Month: April 2024

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The former South African speaker of parliament has been arrested over allegations that she received about $135,000 in bribes, in the latest corruption scandal to face the governing African National Congress party. Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula turned herself in to police in the capital, Pretoria, on Thursday and was

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits rose to their highest level in two months last week, but layoffs remain at historically low levels as the labor market continues to chug along despite elevated interest rates. The Labor Department reported Thursday that filings for unemployment claims for the

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British government says it will grant extensions to several large U.K. airports unable to meet the June 1 deadline to fully install new scanning technology. Once online, the new scanners will allow passengers to take two liters (70 ounces) of liquid in their hand luggage —

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned that prospective negotiations to end the fighting in Ukraine could be successful only if they take Moscow’s interests in the account. Lavrov on Tuesday dismissed a planned round of peace talks in Switzerland as a Western ruse to rally broader international support for Kyiv. He

By DORANY PINEDA and SUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Sea-level rise and increasingly ferocious storms are eroding thousands of miles of Mexico’s coastline. Drought is draining reservoirs dry and creating severe water shortages. Deadly heat is straining people and crops. But the leading presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum isn’t making climate a central

By ALICIA RANCILIO Associated Press After playing the role of Elsbeth Tascioni, a quirky lawyer who is often underestimated, 19 times over the course of both “The Good Wife” and “The Good Fight,” Carrie Preston is starring in her own show about the character called “Elsbeth” for CBS. The premiere aired in February and the

By DEEPA BHARATH, DAVID CRARY and MARIAM FAM Associated Press Throughout history, solar eclipses have had profound impact on adherents of various religions around the world. They were viewed as messages from God or spiritual forces, inducing emotions ranging from dread to wonder. Ahead of the total solar eclipse that will follow a long path

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The U.N.’s leading human rights body has agreed to measures aimed at putting pressure on Myanmar and Iran, whose governments have been accused of using violence against their own people. The council backed by consensus a measure that calls on governments to avoid exporting or selling jet

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has dismissed as “ridiculous” remarks by Russia’s defense minister suggesting that Ukraine and France could have had a role in last month’s deadly Moscow concert hall attack. Macron’s comments come a day after a rare phone call between the French and Russian defense ministers that led to diverging

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press Much about billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s giving remains a mystery, but a recent round of grants to nonprofits offer some insights. The grants announced in March were largely in line with Scott’s other donations in terms of themes. The database of gifts on Scott’s website shows organizations that identified as

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer Saudi Arabia will host the WTA Finals as part of a three-year deal with the women’s professional tennis tour that will increase the prize money for this November’s season-ending championship to a record $15.25 million. That is a 70% increase from 2023. The event for the top eight singles

NEW YORK (AP) — Bestselling author Eoin Colfer has a new set of adventures ready for young Juniper Lane. Roaring Brook Press announced Thursday that Colfer’s “Guardians of Cedar Wood” is scheduled to come out in 2025. It’s the second book in Colfer’s middle-grade series about Juniper Lane and a helpful reindeer who were featured

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A new diplomatic crisis between Poland and Israel has erupted following the death of a Polish aid worker in Gaza. The Polish president on Thursday denounced a comment by the Israeli ambassador as “outrageous” and the Foreign Ministry in Warsaw said it was summoning him for a meeting. Amid shock in

By RISDEL KASASIRA Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan gay rights activists asked the international community to mount more pressure on the government of Uganda to repeal an anti-gay law which the country’s Constitutional Court refused to nullify on Wednesday. The court upheld a law that allows the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” and

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Najib Razak is seeking to serve the rest of his prison term under house arrest, two months after his sentence in a corruption case was reduced by half. His surprise court application, which came as a surprise, was due to be heard Thursday but was

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Kuwait is holding national elections for the fourth time in as many years as the oil-rich country seeks to break out of its longstanding political gridlock. The Persian Gulf country’s elected assembly has more power than most in the Arab world, but has long been at loggerheads with the

By KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES Associated Press SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — North Macedonia’s presidential race kicked off on Thursday, with seven candidates vying for the largely ceremonial post in a two-round vote that will conclude on May 8. The official start to campaign season means the candidates are allowed to make campaign speeches, hold rallies and

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — More than 600 British jurists, including three retired judges from the U.K. Supreme Court, are calling on the government to suspend arms sales to Israel, piling pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after the deaths of three U.K. aid workers in an Israeli strike. Britain is just

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s main pro-democracy resistance group says its armed wing launched drone attacks on the airport and a military headquarters in the capital, Naypyitaw, but the country’s ruling military said it destroyed the drones as they attacked. The opposition National Unity Government’s “Defense Ministry” said Thursday that special units of the People’s Defense

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president has met the leader of thousands of striking junior doctors and promised to respect their position during future talks over the government’s contentious push to sharply increase medical school admissions. The meeting Thursday between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Park Dan, head

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton has a memoir coming out this fall about his years since leaving public office in 2001. “Citizen: My Life After the White House” will cover everything from the presidential campaigns of his wife, Hillary Clinton, to his views on events ranging

By CIARÁN GILES Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spanish authorities say a cruise ship stuck in the northeastern port of Barcelona will be able to resume its route after a group of Bolivian passengers with visa problems were taken off the vessel. The Spanish government said in a statement Thursday it had reached an agreement

PARIS (AP) — Lebanon’s billionaire caretaker prime minister has denied all allegations of money laundering after a complaint was formally filed in France by two anti-corruption groups this week. The complaint against Najib Mikati was formally filed Tuesday to France’s National Financial Prosecutor’s office. In a statement, anti-corruption organization Sherpa said the aim is to

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass vowed that cleanup would happen at a home where mounds of garbage and debris had piled up several feet high across the entire property’s fenced-in yard and driveway. The mayor said Wednesday that she only learned this week about the Spanish-style bungalow in the Fairfax district

