Month: April 2024

CAIRO (AP) — A human rights lawyer in Egypt says the authorities have arrested 10 activists who participated in a pro-Palestinian protest where they accused the government of contributing to the siege of Gaza and called for the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador. Egypt’s government has condemned Israel’s campaign in Gaza and has played a

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer LUANG PRABANG, Laos (AP) — Southest Asian finance ministers and central bank governors have ended meetings in the Laotian city of Luang Prabang citing progress in building stronger regional institutions, but also noting serious challenges due to geopolitical tensions and volatile commodity prices. Laos’ Finance Minister Santiphab Phomvihane read

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish authorities have arrested two people suspected of providing information to the Israeli spy agency in the latest in a series of such arrests in Turkey. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Friday the suspects allegedly gathered information about people and companies of interest to Israel and passed on the data and

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A series of scandals has blighted Denmark’s Armed Forces at a time when the country, a NATO member, is building up its defenses, chiefly as a response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This week, the head of the military resigned after he failed to inform

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he wants to strengthen military and weapons development cooperation with the United States as well as with other countries such as the Philippines, as he prepares for a visit to the U.S. next week to meet with President Joe Biden. Kishida

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Senior doctors in England have accepted a pay offer from the British government that ends a yearlong dispute. The British Medical Association and the Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association, which represent the doctors, said Friday that 83% of those casting a vote backed the offer. The pay

BERLIN (AP) — German investigators say they have seized counterfeit U.S. dollar bills with a face value of over $103 million, which apparently came from Turkey and were being stored ahead of transport to the United States. The criminal police office in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany’s northernmost state, said Friday that officers found 75 cartons of fake

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Norwegian center-left governnment wants “a historic increase” in defense spending with 600 billion kroner ($56 billion) over the next 12 years. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Friday that “we need a defense that is fit for purpose in the emerging security environment” and noted that “our security environment is

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian authorities have again tried to link the deadly attack on a Moscow concert hall to Ukraine, saying one of the detained suspects had photos on his phone depicting troops in camouflage uniforms with the Ukrainian flag. Ever since the March 22 mass shooting and fire

By DAVE COLLINS Associated Press Snow showers lingered Friday as the cleanup began following a major spring storm that brought heavy snow, rain and high winds to the Northeast, left hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses without power, and contributed to at least two deaths. Well over a foot (30 centimeters) of snow, accompanied

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers who may have been targeted in a sexting scam were urged Friday to go to police, after a senior Conservative admitted disclosing the personal phone numbers of some colleagues to an unknown individual who held “compromising” material on him. William Wragg, who chairs the Public

By JOHNSON LAI and HUIZHONG WU Associated Press HUALIEN, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan residents endured harrowing experiences when the ground shook with the strongest earthquake to hit the island in 25 years. People saw rocks tumble onto roadways, watched parts of their homes fall around them and waited for rescuers to free them from the

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s main opposition party vowed to boost social spending and reverse what it views as a slide into autocracy as it laid out its campaign promises on Friday, two weeks before the start of a weeks-long, multi-phase general election. Most polls have predicted a victory for

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — A  pro-Western career diplomat and a close ally of Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico are facing each other in a presidential runoff to determine who will be the country’s next head of state. Former Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok is up against Peter Pellegrini, who heads a coalition party in Fico’s

By JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The Israeli military said Friday that it has dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their roles in drone strikes in Gaza that killed seven aid workers on a food-delivery mission, saying they had mishandled critical information and violated the army’s rules of engagement.

SYDNEY (AP) — A passenger has been fined for urinating in a cup during a delay in deplaning after landing at Sydney Airport. Officials say the incident, after a 3-hour Air New Zealand flight from Auckland, occurred last December and a Sydney court fined the 53-year-old man $395 for offensive behavior in February. The incident

By KEN MAGUIRE AP Sports Writer LONDON (AP) — Most people are getting ready for bed when the MMA sessions start at Diesel Gym in East London’s docklands area. The training is running throughout the holy month of Ramadan when Muslim athletes around the world adjust their schedules to squeeze in workouts when they can.

By MATTHEW LEE Associated Press LEUVEN, Belgium (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the measures the Israeli government has announced to expand the flow of aid into Gaza are welcome but may not be enough to meet the Biden administration’s demands for dramatic improvements in humanitarian conditions in the territory.

Criminal networks in the European Union are penetrating legal businesses across the 27-nation bloc and rely heavily on corruption to develop their activities. That’s the bleak picture emerging from a report published Friday by the EU crime agency. Europol has identified 821 particularly threatening criminal networks with more than 25,000 members in the bloc. It

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The bodies of the seven Revolutionary Guard members killed in an airstrike widely attributed to Israel that destroyed Iran’s Consulate in the Syrian capital were laid to rest in Tehran amid nationwide protests. The strike on Monday killed 12 people, including four Syrian citizens and a member of the Lebanese militant

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The U.N.’s top human rights body called on countries to stop selling or shipping weapons to Israel in a resolution passed Friday that aims to help prevent rights violations against Palestinians amid Israel’s blistering military campaign in Gaza. The sweeping but non-binding measure at the Human Rights

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is expected to get a firsthand look at efforts to clear away the hulking remains of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. Cranes, ships and diving crews are working to reopen one of the nation’s main shipping lanes and prepare for eventually

