Month: January 2024

JERUSALEM (AP) — The British military says two missiles apparently targeting a ship off Yemen exploded Friday, though they caused no damage or injuries. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Operations, which oversees Mideast waterways, said the attack happened southwest of the Yemeni city of Aden, in the Gulf of Aden. No group immediately claimed

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union and the U.N. Human Rights Office have expressed regret over the first execution of a man with nitrogen gas in the U.S. state of Alabama. The EU called the method “particularly cruel.” It and the Geneva-based U.N. rights office say the death penalty violates the right to life and

By HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — As Russia and Ukraine trade accusations over this week’s crash of a Russian military transport plane, one thing is clear: families’ fears that future prisoner exchanges may be in danger and loved ones could stay imprisoned. Even the basic facts are being debated. Russian officials accused

By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Mikaela Shiffrin has crashed into the safety nets after losing control while landing a jump during a World Cup women’s downhill. Shiffrin’s arms were flailing as she landed in a patch of soft snow on the upper portion of the Olympia delle Tofane course

BEIJING (AP) — Beijing has confirmed that a longtime British businessperson in China was sentenced to five years in prison in 2022 on an espionage charge. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Friday that Ian J. Stones had been convicted of being bought off to provide intelligence to “external forces.” He did not provide any

By JEAN-YVES KAMALE Associated Press KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — At least 19 people were killed when rebels attacked a town in Congo’s North Kivu province, the army said late Thursday, the latest violence in the country’s conflict-battered east. The rebels shelled the town of Mweso, where they “indiscriminately dropped mortar bombs,” which also injured 27

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is delaying consideration of new natural gas export terminals in the United States, even as gas shipments to Europe and Asia have soared in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. President Joe Biden’s election-year decision aligns with environmentalists who fear the huge increase

LONDON (AP) — Buckingham Palace says King Charles III been admitted to a private London hospital to undergo a “corrective procedure” for an enlarged prostate. The 75-year old king will be treated at the London Clinic, where the Princess of Wales is recovering after undergoing abdominal surgery. The king visited Kate at the hospital after

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Thousands of people have lined a ceremonial boulevard in the heart of India’s capital to watch a colorful parade showcasing the country’s military power and cultural heritage to mark its 75th Republic Day. French President Emmanuel Macron attended the parade as the chief guest at the

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Police in Texas say three people were killed in a shooting at an apartment complex. KTVT-TV reports authorities in Arlington say a shooting was reported around 8:30 p.m. Thursday. The station reports that officers who responded to a home on Chatham Green Lane found three victims who had died of gunshot

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — China’s leaders have launched a barrage of new policies to prop up languishing financial markets and rekindle growth in the world’s second-largest economy. The moves to support lending and spending with billions of dollars of fresh cash gathered pace this week when the central bank cut

By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Jannik Sinner has upset Novak Djokovic to reach the Australian Open men’s final, ending the 10-time champion’s career unbeaten streak in semifinals at Melbourne Park. The 22-year-old Italian broke Djokovic’s serve twice in each of the first two sets but missed a match point in

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Police say the assailant who repeatedly struck a South Korean lawmaker with a rock was a 14-year-old boy who was sent to a mental health facility Friday. The attack Thursday on ruling party member Bae Hyunjin came just weeks after a man stabbed opposition leader

MOSCOW (AP) — Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter who was detained on espionage charges, lost an appeal Friday against his arrest, Russian state news agencies reported. That means he will stay in jail until the end of March. A 32-year-old United States citizen, Gershkovich was arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg while on

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly lower on Friday despite upbeat news on the U.S. economy, with Japan’s benchmark falling after the latest data showed inflation has been slowing faster than expected. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 declined 1.3% to finish at 35,751.07 as a key measure of inflation slowed

BANGKOK (AP) — U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Bangkok, Thailand, officials from both countries said. The exact schedule for their talks was not announced, but both are scheduled to be in the Thai capital from Friday, where they’re meeting separately with Thai officials. Both sides

