AROUND THE WORLD FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

World News

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities f...

Stocks fall and oil prices gain after Trump warns the Iran ‘clock is ticking’

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks mostly retreated and oil prices jumped on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Tehran that the “clock is ticking” as U.S.-Iran negotiations over a permanent end to the war stall. U.S. futures fell more than 0.6%. Markets in Japan and South Korea pulled further back from their records. […]
3 months ago
Construction crews work on a new border wall segment on Kuuchamaa Mountain, Friday, April 24, 2026,...

US-Mexico border wall construction is desecrating sacred sites, Indigenous leaders say

TECATE, Mexico (AP) — White sage burning, Norma Meza Calles gathers guests at a Mexican wellness resort into a semicircle facing Kuuchamaa Mountain and asks everyone to close their eyes and feel its presence. “This is sacred to us like a church for you all. The mountain is our healer, our psychologist,” said Meza Calles, […]
3 months ago
A government supporter wears badges showing a portrait of the slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatolla...

A drone strike causes fire outside a nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi

CAIRO (AP) — A drone strike caused a fire outside a nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, authorities in the United Arab Emirates said. The Abu Dhabi media office said in a statement that the fire broke out in an external electrical generator outside the perimeter of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in […]
3 months ago
This image released by the Maldives President's Media Division, shows divers preparing to search fo...

A Maldivian military diver has died while searching for the bodies of four Italian divers

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A Maldivian military diver died Saturday while searching for the bodies of four Italian divers believed to be deep inside an underwater cave. The group of five Italian divers is believed to have died while exploring a cave at a depth of about 50 meters (160 feet) in Vaavu Atoll […]
3 months ago

The US turns to Guyana’s bauxite in its latest push for Latin America’s resources

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — The U.S. announced Friday it is turning its attention toward Guyana’s abundant bauxite and other resources for business opportunities at a time when the Trump administration is increasingly eyeing Latin American energy and minerals. U.S. Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg held talks this week with top Guyanese officials, including […]
3 months ago
A Spiderman figurine sits atop a facsimile copy of the May 1939 Detective Comics anthology series i...

Bam! Pow! Krakoom! The everlasting allure of the American comic book

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Pick one up. Be seduced by its glossy cover. Gaze upon the impossibly muscular body clad in a skin-tight suit. Our hero or heroine will surely be soaring, shouting, blasting a villain into next week. They are ridiculous. They are addictively great. Comic books, of the superhero variety, are 100% American. […]
3 months ago
In this photo released by Belarusian presidential press service, Belarusian President Alexander Luk...

Belarus authoritarian leader welcomes US evangelist Franklin Graham to hold massive gathering

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarus’ authoritarian leader on Friday greeted U.S. Rev. Franklin Graham, who arrived in the tightly controlled country to hold the largest evangelical Christian gathering in its history. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko asked Graham to convey warm greetings to President Donald Trump and tell him that he has “reliable friends and supporters […]
3 months ago
FILE - Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri speaks during an interview at the Zion Church in Beijing, China, Wedn...

Trump says Xi is considering a detained pastor’s case, but freeing activist Jimmy Lai is ‘tough’

HONG KONG (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday he raised the issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping of releasing a prominent detained pastor and imprisoned Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai, and quoted Xi as saying he’d consider the pastor but that Lai’s case is a “tough one.” Speaking to reporters as he flew […]
3 months ago

Iran’s top diplomat says a lack of trust is impeding talks to end war with the US

NEW DELHI (AP) — Iran ’s foreign minister said a lack of trust is the biggest obstacle in negotiations to end the war with the U.S., saying Friday that Tehran would be open to diplomatic help, particularly from China, to help ease tensions. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said contradictory messages have “made us reluctant […]
3 months ago

Takeaways from AP’s interview with Colombian woman deported to Congo by US

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The Trump administration has deported 15 Latin Americans to the Democratic Republic of Congo, sending them to an unfamiliar country thousands of miles from home — many despite U.S. court orders protecting them from deportation to their homelands. The Associated Press spoke on the phone with one of them, a 29-year-old […]
3 months ago
A chair is seen outside a hotel room where a Colombian woman was deported to from the United States...

Latin American nationals deported by the US to Congo face an uncertain future

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — It’s an existence that Congo’s president has described as “living the Congolese dream.” For the 15 Latin Americans deported to the African nation under the Trump administration’s widely criticized crackdown on migrants, it feels more like a nightmare. The Associated Press spoke with one, a 29-year old Colombian woman who confirmed […]
3 months ago
Rescue workers clear the rubble of a house heavily damaged after a Russian strike on a residential ...

Death toll in attack on Kyiv apartment building now stands at 24

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that a Russian missile attack on a Kyiv apartment building the previous day killed 24 people, including three children. Emergency workers finished digging through the building’s rubble after more than a day, Zelenskyy said on X. The cruise missile hit the nine-story corner block amid […]
3 months ago
Employees of Hana Bank celebrate in a photo-op to mark the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI...

