Month: August 2023

GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s government has lined up with the European Union’s 11th round of sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine. The Swiss executive branch said Wednesday the new measures adopted by the European bloc on June 23 would take effect in Switzerland later in the day. Switzerland is not a member of

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI Associated Press LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan State University Board of Trustees on Wednesday authorized the school to request liquor licenses to sell alcohol at four football games beginning with a Sept. 16 game against the University of Washington. Alcohol sales had previously been banned at public university sporting venues until

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The official Dutch statistics office says the Netherlands has fallen into a recession after exports and household spending fell back amid rising interest rates intended to rein in inflation. Statistics Netherlands reported Wednesday that the economy declined by 0.3% in the second quarter after shrinking 0.4% in the first three

By MARTÍN ADAMES ALCÁNTARA Associated Press SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The death toll from this week’s powerful explosion in the Dominican Republic rose to 27 on Wednesday as firefighters continued efforts to extinguish the persistent fire set off by the blast, the national emergency director said. Juan Manuel Méndez, director of the Center

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad has doubled public sector wages and pensions as the war-torn country’s national currency spiraled further downwards, reaching a new low for the year. The value of the Syrian pound against the US dollar has declined from 7,000 pounds in January to 15,000 pounds

By RAHMAT MIRZA Associated Press TEUPIN REUSEUP, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities on Wednesday burned a marijuana plantation in the northern province of Aceh after it was discovered by drones. A joint team of the National Narcotic Agency, known as BNN, and the National Research and Innovation Agency using drones detected 4.5 hectares (11 acres)

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press BROOKHAVEN, Miss. (AP) — A police dispatcher and a detective testified Wednesday in the trial of two white men in Mississippi who are accused of chasing and shooting at a Black FedEx driver who had dropped off a package at a home. Brandon Case and his father, Gregory Charles

By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Rescuers have recovered the bodies of 33 people from a landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar and are searching for three people believed to be missing. In the landslide on Sunday in Hpakant, the center of the world’s largest jade mining district, earth and debris

By JOHN PYE AP Sports Writer SYDNEY (AP) — Lauren Hemp didn’t let the Women’s World Cup semifinal match between Australia and England become the Sam Kerr show. Hemp scored to restore England’s lead eight minutes after a superb equalizer from Kerr, and then provided a perfect pass for the clincher as the Lionesses moved

By ASIM TANVEER and MUNIR AHMED Associated Press MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — Police say a Muslim mob has attacked a Christian area in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, burning a church, damaging four others and demolishing a man’s house after accusing him of desecrating Islam’s holy book. A local police chief says Wednesday’s attack happened in

BEIJING (AP) — Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press appear to show China is constructing an airstrip on a South China Sea island also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. The work on Triton island in the Paracel group mirrors construction on seven human-made islands in the Spratly group to the east which have been

By DAVID BRUNAT Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spanish Civil Guard police have arrested five French tourists and one Swiss for allegedly gang-raping an 18-year-old British woman on the Spanish island of Mallorca. The Civil Guard press office on the island said Wednesday that the six men, all in their 20s, have been jailed

GOODHUE, Minn. (AP) — A small Minnesota town will soon be without a police department. The exodus was spurred by low pay for the chief and his officers. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the Goodhue police chief and one other officer are still on the force. But that’s only until their resignations become official

By JEFF McMURRAY Associated Press The Biden administration has announced nearly $200 million in federal infrastructure grants to upgrade tunnels that carry streams beneath roads but can be deadly to fish that get stuck trying to pass through. Many of these passages known as culverts were built in the 1950s. They’re blamed in part for

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s president has urged a continuation of his educational reforms to turn Southeast Asia’s largest economy into one of the world’s biggest by its hundredth anniversary in 2045. President Joko Widodo said in his annual state of the nation speech a day before Indonesia celebrates its

By LIUDAS DAPKUS Associated Press VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuania has decided to temporarily close two of its six checkpoints with Belarus this week amid growing tensions with its eastern neighbor, an ally of Russia. Wednesday’s decision came as Lithuanians grow increasingly worried about the presence of Russia-linked Wagner group mercenaries in Belarus. The head

HONG KONG (AP) — Intel is terminating a $5.4 billion agreement to acquire Israeli chip manufacturer Tower Semiconductor after China failed to sign off on the deal amid deteriorating US-China relations. Both Intel and Tower said they had mutually agreed to call off the deal. Intel said that the deal was terminated as it did

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic has completed the ratification of a defense treaty with the United States that deepens military cooperation and makes it easier to deploy U.S. troops in Czech territory. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s signature on Wednesday was the final step in the ratification process of the Defense Cooperation Agreement, which

By SALLY FRENCH of NerdWallet To save money on Europe travel in 2023, look to second cities (usually the second-largest city in a popular tourist region) for lighter crowds. If possible, be flexible with travel days, whether that’s traveling during shoulder season or adjusting your departure date by just one day. And if your flight