By NINIEK KARMINI and ANDI JATMIKO Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Four Indonesian Cabinet members have testified that no rules were violated in the distribution of government aid during the recent election campaign, despite claims by the two losing presidential candidates that it was used for the benefit of the election winner. Defense Minister

Associated Press Moscow defense officials say Ukraine have fired more than 40 drones into Russia’s bordering Rostov region in what appeared to be one of its biggest aerial attacks in the war and as Kyiv’s forces step up their assaults on Russian soil. Russia’s Defense Ministry said 44 drones were “intercepted and destroyed” Friday in

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly declined Friday after a U.S. Federal Reserve official said the central bank might not deliver any of the interest rate cuts that Wall Street has been banking on this year, citing concerns about inflation. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 dove 2.0% to finish at

By FLORENT BAJRAMI and LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s government has begun its first nationwide census since 2011 which will include surveying the ethnic Serb minority in the north. This comes as tensions with neighboring Serbia remain high. The Agency of Statistics is conducting the 12-million Euro ($13 million) census, originally

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A new film in Nigeria is being screened to remember the nearly 100 schoolgirls who are still in captivity 10 years after they were seized from their school in the country’s northeast. At least 276 girls were kidnapped during the April 2014 attack that stunned the

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press When the Russian barrage hit the Ukrainian power plant, a worker named Taras was manning the control panel — a crucial task that required him to stay as the air-raid siren blared and his colleagues ran for safety. After the deafening explosions came a cloud of smoke, then darkness. Fires

TOKYO (AP) — Crowds are gathering in Tokyo to enjoy Japan’s famed cherry blossoms, which are blooming later than expected in the capital because of cold weather. Cherry blossoms, known as “sakura” in Japanese, are the country’s favorite flower, and people often have sakura viewing parties beneath the falling pedals. There are picnics and sake

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA and IGNATIUS SSUUNA Associated Press HUYE, Rwanda (AP) — The diggers’ hoes scrape the brown soil, looking for — and often finding — human bone fragments. The women then wipe the bone pieces with their hands as others watch in solemn silence. The digging goes on, a scene that’s become all too

HUALIEN, Taiwan (AP) — Rescue teams are searching for a family of five feared trapped in a rockslide following Taiwan’s biggest earthquake in 25 years that has left at least 10 dead. Two bodies have been found in the Taroko National Park, a tourist attraction famous for its rugged, mountainous terrain in Hualien County about

By JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — When Israel declared war against Hamas last October, it stood unified at home and enjoyed broad backing from around the world following an unprecedented attack by the Islamic militant group. Six months later, Israel finds itself in a far different place: bogged down in Gaza, divided domestically,

By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Soaring prices for green onions and apples. Striking doctors. A politician’s allegedly sexist jab at a female candidate. These are among the issues animating voters in South Korea this year. As South Koreans prepare to vote for a new 300-member parliament next

By MICHELLE L. PRICE Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s former Defense Secretary Mark Esper has called the former president a “threat to democracy” and says he won’t vote for him in 2024. Former Vice President Mike Pence has declined to endorse his former running mate. His former national security adviser John Bolton

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — A recent trip to the clothing store that replaced New York’s legendary punk club CBGB’s was a step back in time for CNN’s Alisyn Camerota. Now a successful news anchor, the Jersey girl had a rocky time in high school, a wild trip with sex,

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s new book “True Gretch” will detail her five-year tenure as governor and her journey along the way. The book set to be published in July undoubtedly will fuel speculation over Whitmer’s political aspirations. Her name has often come up as a potential

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and LINLEY SANDERS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Opinion Research finds that while Americans say they respect the Constitution’s checks and balances and don’t want a president to have too much power, that view shifts if the candidate of their party wins

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — The American economy is thought to have added 200,000 jobs in March — a more-than-respectable increase though one that would mark a slowdown from February’s vigorous gain of 275,000 and last year’s monthly average increase of 251,000. A modest downshift in hiring could reassure the Federal

GUANGZHOU, China (AP) — The U.S. treasury secretary has started her trip to China with a morning meeting with American, European and Japanese business representatives in the world’s second-largest economy. Janet Yellen heard their concerns ahead of what will likely be tough talks on trade and other issues with senior Chinese government officials. She has

NEW YORK (AP) — Six inmates who sued New York’s corrections department over its decision to lock down prisons during next Monday’s total solar eclipse will get to watch the celestial event after all. Lawyers for the six men incarcerated at the Woodbourne Correctional Facility in upstate New York said Thursday that they’ve reached a

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — A county in Hawaii has agreed to pay $350,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that the police chief discriminated against a captain for being Japanese American. That included an alleged episode when the chief squinted his eyes, bowed repeatedly and said he couldn’t trust Japanese people.

By ED WHITE Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — Thomas Gumbleton, a Catholic bishop in Detroit, has died. For decades, he was an international voice against war and racism and an advocate for labor and social justice. Gumbleton was 94. He became a national religious figure in the 1960s when he publicly opposed the U.S. role

By MARGERY A. BECK Associated Press A Nebraska bill to limit transgender students’ access to bathrooms and sports teams has advanced out of committee with just days to go until the end of the session. Now a lawmaker who ground the legislature to a halt last year over a bill restricting gender-affirming care for minors

NEW YORK (AP) — The scheduled start time for Monday’s game between the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins has been changed because of the total solar eclipse. New York was initially set to host the Marlins at 2:05 p.m. The start was pushed back four hours. The Yankees say the move was made by