AROUND THE WORLD FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

World News

Raul Latorre, president of Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies, gives his support to the final vote in f...

Paraguay lawmakers approve a defense agreement that allows an increased US military presence

ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay (AP) — Paraguay’s Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday approved a defense agreement allowing the temporary presence of U.S. military and civilian personnel inside its borders, widely seen as a victory for the Trump administration, which has sought to strengthen its presence in Latin America. The Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, was approved […]
5 months ago
Missiles launched from Iran are seen in the sky over central Israel, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (AP P...

Israel says Iran is using cluster munitions. What to know about the weapons

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel says Iran has been firing cluster munitions throughout their 10-day war — adding a complicated and deadly challenge to Israel’s already-stretched air defenses. The warheads burst open at high altitudes, scattering dozens of smaller bomblets across a wide area. The smaller bombs, which at night can resemble orange fireballs, […]
5 months ago
This is a locator map for Afghanistan with its capital, Kabul. (AP Photo)Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS...

Afghanistan’s Taliban government rejects US allegation that it engages in ‘hostage diplomacy’

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban government on Tuesday rejected U.S. allegations that it detains foreigners to obtain leverage over other countries, saying Afghan authorities arrest people for violating laws not to make a deal. The U.S. State Department on Monday announced the designation of Afghanistan as a sponsor of wrongful detention, accusing it of […]
5 months ago
Toronto police investigate the scene after the U.S. consulate was hit by gunfire in Toronto on Tues...

Canadian police investigate reports of gunfire at US consulate in Toronto

TORONTO (AP) — Canadian police are investigating reports that the United States consulate in downtown Toronto was hit by gunfire early on Tuesday morning. No injuries have been reported. Toronto police said they responded to reports at around 5:30 a.m. that someone shot a gun at the U.S. consulate. In a post on social media, […]
5 months ago
The head of Vatican Security, Gianluca Gauzzi Broccoletti, center, follows Pope Leo XIV as he visit...

Pope accepts resignation of US bishop who was arrested for alleged financial crimes

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of the Chaldean Catholic bishop of San Diego, California, a decision announced Tuesday by the Vatican after the bishop was arrested on embezzlement charges. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said last week it had arrested Bishop Emmanuel Shaleta on March 5 at San Diego […]
5 months ago
This photo provided by an Iranian lawyer who did not want to be identified, shows the backyard of h...

Iranians fleeing cities under attack seek refuge in the countryside

BEIRUT (AP) — Terrified by explosions shaking their homes in Tehran and other cities, tens of thousands of Iranians have packed up and left, finding refuge in small, remote towns to wait out massive bombardment by Israel and the United States. Pouya Akhgari, 22, is holed up in a family house with aunts and cousins […]
5 months ago

Asian shares surge, echoing a rally on Wall Street as oil prices sank back to about $90

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares have rebounded from their sharp declines a day before after a rally on Wall Street as global investors wagered that the war with Iran may not last too long. But the gains early Tuesday fell far short of losses Monday, when oil prices neared $120 per barrel before falling back […]
5 months ago

Iran launches new attacks at Gulf Arab countries as it keeps up pressure on the region

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran launched new attacks Tuesday at Gulf Arab countries as it keeps up pressure on the region, while five pro-Iranian militants were killed in an airstrike northern Iraq. Incoming missile sirens sounded early in the morning in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, while Saudi Arabia said […]
5 months ago
FILE - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gestures as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his ...

US allies and rivals in Asia gauge fallout from war in the Middle East

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — As war spreads across the Middle East, U.S. rivals and allies in Asia are preparing for the consequences, which include possible economic shock and long-term security threats. Here’s a look at how the fighting in the Middle East is impacting the Koreas, Japan and China. North Korea At a major […]
5 months ago
National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez gestures during a debate on a mining bill at the Nation...

Venezuelan lawmakers open debate on a mining bill to lure foreign capital

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan lawmakers on Monday began debating a bill proposed by acting President Delcy Rodríguez to regulate the country’s mining industry and create conditions to attract crucial foreign investment. The bill aims to generate confidence among foreign investors, many of whom lost assets through expropriations decades ago, and draw much-needed capital to […]
5 months ago
A poster of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the successor to his late father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as ...

Here are the Iran war’s biggest unknowns, from Tehran’s new leader to oil prices

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — How long will the Iran war last? What do all sides want to achieve? And how high will oil prices go? Big questions remain as fighting enters week two. Israel and the United States keep pounding Iran. And Iran keeps carrying out retaliatory attacks against Israel, U.S. military assets in […]
5 months ago
FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2016 file photo, an oil pump works at sunset, in the desert oil fields of S...

Iran war puts at risk key pipelines, terminals and refineries that supply the world with oil and gas

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The Iran war has put at risk some of the world’s most critical oil and gas infrastructure — the pipelines, refineries, and shipping terminals that keep energy flowing from the countries around the Persian Gulf to the global economy. Strikes by Iranian drones have disrupted operations, while the effective closure of […]
5 months ago
Rescue workers and residents search through the rubble in the aftermath of what Iranian officials s...

