AP-National

LONDON (AP) — A political standards watchdog says a U.K. Conservative lawmaker who offered to lobby on behalf of gambling interests should be suspended from Parliament for 35 days. The Commons Standards Committee said Scott Benton offered to lobby government ministers and table parliamentary questions when he met with what he believed were gambling investors.

PARIS (AP) — An investigation was opened following the death last week of a French actress who was among those accusing movie star Gérard Depardieu of sexual misconduct, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Thursday. Actress Emmanuelle Debever published a post on Facebook in 2019 that Depardieu had groped her in 1982 while they were acting

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — A top European Union official has praised an agreement that would see Albania host thousands of migrants picked up at sea and transferred there by the Italian authorities. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s approval comes just as the Albanian Constitutional Court held up  the deal

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian opposition lawmakers have disrupted the opening of a new session of Parliament, demanding an investigation into the government for alleged corruption. Bodyguards on Thursday blocked the entrance to the Parliament building, refusing admission to opposition lawmakers who started previous outbreaks of violence in the assembly.

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer Artificial intelligence went mainstream in 2023 — it was a long time coming yet has a long way to go for the technology to match people’s science fiction fantasies of human-like machines. Catalyzing a year of AI fanfare was ChatGPT. The chatbot gave the world a glimpse of recent

LONDON (AP) — The father, stepmother and uncle of a 10-year-old girl found dead in her U.K. home have pleaded not guilty to murder charges. Sara Sharif’s body was discovered under a blanket in a bunk bed at her home in southern England on Aug. 10. Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, 41; his partner Beinash Batool,

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The dire humanitarian situation in Gaza is prompting more European Union countries to support the idea of a humanitarian cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas. Ireland’s prime minister Leo Varadkar said Thursday the EU is losing its credibility because of a lack of a strong

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says Moscow is in dialogue with the United States on the issue of bringing home jailed Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich. Putin spoke about Whelan and Gershkovich during his year-end press conference on Thursday. He said the Kremlin hopes to “find a solution,” even though “it’s not

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is calling for an international treaty to ensure artificial intelligence is developed and used ethically. He says a treaty is needed because the risks of technology lacking human values of compassion, mercy and forgiveness are too great. Francis added his voice to increasing calls for

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s justice minister says the son of the president of Somalia will return to Turkey in the coming days to face trial over a fatal highway crash in Istanbul. A 38-year-old motorcycle courier was hit by a car driven by the Somalia president’s son, Mohammed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, on a highway

PARIS (AP) — Greta Gerwig, actor, writer and film director, notably for the blockbuster “Barbie,” will preside over the jury of the 77th Cannes Festival in May, the first American female film director to be named jury president, the festival announced Thursday. At 40, Gerwig is also the youngest person to take on that role

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Appeals judges at a special Kosovo court have upheld the convictions of a former commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army for arbitrarily detaining and torturing prisoners and murdering one of them during Kosovo’s war for independence. The appeals panel cut his sentence by four years

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says former President Donald Trump’s economic policies toward China left America “more vulnerable and more isolated” in the global economy. It’s a rare jab by her at the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. Yellen made the comment at a U.S.-China Business Council

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Three people have been arrested in coordinated actions across Denmark and one person in the Netherlands. Danish police said Thursday, that they plotting to carry out “a act of terror.” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said the situation was “extremely serious.” A senior official from

By COURTNEY BONNELL and DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writers LONDON (AP) — The attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have rerouted trade away from a crucial corridor for consumer goods and energy supplies. That’s delaying shipments and raising transport costs. Oil, natural gas, grain and everything from toys

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Olympic chief has defended a decision to send hundreds of athletes to a military camp next week as part of preparations for the 2024 Games in Paris. The official cited a need to instill mental toughness in athletes who he says have underachieved

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A U.N. report says Taliban officials are sending Afghan women to prison to protect them from gender-based violence. Before the Taliban seized power in 2021, there were 23 state-sponsored specialized women protection centers in Afghanistan where survivors of gender-based violence could seek refuge. Now there are none, the U.N. report said Thursday.

By JULIA FRANKEL, PAUL HAVEN and WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s defense minister said it will take months to destroy Hamas, predicting a drawn-out war even as his country and its top ally, the United States, face increasing international isolation and alarm over the devastation from the campaign in Gaza.

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares powered higher on Friday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to another record on excitement that the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates several times next year. U.S. futures and oil prices also advanced. Hong Kong led Asia’s gains with property developers jumping

By ZEN SOO and ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writers HONG KONG (AP) — The World Bank is forecasting that China’s economy will slow next year, with annual growth falling to 4.5% from 5.2% this year. The report issued Thursday said the recovery of the world’s second-largest economy from setbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic, among other