×

International News

No atmosphere found at faraway Earth-sized world, study says

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The Webb Space Telescope has found no evidence of an atmosphere at one of the seven rocky, Earth-sized planets orbiting another star. Scientists said Monday that doesn't bode well for the rest of the planets in this solar system, some of which are in the sweet ...

Tokyo demands China free Japan national detained in Beijing

TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo has demanded that China release a Japanese national who was detained in Beijing earlier this month on suspicion of spying, Japan's top government spokesperson said Monday. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference that Japan's Embassy in China was ...

Taiwan’s former leader Ma begins China visit

TAOYUAN, Taiwan (AP) — Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou departed for a tour of China on Monday, in what he called an attempt to reduce tensions a day after Taiwan lost one of its few remaining diplomatic partners to China. The ex-president is visiting in a private capacity, bringing a ...

Yousaf elected as Scottish National Party’s new leader

LONDON (AP) — Scotland's governing Scottish National Party has elected Humza Yousaf as its new leader. The 37-year-old son of South Asian immigrants is set to become the first person of color to serve as Scotland's first minister. Yousaf, who currently is Scotland's health minister, beat ...

Israeli unions launch strike, upping pressure on Netanyahu

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Workers from a range of sectors in Israel launched a nationwide strike on Monday, threatening to paralyze the economy as they joined a surging protest movement against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the judiciary. Departing flights from the ...

Louvre staff block entrances as part of pension protest

PARIS (AP) — The Louvre Museum in Paris was closed to the public on Monday when its workers took part in the wave of French protest strikes against the government's unpopular pension reform plans. Dozens of Louvre employees blocked the entrance, prompting the museum to announce it would be ...

Ukraine demands emergency UN meeting over Putin nuclear plan

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's government on Sunday called for an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council to "counter the Kremlin's nuclear blackmail" after Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed plans to station tactical atomic weapons in Belarus. One Ukrainian official said ...

Turkmenistan votes for new, opposition-free parliament

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan (AP) — Voters in Turkmenistan cast ballots Sunday for a new parliament that is expected to have no members of opposition parties and be loyal to the government of the gas-rich Central Asian nation. The election for 125 members included 258 candidates, put forward by ...

Netanyahu fires defense minister, sparking mass protests

JERUSALEM (AP) — Tens of thousands of Israelis poured into the streets of cities across the country on Sunday night in a spontaneous outburst of anger after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly fired his defense minister for challenging the Israeli leader's judicial overhaul ...

Eyes on abstention as Cubans vote for National Assembly

HAVANA (AP) — Cubans voted Sunday in National Assembly elections with attention focused on voter turnout amid a deep economic and migratory crisis. With 470 candidates running for the legislature's 470 seats, and no opposition challengers, the election's outcome is a foregone conclusion. ...

Honduras establishes ties with China after Taiwan break

BEIJING (AP) — Honduras established diplomatic ties with China on Sunday after breaking off relations with Taiwan, which is increasingly isolated and now recognized by only 13 sovereign states. Foreign ministers from China and Honduras signed a joint communique in Beijing — a decision the ...

Death toll from Pakistan, Afghanistan quake rises to 21

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The death toll from a magnitude 6.5 earthquake that struck much of Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan earlier this week rose to 21 on Thursday, after eight more deaths were reported in remote areas, officials said. Ten died in Afghanistan and 11 in Pakistan after the ...

Slovakia delivers first 4 Soviet-era MiG-29 jets to Ukraine

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — The first four of 13 Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets that Slovakia decided to give Ukraine have been safely handed over to the Ukrainian air force, the Slovak Defense Ministry said on Thursday. The ministry said the warplanes were flown from Slovakia to Ukraine by ...

Credit Suisse deal averted crisis, Swiss central bank says

By JAMEY KEATEN and DAVID McHUGH Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The Swiss central bank hiked its key interest rate Thursday and declared that a government-orchestrated takeover of troubled Credit Suisse by rival bank UBS ended the financial turmoil. In a statement, the Swiss National Bank ...

‘On tour in hell’: Wounded Ukrainian soldiers evacuated

By ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press DONETSK REGION, Ukraine (AP) — Their hands are blackened and grimy from the fight. Some are still wearing their combat boots, small flecks of black soil from the battlefield clinging to their torsos, bare under the emergency blanket. With bandaged heads ...

IMF warns without reforms, Lebanon could see hyperinflation

By ABBY SEWELL Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The International Monetary Fund gave a grim assessment Thursday of Lebanon's prospects for getting out of its deepening financial crisis, saying that without reforms, the country is headed for hyperinflation. Since late 2019, tiny Lebanon has ...

‘Appalling’: Southern Africa counts toll of Cyclone Freddy

By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — The death toll from Tropical Cyclone Freddy, which ravaged Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique over the past two months, now stands at more than 600 people, the World Health Organization said Thursday. Aid agencies are scrambling to ...

Here are the countries that have bans on TikTok

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — A growing number of countries in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific have banned the popular video-sharing app TikTok from government devices as privacy and cybersecurity concerns increase. A handful have prohibited the app ...

President seals Finland’s NATO bid by signing required laws

By JARI TANNER Associated Press HELSINKI (AP) — The Finnish president on Thursday formally sealed the Nordic country's historic bid to join NATO by signing into law the required national legal amendments needed for membership in the Western military alliance. The move by President Sauli ...

EU leaders endorse joint ammo purchases for Ukraine

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN and LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders endorsed a plan Thursday for sending Ukraine 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition within the next 12 months to help the country counter Russia's invasion forces. EU foreign and defense ministers ...