AP-National

GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO Associated Press MIAMI (AP) — When the Rev. Silvio Báez finished his homily on a recent Sunday, applause broke out among the hundreds of faithful in St. Agatha Catholic Church, on the outskirts of Miami, that has become the spiritual home of the growing Nicaraguan diaspora. For the auxiliary bishop of Managua, his

By FREIDA FRISARO Associated Press FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Why has it been raining so much in South Florida? Experts say the latest windy, rainy storm system has nothing to do with hurricane season — and it’s finally moving on. The storm system that formed over the Florida Keys this week and dumped up

By KIM COOK Associated Press There’s one room in the home where a lot of holiday memories are made — the kitchen. For years, peak kitchen design has favored serious, sleek, state-of-the-art. But as one designer puts it, many of us reminisce about family kitchens that weren’t perfect or luxurious. They were where conversations happened,

BERLIN (AP) — Five people including the founder of the Blackwater security firm have gone on trial in Austria, accused of exporting two crop-spraying aircraft that were allegedly refitted for military purposes without required permits. The trial stems from an investigation into a local firm which fits out aircraft with sensors and other equipment. Prosecutors

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Russian court on Thursday convicted an artist and musician for swapping supermarket price tags with antiwar messages, sentencing her to seven years in prison in one of the highest-profile cases involving the recent crackdown on free speech. Sasha Skochilenko was arrested in her native St.

LONDON (AP) — One year after Qatar hosted the men’s World Cup, the gas-rich emirate and soccer body FIFA have been urged by human rights group Amnesty International to do more for migrant workers. The workers’ labor in mostly searing heat was essential to prepare stadiums, transport routes and hotels for the month-long tournament. Qatar’s

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — It was the most awkward lie of the day for Rory McIlroy. The four-time major winner’s tee shot on the par-3 13th hole at the World Tour Championship somehow landed in the lap of a female spectator as she lay on grass to the right of the green. The

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Louisiana voters will return to the polls to decide runoff elections in which no candidate received a majority of the vote in the October primary. Topping the ballot on Saturday will be the race to replace Republican Kyle Ardoin as secretary of state. The Republican candidate is

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The center-right lawmaker who could become a kingmaker in coalition talks after next week’s Dutch elections said he has fundamental differences with anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders. Next Wednesday’s vote is shaping up as a neck-and-neck race. Party leaders are already looking toward what could be

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa says his country has filed a referral to the International Criminal Court for an investigation into alleged war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza. The move comes as South African lawmakers on Thursday were expected to debate a motion calling for the

LONDON (AP) — TikTok and Meta are filing legal challenges against new European Union rules designed to counter the dominance of digital giants and make online competition fairer by giving consumers more choice. TikTok said in a blog post Thursday that it’s appealing being classified as an online “gatekeeper” by the Digital Markets Act. It

By BEN WALKER AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Terry R. Taylor, the first female sports editor at The Associated Press who ran the department from 1992-2013, died Tuesday. She was 71. Retired AP Sports Writer Ben Walker worked with Taylor throughout her tenure. Here’s what he remembers.

By MARIA CHENG AP Medical Writer LONDON (AP) — Britain’s medicines regulator has authorized the world’s first gene therapy treatment for sickle cell disease, in a move that could offer relief to thousands of people with the crippling disease in the U.K. In a statement Thursday, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency said it approved

BY EMMANUEL IGUNZA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s parliament has approved the deployment of 1000 police officers to Haiti to help deal with rising gang violence in the Caribbean nation. The national assembly backed a motion tabled by parliament’s Committee on Administration and Internal Security approving the government request for sending the security

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — Luxembourg’s Christian Democrats and free-trade liberals have announced a two-party center-right coalition that will run the Grand Duchy for the next five years under Prime Minister Luc Frieden. The Christian Democrat CSV of Frieden won 21 seats in the 60-member legislature in October elections and the DP liberals of outgoing Prime Minister

By CIARÁN GILES and JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spain’s acting Socialist prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has won a parliamentary vote to form a new leftist coalition government. Sánchez was backed by 179 lawmakers in the 350-seat lower house Thursday. Only right-wing opposition deputies voted against him. The vote followed nearly two days

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission will continue the use of the controversial chemical herbicide glyphosate in the European Union for 10 more years after the 27 member countries again failed to find a common position. Representatives of EU states were unable to reach a decision last month, and a

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The airline Emirates says it will purchase 15 additional Airbus A350-900s worth $6 billion after a spat between it and the European manufacturer went unusually public during this week’s Dubai Air Show. The Emirates’ order, far smaller than initially expected, came after the airline

By SARAH TETAUD Associated Press ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar (AP) — Polling stations have closed and counting of votes is underway in Madagascar’s presidential election that was boycotted by the majority of candidates following weeks of unrest and court battles. The country’s elections management body will announce late Thursday the first nationwide trend, based on the counting