Month: November 2023

CONSTANTINE, Algeria (AP) — An Algerian journalist who was expected to be released this week was kept behind bars in a move that surprised his attorneys and colleagues and underscored ongoing concerns about press freedom in the North African country. Attorneys said they expected Mustapha Bendjama, the editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Le Provençal, to

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The leaders of Polish opposition parties have signed a coalition agreement that lays out a roadmap for governing the nation over the next four years. The parties collectively won a majority of votes in last month’s national election. Their candidate to be the next prime minister is Donald Tusk, a former

By CIARÁN GILES Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Acting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has signed an agreement with a small Basque party that ensures him enough parliamentary support to be reelected, possibly next week. The deal between the Socialist party and the Basque Nationalist Party on Friday means that Sánchez should be able to

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s prime minister says Ukraine is not ready to begin talks on future membership in the European Union, signaling again that his country could pose a roadblock to Kyiv’s ambitions to join the bloc. EU leaders are to decide in December whether Ukraine should be formally

PARIS (AP) — France says it has been the target of a Russian online destabilization campaign that used bots to whip up controversy and confusion about spray-painted Stars of David that appeared on Paris streets. The stenciling last month of 250 blue stars on walls in Paris and its suburbs fed alarm about surging antisemitism

LONDON (AP) — A British judge has ruled that a lawsuit by Prince Harry, Elton John and five other celebrities accusing a tabloid publisher of unlawful information-gathering should go to a full trial. The claimants accuse the publisher of the Daily Mail of paying private investigators to illegally bug homes and cars and to record

LONDON (AP) — Spirits and beer giant Diageo saw billions wiped off its market value on Friday after it warned that a sharp slowdown in its business in Latin America and the Caribbean was hitting sales and potential profits. In early trading in London, the company’s share price was down by 14% after it told

By ADRIANA MORGA Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Last year, consumers lost $8.8 billion to scammers, and the Federal Trade Commission says older adults lost the most money compared to other age groups. While everyone wants to protect the older people in their life against scammers, sometimes conversations can be complicated to navigate. Genevieve

By JILL LAWLESS and HILARY FOX Associated Press OXFORD, England (AP) — Fans of Philip Pullman have been waiting almost five years for the final instalment in the author’s sextet of books about his intrepid heroine Lyra and her adventures in multiple worlds. They won’t have to wait too much longer. Pullman says he has

BEIJING (AP) — A government official from China’s Tibetan region has rejected allegations of forced assimilation and curbs on religious freedom, while stressing that Tibetan Buddhism should adapt to the Chinese context. The vice chairman of the Tibet region government on Friday defended a boarding school system that overseas activists have said takes children away

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Foreign dignitaries have gathered in Finland’s capital to bid farewell to former President Martti Ahtisaari, including leaders of countries where he helped reach peace accords. Ahtisaari, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008, died Oct. 16 at the age of 86. Ahtisaari helped reach peace accords related to Serbia’s

By NAJIB JOBAIN, BASSEM MROUE and DAVID RISING Associated Press KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes hit near several hospitals in Gaza City early Friday as the military pushed deeper into dense urban neighborhoods in its battle with Hamas militants, prompting increasing numbers of civilians to flee toward the south of the besieged

By The Associated Press Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited his southern military headquarters as he assesses the state of his country’s forces in Ukraine as the war drags on toward winter. It was Putin’s second public visit to the headquarters in less than a month. He was accompanied by Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and

LONDON (AP) — The British economy flatlined in the third quarter of the year. The Office for National Statistics said Friday that growth in the July to September period was zero compared to the previous three months. Despite the uninspiring figure, the quarterly outcome was slightly ahead of analysts’ expectations for a modest decline in

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union institutions and conservationists have given a conditional and guarded welcome to a major plan to better protect nature and fight climate change in the 27-nation bloc. The plan is a key part of the EU’s vaunted European Green Deal that seeks to establish the world’s

MANILA (AP) — Chinese and Philippine vessels have engaged in a new confrontation in the South China Sea, with Manila charging that a Chinese coast guard ship and accompanying vessels conducted dangerous maneuvers and blasted a Philippine supply ship with a water cannon in disputed waters. China responded that it acted appropriately under maritime law

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Australia is offering the island nation of Tuvalu a lifeline to help residents escape the rising seas and increased storms that climate change is bringing. At a meeting of Pacific leaders Friday in the Cook Islands, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced a plan that

GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO Associated Press LAÚNDOS, Portugal (AP) — Guilherme Peixoto, a village priest in northern Portugal, has been busy this month celebrating Masses at his two parishes, presiding over remembrances for the dead — and preparing the electronic music set for his next international DJ gig. What started nearly two decades ago as a novel

By ZIMO ZHONG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares retreated Friday after rising bond market yields once again weighed on Wall Street, ending a lull in wider swings in prices during a brief respite from market moving data releases. U.S. futures edged higher and oil prices also advanced. Investors in Asia are facing

NEW DELHI (AP) — The diplomats and defense chiefs of India and the United States met Friday focusing on security issues involving the Indo-Pacific, China and the Israel-Hamas war. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. and India have a strong partnership and they would discuss matters with implications for the future. “The

