AP-National

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A new law has been passed in Denmark’s parliament that makes it illegal to desecrate any holy text in the country. The vote on Thursday came after a recent string of public desecrations of the Quran by a handful of anti-Islam activists sparked angry demonstrations

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged $4.5 billion to Ukraine, including $1 billion in humanitarian aid to help support the war-torn country’s recovery efforts. Kishida made the announcement late Wednesday in Tokyo while hosting his last Group of Seven summit as this year’s chairperson. The $1

By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer Tennis pro Nick Kyrgios is setting up a free-to-access OnlyFans page. Kyrgios is a 28-year-old Australian who was the runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2022 but was sidelined by injuries for nearly all of this past season. He played in just one official singles match in 2023.

By AMANDA SEITZ and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is putting pharmaceutical companies on notice. Washington is warning them that if the price of certain drugs is too high, the government might cancel their patent protection and allow rivals to make their own versions. Under a plan announced Thursday, the

LONDON (AP) — European Union talks on comprehensive artificial intelligence regulations were paused after 22 straight hours. Officials haven’t yet hammered out a deal on a rulebook for the rapidly advancing technology behind popular services like ChatGPT. European Commissioner Thierry Breton tweeted that talks that ran through the night into Thursday would resume on Friday.

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer U.S. applications for jobless benefits ticked up last week, but the overall number of people in the U.S. collecting unemployment benefits fell after hitting its highest level in two years last week. Unemployment benefits claims rose by 1,000 to 220,000 for the week ending Dec. 2, the Labor Department

By FRANCIS KOKUTSE and SAM METZ Associated Press ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — The United Nations’ top peacekeeping official has defended its missions worldwide even as many countries where peacekeepers operate are demanding their withdrawal. Undersecretary General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said in Accra on Wednesday that missions were underfunded but still effective. He noted

By JOSEF FEDERMAN and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The United States has offered strong support to Israel in its war against the Hamas militant group that rules the Gaza Strip. But the allies are increasingly at odds over what will happen to Gaza once the war winds down. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Two international human rights groups say two Israeli strikes that killed a Reuters videographer and wounded six other journalists in south Lebanon nearly two months ago were apparently deliberate and a direct attack on civilians. The investigation by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch was released Thursday.

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — For months, Albanian opposition parties have used flares and noise to disrupt Parliament, in protest at what they describe as the authoritarian rule of the governing Socialist Party. On Thursday, lawmakers passed the annual budget and other laws, despite opposition claims that the Socialists have blocked

By KATHY McCORMACK and STEVE LeBLANC Associated Press WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) — A pickup truck driver in a Boston suburb is accused of crashing into a police officer and a utility employee at a work site, killing both, then pulling a knife on another officer before stealing his cruiser and crashing, law enforcement officials said.

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The U.K. government says that Russia’s intelligence services have targeted high-profile British politicians, civil servants and journalists with cyberespionage and “malicious cyberactivity” as part of sustained attempts to interfere in U.K. political processes. The Foreign Office says Russia’s FSB agency was responsible for a range of cyberespionage

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Benjamin Zephaniah, a British poet, political activist and actor who drew huge inspiration from his Caribbean roots, has died. He was 65. Zephaniah died Thursday after being diagnosed with a brain tumor eight weeks ago, his family said in a statement on Instagram. “We shared him with

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska (AP) — The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced Thursday that it will donate $100 million to expand its work on economic mobility in the U.S. The country’s largest foundation says the commitment represents a change in how it operates by putting more power in the hands

By EMILIE CHETTY Associated Press VICTORIA, Seychelles (AP) — The president of Seychelles has declared an emergency after a huge blast at an explosives depot that followed deadly flooding on the country’s main island. President Wavel Ramkalawan said three people have died in the flooding. The health ministry said 178 people were injured in the

By JIWON SONG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Olympic committee is pushing to send hundreds of athletes to a navy training center to enhance their mental toughness ahead of the Paris Olympics. The move has prompted criticism that it’s outdated and regressive. The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee says it recently

AMSTERDAM (AP) — A court in the Netherlands says it will rule in two weeks on the sentence for a man convicted in Canada in a notorious cyberbullying case. Judges at the Amsterdam District Court have to convert the 13-year sentence a Canadian court gave to Aydin Coban. He was convicted last year of crimes

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in sometimes angry testimony to Britain’s inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic, on Thursday defended himself against suggestions that his indifference and failure to heed the advice of scientists led to thousands of unnecessary deaths. In a second day of sworn testimony, Johnson rejected

By SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Chinese naval vessels have become the first ships to dock at a new pier at a Cambodian naval base that the United States and some international security experts say is destined to serve as a strategic outpost for Beijing’s navy. The docking of the two