China sanctions several Lockheed Martin units, three executives over arms deals with Taiwan

BEIJING (AP) — China said Friday it has banned a number of business units of American aviation manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp. and three of its executives over arms deals the company has signed with Taiwan, the self-ruling island it claims as its own territory. The statement...

Supporters of Myanmar's jailed leader Suu Kyi mark her 79th birthday with a flower-themed protest

BANGKOK (AP) — Supporters of Myanmar’s imprisoned ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi carried out peaceful flower-themed protests marking her 79th birthday on Wednesday, some taking to the streets in defiance of the military government’s repression. Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace prize...

More global confidence in Biden than Trump even as views of US democracy decline, poll finds

People in 34 countries around the world have more confidence in President Joe Biden than his challenger in November's election, former President Donald Trump, even as there is increased skepticism that United States democracy provides a good model for the rest of the world to follow, according to a...

Beyond gangland shootouts and drug trafficking, Italy's mafia is a threat to democracy

ROME (AP) — Last month, an Italian administrative court confirmed the dissolution of the city administration of the Puglia city of Neviano, after an investigation determined that local officials were being unduly influenced by the mafia. The decision barely made news in Italy,...

Biden looks to Pointe du Hoc to inspire the push for democracy abroad and at home

POINTE DU HOC, France (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday summoned Americans to defend democracy from threats at home and abroad — and cast an implicit contrast with Donald Trump — as he drew on the heroism of Army Rangers who scaled the seaside cliffs of Pointe du Hoc in the D-Day invasion...

Vietnam national security police confirm arrest of prominent writer Truong Huy San for Facebook post

BANGKOK (AP) — Authorities in Vietnam announced Friday that they have charged prominent journalist and historian Truong Huy San with violating a national security law because of writing he had posted on Facebook, the website of the newspaper Tuoi Tre and other state media reported. ...

Biden will say legacy of Pointe du Hoc is call to 'stay true to what America stands for' in election year democracy push

Two British judges resign from Hong Kong court. One cites the city's 'political situation'

HONG KONG (AP) — Two British judges have resigned from Hong Kong’s top court, the city’s judiciary said, deepening worries over the city's rule of law under a Beijing-imposed national security law. The judiciary said in a statement Thursday that Jonathan Sumption and Lawrence...

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu set to address the US Congress on July 24

WASHINGTON (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to address a joint meeting of Congress on July 24, setting the stage for what is expected to be a contentious speech at a crucial moment for the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. Congressional leaders confirmed the...

South Africa questions its very being. Yet a difficult change has reinforced its young democracy

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa is in a moment of deep soul-searching after an election that brought a jarring split from the African National Congress, the very party that gave it freedom and democracy 30 years ago. In the days after rejecting what was once the...