Month: July 2024

Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The former prisoners of war still puzzle over the strange events leading up to the night now seared into their memories, when an explosion ripped through the Russian-controlled Olenivka prison barracks and killed so many comrades two years ago. Among the survivors: Kyrylo Masalitin, whose months in captivity and

Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in the Kremlin. The Kremlin press service says the meeting took place on Wednesday. Putin and Assad last met in March 2023 in the Kremlin on the anniversary of Syria’s 12-year uprising-turned-civil war. At that meeting, Putin emphasized the Russian military’s role in stabilizing

The opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics is set for Friday. Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). This will start the ceremony, not mark the end of it, another break from tradition. What time

Associated Press FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — A total of 270 flights were canceled at Germany’s busiest airports after environmental activists launched a coordinated effort to disrupt air travel across Europe at the height of the summer vacation season to highlight the threat posed by climate change. Frankfurt Airport said flights were halted for safety reasons

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says that Russian and Chinese bombers flying together for the first time in international airspace off the coast of Alaska is a new show of expanding military cooperation and it raises concerns. The flights were not seen as a threat, and the bombers were tracked

Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — One year has passed since a dramatic coup in Niger. Coup leaders said they deposed the West African nation’s elected government for two key reasons: its security and economic crises. But those challenges have persisted, even worsened. The country’s 26 million people are among the world’s youngest and poorest,

Associated Press The United Nations is calling for a flurry of efforts to reduce the human toll from soaring and searing temperatures in what it calls an extreme heat epidemic. Thursday’s report from 10 UN agencies and the secretary-general comes on the heels of three of the hottest days ever measured. Europe’s Copernicus climate service

Associated Press PIPER CITY, Ill. (AP) — An Associated Press analysis of county tax data across three states — Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska — found wind companies rank among the biggest taxpayers in many rural communities, with their total tax bills at times outstripping that of large farms, power plants and other major businesses. Local

Associated Press Complex and confusing taxation systems make it easier for wind’s opponents, some citing misinformation, to say that wind has fallen short of its promises. According to an independent AP analysis, tax income from wind can make up as much 10% of counties’ taxes. An AP analysis of three other states found wind companies

Associated Press Adding a citizenship question to the census reduces the participation of people who aren’t U.S. citizens, particularly those from Latin American countries. That’s according to a new study released last month. The study says noncitizens are less likely to fill out the census questionnaire if there is a citizenship question, exacerbating undercounts of

Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Due to warmer temperatures and increasing urbanization, the market for cooling systems is expanding in Africa. But the chemicals that make air conditioning and refrigeration work are very potent at heating the planet, and an older one called R-22, which is still very common in Africa, is also harmful

NEW DELHI (AP) — India and Britain are launching a new technology security initiative expected to boost economic growth and deepen collaboration on critical technologies. The two countries announced their collaboration on Wednesday, during the first official visit to India by the new British foreign minister. Foreign Secretary David Lammy held talks with his counterpart,

Associated Press BUNDIBUGYO, Uganda (AP) — A nonprofit group in rural Uganda says domestic violence is so widespread that it’s hard to find a woman who isn’t affected. It has launched a campaign to educate communities and also to instill fear in abusers. An accused perpetrator is asked to sign a “reconciliation form” in which

Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — The State Election Board in Georgia once toiled in relative obscurity. Now it hosts raucous meetings where public comment lasts for hours and attendees loudly heckle board members and speakers. The shift highlights how election administration has become scrutinized and politicized nationwide. Republican Party leaders take credit for placing a

Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — Thousands of secret law enforcement documents obtained by The Associated Press offer a never-before-seen window into a culture of corruption among U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents who parlayed the agency’s shadowy money laundering operations into a worldwide pursuit of binge drinking and illicit sex. Among the documents is a recovered

Associated Press UVALDE, Texas (AP) — A former school police officer who was part of the slow law enforcement response to the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of failing to take action as a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers inside a fourth-grade