Cyprus hails Moody's two-notch credit rating upgrade bringing the country into investment grade

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus on Saturday hailed a two-notch upgrade by credit ratings agency Moody’s to bring the east Mediterranean island nation back into investment-grade territory a decade after a financial crisis left the country on the brink of bankruptcy. President Nikos...

Libya's coast guard rams into a dingy with some 50 migrants. Many onboard get thrown into the sea

CAIRO (AP) — A Libyan coast guard boat rammed into a dingy carrying some 50 migrants just off Libya's coast on Friday, partially sinking the vessel. Many of those onboard were thrown into the Mediterranean Sea and had to swim to another Libyan ship nearby for safety, a rescue group said. ...

186.000 migrants and refugees arrived in southern Europe so far this year, most in Italy, UN says

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. refugee agency said Thursday that some 186,000 migrants and refugees arrived in southern Europe so far this year, the vast majority in Italy. Between January and Sept. 24, over 2,500 people seeking to cross the Mediterranean were found dead or are...

Macron proposes limited autonomy for France's Mediterranean island of Corsica

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron proposed granting limited autonomy for Corsica on Thursday in a modest step toward nationalist sentiment on the Mediterranean island. In a speech he described as “an outstretched hand,” Macron said: “Let us have the audacity to...

Food prices are rising as countries limit exports. Blame climate change, El Nino and Russia's war

How do you cook a meal when a staple ingredient is unaffordable? This question is playing out in households around the world as they face shortages of essential foods like rice, cooking oil and onions. That is because countries have imposed restrictions on the food they export to...

FDA advisers vote against experimental ALS treatment pushed by patients

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health advisers voted overwhelmingly against an experimental treatment for Lou Gehrig’s disease at a Wednesday meeting prompted by years of patient efforts seeking access to the unproven therapy. The panel of Food and Drug Administration experts voted...

Pope Francis insists Europe doesn't have a migrant emergency and challenges countries to open ports

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Pope Francis challenged French President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders to open their ports to people fleeing hardship and poverty, insisting Saturday that the continent isn't facing a migration “emergency” but rather a long-term reality that governments...

Surgeons perform second pig heart transplant, trying to save a dying man

WASHINGTON (AP) — Surgeons have transplanted a pig’s heart into a dying man in a bid to prolong his life – only the second patient to ever undergo such an experimental feat. Two days later, the man was cracking jokes and able to sit in a chair, Maryland doctors said Friday. The...

Pope Francis arrives in French port city of Marseille to urge Mediterranean countries in Europe to welcome migrants

Pope goes to Marseille to talk migration, but will Europe listen as it scrambles to stem an influx?

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Ten years after Pope Francis made a landmark visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa to show solidarity with migrants, he is joining Catholic bishops from the Mediterranean this weekend in France to make the call more united. The question is whether anyone in...