AP-National

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s central bank has raised its key interest rate by 5 percentage points, resuming a policy of rate hikes aimed at combating soaring inflation that is causing households severe economic pain. In a surprise decision Thursday, the central bank said it was raising its benchmark one-week repo rate to 50%. The

By The Associated Press President Vladimir Putin has thanked Russians for casting ballots in a presidential vote in which he cemented his grip on the country for another six years after the harshest crackdown on dissent since Soviet times. Any public criticism of Putin or his war in Ukraine has been stifled, independent media have

BERLIN (AP) — The German parliament has welcomed its first deaf lawmaker, who took her place in a moment that the house’s speaker described as historic. Heike Heubach narrowly missed out on a seat in parliament’s lower house, or Bundestag, in Germany’s 2021 election. But she joined the house this week as the replacement for

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The world has always loved a golden couple, especially when there are hints of trouble in paradise. Decades before millions tracked every move of Harry and Meghan, William and Kate or Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, it was the turbulent union of actors Richard Burton and Elizabeth

GENEVA (AP) — The Swiss National Bank says it’s trimming its key interest rate, a surprise move that makes Switzerland the first major financial center to announce a cut in recent months. Outgoing SNB chairman Thomas Jordan on Thursday credited the central bank’s push to rein in inflation in the wealthy Alpine country. The cut

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s main opposition Congress party is accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of stifling democracy and crippling the party by freezing its bank accounts in a tax dispute ahead of national elections. India’s 6-week-long general election will start April 19, with most polls predicting a victory

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea is poised to start suspending the licenses of thousands of striking junior doctors as punishment for their weekslong walkouts that have shaken hospital operations. The government says it will start informing the striking medical interns and residents next week of its final decision

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government wants to know how airlines handle personal information about their passengers. And whether the airlines share that personal information — and make money in the process. The U.S. Department of Transportation said Thursday that it will review privacy policies at the 10 biggest airlines. The department isn’t making allegations about

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Over 30 leaders and delegations from around the world are backing the idea of using nuclear energy to help achieve a climate-neutral globe while providing countries an added sense of economic and security independence. Such a summit would have been unthinkable a dozen years ago after the

By LORNE COOK and SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders are debating new ways to help boost arms and ammunition production for Ukraine. Ukraine’s munition stocks are desperately low, while Russia has more and better-armed troops. The leaders are also discussing how to ramp up defense spending. New plans are on

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenyan doctors have stopped providing emergency services at public hospitals, as they escalated a national strike that entered its second week. Thousands of doctors have stayed away from hospitals since last Thursday over poor pay and working conditions, despite a court order calling for talks between

By ISHTIAQ MAHSUD Associated Press DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Officials say a roadside bomb has exploded near a security convoy in northwestern Pakistan, killing two soldiers and wounding 15 others. A police official says the attack happened Thursday in Dera Ismail Khan, a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A runner-up in Indonesia’s presidential election has filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court, alleging widespread irregularities and fraud at the polls. Former Jakarta Gov. Anies Baswedan, who received nearly 41 million votes, or 24.9%, told reporters that by contesting the official results he hoped to

By STEPHEN WADE, TONG-HYUNG KIM and STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press The winning numbers for a nearly $1 billion Mega Millions lottery prize will be drawn Friday night, offering sudden riches to any lucky player who matches them and almost certain disappointment for everyone else. Since three months have passed without a winner, the Mega Millions jackpot has grown to an

By HANNA ARHIROVA and ANTON SHTUKA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia fired 31 ballistic and cruise missiles at Kyiv before dawn Thursday in the first attack on the Ukrainian capital in six weeks, officials said. Air defenses shot down all the incoming missiles, though 13 people including a child were injured by falling

By BARRY HATTON Associated Press LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A center-right alliance led by the Social Democratic Party has won Portugal’s general election by a slender margin. It is set to form a minority government that could have a difficult term in office as a radical-right populist party that came third in the voting tries

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A Communist Party newspaper says Vietnam’s Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan will be acting president after the previous president’s resignation. Xuan became vice president in 2021 and she will be serving as acting president for the second time. Analysts said a permanent candidate was unlikely

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A suicide bomber has carried out an attack at a private bank in Kandahar city in southern Afghanistan, killing at least three people and injuring 12 others. Taliban government officials say all of the victims of Thursday’s attack were people who had gathered at the branch of New Kabul Bank to collect

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks were mostly lower Friday in Asia after Wall Street tapped fresh records, led by big gains in chipmakers. Japan’s Nikkei 225 topped 41,000 for the first time early Friday but then fell back, trading 0.1% lower at 40,763.88. Chinese property and tech companies weighed on