ROME (AP) — Pope Francis rallied from a winter-long bout of respiratory problems to lead some 60,000 people in Easter celebrations Sunday, making a strong appeal for a cease-fire in Gaza and a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine. Francis presided over Easter Sunday Mass in a flower-decked St. Peter’s Square and then delivered a […]
ROME (AP) — Pope Francis presided over the Vatican’s somber Easter Vigil service on Saturday night, delivering a 10-minute homily and baptizing eight people, a day after suddenly skipping the Good Friday procession at the Colosseum as a health precaution. Francis entered the darkened, silent St. Peter’s Basilica in his wheelchair, took his place in […]
JERUSALEM (AP) — A three-ship convoy left a port in Cyprus on Saturday with 400 tons of food and other supplies for Gaza as concerns about hunger in the territory soar. The World Central Kitchen charity said the vessels and a barge carried enough to prepare more than 1 million meals from items like rice, […]
MMAMATLAKALA, South Africa (AP) — An 8-year-old girl was the lone survivor after a bus full of pilgrims making their way to a popular Easter festival in rural South Africa slammed into a bridge on a mountain pass and plunged into a ravine before bursting into flames, killing all 45 others onboard. It was a […]
BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares ended mostly higher in quiet, Good Friday holiday trading, while European and U.S. markets were closed. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5% to 40,369.44 and the Kospi in Seoul was little changed, at 2,748.55. The Shanghai Composite index gained 1% to 3,041.17. Taiwan’s Taiex advanced 0.7%. In Bangkok, the SET added […]
BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Friday in quiet holiday trading, with markets closed in Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore and India, among other places. Many financial markets are closed on Friday for Good Friday. In India, markets were closed for the Holi holiday. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% to 40,316.56 and the Kospi […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation pledged continued support for Taiwan on Thursday, days after Congress approved $300 million in military aid for the self-governed island that’s claimed by China. Congress also approved $400 million on Saturday to counter the Chinese government’s influence in the region, as part of its Defense Appropriations […]
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Police in Greece clashed late Wednesday with Communist-backed demonstrators who tried to prevent a concert by U.S. military cadets. The violent protest occurred in the central Greek city of Larissa ahead of a concert by members of the West Point Glee Club, a musical group of the U.S. Military Academy which […]
HEBBARIYE, Lebanon (AP) — A series of Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed 16 people and a barrage of rockets fired by the militant group Hezbollah killed one Israeli man, making Wednesday the deadliest day in more than five months of fighting along the border. Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, concerns […]
BANGKOK (AP) — World shares were mixed on Wednesday after Wall Street slipped a bit further from its record highs. Germany’s DAX added 0.5% to 18,467.35 and the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.2%, at 8,202.64. In London, the FTSE 100 slipped 0.3% to 7,907.24. The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.4% while […]
JERUSALEM (AP) — As Israel battles a prolonged war in Gaza, broad exemptions from mandatory military service for ultra-Orthodox men have reopened a deep divide in the country and rattled the government coalition, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fellow War Cabinet members staunchly opposed to his proposed new conscription law. By the end of the […]
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The United States and Cyprus said Tuesday they’re formalizing their collaboration in fighting money laundering, sanctions evasion and other financial crimes with an agreement offering Cypriot law enforcement authorities U.S. expertise. The FBI and Cypriot police will sign an agreement in the coming days that includes the U.S. Department of Justice […]
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian officials persisted Tuesday in saying Ukraine and the West had a role in last week’s deadly Moscow concert hall attack despite vehement denials of involvement by Kyiv and a claim of responsibility by an affiliate of the Islamic State group. Without offering any evidence, Alexander Bortnikov, head of the Federal Security […]
BEIJING (AP) — China said Tuesday that it has filed a complaint at the World Trade Organization over US subsidies for electric vehicles. The Chinese Commerce Ministry said Tuesday it has resorted to the WTO dispute settlement process to protest American requirements that vehicles use parts from specific regions to qualify for subsidies. A statement […]
MOSCOW (AP) — A Moscow court on Tuesday ordered Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to remain in jail on espionage charges until at least late June, court officials said. The 32-year-old U.S. citizen was arrested in late March 2023 while on a reporting trip and has spent nearly a year behind bars. His arrest […]
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday blasted a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a Gaza cease-fire that his country’s top ally, the United States, chose not to block. He said the resolution had emboldened Hamas and he vowed to press ahead with the war. As the war grinds through […]
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s military said Monday it has arrested 13 elite troops accused of involvement in a video showing the torture of an indigenous Papua man believed to be a member of a separatist group. The video that emerged in recent days on social media shows men who appear to be soldiers kicking, […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has proposed a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Kim’s sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, made the comments in a state media dispatch Monday. Kim Yo Jong said that Kishida used an unspecified channel to convey his position […]
MOSCOW (AP) — Four men accused of staging the Russia concert hall attack that killed more than 130 people appeared before a Moscow court Sunday on terrorism charges showing signs of severe beatings. One appeared to be barely conscious during the hearing. Court statements said two of the suspects accepted their guilt in the assault, […]
HELSINKI (AP) — The U.S. Congress has passed a bill that involves a total of $228 million in military and defense aid to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania this year under the Baltic Security Initiative, Estonia’s defense officials said Saturday. The U.S. government funding legislation includes military aid to the three Baltic countries, which all are […]
MOSCOW (AP) — The suburban Moscow music hall where gunmen opened fire on concertgoers was a blackened, smoldering ruin Saturday as the death toll in the attack surpassed 130 and Russian authorities arrested four suspects. President Vladimir Putin claimed they were captured while fleeing to Ukraine. Kyiv strongly denied any involvement in Friday’s assault on […]
LONDON (AP) — Kate, the Princess of Wales, has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy, she revealed Friday in a stunning announcement that followed weeks of speculation about her health and whereabouts. The princess disclosed her condition in a video message recorded Wednesday in Windsor and broadcast Friday. It came after relentless speculation on social media […]