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press ATMORE, Ala. (AP) — A man who was paid $1,000 to kill an Alabama woman more than 30 years ago was put to death with pure nitrogen gas, a first-of-its-kind execution that again placed the U.S. at the forefront of the debate over capital punishment. Kenneth Eugene Smith, 58, appeared

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The estate of George Carlin has filed a lawsuit over a fake hourlong comedy special that purportedly uses artificial intelligence to recreate the late standup comic’s style and material. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles on Thursday asks a judge to force

By JESSE BEDAYN The Associated Press/Report for America FORT LUPTON, Colo. (AP) — Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert has argued her case in the first Republican primary debate in the district where she is now running, facing local opponents who lobbed accusations of Boebert being a “carpetbagger.” The congresswoman was on the debate stage in Fort

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and SETH BORENSTEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — For years, John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua have been viewed as the two most important people working on global warming. As the top representatives of the United States and China, almost no progress was possible without their involvement. Despite tensions between their two countries,

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and SETH BORENSTEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The United Nations climate summit in Dubai was wrapping up last month when John Kerry went to a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua only to find a surprise waiting for him. Xie’s 8-year-old grandson had brought Kerry a card for his 80th

SYDNEY (AP) — Strong winds hit Australia’s northeast coast Friday, leaving thousands without power, but the area was spared heavy damage as Tropical Cyclone Kirrily weakened into a tropical storm. Wind gusts of up to 170 kilometers an hour battered coastal cities and towns, while fallen trees caused property damage. But the cyclone was downgraded

By DAVID RISING Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Simmering tensions in the South China Sea. Coordinated attacks on the military run government that seized control of Myanmar. It’s with this backdrop that Laos, the poorest country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is taking over as the bloc’s rotating chair. As foreign ministers gather

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — By any standard, the past 18 months have been remarkable for getting wrongfully detained Americans home. There were major swaps with adversaries like Iran and Russia, including one that secured the freedom of WNBA star Brittney Griner, and a large prisoner exchange just last month with Venezuela.

By EMMA BURROWS Associated Press They have lined up by the thousands across Russia in recent days, standing in the bitter cold for a chance to sign petitions to support an unlikely challenger to President Vladimir Putin. Boris Nadezhdin has become a dilemma for the Kremlin as he seeks to run in the March 17

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Israel is set to hear Friday whether the United Nations’ top court will order it to end its military offensive in Gaza in a provisional ruling while the panel hears a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide. The International Court of Justice’s

By LARRY NEUMEISTER and JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Closing arguments are to begin Friday in the defamation case against Donald Trump a day after the former president left a New York courtroom fuming that he hadn’t been given an opportunity to refute E. Jean Carroll’s sexual abuse accusations. Lawyers will get

By JARI TANNER Associated Press HELSINKI (AP) — Finns will vote Sunday to elect a new president at an unprecedented time: the Nordic nation is now a NATO member following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and its eastern border with Russia is closed, both almost unthinkable a few years ago. Unlike in most European countries, the

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press Snowplows are essential to enduring winter in Minnesota, so maybe it’s not surprising that every year thousands of people vote on names for the giant machines that clear the state’s roads, such as Plowy McPlowFace and Darth Blader. The often-icy state began naming its 800 plows in 2020 and is

By JACQUELINE MUNIS and ELLA McCARTHY Schools around the country are installing sensors and cameras to crack down on student vaping and handing out harsh punishments for many who are caught. Schools have invested millions of dollars in the surveillance technology, including federal COVID-19 emergency relief money meant to help schools through the pandemic. It

SYDNEY (AP) — Thousands of Australians protested the anniversary of British colonization of their country with large crowds urging for Australia Day to be moved and for a day of mourning on the holiday some call “Invasion Day.” Friday’s holiday marks the arrival of British convict ships in 1788. Thousands of people, many of whom

