AP-National

By The Associated Press The ruble has dropped against the U.S. dollar in trading in Moscow to it lowest level since the first month of the war in Ukraine. The decline Friday to 96 rubles against the dollar continued the Russian currency’s consistent fall since the beginning of the year, when it traded at around

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates has approved the release of the “Barbie” movie after a three-week delay over possible content issues. UAE officials didn’t explain the screening delay, which has also occurred in other Arab nations. The movie’s inclusion of a transgender actress in one of the Barbie roles could

By NICOLE WINFIELD, BARRY HATTON and PIETRO DE CRISTOFARO Associated Press LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Pope Francis led an estimated 800,000 people in a meditation on the scourges of violence, poverty and intolerance Friday at World Youth Day, as the Portuguese government weighed in on an incident of intolerance directed at LGBTQ+ pilgrims attending the

By DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press SPATA, Greece (AP) — A zoo outside Athens is feeding animals with frozen meals to help shield them from the searing heat as heat wave temperatures return to Greece. Tiembe the lion’s breakfast on Friday consisted of chunks of red meat and bone packed in a foot-long block of ice.

By STEPHEN MCGRATH and ANDREEA ALEXANDRU Associated Press BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Andrew Tate, the divisive internet influencer who is charged in Romania with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, won an appeal on Friday to be released from house arrest, his spokesperson said. Tate won’t be able to

By JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian health officials say that two Palestinians were killed in the West Bank Friday — an 18-year-old by Israeli fire during a military raid into the northern West Bank and a 19-year old by Israeli settlers elsewhere in the territory. The Palestinian Health Ministry said Friday that

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus’ veterinarians association on Friday lauded a government decision to allow its stock of human coronavirus medication to be used on cats to fight a local mutation of a feline virus that has killed thousands of animals on the Mediterranean island but can’t be transmitted to

By ALI ZERDIN Associated Press LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — Heavy rains have caused flash floods and landslides in parts of Slovenia, killing at least three people. The deluge that started late Thursday and continued overnight blocked roads and bridges, surged into buildings and forced evacuations. Slovenia’s environmental agency raised the weather alert to the highest

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia’s Council of Ministers is declaring a state of emergency in the country’s Amhara region after authorities pleaded for help as clashes intensify between regional forces and the military. The prime minister’s office announced the decision after the region’s leader said regular law enforcement was no longer able to contain the

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top court on Friday temporarily halted the criminal defamation conviction of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi for mocking the prime minister’s surname. His party said it would now seek to have Gandhi reinstated as a member of parliament. A fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s Central Bank announced a new hike in interest rates as the cash-strapped North African country battles surging inflation and a depreciating currency. The bank said Thursday that its monetary policy committee agreed to increase its most basic lending rate from 18.25% to 19.75%. Egyptian, particularly working class households, are struggling to

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — When Clarisse Agbégnénou won her sixth world judo title, confirming the reigning Olympic champion as one of the athletes to watch at next year’s Paris Games, the French star’s smallest but greatest fan was less wild about her mother’s newest gold medal than she was about her

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Austria’s leader is proposing to enshrine in the country’s constitution a right to use cash, which remains more popular in the Alpine nation than in many other places. Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in a statement on Friday that “more and more people are concerned that cash could

By HANNA ARHIROVA and EMMA BURROWS Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine said its sea drones struck a major Russian port Friday and damaged a warship in an attack that underlined Kyiv’s growing naval capabilities as the Black Sea becomes an increasingly important battleground in the war. The strike on Novorossiysk halted maritime traffic

By SAM MEDNICK and CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Defense chiefs from West African nations finalized an intervention plan Friday and urged militaries to ready resources after negotiations deadlocked with Niger’s military junta, which says it is severing military agreements with France, its former colonial ruler. With two days remaining before a

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — China is lifting a stifling 3-year-old tariff on Australian barley in a sign of an improving bilateral trade relationship since Australia’s government changed. China effectively closed its door to Australian barley in May 2020 by imposing an 80.5% tariff after the previous Australian government angered Beijing

By YUCHENG TANG Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Eight people were killed when a freight train struck a pickup truck crossing the tracks in an eastern province of Thailand. The State Railway of Thailand says the accident at 2:20 a.m. Friday also injured four people in the Muang district of Chachoengsao province. The railway agency

By STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks closed lower following mixed reports about the U.S. job market and profits at two of Wall Street’s most influential stocks. The S&P 500 fell 0.5% Friday, its fourth straight loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 150 points, or 0.4%, and the Nasdaq composite

By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s main opposition leader accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa of violating the law and tearing apart independent institutions to cling to power. In an interview with The Associated Press, Nelson Chamisa also warned that any evidence of tampering by Mnangagwa’s ruling party in upcoming elections could lead