AP-National

By KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna says China’s cooperation is vital on an issue that has divided it and much of Europe: ending the war in Ukraine. She held meetings in Beijing on Friday that underscored an effort by both sides to continue a dialogue despite their growing

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The top diplomats from South Korea, Japan and China are gathering in South Korea this weekend to discuss resuming their leaders’ summit, among other regional issues. Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Friday that the meeting will take place Sunday in the southeastern city of Busan. An

By ANNA FRANTS Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — The shelves at Moscow supermarkets are full of fruit and vegetables, cheese and meat. But many of the shoppers look at the selection with dismay as inflation makes their wallets feel empty. Russia’s Central Bank has raised its key lending rate four times this year to try

By NAJIB JOBAIN, JOSEF FEDERMAN and JACK JEFFERY Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas on Friday released 24 hostages it held captive in Gaza for weeks, and Israel freed 39 Palestinians from prison in the first stage of a swap under a four-day cease-fire that offered a small glimmer of relief to both

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — After the latest, horrifying killing of a college student allegedly by her resentful and jealous ex-boyfriend, students from Turin to Palermo have taken to pounding on classroom desks in unison to demand a stop to the slaying of women in Italy at the hands of men. Just

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal inspectors have twice found hundreds of defects in the locomotives and railcars Union Pacific was using at the world’s largest railyard in Nebraska, but none of those seem to explain why a shipping container filled with toxic acid exploded there this fall. The Sept.

By GERALD IMRAY and MARIA CHENG Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa, Colombia and other countries that lost out in the global race for coronavirus vaccines are taking a more combative approach towards drugmakers and pushing back on policies that deny cheap treatment to millions of people with tuberculosis and HIV.

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer Stocks drifted to a mixed finish Friday after a half-day trading session capped a holiday shortened week that left the major indexes with their fourth straight winning week. The S&P 500 inched up 0.1% after wavering between small gains and losses much of the day. The Dow Jones Industrial

By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press When Daniel Skousen scrubs at the ash and soot covering his Maui home, he worries about the smell. What chemicals created the burning-trash-barrel scent that has lingered since a deadly wildfire tore through Lahaina in August? Should he believe government agencies’ assessment of when the air, land and water will

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s new constitutional protections for abortion access and other reproductive rights take effect Dec. 7, a month after voters resoundingly passed them. How and when their impacts are felt remains unclear. Existing abortion-related lawsuits are moving again through the courts now that voters have decided

NEW DELHI (AP) — The Afghan Embassy says it is permanently closing in New Delhi over challenges from the Indian government and a lack of diplomatic support. It said the decision announced Friday was already in effect from Thursday and follows the embassy’s earlier move to cease operations starting Oct. 1 due to the absence

By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO and ALEXANDRA OLSON AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Shoppers venturing out to malls and stores on Black Friday found perks from champagne to virtual reality experiences and old-fashioned doorbusters, as retailers tried to entice customers who are resisting splurges and impulse buying this year. Consumers are under pressure as their

By DAVID A. LIEB Associated Press Distraught by a romantic breakup, 16-year-old Kenny Batson vented his hurt by stomping out the windshields of cars on a for-sale lot. He landed in juvenile detention, but that was only the beginning of his trouble. Over the ensuing years, Batson stole cigarettes, booze and cars for drunken joyrides

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Just as they have for millions of years, sea turtles by the thousands made their labored crawl from the ocean to U.S. beaches to lay their eggs over the past several months. This year, record nesting was found in Florida and elsewhere despite growing

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s main opposition party Nationalist Party has announced a veteran politician as its vice presidential candidate as hopes for a cross-party alliance to challenge the ruling Democratic Progressive Party have fractured. Hou Yu-ih said former legislator and Cabinet member Chao Shao-kang would be his running mate

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The founding editor of The Washington Monthly magazine and its editor-in-chief for three decades, Charles Peters, has died. He was 96. In confirming Peters’ death, the journal reported that he had been in declining health for several years, mainly from congestive heart failure. A native of Charleston, West Virginia, Peters

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Prosecutors say three journalists and two of their relatives have been abducted by armed men in the violence-plagued southern state of Guerrero. The state prosecutors office said Thursday that all five people were abducted in Taxco, a colonial town frequented by tourists. The online news site The Afternoon Chronicle said its

HAVANA (AP) — Thousands of people led by Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel have marched along Havana’s iconic boardwalk in solidarity with the Palestinian people and demanding an end to the war between Israel and Hamas. Díaz-Canel was accompanied Thursday by Cuba’s main leaders, including Prime Minister Manuel Marrero and Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez. The marchers

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealanders can expect tax cuts, more police on the streets and less government bureaucracy, according to the three leaders who signed an agreement Friday to form a new government. The coalition deal ended nearly six weeks of intense negotiations after New Zealand held a

By GERALD IMRAY and MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Double-amputee Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius was granted parole on Friday, more than a decade after shooting his girlfriend through a toilet door at his home in South Africa in a killing that jolted the world. He will be released from prison on