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. trade body sounded an alarm Thursday that global trade is being disrupted by attacks in the Red Sea, the war in Ukraine, and low water levels in the Panama Canal. Jan Hoffmann, a trade expert at the body known as UNCTAD, warned Thursday

NEW YORK (AP) — The Associated Press has won a prestigious broadcast journalism award for “20 Days in Mariupol,” its documentary on the war in Ukraine produced with PBS’ “Frontline.” The documentary was among 15 winners of the 2024 duPont-Columbia Awards announced at a ceremony at Columbia University in New York on Thursday. “20 Days

SYDNEY (AP) — Voting has started in the tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, in a national election that could reverberate from China to Australia. Tuvalu is one of the smallest nations in the world, but the election for the 16-seat parliament was being closely watched. Prime Minister Kausea Natano is running again, but even

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Thousands of people have joined growing protests across Slovakia against a plan by populist Prime Minister Robert Fico to amend the penal code and eliminate a special prosecutors’ office. Earlier Thursday, the ruling coalition voted to fast-track approval of the changes. Final approval could come by the end of next week.

By JIWON SONG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says it’s hosting a Chinese government delegation led by Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong, as it continues its efforts to strengthen ties with Beijing and Moscow. State media said Sun’s delegation arrived in Pyongyang on Thursday after crossing the land border between the

By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The University of California’s governing board has postponed for a year a vote on a plan to allow immigrant students who lack legal status to apply for university jobs. The Board of Regents voted 9 to 6 on Thursday to shelve the plan until 2025

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Former New Orleans District Attorney Harry Connick Sr. has died at age 97.  An obituary distributed by his son and namesake, Harry Connick Jr., says Connick died peacefully at his home in New Orleans on Thursday with his family by his side. The senior Connick was popular as a prosecutor and

By MARC LEVY Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Some conservative Pennsylvania state lawmakers are suing in federal court and challenging three executive branch actions designed to boost voter registration, including a 2021 executive order by President Joe Biden. The lawsuit filed Thursday is expected to be one of many to litigate voting and election

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — An effort to modernize state oversight of a thriving petroleum industry in the nation’s No. 2 state for oil production has advanced past its first committee vetting at the New Mexico Legislature. Endorsed Thursday, the bill would rewrite portions of the state’s 1930s-era Oil and

LIMA, Peru (AP) — Little Efruz balances himself on the front of the surfboard as waves foam around him and his companion as they skim over the Pacific waters off Peru. Efruz is a 4-year-old Jack Russell terrier and he is a common sight these hot days of the Southern Hemisphere summer. “He loves the

By DIANE JEANTET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Court records show that Brazil’s federal police are investigating the country’s former intelligence chief as part of a wider probe into alleged spying on political opponents under former President Jair Bolsonaro. The former intelligence chief, Alexandre Ramagem, was among those targeted by the 21 search

MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) — A federal jury has convicted a man on two counts for with defacing one of Michigan’s oldest synagogues with a swastika and other graffiti in 2019. Prosecutors say 23-year-old Nathan Weeden of Houghton was found guilty of conspiring against rights and damaging religious property. Prosecutors say swastikas and symbols associated with

NEW YORK (AP) — A Seattle man who police say has been stalking and harassing Taylor Swift was ordered held without bail Thursday after he was arrested three times in recent days in front of the pop star’s home in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. David Crowe, 33, was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on a misdemeanor

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Congressional investigators say the U.S. agency in charge of maintaining the nation’s nuclear arsenal is not consistent when it comes to tracking small construction projects, making it difficult to prevent cost overruns. The Government Accountability Office warned in a report released Thursday that even fewer projects

PINE BLUFF One of two detainees who escaped from a local jail in Arkansas has been captured. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday said Noah Roush was captured at an abandoned house in Pine Bluff. Roush and Jatonia Bryant were discovered missing from the county jail on Monday. Roush was being held on residential