Month: November 2023

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — New laws rushed through Australia’s Parliament last week to mandate curfews and electronic tracking bracelets on some foreigners with criminal records are facing their first High Court challenge. Lawyers for a Chinese refugee claim the tough new measures are unconstitutional. The man was placed in indefinite detention last year after serving

By JAMEY KEATEN and MARIA CHENG Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says it has made an official request to China for information about a potentially worrying spike in respiratory illnesses and clusters of pneumonia in children. The U.N. health agency cited unspecified media reports and a global infectious disease monitoring service

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — He’s been called the Dutch Donald Trump. He’s been threatened with death countless times by Islamic extremists, convicted of insulting Moroccans and the British government once banned him from entering the country. Now Geert Wilders has won a landslide victory in a Dutch election and

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s spy agency has told lawmakers that Russian support likely enabled North Korea to put a spy satellite into orbit for the first time this week. The South’s defense minister says it will know by early next week whether the satellite is functioning properly.

By MIKE CORDER and RAF CASERT Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Anti-Islam populist Geert Wilders won a huge victory in Dutch elections, according to a near complete count of the vote early Thursday, in a stunning lurch to the far right for a nation once famed as a beacon of tolerance. The result

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Hundreds of police officers are searching the properties of Hamas members and followers in Germany with the majority of the raids taking place in Berlin. On Nov. 2, the German government implemented a formal ban on any activity by or in support of Hamas. It also dissolved

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mixed in Asia on Thursday after a modest advance on Wall Street that kept the market on track for a fourth straight weekly gain. Markets in Japan and the U.S. are closed for holidays. Oil prices fell about $1 a barrel after OPEC postponed

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A countrywide billboard campaign that flooded the streets of Hungary this week takes aim at the head of the European Union’s executive, Ursula von der Leyen. It’s the start of an election campaign that marks an escalation of tensions between the country’s right-wing government and the

By WAFAA SHURAFA and KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An agreement for a four-day cease-fire in Gaza and the release of dozens of Hamas-held hostages and Palestinians imprisoned by Israel appeared to have hit a last-minute snag when a senior Israeli official said it would not take effect until Friday,

By AIJAZ HUSSAIN Associated Press SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Four Indian soldiers were killed in a gunbattle with rebels fighting against New Delhi’s rule in disputed Kashmir. The fighting started Wednesday after Indian troops started searching in the forests and intermittent firing continued all day. Troops continued their search Thursday in Rajouri district near the

By ALEXA ST. JOHN Associated Press Electric vehicle sales are expected to hit a record 9% of all passenger vehicles in the U.S. this year, according to Atlas Public Policy. That will be up from 7.3% of new car sales in 2022. This will be the first year U.S. EV sales surpass 1 million, and

PERTH, Australia (AP) — Australian authorities say dozens of residents have been evacuated and at least 10 homes have been destroyed by a wildfire that’s burning out of control during heat wave spring conditions on the northern fringe of the west coast city of Perth. Western Australia state Department of Fires and Emergency Services Commissioner

By TSVANGIRAYI MUKWAZHI and FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press GONAREZHOU NATIONAL PARK, Zimbabwe (AP) — In Zimbabwe, rains are finally bringing relief to its second-largest national park. But elsewhere in the wildlife-rich country, authorities say climate change-induced drought is deadly for animals and plants. Fifteen elephants died in a week in Hwange, Zimbabwe’s largest park. Hungry

By JACK DURA Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — About 200 wild horses roam free in a western North Dakota national park. But that number could shrink as the National Park Service is expected to decide next year whether it will eliminate that population. Advocates fear a predetermined outcome that will remove the beloved animals

NEW YORK (AP) — Beloved characters like Snoopy and SpongeBob SquarePants will take to the skies above New York City Thursday while bands march along the streets below as the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade ushers in the holiday season. The parade starts on Manhattan’s upper west side and makes its way alongside Central Park

By SIBI ARASU Associated Press The oil and gas sector, one of the major emitters of planet-warming gases, will need a rapid and substantial overhaul for the world to avoid even worse extremes fueled by human-caused climate change. That’s according to a report released Thursday. The International Energy Agency says the current investment of $800

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Three New Zealand political leaders say they’ve reached an agreement to form the next government, pending a final signoff from their parties which they expected within hours. The party leaders said they expected to hold a formal signing ceremony at Parliament on Friday. The announcement

By OMAR FARUK Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — First, some families fled drought and violence. Now they say they have nowhere to hide from intense flooding as rainfall exacerbated by the weather phenomenon El Nino pummels large parts of Somalia. The federal government declared a state of emergency in October. Among the worst hit towns

NEW DELHI (AP) — The rescue of 41 construction workers trapped nearly two weeks in a collapsed tunnel in India has reached the final stretch of digging. The drill that’s digging into the dirt and debris made it through 44 meters (yards) out of approximately the 57 needed as of Wednesday night. A construction manager

MOUNT VERNON, Ky. (AP) — A train has derailed and spilled chemicals in a remote part of eastern Kentucky, prompting officials to encourage residents of a small town to evacuate. Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement on Wednesday that local officials in Rockcastle County were encouraging residents of Livingston, with a population of about

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Incumbent Erin Mendenhall has won her reelection bid for mayor of Utah’s capital in a ranked-choice contest that included a challenge by Salt Lake City’s former Mayor Rocky Anderson. Ballot returns released Wednesday, which included all scannable ballots in the Salt Lake County clerk’s possession, showed Mendenhall with 58% of

By JUSTIN KABUMBA Associated Press GOMA, Congo (AP) — A rebel group with alleged links to neighboring Rwanda claims to have seized a key town in Congo’s conflict-hit eastern region amid intense fighting. It raises further security concerns ahead of the country’s Dec. 20 presidential election. The Associated Press is not immediately able to verify

