Month: April 2023

By ISABELLA O’MALLEY Associated Press Portland General Electric, the utility that serves Portland, Oregon, announced Friday it is putting in the second-largest battery storage installation in the United States, 400 MW of power. Large batteries diminish the need for power plants that worsen climate change. The only larger standalone project in the country is Vistra

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European economy has scraped out meager growth of 0.1% in the first three months of the year. That’s barely momentum after Europe dodged a winter recession and challenges persist from inflation that corrodes people’s willingness to spend. Friday’s less-than-stellar figure follows disappointing growth estimates from the U.S. a day earlier

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Sudanese residents say heavy explosions and gunfire have rocked parts of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, and its twin city of Omdurman, despite the extension of a fragile truce between the county’s rival top generals. The military and the Rapid Support Forces traded accusations of violating the cease-fire on

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska (AP) — Two U.S. Army helicopters crashed Thursday in Alaska while returning from a training flight, killing three soldiers and injuring a fourth. Two of the soldiers died at the crash near Healy, Alaska, and a third died on the way to a hospital in Fairbanks. A fourth soldier was being

BERLIN (AP) — Climate activists are staging a 10th straight day of protests in Berlin. They blocked key roads during rush hour and brought parts of the German capital to a standstill on Friday. Members of the group Last Generation glued themselves to the road and caused long traffic jams for commuters driving into the

By KANIS LEUNG and ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Like most people in Hong Kong, taxi driver Leung Tat-chong says it feels like the city is recovering after years of protests, crackdowns and pandemic restrictions, while it also has changed forever. He’s earning almost as much as he did before the pandemic.

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — In 1953, London was still recovering from World War II. The city was pockmarked with bomb damage, food supplies were tight and life was dull for children who had never eaten anything so exotic as a banana. But the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II helped lift the

By RIAZ KHAN Associated Press PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A defense lawyer says a Chinese national who was arrested in Pakistan on charges of blasphemy has been released after a court granted him bail. Atif Khan Jadoon, the lawyer for the man who has been only identified as Mr. Tian, said Friday the Chinese national

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has canceled his election appearances for a third day after falling ill with what officials described as an intestinal infection. Erdogan is seeking a third presidential term in Turkey’s May 14 election. He had been due to appear at a bridge opening and a political rally in

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan has adopted a new five-year ocean policy that calls for stronger maritime security, including bolstering its coast guard’s capability and cooperation with the military amid China’s increasing assertiveness in regional seas. The new Basic Plan on Ocean Policy adopted by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet also

By NICOLE WINFIELD and JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis plans to outline his vision for the future of Europe during a three-day visit to Hungary starting Friday, with Russia’s war in Ukraine, migration flows and Hungary’s tense relations with Brussels looming large over the pontiff’s weekend journey. Hungarian officials say

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s navy has seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman amid wider tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program. Thursday’s seizure represents the latest-such capture in a waterway crucial for global energy supplies. The U.S. Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet identified the vessel

By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Supreme Court has upheld a death sentence for an ex-elementary school principal convicted of killing three people, including a toddler, during a gold shop robbery in 2020. The court said in a media release Friday that Prasitthichai Khaewkao’s actions were “outrageously, ruthlessly inhuman” and did not