Asian stocks are lower after South Korea’s Kospi hits records, as Trump wraps up Beijing trip

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian stocks mostly retreated Friday and South Korea’s Kospi gave up gains after reaching an all-time high, as investors watch for developments from the Iran war and U.S. President Donald Trump’s summit in Beijing with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. U.S. futures edged down after Wall Street reached fresh records. Tokyo’s Nikkei […]
3 months ago

Cuban government says CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with officials in Havana

HAVANA (AP) — The Cuban government said Thursday that CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with counterparts from the Ministry of the Interior during a high-level visit to the island. According to official reports, the meeting served as a platform for Cuba to present evidence asserting that the nation poses no threat to U.S. national security. […]
3 months ago
Two men sit in a small boat on the water as a mix of bulk carriers, cargo ships, and service vessel...

Ship is reported seized off the coast of the UAE and is heading toward Iran

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A ship anchored off the east coast of the United Arab Emirates has been seized and is heading toward Iranian territorial waters, the British military said Thursday. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said it received reports that the vessel was taken by unauthorized personnel while anchored 38 […]
3 months ago
Asia markets index of Japan, South Korea and Australia is seen on a screen at the foreign exchange ...

Asian stocks are mixed as investors watch takeaways from Trump-Xi summit

HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares were mixed Thursday after Wall Street set more records, as investors closely monitored takeaways from U.S. President Donald Trump’s summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. Trump met with Xi at the Great Hall of the People and they talked about U.S.-China relations and Taiwan, but analysts did […]
3 months ago

Remains of 2nd US soldier who went missing during military exercises in Morocco have been recovered

CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) — The remains of the second U.S. Army soldier who went missing during military exercises in Morocco have been recovered, U.S. military said Wednesdaty. Spc. Mariyah Symone Collington, 19, of Taveres, Florida, is the second U.S. soldier who fell off a cliff during a recreational hike in Morocco. She was 19 years […]
3 months ago
FILE - President of El Salvador, Nayib Armando Bukele Ortez, listens as President Donald Trump spea...

US deportations to El Salvador double as Bukele aligns himself with Trump agenda

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — The number of people deported to El Salvador from the U.S. nearly doubled in the first months of 2026, according to official figures, coming as Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has positioned himself as an ally willing to help the Trump administration accelerate deportations, a central priority. The U.S. deported […]
3 months ago

Netanyahu’s office says he visited UAE secretly during the Iran war

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Wednesday that he secretly visited the United Arab Emirates during the Iran war. Netanyahu met with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during the visit, the Israeli leader’s office said. It added that the visit “resulted in a historic breakthrough in relations between […]
3 months ago

Russian ship that sank near Spain may have carried nuclear reactor parts

MADRID (AP) — A Russian ship that sank in the Mediterranean after its engine room exploded may have been carrying pieces for nuclear reactors used in submarines, a Spanish government document shows. The Ursa Major sank on Dec. 23, 2024, between Spain and Algeria while allegedly on a journey from St. Petersburg to Russia’s eastern […]
3 months ago
A dealer talks on the phone at a dealing room of Hana Bank in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 13...

Asian shares trade mixed as AI excitement fades and war worries continue

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares traded mixed early Wednesday, as fading enthusiasm over AI and other technology stocks gradually put the brakes on Wall Street’s record-setting run. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up less than 0.1% to 62,774.94. South Korea’s Kospi index gained 0.9% to 7,708.05, recouping some of its recent losses. The Kospi sank […]
3 months ago
FILE - President Donald Trump talks on his cell phone in his limousine, known as "The Beast," upon ...

As Trump heads to China, past US flubs on US policy toward Taiwan can be a warning

BEIJING (AP) — It’s a verbal tightrope American presidents have had to walk for nearly 50 years, where even small slip-ups when stating official U.S. policy toward Taiwan and China can trigger geopolitical alarm bells. The way the U.S. views Taiwan under the “One China” policy recognizes the Chinese position that Taiwan is part of […]
3 months ago
Marie-Therese Ross-Mahe, an 85-year-old French widow of a U.S. military veteran, poses in Orvault, ...

85-year-old French widow caught in Trump’s immigration crackdown describes her detention

ORVAULT, France (AP) — At night, silence fell over the Louisiana immigration detention facility where 85-year-old Marie-Thérèse Ross was held. Then the wailing began. ’’Children crying, and even babies,” said Ross, the French widow of a U.S. military veteran, whose arrest last month as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown made international headlines. Ross […]
3 months ago

US ambassador to Israel says Israel sent Iron Dome batteries, personnel to UAE to defend country

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel sent Iron Dome anti-missile batteries and personnel to operate them to the United Arab Emirates to defend the country during the Iran war, the U.S. ambassador to the country said Tuesday. Mike Huckabee made the comment on stage at an event in Tel Aviv, Israel. “I’d like to say […]
3 months ago