NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week

A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out. Here are the facts: ___ New Georgia...

Lawmakers adopt penalties for failing to protect monuments

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Indiana Legislature passed a bill Thursday that allows the state to withhold funding to cities that fail to protect public monuments and memorials from vandalism, part of an attempt by Republican lawmakers to deter protests that have elevated since the death of...

Rioters ignore pleas for calm as violence flares in Belfast

BELFAST (AP) — Police in Northern Ireland deployed water cannons for the first time in six years Thursday as they tried to disperse protesters who hurled stones, fireworks and gasoline-filled bottles at officers during another night of violence in Belfast. The violence...

Man arrested at protest in Des Moines acquitted of charge

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A man arrested last spring during a protest in Des Moines calling attention to racial injustice has been acquitted of a misdemeanor count of failure to disperse. A judge on Thursday found Daniel Butts, 33, of Des Moines, not guilty of the count,...

Myanmar junta attacks again as spokesman defends crackdown

YANGON (AP) — Security forces in Myanmar cracked down heavily again Friday on protesters against the military's seizure of power, even as the ruling junta downplayed reports of state violence. Reports on online news outlets and on social media said at least four people...

Kentucky governor signs partial ban on no-knock warrants year after fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, national protests

Indian forces kill 7 suspected militants in Kashmir fighting

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Seven suspected militants were killed and four soldiers wounded in two separate gunfights in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said Friday, triggering anti-India protests and clashes in the disputed region Militants hid inside a mosque as...

Japan to announce Fukushima water release into sea soon

TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese government has decided to dispose of massive amounts of treated but still radioactive water stored in tanks at the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant by releasing it into the Pacific Ocean, local media reported Friday, a conclusion widely expected but delayed for...

Kosovo’s mannequin protest against virus restrictions

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — A downtown restaurant in Kosovo’s capital filled its tables with mannequins Friday in a symbolic protest of the government’s decision to close eateries for two weeks in response to a surge of COVID-19 cases. Petrit Kllokoqi, owner of Bagolina...

US sanctions on Myanmar gems target key junta funding source

BANGKOK (AP) — The latest U.S. sanctions on Myanmar target an army-controlled gems business rife with corruption and abuses that is one of the junta’s key sources of revenue. It’s unclear if the sanctions will do much to close the taps of income and royalties from...