Month: May 2024

BEIRUT (AP) — The office of President Bashar Assad has announced that Syrian first lady Asma Assad has been diagnosed with leukemia. The president’s wife was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia “after presenting with several symptoms and following a comprehensive series of medical tests and examinations,” the statement says. Asma Assad had previously been treated

By ZIMO ZHONG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Asian markets were mixed in cautious trading on Wednesday, with most of the regions’ benchmarks climbing after U.S. stocks hit new record highs. U.S. futures rose while oil prices slipped. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.6% to 38,719.35 after Japan reported that its trade deficit rose last

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Authorities in Pakistan urged people to stay indoors as the country is hit by an extreme heat wave that threatens to bring dangerously high temperatures and yet another round of glacial-driven floods. Officials announced on Tuesday that schools will be shut for a week in Pakistan’s most

By SAMYA KULLAB and ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Germany’s foreign minister says sending air defense systems to Ukraine to help protect it from Russian cruise missiles, rockets and drones is an “absolute priority.” Annalena Baerbock was in Kyiv on Tuesday and visited a local power plant that was largely reduced to

By SAMY MAGDY, LEE KEATH and TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — The United Nations suspended food distribution in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Tuesday due to a lack of supplies and an untenable security situation caused by Israel’s expanding military operation. The U.N. warned that humanitarian operations across the territory were

By KEIRAN SMITH Associated Press NEWCASTLE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s deputy prime minister is visiting the Solomon Islands, as Canberra intensifies its efforts to counter China’s growing influence in the South Pacific. Richard Marles’ visit Tuesday to the archipelago’s capital of Honiara was the first by an Australian government minister since Jeremiah Manele was elected

By DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press KALAMATA, Greece (AP) — A Greek judge has dismissed charges against nine Egyptian men accused of causing a shipwreck that killed hundreds of migrants last year and sent shockwaves through the European Union’s border protection and asylum operations. A prosecutor had argued that Greece lacked jurisdiction because the overcrowded trawler

By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KELVIN CHAN Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Leading artificial intelligence companies made a fresh pledge at a mini-summit Tuesday to develop AI safely, while world leaders agreed to build a network of publicly backed safety institutes to advance research and testing of the technology. Google, Meta and OpenAI were

By NICOLAS VAUX-MONTAGNY, BARBARA SURK and JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — A Paris court will seek to determine this week whether top Syrian intelligence officials were responsible for the disappearance and deaths of a French-Syrian father and his son. The hearings  in the landmark trial start on Tuesday and are expected to air

By JIM SALTER Associated Press ST. LOUIS (AP) — Christopher Dunn has spent 33 years in prison serving life without parole for a murder in Missouri he has always claimed he didn’t commit. A hearing starting Tuesday will determine if he should go free. St. Louis prosecutors are now convinced that Dunn is telling the

By PIETRO DE CRISTOFARO and GEIR MOULSON Associated Press FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The alleged leaders of a suspected far-right plot to topple the German government are among nine suspects have gone on trial, opening the most prominent proceedings in a case that shocked the country in late 2022. The defendants faced judges Tuesday at

By JACQUES BILLEAUD Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani pleaded not guilty Tuesday to nine felony charges stemming from his role in an effort to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss in Arizona to Joe Biden. Ten others, including former Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward, also pleaded not

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD AP Political Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Republican California legislator backed by former President Donald Trump has won a special election to complete the remainder of the term of deposed former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which runs through January. State Assembly member Vince Fong is a McCarthy protege who

By JACKIE VALLEY of The Christian Science Monitor LAS VEGAS (AP) — They operate in places like an airport, a resort, and a distribution center, tucked away from the public eye but close enough for easy access. They often emit laughter — and the sound of tumbling blocks, bouncing balls, and meandering tricycles. They’re child

By SHEIKH SAALIQ Associated Press ABOARD THE THIRUKKURAL EXPRESS, India (AP) — The 1,800-mile (2,900-kilometer) journey south from New Delhi to Kanyakumari is one of the longest train rides in India, passing through cities, villages, scrub forests and deep ravines. The 22-car Thirukkural Express is a microcosm of India, carrying passengers from different castes and

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader says his government will keep monitoring for any non-compliance with a court order that bans a popular protest song. John Lee said if any of such instances were found, the government would then notify the relevant internet platforms about the content of the

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press President Joe Biden and his Republican rival, Donald Trump, piled up more delegates Tuesday as both presumptive nominees won primaries in Kentucky and Oregon. The symbolic decisions provide a few more delegates to the national conventions and a gut check on where the Democratic and Republican bases stand toward

By CLAIRE RUSH Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A centrist candidate who has vowed to be tough on crime is leading in the race for top prosecutor in Oregon’s Multnomah County, home to Portland, in a contest that is seen as a referendum on voter concerns over homelessness, public drug use and disorder. Nathan

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Rep. Thomas Massie’s role in the failed bid to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson hasn’t harmed the Kentuckian’s standing with Republican voters in his district. Massie easily won his GOP primary election on Tuesday in the conservative stronghold. Massie far outdistanced challengers Eric Deters and Michael

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, JAKE OFFENHARTZ, JILL COLVIN and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s hush money trial moved into a new phase Tuesday, drawing closer to the moment when the jury will begin deciding his fate after testimony concluded without the former president taking the stand in his own defense.

By KATE BRUMBACK Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Two key players in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump have successfully defeated challengers. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee both won in Tuesday’s election. Willis is the prosecutor who last year obtained a sprawling racketeering indictment

By JEFF AMY Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Incumbent Georgia Supreme Court Justice Andrew Pinson has defeated former U.S. Rep. John Barrow in a nonpartisan race where Barrow sought to make abortion rights the central issue. Also in Tuesday’s elections, former Donald Trump aide Brian Jack and former Georgia state Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan