Month: August 2023

By RIAZAT BUTT Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — After two years in power, the Taliban are entrenched as rulers of Afghanistan, facing no significant opposition that could topple them. They have avoided an internal split by falling in line behind their ideologically unbending leader and have kept a struggling economy afloat, even as the

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Seven of Hong Kong’s most prominent democracy advocates have had part of their convictions overturned over their roles in one of the biggest pro-democracy protests in 2019. The judgment involves Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper; Martin Lee, the founding chairman of the

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s official unemployment rate of 33% is the highest in the world, outstripping those of Gaza and the West Bank, Djibouti and Kosovo. Economists say it’s even higher, around 42%, if you count those who have given up looking for work and have dropped out of

OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Former NFL running back Alex Collins, who played five seasons for the Seattle Seahawks and Baltimore Ravens, was killed in a motorcycle crash in South Florida, authorities said. He was 28. Collins was driving a motorcycle that crashed into a sport-utility vehicle Sunday night in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, the Broward

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian domestic workers and activists have begun a hunger strike to protest against the parliament’s delay in passing a bill to protect domestic workers. Lita Anggraini of the National Advocacy Network for Domestic Workers said sunrise-to-sunset fasting protests on Monday were happening simultaneously in the capital,

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has been sworn in as Pakistan’s prime minister to head a caretaker government that will oversee parliamentary elections. The polls must be held within the next 90 days under the constitution. He was named by outgoing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raza Riaz

By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Islamic State group still commands between 5,000 and 7,000 members across its former stronghold in Syria and Iraq and its fighters pose the most serious terrorist threat in Afghanistan today, U.N. experts said in a report circulated Monday. The experts monitoring sanctions against the

QUINCY, Ill. (AP) — A judge has sentenced a former contestant on the television game show “Family Feud” to life in prison after he was convicted of first-degree murder in the slaying of his estranged wife in western Illinois. Forty-year-old Timothy Bliefnick showed no reaction as Adams County Circuit Judge Robert Adrian read the sentence

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Libya’s judicial authorities have formally asked Lebanon’s prosecutor general to release one of Moammar Gadhafi’s sons, who has been held without charges in Lebanon since 2015. The health of Hannibal Gadhafi has been deteriorating since he went on hunger strike on June 3, to protest his detention

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Relatives are raising questions about the police killing of a man who was trying to escape in a stolen car after an officer and police dog climbed in and the dog attacked. Connecticut’s Office of Inspector General is investigating the West Hartford police shooting of Mike Alexander-Garcia. His relatives and

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Thousands of Bosnians took to the streets to demand authorities act to curb violence against women after a man last week killed his ex-wife while streaming the slaying live on Instagram. Protests were held simultaneously in several Bosnian cities. Participants carried banners reading “Silence is approval,” “We won’t live in fear”

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A 45-year-old man was charged Tuesday with threatening to blow up a plane during a flight from Australia to Malaysia that returned to Sydney. Police arrested Canberra resident Muhammad Arif and took him from the Airbus A330 on Monday, almost three hours after Malaysia Airlines flight

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — An Indonesian search and rescue team is looking for seven people, including four Australian tourists, missing in the waters of Aceh after bad weather. The group was in a wooden speedboat that failed to arrive at its destination. A group in a second boat who had sheltered from the weather arrived

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A strong tropical storm is lashing central and western Japan with heavy rain and high winds, causing flooding and power blackouts and paralyzing transportation as many people have been traveling for a Buddhist holiday week. Lan weakened from a typhoon early Tuesday morning and made landfall in

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chance the Rapper will take Apple store customers in Chicago on his hip-hop journey as part of an audio series celebrating the genre’s 50th anniversary. The technology company announced Monday that Chance the Rapper will discuss becoming a rap. He’ll make an appearance Wednesday

By LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Testimony from FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s “trusted inner circle” of former executives at his collapsed cryptocurrency empire will be used to prove at an October trial that he misappropriated billions of dollars from his investors to fuel his businesses, make illegal campaign contributions and enrich himself,