AP-National

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has kept his part of a bargain struck last year with Catalonia’s separatists to keep him in power by pushing through a divisive amnesty bill. The legislation aims to clear hundreds of secession supporters for their roles in an illegal breakaway

By EMMA BURROWS Associated Press Ukraine fired at least eight missiles at Russia’s Belgorod border region, killing two people and wounding 12, local officials said Thursday, as Kyiv’s forces apparently kept up efforts to rattle the Kremlin on the eve of Russia’s presidential election that is taking place amid a ruthless crackdown on dissent. Also,

By FARNOUSH AMIRI and REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators from both major political parties are urging congressional leaders to ensure that more visas are made available to Afghans who worked alongside U.S. troops in America’s longest war. The senators say an additional 20,000 visas are needed before the end of the fiscal

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN AP Sports Writer BRUSSELS (AP) — If Kevin De Bruyne goes back to his old haircut, he will make a perfect Tintin at the soccer European Championship this summer. The Belgium Football Association unveiled the new home and away kits for its male and female internationals on Thursday. The home kit continues

By TARA COPP and LISA MASCARO Associated Press CAMDEN, Ark. (AP) — Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown is visiting U.S. weapon factories in Oklahoma and Arkansas to address concerns over billions of dollars being sent to Ukraine and other allies when there are so many needs at home. The Pentagon has framed the roughly

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — A platoon of about 30 soldiers belonging to Belgium’s armed forces will be dismantled after serious cases of violence and harassment surfaced last year. Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder says she was informed of the violence within the Fourth Engineer Battalion by a relative of a victim. She

BRUSSELS (AP) — Farmers have disrupted traffic around Europe’s second biggest port of Antwerp and two other Belgian harbors during yet another demonstration to protest against what they say is excessive environmental rulemaking. Dozens of tractors disrupted morning rush hour traffic to and from the harbor facilities. But all shied away from a full blockade

By RALPH D. RUSSO and LINLEY SANDERS Associated Press As Dartmouth men’s basketball players move toward forming the first labor union in college sports, a majority of Americans say they are against college athletes unionizing — though younger respondents are more supportive. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim to have a new, hypersonic missile in their arsenal. That’s according to a Russian state media report Thursday. That potentially raises the stakes in their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways amid Israel’s war with Hamas

By RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Tommy John surgery, like baseball itself, is evolving to increase success and sometimes speed return. Dr. Jeffrey R. Dugas developed a procedure that cut recovery time to as little as nine months for some pitchers with torn elbow ligaments. He envisions more innovations within five-to-seven

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Three former organizers of Hong Kong’s annual vigil in remembrance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy protests have lost their bid to overturn their conviction over their refusal to provide authorities with information on the group under a national security law. Chow Hang-tung, Tang

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The camps of the two Indonesian presidential candidates who appear to have lost in an election last month said Thursday they plan to challenge the official results in the Constitutional Court with allegations of widespread fraud. Indonesians voted on Feb. 14 for a successor to popular

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is opposing the planned sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon Steel of Japan, saying the U.S. needs “strong American steel companies powered by American steel workers.” The announcement Thursday comes as the Democratic president campaigns in the Midwest and could have ripples in his

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Bannings and attempted bannings of books continue to hit record highs. That’s according to a new report from the American Library Association. On Thursday, the ALA announced that 4,240 works in schools and libraries had been targeted. It’s a substantial hike from the 2,571 books

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — A moderately strong earthquake has shaken Montenegro and neighboring countries, but there are no reports of casualties or serious damage. The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude 5.4 earthquake hit an uninhabited border area between Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina early Thursday. It was followed by a series of aftershocks. The earthquake was

By SYLVIA HUI and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British government has published a new official definition of “extremism.” Groups that get the label will be barred from receiving government funding. The move is in response to a surge in reports of antisemitism and anti-Muslim hate speech and what authorities call an

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese high court has ruled that denying same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and called for urgent government action to address the lack of any law allowing for such unions. The court does not have the power to overturn the current marriage law, and government offices may continue

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian markets retreated Friday, with Hong Kong’s benchmark falling 2%, after a mixed batch of data on the U.S. economy dashed hopes that easier interest rates are coming soon. Oil prices and U.S. futures fell. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 edged 0.1% lower to 38,751.54, while the Kospi

By RISHI LEKHI and ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Thousands of farmers are protesting in India’s capital to press their demand for a new law that would guarantee minimum crop prices. They rode in crowded trains and buses instead of their tractors to New Delhi after authorities barricaded highways leading to the

By CURT ANDERSON Associated Press Math enthusiasts around the world, from college kids to rocket scientists, celebrate Pi Day on Thursday, which is March 14 or 3/14 — the first three digits of an infinite number with many practical uses. Around the world many people will mark the day with a slice of pie —