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Hollywood’s months of labor unrest are coming to an end, but the post-strike landscape that awaits actors and writers may be far from happy-ever-after. As actors swap their picket signs for audition sides and calls sheets, they’ll be returning to an industry still in the

By RICHARD LARDNER Associated Press YANKEETOWN, Fla. (AP) — A freshwater spring bubbles amid the mangroves, cabbage palms and red cedars on Sweetheart Island, a two-acre uninhabited patch of paradise about a mile off the coast of this little Gulf Coast town. Pelicans divebomb nearby into the cool waters of Florida’s Withlacoochee Bay and the

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — More than a year after California endorsed a proposal to extend the lifespan of its last nuclear power plant, disputes continue to swirl about potential safety risks and future costs tied to the decades-old reactors. The Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant was scheduled to close

By STEVE PEOPLES AP National Political Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Joe Manchin’s decision not to seek reelection virtually ensures that the Democratic Party will lose his Senate seat next year in deep-red West Virginia, making the party’s steep path to retaining its razor-thin Senate majority even more difficult. Some Democratic officials are also concerned

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BALATONOSZOD, Hungary (AP) — Zusha Pletnyov left his home in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk in 2014, when Russian-backed rebels seized large swaths of eastern Ukraine. After living some years in the capital, Kyiv, he fled again to Israel when Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February of last

By ELAINE GANLEY Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has set off a cacophony of criticism over her plans to attend a weekend march to protest rising antisemitism in France, with critics saying that her once-pariah party has failed to shake off its antisemitic heritage despite growing political legitimacy. Prime

By STEVE KARNOWSKI, MARK VANCLEAVE and MELISSA PEREZ WINDER Associated Press ST. PETER, Minn. (AP) — A 96-year-old Korean War veteran from Minnesota has been waiting for 70 years for a Purple Heart medal. The Army keeps turning him down. He has provided documents to back up his assertion that he was wounded in combat

By KEVIN McGILL, STEPHEN SMITH and COLLIN BINKLEY Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Oct. 7 Hamas raid on Israel — and Israel’s response — have led to demonstrations on college campuses that have sometimes turned violent. The unease is felt acutely at Tulane University in New Orleans, where 43% of students are Jewish.

By JOHN DUERDEN Associated Press Makram Daboub may be struggling to prepare his Palestinian team for the start of 2026 World Cup qualification but he takes some comfort — for now at least — that his players stuck in Gaza are safe. The national soccer team’s head coach wanted to include Ibrahim Abuimeir, Khaled Al-Nabris,

By RIO YAMAT Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — From the onset of negotiations in April, Las Vegas hotel workers said they would be willing to strike over the issue of daily room cleanings. It’s a topic that underscores the big issues that the Culinary Workers Union wanted to secure for all of its members

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The nominations for the 2024 Grammy Awards will arrive Friday. Nominees will be announced during a video stream live on the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel at 8 a.m. Pacific/11 a.m. Eastern. A host of talent is on deck to announce the nominees, including “Weird Al”

BEIJING (AP) — A financial services business of China’s biggest bank says it was it by a ransomware attack that reportedly disrupted trading in the U.S. Treasury market. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Financial Services handles trades and other services for financial institutions. A statement on its website said the ransomware attack Wednesday disrupted

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Barbie” star America Ferrera has used her platform at a major Hollywood event to address the ongoing industry issue of Latino representation in film. The actor says she was taken aback after she learned that Hispanics and Latinos have remained underrepresented in film for

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Internet access across the war-torn nation of Yemen have collapsed without explanation. The outage began early Friday around 0000 GMT and affected the YemenNet, which is now controlled by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Both NetBlocks, a group tracking internet outages, and the internet services

TUSTIN, Calif. (AP) — Parks and schools have been closed in Southern California after officials found asbestos in the charred debris of a historic World War II-era blimp hangar. The city of Tustin also declared a local state of emergency Thursday because of concerns about air pollution that could include the release of asbestos and

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Authorities say a driver who plowed into a group of Los Angeles County sheriff’s recruits on a training run last year, killing one and injuring 24 others, has been charged with vehicular manslaughter. Twenty-three-year-old Nicholas Gutierrez of Diamond Bar also was charged Thursday with nine counts of reckless driving causing great

By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — A pond in Hawaii has turned so bubble-gum pink it could be from the set of “Barbie.” The bizarre phenomenon is likely caused by drought. Scientists are warning visitors against entering the water or drinking it. U.S. Fish and Wildlife staff at the Kealia Pond National Wildlife

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Days after asking for the public’s help to determine what happened at a California protest that resulted in a Jewish demonstrator’s death, authorities say they still have no video of the incident and are urging patience as they investigate. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department on Thursday asked anyone who may

By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked Idaho’s “abortion trafficking” law from being enforced while a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality is underway. “This lawsuit is not about the right to an abortion. It is about much more,” U.S. District Magistrate Debora K. Grasham wrote in the ruling

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A new U.N. report paints a stark picture of the collapsing Palestinian economy after a month of war and Israel’s near total siege of Gaza. The gross domestic product shrank 4% in the West Bank and Gaza in the war’s first month, sending over 400,000