By SARA CLINE Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — In the northwest corner of Louisiana, a candidate for parish sheriff is demanding a recount after losing by a single vote in an election where more than 43,000 people voted. The tight race shines a spotlight on Louisiana’s recount process and its outdated voting machines,

By GABE STERN Associated Press/Report for America RENO, Nev. (AP) — A judge has struck down an effort to enshrine reproductive rights, including abortion, in Nevada’s constitution. Carson City District Court Judge James T. Russell ruled on Tuesday that a proposed ballot initiative offered by abortion rights advocates in the western swing state is too

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Fiji’s leader says that after meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping, he hopes to collaborate with China on upgrading his nation’s shipyards and ports. Sitiveni Rabuka made the remarks to lawmakers in Parliament on Wednesday. Rabuka is generally seen as leaning less toward China than

By VICTOR CAIVANO Associated Press GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli military officials have shown a group of international journalists a small living quarters they found in a tunnel underneath Shifa Hospital, claiming that the space had been used by Hamas militants. The army has portrayed it as the most significant discovery since Israel

By COLLEEN LONG, SEUNG MIN KIM, SAM MAGDY and JULIA FRANKEL The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Negotiations to free the hostages held by Hamas hardly ran smoothly. Hamas resisted as Israel laid waste to huge areas of Gaza. But talks proceeded, aided by intermediaries in Qatar, eventually leading to Wednesday’s agreement. A month and

By TODD RICHMOND Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Animal welfare advocates are suing to stop Wisconsin’s new wolf management plan. They say the state violated open meeting laws while drafting the proposal and accuse wildlife officials of disregarding pro-wolf comments. The Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance filed the action Wednesday in Dane County. The organization

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Peruvian scientists say Peru has lost more than half of its glacier surface in the last six decades due to climate change. According to a new glacier inventory released Wednesday by a government agency, 175 glaciers became extinct between 2016 and 2020. In total, scientists say, the South American country has

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A former Penthouse magazine model sued Guns N’ Roses singer Axl Rose on Wednesday, saying he raped her in a 1989 attack at a New York City hotel that left her with anxiety and depression and harmed her career. Sheila Kennedy, 61, filed the lawsuit in

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s National Guard officers have arrested the alleged security chief for the “Chapitos” wing of the Sinaloa drug cartel. The Public Safety Department’s arrest registry says Nestor Isidro Pérez Salas was detained Wednesday in the Sinaloa state capital of Culiacan. The department listed his alias as “El Nini.” The U.S. Drug

TEHACHAPI, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a California prison inmate has died after he was stabbed several times by two other prisoners. State prison officials say 38-year-old David Moreno was attacked Wednesday morning at the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi. Authorities say he died on the way to a hospital less than an hour later.

ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) — Utah Tech has suspended women’s basketball coach JD Gustin for two games following an investigation into allegations of misconduct by players. A private investigator hired by parents of Utah Tech players submitted a report to the university in May alleging that Gustin bullied, physically intimidated and retaliated against players dating

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia’s state Supreme Court is refusing to approve rules for a new commission to discipline and remove state prosecutors. The Wednesday ruling means the commission can’t begin operating. Some Republicans in Georgia want the new commission to discipline or remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — He’s been called the Dutch Donald Trump. He’s been threatened with death countless times by Islamic extremists, convicted of insulting Moroccans and the British government once banned him from entering the country. Now Geert Wilders has won a landslide victory in a Dutch election and

By JOHN SEEWER Associated Press The FBI says a gunman who opened fire inside a Walmart in Ohio and wounded four people before killing himself may have been motivated by racist extremism. The attack at the Walmart near Dayton just days before Thanksgiving injured four shoppers. Investigators say the victims were two Black women, a

HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii leaders want to make it easier for tourists from Japan to visit the U.S. state by creating a traveler pre-clearance program. Gov. Josh Green and other state officials proposed the idea during a recent visit to Tokyo. Hawaii News Now reported Tuesday that Green hopes allowing travelers from Japan to save

By BASSEM MROUE and MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press The mastermind of the Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the worst Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed in generations is a secretive figure, feared on both sides of the battle lines. In Gaza, no figure looms larger in determining the future trajectory of the war than Yehya Sinwar. Obsessive, disciplined

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — A jury has found a senior intelligence official in Canada’s national police force guilty of breaching the country’s secrets law. Jurors declared Cameron Jay Ortis guilty of three counts of violating the Security of Information Act and one count of attempting to do so. Ortis had pleaded not guilty to all

By TERRY SPENCER Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A jury should decide whether Tesla and Elon Musk oversold the electric car company’s Autopilot system and caused the fatal crash of a man who engaged it and took his hands off the steering wheel. That’s the ruling of Florida Judge Reid Scott. He rejected

By DANIEL POLITI and DAVID BILLER Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina’s President-elect Javier Milei has called for the wholesale reinvention of the government but he has precious little time. With less than three weeks until his Dec. 10 inauguration, Milei has no executive experience and few allies in his bullpen. From the moment of

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Automaker Stellantis has announced a recall of more than 32,000 of its hybrid Jeep Wrangler SUVs because they pose a potential fire risk. During a review of customer information, Stellantis determined that eight of the hybrid Wranglers had caught fire while they were turned off and parked. Six of the

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Two people accused of operating a high-end brothel network with wealthy and prominent clients in Massachusetts and the Washington, D.C., suburbs will remain behind bars for now. Lawyers for Han Lee and Junmyung Lee agreed to a voluntary order of detention during a brief court

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press The Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota is defending itself from claims of political bias after an unofficial message cautioning airmen to not attend a conservative political rally began circulating on social media. At issue is the Dakota Patriot Rally, an event held Friday featuring a pro-Trump group known