Year: 2021

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has kicked off an annual air force drill across the country, a week after holding another massive exercise in air defense. State TV reported that bombers, jet fighters, and attack and surveillance drones will participate in the drill on Thursday, using heavy weapons including laser-guided missiles. It said 10 Iranian

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Joshua Samuel painfully recalls the day, one year ago, that Nigerian soldiers opened fire in Lagos while he and thousands of others were protesting police brutality. He is among more than 100 Nigerians awaiting rulings on their petitions seeking compensation and justice for what they allege

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer Asian shares are mixed after a late-in-the-day wave of buying pushed the S&P 500 to a fresh record high. Benchmarks rose in Hong Kong and Tokyo but fell in Sydney and Shanghai. China Evergrande Group, the troubled property developer whose cash crunch has rattled markets, reportedly made an overdue

PARIS (AP) — A powerful autumn storm, named Aurore, has blasted parts of western Europe. It has knocked out power to a quarter of a million French homes and damaged buildings in at least four countries. Train services were disrupted by uprooted trees littering tracks in France, Germany and the Netherlands on Thursday and roofs

BEIJING (AP) — China’s leading financial magazine has been dropped from an official list of outlets websites can republish, reducing the exposure of a rare independent voice as the authorities tightens control over the media. Caixin Media is privately funded, unlike most state-run media. Internet platforms are barred from publishing content from non-approved sources. The

By JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s new environmental protection minister has set some ambitious goals: Tamar Zandberg believes she can use her office to play an important role in the global battle against climate change while also promoting peace in the volatile Middle East. Zandberg laid out her agenda in an interview

BEIJING (AP) — At least three people have been killed and 30 injured in an apparent gas explosion at a hotel in the northern Chinese city of Shenyang. State media reported the blast occurred as the city of more than 8 million people is renovating and replacing old gas lines. Images posted online showed a

By ARITZ PARRA Associated Press MAHBAS REGION, Western Sahara (AP) — For nearly 30 years, the vast territory of Western Sahara in the North African desert has existed in limbo, awaiting a referendum that was supposed to let the local Sahrawi people decide their future. On one side, the Polisario Front wants the territory to

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s military will appeal a landmark court ruling that struck down its decision to discharge the country’s first known transgender soldier before she was found dead earlier this year. A court ruled that the military unlawfully discriminated against the soldier by forcing her out

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s new governor-general says she plans to reach out to people marginalized by issues like homelessness, addiction and discrimination. Cindy Kiro is the first Indigenous woman appointed to the role as the representative of Queen Elizabeth II. She took her oath in both Maori