Month: January 2024

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A group of Japanese citizens, including a man of Pakistani descent, is suing the country’s police, accusing authorities of racial profiling and discrimination. The case, launched on Monday, is to be heard in Tokyo District Court. It comes as Japan has seen an influx of workers from

By ROBERT BADENDIECK and MEHMET GUZEL Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Roman Catholic church in Istanbul during Mass that killed one person. It said in a statement late Sunday that it “attacked a gathering of Christian unbelievers during their polytheistic ceremony” inside the

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they attacked a U.S. Navy mobile base at sea Monday without offering evidence, something immediately rejected by an American defense official. Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the group fired a missile at the USS Lewis B. Puller in the Gulf

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s weekend test of new cruise missiles for submarine launches has added to its provocative start to 2024, as leader Kim Jong Un flaunts his growing nuclear arsenal and threatens nuclear conflict with Washington, Seoul and Tokyo. Kim has gained confidence from the advancement

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday was forced to start this year’s parliamentary session with an apology over one of the country’s biggest corruption scandals in decades. Prosecutors recently indicted 10 people, including three lawmakers and a number of political aides. The scandal is the latest

By EILEEN NG Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia charged a former minister on Monday with failing to declare assets. It’s the latest step in a corruption probe that’s targeting people connected to the country’s last prime minister. Former Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin, who left office more than 20 years ago, is a

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Monthslong tension between three coup-hit countries in West Africa and the regional bloc known as ECOWAS boiled over when the nations announced their immediate withdrawal from the bloc, accusing it of a lack of support and “inhumane” coup-related sanctions. The juntas of Niger, Mali and Burkina

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The Indian and Seychelles forces rescued two fishing vessels separately hijacked by Somali pirates and freed 23 Iranian and Sri Lankan crew members onboard the boats, both countries said in statements. The Seychelles’ defense forces and coast guard rescued six Sri Lankan fishermen whose vessel

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian state media say authorities executed four men convicted of planning sabotage and alleged links with Israel’s Mossad secret service. The official IRNA news agency said the men were convicted of planning to target a factory in 2022 belonging to Iran’s defense ministry and involved in missile and defensive equipment in

By BERNARD CONDON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump could potentially have his real estate empire ordered “dissolved” for repeated misrepresentations on financial statements to lenders in violation of New York’s powerful anti-fraud law. But an Associated Press analysis of nearly 70 years of similar cases showed Trump’s case stands apart: It’s the

By BERNARD CONDON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Within days, Donald Trump could potentially have his sprawling real estate business empire ordered “dissolved” for repeated misrepresentations on financial statements to lenders, adding him to a short list of scam marketers, con artists and others who have been hit with the ultimate punishment for violating

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina judge on Monday denied Alex Murdaugh’s bid for a new trial after his defense team accused a clerk of court of tampering with a jury. Judge Jean Toal said she wasn’t sure if Colleton County Clerk Becky Hill was telling the truth that

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan and Iran on Monday agreed to work together to improve security cooperation in the wake of deadly airstrikes by Tehran and Islamabad earlier this month that killed at least 11 people, marking a significant escalation in fraught relations between the neighbors. The development came after the

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is throwing allegations at his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and even raising the prospect of removing him from office, bringing into the open a long-rumored split between the two. In an expletive-laden speech late Sunday, the former populist leader alleged that

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — A dying thief who confessed to stealing a pair of ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz” because he wanted to pull off “one last score” was given no prison time at his sentencing hearing Monday. Terry Jon Martin, 76, stole the

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Two men accused of killing Run-DMC’s Jam Master Jay were both close to the trailblazing DJ, but were driven by “greed and revenge” over a failed drug deal when they ambushed him at his recording studio more than 20 years ago, prosecutors argued as the men’s

By The Associated Press This week’s new streaming entertainment releases include the launch of the final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” on Sunday, Donald Glover starring as a spy in the new TV series “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and a documentary on Run-D.M.C. airing on Peacock. The National Geographic’s “Genius” anthology series this time focuses

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose Monday to kick off a week where Wall Street’s most influential stocks may show whether the huge expectations built up for them are justified. The S&P 500 gained 36.96 points, or 0.8%, to set another record at 4,927.93. The Dow Jones Industrial

By DAVID RISING Associated Press LUANG PRABANG, Laos (AP) — China’s increasingly assertive posture in the South China Sea and escalating violence in Myanmar have topped the agenda for Southeast Asian diplomats in Laos, with the Laotian foreign minister expressing guarded optimism that progress could be made this year on both acrimonious issues. The foreign

By JOSH DUBOW AP Pro Football Writer SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers were on the brink, needing a spark to overcome a big deficit and avoid a third straight loss in the conference title game. Brandon Aiyuk delivered with an improbable catch that helped save San Francisco’s season.

By KANIS LEUNG and ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court ordered China Evergrande, the world’s most heavily indebted real estate developer, to undergo liquidation following a failed effort to restructure $300 billion owed to banks and bondholders that fueled fears about China’s rising debt burden. “It would be a

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A teenager awaiting trial in a homicide case who escaped outside a Philadelphia hospital last week has been captured. Police say Shane Pryor was taken into custody Sunday by the U.S. Marshals Service. The marshals will hand the 17-year-old over to police homicide detectives. Authorities said Pryor fled Wednesday from the driveway

ROME (AP) — Italian media say police in Rome have detained a man found with a knife in his bag on a boulevard leading to St. Peter’s Square. The incident occurred Sunday a few hours before Pope Francis was due to appear at a window of a Vatican palazzo to greet the crowd in the

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised test-firings of new cruise missiles designed to be launched from submarines and also reviewed efforts to build a nuclear-powered submarine while reiterating his goal of building a nuclear-armed navy to counter what he portrays as growing external threats,