AP-National

By TERESA MEDRANO and JAMES BROOKS Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Things are looking up for the Iberian lynx. Just over two decades ago, the pointy-eared wild cat was on the brink of extinction, but as of Thursday the International Union for Conservation of Nature says it’s no longer an endangered species. Successful conservation efforts

GENEVA (AP) — The Swiss National Bank says it has lowered its main policy rate by a quarter of a percentage point, citing a drop in “underlying inflationary pressure” despite an uptick in some costs like rents, tourism services and oil products. The central bank became the first among counterparts in major financial centers this

By ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia has resumed its aerial attacks on Ukraine’s power grid and Kyiv’s forces again targeted Russian oil storage depots with drone strikes across the border. With no major changes reported along the front line, where a recent push by the Kremlin’s forces in eastern and northeastern

By RYAN PEARSON AP Entertainment Writer INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Not content with merely taking a victory lap after winning his battle against fellow rap superstar Drake, Kendrick Lamar turned his Juneteenth “Pop Out” concert at the Forum into a cathartic livestreamed celebration of Los Angeles unity. Lamar curated a three-hour concert featuring a mix

By DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says anyone involved in using inside information to bet on the date of the July 4 national election should be expelled from his Conservative Party. Sunak said on Thursday on the BBC that he was “incredibly angry, incredibly angry” to learn of

BERLIN (AP) — A state-owned Dutch company that is the biggest electricity grid operator in Germany says talks on selling its German business to the government in Berlin have been terminated due to the administration’s budget constraints. TenneT, one of four transmission network operators in Germany, announced plans for the talks in February 2023. The

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim rejects the notion that China’s dominance is to be feared. He called China a “true friend” as Premier Li Qiang ended his visit Thursday to mark 50 years of diplomatic ties between their countries. While the leaders raised some contentious bilateral issues, Anwar said they

By ZELIPHA KIROBI Associated Press MWINGI, Kenya (AP) — Antivenom for snakebites can be hard to find in Kenya, where about 4,000 snakebite victims die every year. About 7,000 others experience paralysis or other health complications. Residents fear the problem is growing. As the forests around them shrink due to logging and agricultural expansion, snakes

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Human-caused climate change dialed up the thermostat and turbocharged the odds of this month’s killer heat that has been baking the Southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America, a new flash study found. Sizzling daytime temperatures that triggered cases of heat stroke in parts of the

By DITA ALANGKARA and EDNA TARIGAN Associated Press TANJUNGPINANG, Indonesia (AP) — Hundreds of refugees are living in community housing on an island in northwestern Indonesia while waiting for resettlement in a third country. Hotel Kolekta, a former tourist hotel there, was converted in 2015 into a temporary shelter that today houses 228 refugees from

By NICOLAS GARRIGA and JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has joined African leaders to kick off a planned $1 billion project to accelerate the rollout of vaccines in Africa. The effort comes after the coronavirus pandemic exposed gaping inequalities in access to vaccines globally. The African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator

By KEIRAN SMITH Associated Press NEWCASTLE, Australia (AP) — Australia will provide a further $1.3 million to support reconstruction efforts in Papua New Guinea after last month’s deadly landslide. The South Pacific island nation off Australia’s northern coast is still struggling with the aftermath of the disaster in Enga province in its mountainous interior. The

By LORI HINNANT, VASILISA STEPANENKO and HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — The first shock wave shattered aisles stacked almost to the ceiling with home improvement products. The next Russian bomb streaked down like a comet seconds later, unleashing flames that left the megastore an ashen shell. A third bomb failed to detonate

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England has kept its main interest rate at a 16-year high of 5.25%, even though inflation has fallen to its target of 2%. In a statement, some policymakers on the bank’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee voiced worries that some underlying measures of inflation, such

NEW DELHI (AP) — At least 34 people have died and dozens hospitalized after drinking illegally brewed liquor in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, local media reported on Thursday. The state’s chief minister M K Stalin said the 34 died after consuming liquor that was tainted with methanol, according to the Press Trust

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly lower Friday after a retreat on Wall Street, where a drop in Nvidia stock pulled stocks lower. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 edged up less than 0.1% to 38,645.63 after the government reported that the inflation rate ticked higher for the first time

By ALFREDO PEÑA Associated Press TAMPICO, Mexico (AP) — Tropical Storm Alberto, the season’s first named storm, has weakened as it moves inland over northeast Mexico — but not before bringing heavy rains to the parched region and leaving at least three dead. The storm weakened rapidly over land, but carried several inches of desperately

By CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Much of the northernmost part of New Zealand is without power after a transmission tower toppled over in a rural area. Most of the region’s 195,000 people are without electricity, and there is no indication when power will be fully restored to the area. Power

By JEFF McMILLAN Associated Press Marissa Lasoff-Santos and the person she would marry quickly fell head over heels in love. Lasoff-Santos was a gay woman. Her girlfriend was a bisexual woman — or so they thought. Now her partner has become her husband, and they both identify as queer. And things are better than ever.

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — The fate of the proposed cease-fire deal for Gaza hinges in many ways on two men: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas’ leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar. Each leader faces significant political and personal pressures that may be influencing their decision-making. And neither seems