Month: March 2024

By REZA SAIFULLAH and EDNA TARIGAN Associated Press MEULABOH, Indonesia (AP) — U.N. agencies say that about 70 Muslim Rohingya believed to have been aboard a boat that made a grueling sea voyage from Bangladesh are feared missing or dead. That estimate comes after hearing accounts of the 75 others who were rescued from the

By DALATOU MAMANE Associated Press NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — The defense ministry says a militant attack on Nigerien forces in a border region near Mali and Burkina Faso has killed 23 soldiers. The ministry said in a statement Friday the soldiers were taking part in an overnight clearing operation on Tuesday in the country’s west

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron says he “regrets” the Senate’s vote to reject legislation to ratify a trade deal between the European Union and Canada. The so-called CETA deal has been criticized by farmers as bringing unfair competition from abroad. It provisionally went into effect in September 2017

LONDON (AP) — Two men have been arrested in connection with a gas station explosion that killed 10 people and shattered a village in northwestern Ireland in 2022. Ireland’s police force said Friday that both men were in their 50s, but offered no details about their alleged connection to the deadly eruption. The blast tore

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Judicial officials say Lebanese authorities have detained a suspected French drug dealer a few days after releasing him on bail. The officials said members of Lebanon’s General Security Directorate detained Abdel Karim Touil at the request of the country’s prosecutor general and he was being held at

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — A British IT worker who poisoned a married couple with the strong opioid fentanyl has been sentenced to a minimum of 37 years in prison for murder. Friday’s sentencing of Luke D’Wit, 34, came two days after he was found guilty of murder in the deaths of

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — U.N. officials say more than 33,000 people have fled Haiti’s capital in a span of nearly two weeks as gangs continue to pillage homes and attack state institutions. A new report from the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration found that the majority have traveled to Haiti’s southern region. It is generally

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Police in Tennessee on Friday announced that Riley Strain, a University of Missouri student who went missing in Nashville for nearly two weeks, has been found dead. Metro Nashville police officials confirmed that Strain’s body had been recovered from the Cumberland River approximately 8 miles (12.8 kilometers) west of downtown. “No

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — More than 440,000 Starbucks-branded mugs made by Nestle and sold during the winter holidays are being recalled after reports of some users receiving burns or lacerations, according to a federal safety agency. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said that the mugs, when microwaved or

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Hundreds of students in Nigeria rushed to get food donated to their school by the government to help ease hardship, triggering a stampede that left two dead and 23 others injured. School authorities say the students at Nasarawa State University had gathered to receive bags of

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Prosecutors in three Wisconsin counties are declining to pursue felony charges against former President Donald Trump’s fundraising committee and a Republican state lawmaker related to an effort to unseat Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. The Wisconsin Ethics Commission, which recommended last month that charges be filed, said

By CIARÁN GILES Associated Press MADRID (AP) — A Spanish judge has opened an investigation into alleged fraud and false documentation against the partner of Madrid’s powerful rightwing regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, who has recently faced a wave of calls to resign over several controversies. The move Friday is certain to put more pressure

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has imposed sanctions on the Russian justice and prison officials responsible for jailing opposition leader Alexei Navalny. A total of 33 officials have been hit by the measures. The bloc has also frozen the assets in Europe of two of the prisons where Navalny was held before his death

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s newly appointed finance minister says the country plans to seek a long-term loan from the International Monetary Fund to help stabilize the country’s ailing economy after the end of the IMF’s current $3 billion bailout package. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb plans to meet with IMF officials in Washington in April. He

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The decision by Nike to change the color of the St. George’s Cross on the new England men’s soccer shirt from the traditional red and white is causing controversy. The new shirt, which is being rolled out in the run-up to this year’s European Championship in Germany,

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts Senate has approved limits on how long homeless families can stay in emergency state shelters as part of an $850 million plan to fund the system that has been at the center of the migrant crisis. The bill approved late Thursday would limit maximum stays

By KRYSTA FAURIA Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — The bones that embody an album can take many shapes. They may tell a story, follow a genre or provide a soundtrack to a film. But thanks to Reverend Kristin Michael Hayter’s interest in religion, her skills as a musician and classically trained vocalist and her

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako have visited towns in the north-central region of Noto to pray for victims of the deadly New Year’s Day earthquake and console thousands of homeless living in evacuation centers. The magnitude 7.6 quake killed 241 people. Four are still missing. More

