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Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, right, and Evarist Bartolo, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Malta, pose for photos before a meeting, in Ankara Turkey, Tuesday, July 14, 2020.(Cem Ozdel/Turkish Foreign Ministry via AP, Pool)

Turkey says it rejects EU condemnation over Hagia Sophia

Jul. 14, 2020 9:30 AM EDT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s foreign minister on Tuesday chided the European Union over its condemnation of a Turkish decision to convert Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque, saying the matter is an issue of national sovereignty. Last week, Turkey canceled the...

Incumbent President Andrzej Duda flashes a victory sign in Pultusk, Poland, Sunday, July 12, 2020. An exit poll in Poland's presidential runoff election shows a tight race that is too close to call between the conservative incumbent, Andrzej Duda, and the liberal Warsaw mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Polish president wins 2nd term after bitter campaign

Jul. 13, 2020 2:22 PM EDT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish President Andrzej Duda declared victory Monday in a runoff election in which he narrowly won a second five-year term, acknowledging the campaign he ran was often too harsh as he appealed for unity and forgiveness. The close race followed a bitter campaign between Duda and...

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell speaks during a media conference after a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, July 13, 2020. European Union foreign ministers met for the first time face-to-face since the pandemic lockdown and will assess their discuss their relations with China and Turkey. (Francois Lenoir, Pool Photo via AP)

EU, Turkey clash over Hagia Sophia, Mediterranean drilling

Jul. 13, 2020 11:12 AM EDT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Turkey and the European Union clashed on Monday over Ankara's decision to change the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque and its continued energy exploration in disputed Mediterranean waters. After their their first face-to-face meeting in months, the 27 EU foreign ministers...

A woman wearing a face mask exits the Atwood Building, a downtown Anchorage, Alaska, building where many state offices are located on Monday, June 29, 2020. The Municipality of Anchorage on Monday instituted a requirement that most people should wear masks in indoor public settings, but Attorney General Kevin Clarkson sent an email to state employees saying that state buildings within the municipality were exempt from that order. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

The Latest: Mexico tops 35,000 deaths, 4th highest toll

Jul. 12, 2020 11:25 PM EDT

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican officials say the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths has passed 35,000, making it the country with the fourth highest total. A count by Johns Hopkins University has only the United States, Brazil and Britain with more confirmed deaths from the new coronavirus. Sunday’s rise to...

Incumbent President Andrzej Duda is hugged by his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda in Pultusk, Poland, Sunday, July 12, 2020. An exit poll in Poland's presidential runoff election shows a tight race that is too close to call between the conservative incumbent, Andrzej Duda, and the liberal Warsaw mayor, Rafal Trzaskowski.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Exit poll: Duda leads Poland's tight presidential runoff

Jul. 12, 2020 9:26 PM EDT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A late exit poll in Poland’s presidential runoff Sunday showed the conservative, populist incumbent, Andrzej Duda, leading against the liberal, pro-Europe mayor of Warsaw, but with the race still too close to call. It appeared to be the closest election in Poland’s...

Man charged in Florida church arson attack

Jul. 12, 2020 9:59 AM EDT

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A man accused of setting a Florida church on fire was being held without bail Sunday on charges that include attempted second-degree murder and arson. The Marion County Sheriff's Office charged Steven Shields, 23, on Saturday, hours after detectives say he plowed a minivan through the...

Pope Francis delivers his message after the Angelus noon blessing from the window of his studio overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, July 12, 2020. In a very brief, improvised remark, Pope Francis, speaking from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square, said he is “deeply pained” over the decision by Turkey to change the status of Hagia Sophia, which had originally been built as a Christian cathedral, from that of a museum in Istanbul to a mosque. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope 'deeply pained' over Turkey's move on Hagia Sophia

Jul. 12, 2020 7:03 AM EDT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis said on Sunday that he is “deeply pained” over the decision by Turkey to change the status of Hagia Sophia — which was originally built in Istanbul as a Christian cathedral — from a museum to a mosque. In a very brief, improvised remark,...

The interior of the San Gabriel Mission is damaged following a morning fire, Saturday, July 11, 2020, in San Gabriel, Calif. The fire destroyed the rooftop and most of the interior of the nearly 250-year-old California church that was undergoing renovation. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Fire destroys much of 249-year-old church in California

Jul. 11, 2020 7:57 PM EDT

SAN GABRIEL, Calif. (AP) — A fire early Saturday destroyed the rooftop and most of the interior of a Catholic church in California that was undergoing renovation to mark its upcoming 250th anniversary celebration. Fire alarms at the San Gabriel Mission rang around 4 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they saw...

FILE - In this April 18, 2019, file photo, the Salt Lake Temple in Salt Lake City is viewed. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has asked all its members in Utah to wear face coverings when in public, a request that comes as confirmed coronavirus infections in the state increase. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Church asks Utah Mormons to wear face coverings in public

Jul. 11, 2020 7:02 PM EDT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has asked all its members in Utah to wear face coverings when in public, a request that comes as confirmed infections in the state increase. The Deseret News reports that the Utah Area Presidency sent out the request in an email on...

Muslims offer their evening prayers outside the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul's main tourist attractions in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul, following Turkey's Council of State's decision, Friday, July 10, 2020. Turkey's highest administrative court issued a ruling Friday that paves the way for the government to convert Hagia Sophia - a former cathedral-turned-mosque that now serves as a museum - back into a Muslim house of worship. The Council of State threw its weight behind a petition brought by a religious group and annulled a 1934 cabinet decision that changed the 6th century building into a museum.(AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

World Council of Churches "dismayed" at Hagia Sophia shift

Jul. 11, 2020 4:03 PM EDT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The head of the World Council of Churches has written to Turkey's president expressing his “grief and dismay” over Turkey's decision to change the status of Istanbul's landmark Hagia Sophia from a museum to a mosque. As a World Heritage museum, “Hagia Sophia...

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