Investigation further suggests it was the US that struck an Iranian school, killing 165

JERUSALEM (AP) — The investigative group Bellingcat says newly released video “appears to contradict” U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran was responsible for an explosion at an Iranian school that killed over 165 people at the start of the war raging in the Mideast. It comes as mounting evidence points to U.S. culpability for […]
5 months ago
People look at smoke rising as firefighters damp down the remains of a fire which broke out in a bu...

Glasgow building fire closes Scotland’s busiest train station and disrupts rail services

LONDON (AP) — A major fire in the heart of Glasgow crippled Scottish train services Monday as firefighters worked to douse the blaze that destroyed a four-story building near Scotland’s busiest railway station. Glasgow Central Station was closed and all travel to, from and through the station was expected to be disrupted, National Rail said. […]
5 months ago
This image taken from video provided by Iran state TV shows Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran's slain...

Iran names former supreme leader’s son to succeed him as war sends oil prices soaring

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of Iran’s late supreme leader, was named Monday as the Islamic Republic’s next ruler, putting a hard-line cleric in charge as the war spreading across the Mideast sent oil prices skyrocketing with Iran launching new attacks on regional energy infrastructure. With Iran’s theocracy under assault […]
5 months ago

Japan’s Nikkei 225 share index falls more than 6% as oil soars over $100 a barrel

BANGKOK (AP) — Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index plunged more than 6% early Monday after oil prices soared to over $100 a barrel due to supply disruptions from the war in the Middle East. The Nikkei was down 6.2% at 52,166.92 shortly after trading began early Monday. South Korea’s Kospi sank 6.3% and shares in […]
5 months ago
Norwegian police attend outside the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, Norway in the early hours of Sunday, Marc...

Police investigate a potential explosion outside the US Embassy in Oslo, no injuries reported

OSLO (AP) — Norwegian police are investigating a potential explosion outside the U.S. Embassy in Oslo early Sunday, officials said. No injuries were reported. Police received reports of a “loud bang” or explosion around 1 a.m., Oslo police said in a news release. The U.S. Embassy in Oslo and police did not immediately return requests […]
5 months ago

Iranian drone damages desalination plant in Bahrain

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian drone attack caused “material damage” to a desalination plant, Bahrain said Sunday morning. It was the first time an Arab country has reported Iran targeting a desalination plant during the nine-day war. Hundreds of desalination plants sit along the Persian Gulf coast, and the Arab countries in […]
5 months ago
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a press conference on the sideline of the National P...

China hopes 2026 will be a ‘landmark year’ for relationship with US

BEIJING (AP) — China said it hopes this year will be a “landmark year” for its relationship with its biggest competitor, the U.S., striking a largely positive tone ahead of an expected summit between the leaders of the two countries later this month. China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking Sunday at a press briefing on […]
5 months ago
FILE - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, center left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, cent...

Russia sits back as the Iran war escalates, expecting long-term gains

MOSCOW (AP) — As U.S. and Israeli missiles and bombs rain on Iran, Russia has responded with words of indignation but no visible action to support its Middle Eastern ally. That cautious stance is driven by President Vladimir Putin’s focus on Ukraine and his apparent hope that the Iran war will play into Moscow’s hands […]
5 months ago
Pope Leo XIV holds his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Ma...

Pope names veteran Vatican diplomat as ambassador to the US to manage relations with Trump

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Saturday named a veteran Vatican diplomat as his new ambassador to the United States to manage one of the Holy See’s most important bilateral relationships at a crucial time, with ties strained over the Trump administration’s war in Iran and immigration crackdown. Italian Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, 68, is […]
5 months ago

Iranian attacks target Gulf States as US warns bombing will intensify

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Intense Iranian fire targeted the Gulf Arab states early Saturday as Israel and the United States kept up their airstrikes targeting the Islamic Republic. There was no foreseeable end to the fighting. U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration approved a new $151 million arms sale to Israel after Trump said […]
5 months ago
FILE - Muslim pilgrims pray as they circumambulate the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosqu...

War in the Middle East ensnares many Muslim pilgrims in travel chaos

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The travel chaos from the war in the Middle East has ensnared many of the Muslims who have converged on Saudi Arabia for the Umrah pilgrimage, leaving them stranded and scrambling to find other ways home. Others had to scrap their planned visits altogether. For some who performed the religious rituals, […]
5 months ago
FILE - An Iranian Shahed exploding drone launched by Russia flies through the sky seconds before it...

US to send anti-drone system to the Mideast after successful use in Ukraine, officials say

LONDON (AP) — An American anti-drone system proven to work against Russian drones in Ukraine will soon be sent to the Middle East to bolster U.S. defenses against Iranian drones, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Friday. While the U.S. has used Patriot and THAAD missile systems to take down Iranian missiles successfully, […]
5 months ago