Month: September 2023

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian state media have reported that 48 children from Ukraine arrived in Belarus from Ukrainian regions which Moscow says it has annexed. The group of children from the occupied Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions includes children from towns which were captured by the Russian army in

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has imposed sanctions on seven people and four companies in China, Russia and Turkey who officials allege are connected with the development of Iran’s drone program. Tuesday’s sanctions come after Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Monday denied his country had sent drones to Russia for

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court says it responded urgently to “anomalous activity affecting its information systems” last week. It didn’t elaborate Tuesday on what it called a “cybersecurity incident.” The court spokesman said extra response and security measures were ongoing with the assistance of authorities in the Netherlands where the court

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER, MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and LINDSAY WHITEHURST Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Ray Epps, a former Marine who became the target of a Jan. 6, 2021, conspiracy theory, has been charged with a misdemeanor offense in connection with the U.S. Capitol riot and is expected to plead guilty, according to court papers filed

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The caretaker Dutch government says it will spend an extra 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) per year to tackle poverty. The budget announcement Tuesday comes as the gap between rich and poor is shaping up as a major campaign theme ahead of a November general election. The announcement came on

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Three former Columbus Zoo and Aquarium executives engaged in a pattern of corrupt activity that cost the facility more than $2.2 million. That’s according to an indictment made public Monday by the Ohio attorney general. It alleges that Tom Stalf, who was the zoo’s president and chief executive officer; Peter Fingerhut,

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Welcome to the United Nations. Over the course of the next week, leaders from scores of countries will take the marbled dais that, despite being geographically located in midtown Manhattan, belongs to the world. It’s part of the U.N. General Assembly’s General Debate, in which a parade of speakers will cycle

By GHAITH AL-SAYED Associated Press BAB Al-HAWA, Syria (AP) — A United Nations aid convoy has reached rebel-held northwest Syria after a vital border crossing from Turkey reopened following an agreement with the Syrian government. The 17-truck convoy carrying among other things, medicine, food supplements, stationery supplies and medical equipment crossed through the strategic border

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Hopes were always high for Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” The studio knew the film was great, and commercial. But no one in the industry expected that a long, talky, R-rated drama released at the height of the summer movie season would earn over $900 million at the box office. After

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The playoff-bound Tampa Bay Rays have put the finishing touches on plans for a new 30,000-seat ballpark in St. Petersburg. It’s part of a $6.5 billion development project announced Tuesday that includes affordable housing, retail, bars and restaurants and a Black history museum. The site

By FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans plan to hold their first hearing next week in their impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. The hearing — scheduled for Sept. 28 — is expected to focus on “constitutional and legal questions” that surround the allegations of Biden’s involvement in his son Hunter’s overseas

By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge in Washington has upheld an obstruction conviction against a Virginia man who stood trial with members of the Oath Keepers extremist group in one of the most serious cases brought in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. The judge Tuesday rejected

By ALBERT AJI and BASSEM MROUE Associated Press DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria’s President Bashar Assad will head to China later this week in his first visit to Beijing since the start of a civil war in his country. China has been expanding its reach in the Middle East and continues to support Assad in

By ISSAM ADWAN Associated Press GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel has barred entry to thousands of Palestinian laborers from the Gaza Strip following an eruption of violent protests that have escalated tensions along the volatile border. The string of protests — disrupting weeks of calm at the border fence — come during a

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer The 2023 Latin Grammy nominations are here. Édgar Barrera, the producer and songwriter known for his work with such artists as Madonna, Karol G, Shakira, Peso Pluma and Grupo Frontera leads the 2023 Latin Grammy nominations with 13. Those nods include record, album, songwriter, and producer of the year.

By JAMEY KEATEN and ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Ukraine is filing a complaint at the World Trade Organization against Hungary, Poland and Slovakia after they banned grain and other food products coming from the war-torn country. The move announced Tuesday by the Ukrainian prime minister widens a rift between Ukraine and three

By ABDULRAHMAN ZEYAD Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — The Iraqi president says he will summon Turkey’s ambassador and hand him a formal letter of protest over recent Turkish airstrikes. It comes a day after an airstrike on a military airport in northern Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region. The strike killed three members of the region’s counterterrorism

NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors have charged a New York City man with performing acupuncture without a license after they say he punctured a woman’s lungs during treatment, sending her to a hospital for emergency surgery. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz says 66-year-old Yong De Lin was arraigned on four criminal charges Monday in connection

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The tiny Pacific island nation of Niue has come up with a novel plan to protect its vast and pristine territorial waters — it will get sponsors to pay. The plan is being launched by Niue’s Premier Dalton Tagelagi on Tuesday in New York. Under

By DENG MACHOL Associated Press JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — A video showing a mayor in South Sudan slapping a female street vendor has gone viral. Emmanuel Khamis Richard, the acting mayor of the African nation’s capital, is seen wielding a pistol and walking up to where a policeman and a woman vendor are scuffling

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — A British national and another person have been killed and nine people are seriously injured after a bus plunged into a ravine in Montenegro. The bus was carrying some 30 passengers when it swerved on a steep road around noon Tuesday. Local media reported that the bus was traveling on a

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration says it’s trying to make it easier for someone to register to vote when they are getting or renewing a driver’s license in the state. Starting Tuesday, prompts on the computer screens in driver’s license centers will take users to a template to register to vote.

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is urging defense leaders to “dig deep” and provide more air defense systems for Ukraine, to help the country block increasing barrages of Russian missiles. Although allies say they will discuss how they can best help Ukraine’s counteroffensive, they

By TRISHA POWELL CRAIN of AL.com PIEDMONT, Ala. (AP) — While the rest of the country’s schools were losing ground in math during the COVID pandemic, student performance in a rural Alabama school district was soaring. Piedmont City schools notched significant improvement in math, landing in the top spot among school districts across the country

MILAN (AP) — A Newcastle fan is reportedly in stable condition in hospital after being stabbed in Milan ahead of a Champions League match in the Italian city. Italian media reports that a 58-year-old man was stabbed once in the back and twice in the arm. The incident happened in the popular, bar-strewn area of

NEW YORK (AP) — Poet Afaa Michael Weaver has won a lifetime achievement honor presented by the Academy of American Poets. He’ll receive $100,000 for the Wallace Stevens Award. Weaver is the author of “Spirit Boxing,” “A Fire in the Hills” and “City of Eternal Spring.”  The Stevens prize was among many American Poets Prizes