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — April’s total solar eclipse promises to be a scientific bonanza, thanks to new spacecraft _ and cosmic chance. The moon will be extra close to Earth, providing a long and intense period of darkness. Plus the sun should be more active with the potential

MADRID (AP) — Authorities say a boat carrying a group of migrants ran into trouble off the coast of southeastern Spain killing at least three people and several others were believed missing. Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service said in a statement Friday that two survivors and three bodies were found on a partially sunken boat off

By DEEPA BHARATH Associated Press Holi, widely known as the Hindu festival of colors, is a joyful annual celebration at the advent of spring with cultural and religious significance. Typically observed in March in India, Nepal, other South Asian countries and across the diaspora, the festival celebrates love and signifies a time of rebirth and

Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Stellantis is recalling nearly 285,000 Dodge and Chrysler sedans because the side air bag inflators can explode with too much force during a crash and hurl metal fragments at drivers and passengers. The recall covers air bag inflators on both sides of Dodge Chargers and Chrysler 300 large cars from

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Regional and local leaders in Morocco met this week with residents of an oasis where many have staged protests over a water management plan. Thousands in the eastern Moroccan town of Figuig have demonstrated against their municipal council’s plan to to transition drinking water management to a regional multi-service agency. The

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Police say they are investigating whether the largest donor to Britain’s Conservative government committed a crime when he reportedly said a Black member of Parliament made him “want to hate all Black women” and that she “should be shot.” West Yorkshire police said Friday that they are

BERLIN (AP) — The German government’s plan to liberalize rules on cannabis has cleared its final parliamentary hurdle, paving the way for the possession of limited amounts of marijuana to be decriminalized on April 1. In a second step, “cannabis clubs” that will be allowed to grow the substance for members’ personal use will be

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Peter Pellegrini, a close ally of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico, is considered a favorite in the race for the largely ceremonial post of Slovakia’s president. A victory for Pellegrini, who currently serves as Parliament speaker, would cement Fico’s power by having his allies control key posts in the country. It would

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A U.N. humanitarian official is appealing for more than $4 billion in life-saving aid for more than 10 million Syrians, saying that the country’s largely forgotten crisis remains “one of the most deadly to civilians in the world.” Adam Abdelmoula, resident coordinator in Syria for the U.N.

MOSCOW (AP) — Rescue workers are laboring for a fifth day to reach 13 people trapped deep underground in a collapsed gold mine in Russia’s far east. News reports say no contact has been made with the miners in the Amur region, about 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) east of Moscow. The state news agency RIA-Novosti

By BRIAN INGANGA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Hundreds of Kenyan doctors have protested in the streets demanding better pay and working conditions in an ongoing nationwide strike that has entered its second week. The doctors carried placards and chanted against the Kenyan government on Friday, saying it had failed to implement a raft

By CORA LEWIS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — If you’re a freelancer or gig worker who receives payments via apps like Venmo, Zelle, Cash App or PayPal, your tax reporting requirements will change for the 2024 tax year. Right now, for the current 2023 tax year, freelancers and small online sellers need only report

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission wants to prevent Russia from using agriculture products as a tool to wreak havoc on the EU market and will impose tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus. Imports of cereals, oilseeds and derived products from Russia and its Belarus ally are just

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine officials say Chinese coast guard ships backed by a military helicopter tried unsuccessfully to block two Philippine government vessels carrying scientists from reaching two sandbars in the disputed South China Sea. They say Chinese coast guard personnel blew the horn on one of their ships

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A strong and shallow undersea earthquake has shaken the eastern side of Indonesia’s main island of Java, causing some damage but no immediate reports of casualties. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake Friday measured 6.4 and struck at a depth of 5.2 miles north of Paciran in East Java province.

By NOHA ELHENNAWY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — The Egyptian government has raised fuel prices in a move that is bound to exacerbate inflationary pressures on an already-struggling population. The new prices came into effect Friday morning. The Egyptian economy has been hit hard by years of government austerity, the coronavirus pandemic, the fallout from Russia’s invasion of

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s populist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, has congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his victory in an election that was criticized by most Western leaders. Orbán, widely seen as Putin’s closest ally in the European Union, sent the letter of congratulations to Putin on Thursday after

BEIJING (AP) — A former executive at Yoozoo Games has been sentenced to death in the poisoning of the founder of the high-profile Chinese gaming company. A court says Xu Yao poisoned the food of company founder Lin Qi in December 2020 because of a dispute over the running of the business. Lin died about