AP-National

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and leading officials from several Middle Eastern countries in Madrid on Wednesday after Spain, Ireland and Norway recognized a Palestinian state. The diplomatic move by the three western European nations on Tuesday was slammed

DORTMUND, Germany (AP) — Borussia Dortmund has signed a new sponsorship deal with German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall and will display the defense company’s logo ahead of facing Real Madrid in the Champions League final. Dortmund says the three-year deal with Rheinmetall includes “wide-reaching advertising space, marketing rights and event and hospitality arrangements in the stadium

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Hopes for interest rate cuts this year by the Federal Reserve are steadily fading, with a stream of recent remarks by Fed officials underscoring their intention to keep borrowing costs high as long as needed to curb persistently elevated inflation. A key reason for the delay

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office says police have searched the residence of an employee of the European Parliament and his office in the Parliament’s building in Brussels over suspected Russian interference. They said Wednesday that the suspect’s office in Strasbourg, where the EU Parliament’s headquarters are located in

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran says that Saudi Arabia expelled six members of a crew from its state television broadcaster after they had been detained for nearly a week in the kingdom ahead of the Hajj. The incident comes a year after Riyadh and Tehran reached a Chinese-mediated detente. There have been tensions

By AAMER MADHANI and SEUNG MIN KIM Associated Press PHILADELPHIA (AP) — President Joe Biden renewed his election-year pitch to Black voters on Wednesday, lashing out at Donald Trump’s “MAGA lies” and saying the winner of this year’s White House race will make crucial decisions, including on nominees for the Supreme Court, that could affect

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The top-ranking Republican on a Senate committee that oversees the military is calling for a “generational investment” in America’s defense, saying aggressive and significant spending increases are necessary to deter coordinated threats from U.S. adversaries such as Russia, Iran and China. Sen. Roger Wicker told The Associated

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The U.S. has appointed a new representative to Taiwan as China boosts its threats against the self-ruled island following the election of a new president who wants the territory to maintain its de-facto independence. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and this week staged naval and air force drills that

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Police say militants have burned a girls’ school in a former Pakistani Taliban stronghold, destroying furniture, computers and books. No one was hurt in the overnight attack in North Waziristan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. A police official said Wednesday that officers are still investigating to determine who was behind

By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA Associated Press KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — One of the greatest Mount Everest guides on Wednesday expressed concerns about the peak’s growing piles of garbage, as he was honored by his government to mark Everest Day. Sherpa guide Kami Rita, who has scaled Mount Everest a record 30 times, was honored by Nepal’s

LONDON (AP) — The owner of Britain’s Royal Mail says it has accepted a 3.6 billion pound ($4.6 billion) takeover offer from Czech investor Daniel Křetínský. Under the deal, Křetínský’s EP Group would buy International Distribution Services, which owns Royal Mail, for 370 pence ($4.72) per share. Including debt, the deal values IDS at 5.2

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden will give $1.23 billion in military aid to Ukraine, in its largest donation so far. It includes air defense, artillery ammunition and armored vehicles. Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonsson reiterated that the Nordic country has ruled out for now sending any Swedish-built JAS 39

By FATIMA HUSSEIN and SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A senior U.S. Treasury official has meet with Ukrainian officials in Kyiv to discuss U.S. financial support, enforcing sanctions on Russia and using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine’s benefit in the war with Moscow. The visit by Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo came as Russia

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer The International Monetary Fund has upgraded its forecast for China’s economy, while warning that reforms are needed to sustain growth. The IMF said the world’s second-largest economy will likely grow at a 5% annual rate this year, based on its growth in the first quarter and recent moves to

By EMILY TATE SULLIVAN of EdSurge PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — Standing in her living room, Isabel Valencia sets up her makeshift tennis serve with the materials on hand: a green balloon for a ball and a ruler affixed to a paper plate for a racket. She bats the balloon to her home visitor, Mayra Ocampo,

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer Shares retreated Thursday in Asia after U.S. stocks fell under the weight of higher yields in the bond market, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average giving up more than 400 points. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 benchmark shed 1.5% to 37,980.55 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong declined 0.6% to

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Around 400 million European Union citizens are electing members of the European Parliament in one of the biggest global democratic events. Far-right parties are seeking to gain more power amid a rise in the cost of living and farmers’ discontent, while the wars in Gaza and Ukraine

By CHISATO TANAKA Associated Press STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — Sweden became NATO’s 32nd member in March. The abrupt end to the Scandinavian country’s 200 years of neutrality following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has worried many. Teenagers are no exception, especially after officials’ warnings about the Russian threat to Sweden itself. Now teachers and Sweden’s

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Officials say a speeding passenger bus fell off a highway into a ravine in southwest Pakistan, killing 28 people and injuring 20. Pictures in local media showed the wreckage at the bottom of a rocky ravine. Police said the driver suddenly lost control in Washuk town as the bus was traveling

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Authorities in Papua New Guinea are searching for safer ground to relocate thousands of survivors at risk from a potential second landslide in the South Pacific country’s highlands, while the arrival of heavy earth-moving equipment at the disaster site where hundreds are buried has been delayed. Emergency