Month: January 2024

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is marking Monday’s 15th anniversary of a landmark federal pay equity law with new action to help close gaps in pay for federal employees and employees of federal contractors. Despite progress since the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed into law in January

GENEVA (AP) — Shares of Holcim Ltd. have jumped Monday after the Swiss-based cement and building materials company announced plans to spin off its North American unit and list its shares in the U.S. Sunday’s announcement of the listing and spinoff comes 15 months after Holcim’s French subsidiary Lafarge pleaded guilty to paying millions of

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government says it will ban the sale of disposable vapes and limit their cornucopia of flavors to prevent children from becoming addicted to nicotine. It also says it will stick to a contentious proposal to ban today’s young people from ever buying cigarettes. It is currently

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A group of Japanese citizens, including a man of Pakistani descent, is suing the country’s police, accusing authorities of racial profiling and discrimination. The case, launched on Monday, is to be heard in Tokyo District Court. It comes as Japan has seen an influx of workers from

By ROBERT BADENDIECK and MEHMET GUZEL Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Roman Catholic church in Istanbul during Mass that killed one person. It said in a statement late Sunday that it “attacked a gathering of Christian unbelievers during their polytheistic ceremony” inside the

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they attacked a U.S. Navy mobile base at sea Monday without offering evidence, something immediately rejected by an American defense official. Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the group fired a missile at the USS Lewis B. Puller in the Gulf

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s weekend test of new cruise missiles for submarine launches has added to its provocative start to 2024, as leader Kim Jong Un flaunts his growing nuclear arsenal and threatens nuclear conflict with Washington, Seoul and Tokyo. Kim has gained confidence from the advancement

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday was forced to start this year’s parliamentary session with an apology over one of the country’s biggest corruption scandals in decades. Prosecutors recently indicted 10 people, including three lawmakers and a number of political aides. The scandal is the latest

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Monthslong tension between three coup-hit countries in West Africa and the regional bloc known as ECOWAS boiled over when the nations announced their immediate withdrawal from the bloc, accusing it of a lack of support and “inhumane” coup-related sanctions. The juntas of Niger, Mali and Burkina

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The Indian and Seychelles forces rescued two fishing vessels separately hijacked by Somali pirates and freed 23 Iranian and Sri Lankan crew members onboard the boats, both countries said in statements. The Seychelles’ defense forces and coast guard rescued six Sri Lankan fishermen whose vessel

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian state media say authorities executed four men convicted of planning sabotage and alleged links with Israel’s Mossad secret service. The official IRNA news agency said the men were convicted of planning to target a factory in 2022 belonging to Iran’s defense ministry and involved in missile and defensive equipment in

By BERNARD CONDON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump could potentially have his real estate empire ordered “dissolved” for repeated misrepresentations on financial statements to lenders in violation of New York’s powerful anti-fraud law. But an Associated Press analysis of nearly 70 years of similar cases showed Trump’s case stands apart: It’s the

By BERNARD CONDON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Within days, Donald Trump could potentially have his sprawling real estate business empire ordered “dissolved” for repeated misrepresentations on financial statements to lenders, adding him to a short list of scam marketers, con artists and others who have been hit with the ultimate punishment for violating