Month: January 2024

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Two Malaysian filmmakers have been charged with offending the religious feelings of others in a rare criminal prosecution that has been slammed by critics as an attack on freedom of expression. Mohamad Khairianwar Jailani, the director and co-scriptwriter of “Mentega Terbang,” and producer Tan Meng Kheng pleaded not guilty on

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian authorities say two people have died and 77 others were injured after a massive blast rocked more than a dozen buildings in one of the country’s largest cities. Oyo state’s governor said Wednesday that preliminary investigations showed the blast Tuesday night in the densely populated

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Inflation across the United Kingdom increased unexpectedly last month as a result of sharp hike in tobacco and alcohol prices. The Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday that inflation, as measured by the consumer prices index, was 4% in the year December, up from 3.9% in

BERLIN (AP) — Heavy snowfalls and freezing rain across Germany have led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights and trains, crashes on icy roads, and school closures. At Frankfurt and Munich airports, hundreds of flights were canceled Wednesday, while Saarbruecken airport in western Germany closed for the day. Duesseldorf and Cologne/Bonn airports were also

By JANIE HAR Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The people behind a secretive Silicon Valley-backed ballot initiative to construct a new city on California farmland are releasing more details of their plan. Project backers are submitting paperwork Wednesday to ask voters on the November ballot to allow for urban uses of that farmland. California

By KIM TONG-HYUNG and JIWON SONG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In abandoning his country’s decades-old aspirational goal of reconciliation with South Korea, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could be revealing significant changes to the way he sees the world, as he navigates growing tensions with neighbors and exploits broader geopolitical shifts

By NAJIB JOBAIN and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A shipment of medicine for dozens of hostages held by Hamas is en route to Gaza. France and Qatar arranged the delivery by brokering the first agreement between Israel and the militant group since a weeklong cease-fire broke down in November. Qatar

By MUNIR AHMED and JON GAMBRELL Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan on Wednesday condemned Iran for launching airstrikes the previous day that Tehran claimed targeted bases for a militant Sunni separatist group. Islamabad angrily denounced the attack as a “blatant violation” of its airspace and said it killed two children. Tuesday’s strike in Pakistan’s

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — China’s ambassador sought to reassure Australia that China’s increased involvement in the Pacific, particularly in policing efforts, should not be a cause of alarm. Xiao Qian, speaking in Canberra on Wednesday, said China and Australia can contribute together rather than asking Pacific nations to chose between them. He also said China’s

By CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Parts of the Pacific Northwest were under an ice storm warning through Wednesday morning, threatening to add to the damage brought by a powerful winter storm that hit the region over the weekend. Area of southwest Washington and western Oregon — including that state’s largest cities

By ZEN SOO AP Business Writer HONG KONG (AP) — China published youth unemployment data Wednesday for the first time since the jobless rate hit a record high in June last year, using a new method that showed an apparent improvement. China announced a 14.9% jobless rate for people between 16 and 24 in December,

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were trading mostly lower on Wednesday after a decline overnight on Wall Street, while Tokyo’s main benchmark momentarily hit another 30-year high. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.2% in afternoon trading to 35,701.41. The Nikkei has been hitting new 34-year highs, or the best

By PAOLO SANTALUCIA Associated Press BARI, Italy (AP) — The year has gotten off to a slow start for a rescue ship that typically plies the Mediterranean Sea looking for migrants and refugees in distress. The Ocean Viking has been impounded, its crew accused of having deviated from a designated course, as Italy targets charity

By SHEIKH SAALIQ and BISWAJEET BANERJEE Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Preparations are underway in India’s northern Ayodhya city to mark the opening of a grand temple for Lord Ram, Hinduism’s most revered deity. The temple’s opening will fulfill a decadeslong Hindu nationalist pledge that is expected to resonate with voters during the upcoming

By ANNA FURMAN Associated Press Over the past three months, on banners and T-shirts and balloons and social media posts, one piece of imagery has emerged around the world in protests against the Israel-Hamas war: the watermelon. The colors of sliced watermelon — with red pulp, green-white rind and black seeds — are the same

By DAVID McHUGH and HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s hard-won economic stability is under threat again as the government faces a large budget hole and its two biggest allies and sponsors — the United States and the European Union — have so far failed to decide on extending more aid. Without

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — The top diplomats of Iran and the United States sit down for public — and separate — one-on-one chats while the U.N. chief and leaders of France, Argentina and Spain will deliver speeches as the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting saunters into a busy second day

By MARK SHERMAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is taking up challenges by commercial fishermen to a fee requirement that could achieve a long-sought goal of business and conservative interests, limiting a wide range of government regulations. Arguments are on Wednesday. Billions of dollars are potentially at stake in front of a

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has made a point of showing his leadership hasn’t faded in more than two hours of answering questions at a news conference in which he promised a stronger France to face with world’s challenges. “I still have three years and a half in

By HOLLY RAMER Associated Press ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Kristina Amyot’s life has drastically improved since the last New Hampshire primary, but she isn’t confident the current candidates will help others achieve the same success. Amyot, 36, spent more than half her life struggling with addiction, mainly to heroin, before joining Hope on Haven Hill,

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, LARRY NEUMEISTER and JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Less than a year after convincing a jury that former President Donald Trump sexually abused her decades ago, writer E. Jean Carroll is set to take the stand again to describe how his verbal attacks affected her after she came

