AP-National

Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, a renowned agricultural scientist who revolutionized India’s farming and was a key architect of the country’s “Green Revolution” died Thursday. He was 98. Swaminathan died at his home in southern Chennai city after an age-related illness, news agency Press Trust of India reported. In the late

By ERIC GAY, MATTHEW LEE and LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The American soldier who sprinted into North Korea across the heavily fortified border between the Koreas more than two months ago was whisked to a Texas Army base Thursday for medical checks and interviews after his return to the U.S.,

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spanish police have raided offices of the country’s soccer federation as part of an investigation into the payment of millions of dollars over several years by Barcelona to a former vice president of Spain’s refereeing committee. The Guardia Civil says its police have searched the offices

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy (AP) — The three letters Brooks Koepka represents in the Ryder Cup are USA. Not LIV. The five-time major champion stands out for many reasons at golf’s biggest events. This time it’s obvious. He’s the only player from LIV Golf who has made it back to

By KARL RITTER Associated Press STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s prime minister has summoned the head of the military to discuss how the armed forces can help police deal with an unprecedented crime wave that has shocked the country with almost daily shootings and bombings. Getting the military involved in crime-fighting would be a highly unusual

By ISSAM ADWAN Associated Press GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel has reopened a main crossing with the Gaza Strip, allowing thousands of Palestinian laborers to enter the country for the first time since it was sealed last week. The crossing reopens after weeks of violent protests along Gaza’s frontier with Israel, where demonstrators

CAIRO (AP) — Security officials say that at least five Yemeni fighters from a secessionist group were killed in clashes with suspected al-Qaida militants in the country’s south. A provincial security department said the deadly fighting broke out Wednesday night between a fighting force loyal to Yemen’s secessionist Southern Transitional Council and al-Qaida militants in

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Asian markets were mixed on Friday, with only a few open due to public holidays across the region. U.S. futures and oil prices edged higher. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index was down 0.3% at 31,764.01. In Bangkok, the SET declined 0.5%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4% to

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — China’s ambassador to Australia has criticized Australian politicians who visit Taiwan, saying they are being utilized by separatists on the self-governing island. Ambassador Xiao Qian was commenting in Sydney after an Australian parliamentary delegation visited Taiwan this week, and as a former prime minister plans to

By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — A court in Thailand has acquitted four national park employees, including a senior official, of the kidnapping and murder of an Indigenous rights activist who disappeared under suspicious circumstances more than nine years ago. The activist, Porlajee Rakchongcharoen, was last seen in the custody of Kaeng Krachan

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — A shooting incident in the Slovak capital has left one person dead and four others injured. The rescue service in Bratislava said that a 32-year-old man died and four other people were transported to hospitals with injuries. The incident occurred in the Dubravka neighborhood after midnight on Thursday. Police spokesman Michal

By STEPHEN WADE AP Sports Writer HANGZHOU, China (AP) — The centuries-old card game of bridge is being played at the Asian Games. Esports, chess, and bridge are among the so-called mind sports with full medal status at the two-week long, multi-sports event with more than 12,000 participants. The games offer all the traditional Olympics

By TIA GOLDENBERG and MOSHE EDRI Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Supreme Court spent eight hours Thursday hearing a challenge to a law that makes it harder to remove a sitting prime minister. Critics say the law is designed to protect Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been working to reshape the justice system

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Right Livelihood Award — known as the “Alternative Nobel” — has been awarded to two environment activists from Kenya and Cambodia, a human right defender from Ghana and a humanitarian group that rescues migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. The award foundation said Thursday the

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — A Swiss Academy of Sciences panel is reporting a dramatic acceleration of glacier melt in the Alpine country, which has lost 10% of its ice volume in just two years after high summer heat and low snow volumes in winter. The academy says Switzerland — home to

By AVET DEMOURIAN and GAIANE YENOKIAN Associated Press YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — The separatist government of Nagorno-Karabakh says it will dissolve itself and the unrecognized republic will cease to exist by the end of the year. Armenian officials say over 78,000 people — about 65% of the region’s population of 120,000 — has already left

By EDNA TARIGAN and NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Chinese-owned app TikTok says it regrets the Indonesian government’s decision to ban e-commerce transactions on social media platforms and particularly the impact it would have on the millions of sellers who use TikTok Shop. But TikTok Indonesia said in a statement it will

BERLIN (AP) — Volkswagen says production is resuming after a problem with the German automaker’s information technology network caused a severe disruption. Volkswagen said on Wednesday evening that the IT disruption caused production to halt at its four vehicle manufacturing plants in Germany — its Wolfsburg headquarters, Emden, Zwickau and Osnabrueck. It also affected some

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s government has banned a book following protests over what was perceived as an insulting depiction of an Indonesian maid, and the book’s author has apologized for the offensive material and says it was misunderstood. Boey Chee Ming, a Malaysian artist now based in the U.S., said he was shocked

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Dozens of people from around the world lined up on a sunny morning this week in front of a former mental health hospital in Berlin to apply for asylum in Germany. There were two older women from Moldova. A young man from Somalia sat next to them