By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The government’s chief human resources agency has issued a new rule making it harder to fire thousands of federal employees. Advocates hope the rule will head off former President Donald Trump’s promises to radically remake the federal workforce along ideological lines if he wins back the White

By ALEXA ST. JOHN Associated Press DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is awarding $20 billion in grants for clean energy projects combating climate change, including residential heat pumps, electric vehicle charging stations and community cooling centers. The funds come from two programs that are part of the “green bank” created in the

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Tonga’s prime minister says he is open to Beijing’s offer of security support for the South Pacific kingdom hosting a major regional leaders’ summit, raising concerns in the United States as it strives to counter China’s growing influence. Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni says there’s nothing to

ERIKA KINETZ and SOLOMIIA HERA The Associated Press DOVHENKE, Ukraine (AP) — Yukov says the same thing to all the mothers. He tells them to talk about their dead children, so they will be remembered. There is one person in particular whose story Yukov does not want forgotten: Oleksandr Romanovych Hrysiuk — Sasha, to his

By ERIKA KINETZ and SOLOMIIA HERA Associated Press DOVHENKE, Ukraine (AP) — The smell in the car is sick and sweet, the overpowering scent of corpses that have lain too long in muck and ruin, the ones the dogs didn’t devour. Oleksii Yukov, a 38-year-old martial arts instructor who leads a team of volunteer body

BERLIN (AP) — Austria’s justice minister says she plans to tighten the country’s rules on espionage, which currently is explicitly banned if directed against Austria itself but not if it targets other countries or international organizations. Her push to tighten Austria’s laws comes as the arrest of a former Austrian intelligence officer on allegations of

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer Monday’s total solar eclipse might become one of the year’s most filmed and photographed events. As the moon passes in front of the sun, plunging a swath of North America into a few minutes of darkness, throngs will take pictures or videos of the moment. But powerful solar rays

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose Thursday after a firm finish on Wall Street, as expectations remained solid for U.S. interest rate cuts this year. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.8% to 39,773.14. Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to 7,817.30. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.3% to 2,742.00. Analysts

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto has held talks with Malaysia’s leader on bolstering bilateral ties as part of a regional visit that has also taken him to China and Japan. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Thursday he and Subianto discussed the next steps to strengthen bilateral ties, and also exchanged views

BANGKOK (AP) — Panicked passengers have jumped into the sea to escape a raging ferry fire in the Gulf of Thailand, and all 108 people on board are safe. The overnight ferry was about to arrive at the popular tourist island of Koh Tao when one of the passengers suddenly heard a crackling sound and

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops launched waves of Shahed drones against the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv overnight, killing four people and wounding 12, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said Thursday. Russia attacked Ukraine’s second-biggest city with at least 15 drones, some of which were shot down by air defense. Three rescuers were killed when Russia

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer It’s never really the end of the road for Kiss. The hard rock quartet have sold their catalog, brand name and IP to Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment Group in a deal estimated to be over $300 million, it was announced Thursday. Kiss previously teamed up with Pophouse to create

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Republican lawmakers and the Democratic governor in Kansas have brokered a deal on cutting taxes. GOP leaders gave up on moving the state to a single-rate personal income tax that the governor strongly opposed. The Kansas House and Senate expected to vote on the

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO will celebrate on Thursday 75 years of collective defense across Europe and North America as Russia’s war on Ukraine enters its third year and sorely tests the allies’ resolve while rising populism gnaws at their unity. At a cake-cutting ceremony in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State

By The Associated Press Video and photos of suspects in a mass shooting show them apparently being brutalized by Russian security forces — without any rebuke from authorities. A top Kremlin official urges that hit squads be sent to assassinate Ukrainian officials. Senior lawmakers call for restoring capital punishment, abolished decades ago. The aftermath of

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States and its Western allies are feuding with Russia over its diamond production, but they joined forces to keep supporting the Kimberley Process, which aims to eliminate the trade in “blood diamonds” that helped fuel devastating conflicts in Africa. At a U.N. General

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors have plenty of stern words to say about 87-year-old British billionaire Joe Lewis’s insider trading. But they also agree that his age, medical issues and willingness to come to the U.S. to face criminal charges have earned him leniency. Lewis faces sentencing Thursday. He

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California school districts are preparing for the impacts of a new minimum wage for fast food workers. The new law took effect Monday and guarantees $20-per-hour wages for fast food workers in California. The law does not apply to food service workers at public schools. California

By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press NEW GLARUS, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Senate race between Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican Eric Hovde is setting up to be one of the most competitive and expensive Senate races in the country. A Baldwin victory is crucial for Democrats who are defending 23 seats in the Senate.

By MICHAEL HILL Associated Press A New York prosecutor is investigating a slew of abuse complaints made after Netflix started streaming a scathing documentary on the Academy at Ivy Ridge. “The Program: Cons, Cults and Kidnapping” depicts the now-closed boarding academy in rural northern New York as an oppressive institution. The series features former students

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — More than 250 Holocaust survivors have joined an international initiative to share their stories of loss and survival with students around the world during a time of rising antisemitism following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war in the Gaza Strip. The Survivor

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer LUANG PRABANG, Laos (AP) — Senior finance and central bank officials from Southeast Asia and major economies are meeting in the scenic Laotian city of Luang Prabang to discuss ways to help the region build resilience against shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters brought on by climate

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is headed to a China determined to avoid open conflict with the United States, yet the world’s two largest economies still appear to be hashing out the rules on how to compete against each other. There are tensions over Chinese

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Voter rejection of a stadium sales tax plan for the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs has raised questions about what happens next. They’re not the first teams to face such questions. Public finance professor Geoffrey Propheter, of the University of Colorado Denver, has tracked