By CLAIRE SAVAGE Associated Press Sentencing is scheduled Wednesday in Chicago for an American woman who pleaded guilty to helping kill her mother and stuffing her body in a suitcase at a vacation resort in Bali nearly a decade ago. Federal prosecutors are recommending a 28-year prison sentence for Heather Mack. That’s considerably more time

By KEIRAN SMITH Associated Press WELLINGTON (AP) — New Zealand’s first refugee lawmaker has resigned after several media reports aired allegations she had shoplifted at high-end local boutiques on at least three occasions. Without referring to the specific allegations, Golriz Ghahraman, a member of New Zealand’s Greens party, resigned with immediate effect citing “stresses relating

By SOPHIE AUSTIN Associated Press/Report for America SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A lawsuit is accusing the deputy director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services of sexual harassment and retaliation against a senior employee while the agency did nothing to stop it. The suit, filed Tuesday, alleges that Kendra Bowyer faced a campaign of

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States, South Korea and Japan conducted combined naval exercises involving an American aircraft carrier in their latest show of strength against nuclear-armed North Korea, South Korea’s military said Wednesday, as three countries’ senior diplomats were to meet in Seoul to discuss the deepening

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are foreshadowing elements of their defense in the criminal case charging him with illegally retaining classified documents. They say in a motion filed Tuesday that they will dispute prosecutors’ allegations that the estate where the records were stored was not secure.

By ZEN SOO AP Business Writer HONG KONG (AP) — China’s economy for the October-December quarter grew at a quicker rate, allowing the Chinese government to hit its target of about 5% annual growth for 2023 even though trade data and the economic recovery remain uneven. Official data released Wednesday showed that the Chinese economy

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — The 2024 Coachella festival lineup is here! Lana Del Rey, Doja Cat, and Tyler, the Creator will headline. No Doubt, the ska-punk band that gave the world Gwen Stefani, will also reunite. Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival returns to the Empire Polo Club in

BEIJING (AP) — China’s population dropped by 2 million people in 2023 in the second straight annual drop as births fell and deaths jumped. The government’s statistics bureau said Wednesday that the total population was 1.4 billion last year.  The number of deaths more than doubled to 690,000. Demographers were expecting a rise in deaths

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Three Washington state police officers who were cleared of criminal charges in the 2020 death of Manuel Ellis — a Black man who was shocked, beaten and restrained facedown on a sidewalk as he pleaded for breath — will each receive $500,000 to leave the Tacoma Police

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley has been hospitalized in the Washington area with an infection and is receiving antibiotic infusions. At 90 years old, he is the oldest member of the U.S. Senate. Grassley will return to work “as soon as possible following doctors’ orders,” his office

By SUMMER BALLENTINE Associated Press COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — What’s expected to be an expensive and bitter fight over Missouri abortion-rights ballot measures so far has not attracted much money. A campaign to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution Tuesday reported it had no cash on hand at the end of 2023. The group

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah’s Republican legislative leaders took aim at social media companies on the opening day of the state’s 2024 legislative session, pledging to reinforce laws they passed last year to require parental permission for kids to access social media apps. The two laws, signed last March

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that the third-party group No Labels can prohibit members from using its ballot line to run for office in Arizona. The decision on Tuesday protects the group’s efforts to maintain control and secrecy around its operations and finances. No Labels is

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations says Russia’s intense missile and drone attacks across Ukraine in recent weeks sharply increased civilian casualties in December, with over 100 killed and nearly 500 injured. The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said in a new report Tuesday that

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Police say two New York City officers have been shot as they struggled with a domestic violence suspect who grabbed one officer’s gun. The suspect also has been wounded. All are hospitalized after Tuesday’s shooting. It revived memories of the killings of two New York Police

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — A woman whose body was found in the water near where a small plane crashed into the ocean off the California coast has been identified as a 27-year-old San Francisco resident. The crash was reported Sunday by a 911 caller who said the plane was in obvious distress and

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A man accused of faking his death and fleeing the U.S. to avoid rape charges in Utah denied at a court appearance Tuesday that he is the suspect and, in an apparent British accent, called allegations that he wasn’t giving his true name “complete hearsay.” Nicholas Rossi, whose legal name

By CHRISTINE FERNANDO Associated Press The U.S. Election Assistance Commission is searching for its fourth leader since 2019, just as voting begins in this year’s presidential election. The agency helps develop standards for voting equipment and provides state and local election officials with a wide range of assistance. It also adopts voluntary voting system guidelines,

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The top judicial official in Kansas says the state’s courts need at least $2.6 million in additional funds to recover from an October cyberattack that prevented the electronic filing of documents and blocked online access to records for weeks. State Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer Apple is prepared to remove the blood-oxygen sensor from its internet-connected watches if a court doesn’t give it more leeway while it pursues a bid to overturn a ruling that has blocked its use of the technology. A potential redesign of two Apple Watch models, the Series 9 and

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — For one night at least, San Francisco 49ers All-Pro fullback Kyle Juszczyk was not the biggest star in his family. All it took was pop superstar-turned-Chiefs fan Taylor Swift wearing a puffy winter coat designed by Juszczyk’s wife, Kristin, that looked like the

By CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Pacific Northwest is bracing for more hazardous winter weather after a weekend storm that resulted in at least seven deaths. Tens of thousands of people remained without power on Tuesday as a vast area including parts of southwest Washington and western Oregon were under an

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Attorneys for the first inmate slated to be put to death with nitrogen gas have asked a federal appeals court to block the upcoming execution in Alabama. Kenneth Eugene Smith’s attorneys asked the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to block his execution scheduled for Jan. 25. The appellate court will