AP-National

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — New House Speaker Mike Johnson inherits many of the same problems that bedeviled Republican leaders with far more experience. At least for now, however, he holds favor with the ultra-conservative wing of his party that toppled previous House speakers. But can he unite House Republicans where others

By JON GAMBRELL and ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — As an Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip looms in its war with Hamas, one of the greatest threats to both its troops and all those trapped in the seaside enclave is hidden underground. An extensive labyrinth of tunnels built by Hamas stretches

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — U.N. agencies say there has been a sharp increase in Afghans returning home since Pakistan launched a crackdown on migrants who are in the country illegally. The policy targets all undocumented or unregistered foreigners, according to the government. But it mostly affects Afghans, who make up the bulk of migrants in

By KENYA HUNTER AP Health Writer State and local health departments across the U.S found out in June they’d be losing the final two years of a $1 billion investment to strengthen the ranks of people who track and try to prevent sexually transmitted diseases — especially the rapid increase of syphilis cases. The fallout

By ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hundreds of mourners have lined the streets and laid flowers near former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s childhood residence, a day after he died of a heart attack. Li was born in Hefei in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui, where he spent most of his childhood

By MARIAM FAM Associated Press For many of the university chaplains and faith leaders caring for students angered and shaken by the Israel-Hamas war, the needs are acute, the days intense. The bloodshed has roiled campuses in the United States, at times sparking rival rallies and competing demands. Kaiser Aslam, Muslim chaplain at the Center

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Halloween celebrations in South Korea are subdued on the eve of the anniversary of the harrowing party crush that killed about 160 people. Many restaurants, bars, department stores and amusement parks are avoiding Halloween-themed events as a sign of respect for the victims. Few people

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s health ministry says at least 32 people were killed and 63 others injured in a multi-vehicle pileup on a highway linking Cairo and the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. The multi-car pileup on Saturday set some vehicles ablaze. Ambulances rushed to the scene to transfer the injured to hospital to transport the

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian police say they have arrested at least 27 suspected militants believed to have links to banned extremist groups, in a nationwide crackdown as the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country gears up for elections in 2024. The police’s elite counterterrorism squad, known as Densus 88, made

ISLAMABAD The Pakistani military say two soldiers and one militant have been killed in a roadside bomb explosion and in a separate shootout during an overnight military operation in the northwest along the border with Afghanistan. Two militants were arrested. A statement said an operation was conducted in the Tirah valley of Khyber district triggered

LONDON (AP) — Kazakhstan has confirmed the nationalization of ArcelorMittal Temirtau which operates the country’s largest steel plants and several coal and ore mines following a coal mine fire that killed, according to emergency services, at least 32 workers while another 14 remained unaccounted for. Some 252 people were working on Saturday at the Kostenko

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Hundreds of Serbian officers have been dispatched into a border area with Hungary, where they detained several people after a shooting between migrants killed three people and injured one. Reports of violence and gun battles have become common near the border between Serbia and European Union member nation Hungary. Thousands of

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an explosion in a Shiite Muslim neighborhood in Afghanistan’s capital that killed at least four people. Seven others were critically wounded in the attack Thursday evening, according to Khalid Zadran, a spokesman for the Kabul police chief. The Islamic State affiliates claimed responsibility for

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian teenage girl injured weeks ago in a mysterious incident on Tehran’s Metro while not wearing a headscarf has died, state media reported Saturday. The death of Armita Geravand comes after her being in a coma for weeks in Tehran and after the

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French Jewish groups have set up a helpline for people in the community traumatized by Israel-Hamas war. Organizers say dozens are calling in every day since shortly after the Oct. 7 Hamas rampage in southern Israel. That goes from families who have lost loved ones to parents

By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A glittering crown on her head and a bouquet of flowers in her hands, Andreia Solange Sicato Muhitu beamed at being named the co-winner of the the inaugural Mr. and Miss Albinism Southern Africa pageant. The 28-year-old Angolan model has competed in beauty pageants in her

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has called on Republicans in Congress to help keep American people safe from gun violence and praised police for their efforts to track down the Maine gunman who killed 18 people. The Army reservist who opened fire in a bowling alley and then at a bar in Lewiston, Maine

By ISABEL DEBRE, JULIA FRANKEL and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the nation Saturday night that the military has opened a “second stage” in the war against Hamas by sending ground forces into Gaza and expanding attacks from the ground, air and sea. Casting the war as

By MEGAN JANETSKY Associated Press ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) — Kristian Vera stood on an Acapulco beach Saturday looking out toward dozens of sunken boats, including three of her own, all marked by floating buoys or just poking out of the water. Despite losing her livelihood in Hurricane Otis’ brutal pass through Mexico’s southern Pacific coast,

NEW YORK (AP) — A sea of hundreds of protesters filled the main concourse of New York City’s famed Grand Central Terminal during the evening rush hour Friday, chanting slogans and unfurling banners demanding a cease-fire as Israel intensified its bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Wearing black T-shirts saying “Jews say cease-fire now” and “Not