Top General News
Friction among Taliban pragmatists, hard-liners intensifies
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Friction between pragmatists and ideologues in the Taliban leadership has intensified since the group formed a hard-line Cabinet last week that is more in line with their harsh rule in the 1990s than their recent promises of inclusiveness, said two Afghans familiar...
UN chief urges 'rapid' emission cuts to curb climate change
GENEVA (AP) — The head of the United Nations called Thursday for “immediate, rapid and large-scale” cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to curb global warming and avert climate disaster. Ahead of the annual U.N. General Assembly meeting next week, Antonio Guterres...
California GOP licks wounds after another lopsided loss
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The results of Tuesday’s recall election in which California Gov. Gavin Newsom defeated an attempt to remove him from office look all too familiar to the state's enfeebled Republicans — they were embarrassed again by Democrats, who haven’t lost a statewide race in...
France calls killing of Islamic State leader big victory
PARIS (AP) — France killed the leader of Islamic State in the Greater Sahara because the group attacked French aid workers, African civilians and U.S. troops, French officials said Thursday, calling him “enemy No. 1” in protracted anti-terrorism efforts in the Sahel. ...
With foreign funds frozen, Afghan aid groups stuck in limbo
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A month after the fall of Kabul, the world is still wrestling with how to help Afghanistan’s impoverished people without propping up their Taliban leaders — a question that grows more urgent by the day. With the Afghan government...
FDA strikes cautious tone ahead of vaccine booster meeting
WASHINGTON (AP) — Influential government advisers will debate Friday if there's enough proof that a booster dose of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective — the first step toward deciding which Americans need one and when. The Food and Drug Administration on...
Long weekend becomes 9 week lockdown for AP Vietnam reporter
VUNG TAU, Vietnam (AP) — I wake up as the loudspeaker outside my window starts the community broadcast at 7 a.m. I try to recall the date. Vietnam’s pandemic lockdown has been so long I’ve lost my sense of time. I now count by weeks. This is the ninth I’ve been...
Russia votes in parliament election without main opposition
MOSCOW (AP) — After a few weeks of desultory campaigning but months of relentless official moves to shut down significant opposition, Russia is holding three days of voting this weekend in a parliamentary election that is unlikely to change the country’s political complexion. ...
SpaceX launches 4 amateurs on private Earth-circling trip
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX’s first private flight streaked into orbit Wednesday night with two contest winners, a health care worker and their rich sponsor, the most ambitious leap yet in space tourism. It was the first time a spacecraft circled Earth with an...
At 101, she's still hauling lobsters with no plans to stop
ROCKLAND, Maine (AP) — When Virginia Oliver started trapping lobster off Maine’s rocky coast, World War II was more than a decade in the future, the electronic traffic signal was a recent invention and few women were harvesting lobsters. Nearly a century later, at age...
Latest General News
Ireland's Ryanair aims to hire another 5,000 new staff
LONDON (AP) — Irish airline Ryanair said Thursday that it's planning to create 5,000 jobs over the next five years as part of its recovery from the shock of the coronavirus pandemic. The additional pilots, cabin crew and engineers will mean that the company will have...
'No journalist should die': EU calls for better media safety
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's executive arm asked its member countries Thursday to better protect journalists amid a rise of physical attacks and online threats against media professionals. According to the European Commission, 908 journalists and media workers...
German police detain 4 on Yom Kippur after synagogue threat
BERLIN (AP) — German security officials said Thursday they had detained four people — one of them a 16-year-old — who were allegedly planning to attack a synagogue in the western city of Hagen with explosives. The detentions took place on Yom Kippur, the holiest day...
Putin: Dozens in inner circle infected with coronavirus
MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says dozens of his staff have been infected with the coronavirus and that he will continue his self-isolation because of the outbreak. The Kremlin announced earlier this week that he would self-isolate after someone in his...
Chauvin to be arraigned for alleged civil rights violation
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder in the death of George Floyd is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday for allegedly violating the civil rights of a teenager in a separate case that involved a restraint similar to the one used on Floyd. ...
Indonesian court rules president negligent over pollution
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian court ruled Thursday that President Joko Widodo and six other top officials have neglected citizens’ rights to clean air and ordered them to improve the poor air quality in the capital. A three-judge panel at the Central...
Russia votes in parliament election without main opposition
MOSCOW (AP) — After a few weeks of desultory campaigning but months of relentless official moves to shut down significant opposition, Russia is holding three days of voting this weekend in a parliamentary election that is unlikely to change the country’s political complexion. ...
Philippines' Duterte will 'die first' before facing ICC
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte would rather “die first” before facing an international tribunal, his spokesman said Thursday, the day after the International Criminal Court announced it would investigate allegations of crimes against humanity during his...
Nuclear submarine deal will reshape Indo-Pacific relations
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The U.S., Britain and Australia have announced they're forming a new security alliance that will help equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. The alliance will see a reshaping of relations in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. Here's what it might...
Elton John postpones European shows after hip injury
LONDON (AP) — Elton John says he is postponing European dates on his world tour until 2023 so that he can have an operation on an injured hip. The 74-year-old singer-songwriter had been due to play cities in Britain and Europe this year as part of the Farewell Yellow...
