Month: February 2024

By DAKE KANG and HUIZHONG WU Associated Press SHANGHAI (AP) — Two prominent Chinese bloggers in exile said that police were investigating their millions of followers on international social media platforms, in an escalation of Beijing’s attempts to clamp down on critical speech even outside of the country’s borders. Former state broadcaster CCTV journalist Wang

By ZEN SOO AP Technology Writer SINGAPORE (AP) — China’s C919 single-aisle jet made its international debut at the Singapore Airshow, attracting masses of visitors and hundreds of orders, but analysts say it still has a long way to go before it can compete with aircraft from market leaders Boeing and Airbus. The Commercial Aircraft

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated press GENEVA (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says combatants in places such as Congo, Gaza, Myanmar, Ukraine and Sudan are turning a “blind eye” to international law. He made a plea for greater respect for human rights and peace around the world. Speaking as the U.N.’s top human rights body

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s parliament voted Monday to ratify Sweden’s bid to join NATO, ending more than 18 months of delays that frustrated the alliance as it sought to expand in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The vote, which passed with 188 votes for and six against, was

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has canceled his engagements Monday morning due to persistent but mild flu symptoms. The Vatican press office made the announcement in a short statement on Monday, adding that the pontiff did not have a fever. The statement indicated the decision was made as a precautionary measure. Pope Francis was

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian authorities have announced preliminary results from parliamentary and local elections in which only candidates loyal to the country’s authoritarian leader were allowed to compete. The opposition had called for a boycott. Sunday’s vote further cemented the 30-year rule of President Alexander Lukashenko, who declared his

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Police divers are searching inland waterways for the bodies of a same-sex couple allegedly shot dead in Sydney by a jilted police officer lover with his service pistol. Police alleged on Monday that Jesse Baird and Luke Davies were shot dead in Baird’s home on Monday

By RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban have publicly executed a man convicted of murder in northern Afghanistan as thousands watched at a sports stadium. Monday’s execution was the third carried out publicly over the past five days. It took place in Shibirghan, the capital of northern Jawzjan province, where the brother

JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh says his government is resigning. Monday’s move could pave the way for a shake-up in the Palestinian Authority. The U.S. hopes the authority will eventually take on a role in postwar Gaza. Many obstacles remain to making a revamped Palestinian Authority a reality. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas,

By WAFAA SHURAFA, TIA GOLDENBERG KAREEM CHEHAYEB and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden said Monday that he hopes a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that would pause hostilities and allow for remaining hostages to be released can take effect by early next week. Asked when he thought a cease-fire

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that sending Western troops on the ground in Ukraine is not “ruled out” in the future after the issue was debated at a gathering of European leaders in Paris, as Russia’s full-scale invasion grinds into a third year. The French leader

By SYLVAIN PLAZY and LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Farmers clashed with police in Belgium on Monday, spraying officers with liquid manure and throwing eggs and flares at them in a fresh show of force as the European Union’s agriculture ministers met in search of ways to address the protesters’ concerns. The farmers

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares retreated on Tuesday after U.S. stocks edged back from their record heights. Most regional markets fell, while Shanghai advanced. U.S. futures and oil prices were little changed. Traders are growing cautious after the New Year’s rally that has swept much of the world’s markets.

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer Amazon.com is joining the ranks of one of Wall Street’s oldest and most exclusive stock indexes: The Dow Jones Industrial Average. The e-commerce pioneer will officially take its position in the Dow before the open of trading Monday, replacing drugstore operator Walgreens Boots Alliance. S&P Dow Jones Indices opened

NEW YORK (AP) — This year looks to be a much better one for the U.S. economy than business economists were forecasting just a few months ago, according to a survey released Monday. The economy looks set to grow 2.2% this year after adjusting for inflation, according to the National Association for Business Economics. That’s

By CARLOS MUREITHI Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Talks to shape global environmental policy started on Monday in Nairobi, where governments, civil society groups, scientists and the private sector met to plan collective environmental action. The meeting in Nairobi is the sixth session of the U.N. Environment Assembly, the world’s top decision-making body on the

By GIADA ZAMPANO and VALERIA FERRARO Associated Press CROTONE, Italy (AP) — Survivors and family members of victims of a shipwreck a year ago that killed 94 migrants, including 35 minors, just off Italy’s southern coast, have returned for three days of commemorations and called for justice to be done. A torchlight vigil, a photo

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A prosecutor accused a Brooklyn preacher at the start of a New York fraud trial of telling lies and exaggerating his access to the city’s mayor to try to make millions of dollars before his lawyer countered that the evidence will come up short. The prosecutor,

By MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — For the third time in five years, senators will be sworn in as jurors for an impeachment trial. But the chamber is expected to spend far less time on the charges against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas than the ones brought against former President Donald Trump

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) — With two weeks to go before the Oscars, “Oppenheimer” looks unstoppable. Director and producer Christopher Nolan’s tale of the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer and the birth of the atomic age won the top prize Sunday at the 35th Producers Guild of America Awards

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC and JOVANA GEC Associated Press ROGACA, Serbia (AP) — When Elena Koposova signed an open letter against Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, she didn’t expect a backlash in her newly adopted home state of Serbia. After all, Serbia is formally seeking to join the European Union while adopting all the democratic values

By AMY TAXIN and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A former FBI informant charged with fabricating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden’s family must remain behind bars while he awaits trial, a judge ruled Monday, reversing an earlier order releasing the man. U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II in

By The Associated Press This week’s new streaming entertainment releases include Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” storming Apple TV+, East meets West in feudal Japan with the kick-off of the series “Shogun,” and Disney+’s animated series “Iwájú” offers a coming-of-age story set in the future in Lagos, Nigeria. Celebrate the sound of Manchester by checking out the

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean government is giving young doctors on strike four days to return to work. It says they won’t be punished if they return by Thursday, but warns they will face indictments and suspensions of their medical licenses if they don’t meet the deadline.

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The head of the World Trade Organization says war, uncertainty and instability are weighing down the global economy. She urged the bloc on Monday to embrace reform as elections across nearly half the world’s population could bring new challenges. WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly declined Monday, although Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index touched another record high in morning trading. The Nikkei 225 gained 0.5% to 39,309.76. Trading was closed in Tokyo for a holiday on Friday. The benchmark surged to an all-time high on Thursday. In currency

By The Associated Press A video surfaced Sunday that appeared to show 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player Cam Newton being involved in a scuffle at a 7-on-7 youth football tournament in Atlanta. The video shows Newton, wearing one of his custom-made hats, being shoved by three people near the top of a set of steps

By DIDI TANG and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — An active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force was critically injured Sunday after setting himself ablaze outside the Israeli Embassy in Washington, D.C., while declaring that he “will no longer be complicit in genocide,” a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.