AP-National

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Officials say the suicide bomber who rammed his car into a police station’s main gate in Pakistan’s northwest used about 264 pounds of explosives. The attack — one of the deadliest in months — killed 23 officers and wounded 32 others on Tuesday. The assault — which also

By KRISHAN FRANCIS Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The International Monetary Fund executive board has approved the release of the second tranche of a bailout package to help Sri Lanka recover from the worst economic crisis in its history. The fund says that the approval Tuesday to release $337 million came after Sri

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The head of the Turkish Football Federation says domestic soccer league matches will resume on Dec. 19. The games had been suspended after a referee was attacked by the president of a top-flight club on Monday. Mehmet Buyukeksi has also told reporters that the federation’s disciplinary board is set to announce

By WAFAA SHURAFA, JACK JEFFERY and MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian militants carried out one of the deadliest single attacks on Israeli soldiers since the Gaza invasion began, killing at least nine in an urban ambush, the military said Wednesday, a sign of the stiff resistance Hamas still poses

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis says he wants to be buried in the Rome basilica of St. Mary Major, not in the grottoes of the Vatican like other popes, so he can be near his favorite icon of the Madonna. Francis, who turns 87 on Sunday, also said he never

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is hitting hundreds of people and firms around the globe with new economic and diplomatic sanctions as the U.S. targets third-country contributors that are equipping Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions stretch from Russia to China to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The new Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his Cabinet members have taken office after being sworn in by the country’s president. Wednesday’s ceremony in the presidential palace in Warsaw marks the end of eight tumultuous years of rule by a national conservative party, Law and

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s state news agency says authorities have executed a bank guard who was convicted of fatally shooting a senior cleric in April following months of unrest. Ayatollah Abbas Ali Soleimani was the most senior member of the clergy who was killed after protests and a bloody security crackdown on demonstrators. The

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s governing coalition has reached a deal to resolve a budget crisis triggered by a court ruling last month. It agreed Wednesday to cut some subsidies and spending but stressed that Berlin will stick to plans to step up support for Ukraine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Two missiles fired from territory held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels have missed a commercial tanker carrying jet fuel near the key Bab el-Mandeb Strait, That’s according to two U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. An American warship shot

By JERRY HARMER Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — A court in Thailand has convicted and sentenced a recently elected lawmaker to six years in prison for defaming the monarchy under a controversial law that guards the royal institution. Rukchanok Srinork arrived for her court hearing Wednesday in the capital, Bangkok, as her fellow lawmakers were

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese aerospace company COMAC has showcased its domestically-developed C919 passenger jet in Hong Kong, giving officials and media a close-up look at the narrow-bodied aircraft. A welcome ceremony for the C919 and another Chinese-made jet, the ARJ21, was held at the Hong Kong international airport on

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping has met with Vietnam’s prime minister and the head of the country’s National Assembly on the second day of his visit to shore up Beijing’s relationship with Hanoi. Xi met with Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on Tuesday, and they announced

By JUSTIN KABUMBA and KRISTA LARSON Associated Press GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congo’s presidential election is a week away, and the major issue is the deadly conflict in the nation’s east that has forced millions of people to flee their homes. There are concerns that the violence will affect election logistics, but electoral officials say

By KRISTEN GELINEAU Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — In a bedroom in Malaysia that has become a prison, the 14-year-old girl wipes away tears as she sits cross-legged on the concrete floor. It is here, she says, where her 35-year-old husband rapes her nearly every night. Last year, the Rohingya girl sacrificed herself

By KRISTEN GELINEAU Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — In a bedroom in Malaysia that has become a prison, the 14-year-old girl wipes away tears as she sits cross-legged on the concrete floor. It is here, she says, where her 35-year-old husband rapes her nearly every night. Last year, the Rohingya girl sacrificed herself

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — A towering new tower aiming for the vibe of Miami Beach’s venerable Fontainebleau resort is opening on the Las Vegas Strip. The Fontainebleau Las Vegas opens to guests and gamblers just before midnight Wednesday after sitting unfinished for more than a decade. After starting it, losing

By MORGAN LEE Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Supreme Court is weighing whether to strike down local abortion bans and restrictions by conservative cities and counties at the request of the state attorney general. The court heard oral arguments Wednesday without ruling. The state’s abortion laws are among the most