Hong Kong retreating on selling of property shares following recent gains. U.S. futures edged higher after markets on Wall Street were closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday. Oil prices slipped. Japan reported its consumer inflation rose for

By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press When Daniel Skousen scrubs at the ash and soot covering his Maui home, he worries about the smell. What chemicals created the burning-trash-barrel scent that has lingered since a deadly wildfire tore through Lahaina in August? Should he believe government agencies’ assessment of when the air, land and water will

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s new constitutional projections for abortion access and other reproductive rights are supposed to take effect Dec. 7, a month after voters resoundingly passed them. That prospect seems increasingly uncertain. Existing abortion-related lawsuits are moving again through the courts now that voters have decided the

By The Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A temporary truce in the Israel-Hamas war took effect early Friday, setting the stage for the exchange of dozens of hostages held by militants in Gaza for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel. The halt in fighting began at 7 a.m. local time (0500 GMT) and is

NEW DELHI (AP) — The Afghan Embassy says it is permanently closing in New Delhi over challenges from the Indian government and a lack of diplomatic support. It said the decision announced Friday was already in effect from Thursday and follows the embassy’s earlier move to cease operations starting Oct. 1 due to the absence

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Expect big discounts and other enticements to lure shoppers to stores for Black Friday. But retailers worry those may not be enough. Consumers are coming under pressure as their savings dwindle and their credit card debt grows. And although they have gotten some relief from

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is granting pardons at a pace not seen since the World War II era. Parson has granted more than 600 pardons in the past three years, which is more than any Missouri governor since the early 1940s. The Republican is a former sheriff who once

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — It’s been a record-breaking year for sea turtles in Florida. Just as they have for millions of years, the turtles have crawled onto beaches, digging pits in the sand to lay their eggs. Florida’s preliminary count shows more than 133,840 loggerhead turtle nests and

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s main opposition party Nationalist Party has announced a veteran politician as its vice presidential candidate as hopes for a cross-party alliance to challenge the ruling Democratic Progressive Party have fractured. Hou The announcement Friday comes days after the DPP announced that its presidential candidate, serving

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The founding editor of The Washington Monthly magazine and its editor-in-chief for three decades, Charles Peters, has died. He was 96. In confirming Peters’ death, the journal reported that he had been in declining health for several years, mainly from congestive heart failure. A native of Charleston, West Virginia, Peters

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Prosecutors say three journalists and two of their relatives have been abducted by armed men in the violence-plagued southern state of Guerrero. The state prosecutors office said Thursday that all five people were abducted in Taxco, a colonial town frequented by tourists. The online news site The Afternoon Chronicle said its

MEXICO CITY (AP) — An activist who documented murders in one of Mexico’s deadliest cities has himself been killed. Adolfo Enríquez was killed in the city of Leon, which has the third-highest number of homicides in Mexico. Enríquez posted a simple, moving tally of each murder in Leon, writing just hours before his death that

HAVANA (AP) — Thousands of people led by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel have marched along Havana’s iconic boardwalk in solidarity with the Palestinian people and demanding an end to the war between Israel and Hamas. Díaz-Canel was accompanied Thursday by Cuba’s main leaders, including Prime Minister Manuel Marrero and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez. The marchers

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealanders can expect tax cuts, more police on the streets and less government bureaucracy, according to the three leaders who signed an agreement Friday to form a new government. The coalition deal ended nearly six weeks of intense negotiations after New Zealand held a

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Oscar Pistorius could be granted parole on Friday after nearly 10 years in prison for killing his girlfriend. The double-amputee Olympic runner was convicted of a charge comparable to third-degree murder for shooting Reeva Steenkamp in his home in 2013. He has been in

MADRID (AP) — Brazil forward Rodrygo has been the target of racist abuse on social media following the World Cup qualifying game against Argentina. Rodrygo, who is Black, says “The racists are always out there.” The player said many of the racist messages included photos and emoticons of monkeys or bananas. Rodrygo attracted attention during

By GABRIELA SELSER Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nicaragua’s increasingly isolated and repressive government thought it had scored a rare PR victory last week when Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios won the Miss Universe competition. But “the legitimate joy and pride” President Daniel Ortega’s government expressed in a statement Sunday after the win quickly turned

NEW YORK (AP) — A woman has alleged in a lawsuit that actor, singer and comedian Jamie Foxx sexually assaulted her at a rooftop bar in New York in 2015, an incident the actor says “never happened.” The lawsuit filed Wednesday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan by a woman known in the documents only

By DANIEL POLITI Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Right-wing populist Javier Milei has been president-elect just four days and already Argentina’s unions and social organizations are vowing pushback and even protests if he makes good on his promises to slash the size of the state and privatize companies. Milei says radical measures are

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Eddie Merrins was known as “The Little Pro” because of his 5-foot-7 stature. The nickname surely had nothing to do with his giant influence on golf. Merrins died Wednesday after a long illness, according to UCLA, where he coached golf for 14 years. Merrins was famous for his driving cap and

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A former St. Louis alderman has been charged with a misdemeanor on accusations that he lied to police when he said a woman tried to carjack him last year. Court documents say Brandon Bosley said the woman tried to rob him, while the woman told police that Bosley hit her with

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Police in Sao Paulo have discovered what appeared to be a drug mule ring in the western part of the city. The state’s public security secretary said in a statement that police arrested a 24 year-old man and detained 33 other individuals who said they were ingesting and transporting drugs

WRANGELL, Alaska (AP) — Officials say rescue teams have resumed searching for three people who remain missing after a landslide ripped through a remote Alaska fishing community this week, killing three others. The landslide swept over three homes in the southeast Alaska town of Wrangell on Monday night. The state Department of Public Safety say

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Authorities in several West African countries are trying to manage their huge diphtheria outbreaks. A top health official in Nigeria said Thursday that millions are being vaccinated to cover wide gaps in immunity against the disease. At least 573 people out of the 11,640 diagnosed with