AP-National

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar, once a thriving emerging economy, is struggling to regain momentum as the country’s civil war increasingly disrupts trade and livelihoods. World Bank economists estimate the country’s economy grew at a 1% annual pace in the year that ended in March, A World Bank report issued

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — At least 41 people died when a fire swept through a building that housed workers in Kuwait early Wednesday, and officials said the blaze appeared to be linked to code violations. Interior Minister Sheikh Fahad Al-Yousuf Al-Sabah confirmed the toll and ordered the arrest of the building’s owner during

By JULHAS ALAM Associated Press DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A special judge’s court in Bangladesh has indicted Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus and 13 others on charges in an over $2 million embezzlement case. Yunus, 83, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering microcredit to help impoverished people, pleaded not guilty and

By BASSEM MROUE and JACK JEFFERY Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that mediators would keep trying to close an elusive cease-fire deal for Gaza after Hamas proposed changes to a U.S.-backed plan, some of which he said were “workable” and some not. The back-and-forth laid bare frustration

By JAMES ELLINGWORTH AP Sports Writer DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Six years ago, Ilkay Gündogan’s place on the German national team was in question over a photograph with Turkey’s president. Now he’s the team captain. When Gündogan leads the German national team out against Scotland in the European Championship opener Friday, he will be its

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose Thursday, as investors turned their attention to what the Bank of Japan might decide on monetary policy later this week. The Bank of Japan is not expected to raise its benchmark rate when it wraps up its meeting on Friday, but the

GENEVA (AP) — U.N.-backed human rights experts say in a report issued Wednesday that Israeli forces and Palestinian militants engaged in sexual and gender-based violence during the first months of the Israel-Hamas war. The independent experts, in a detailed chronicling of events that have mostly been reported in the media, said Israeli forces and Palestinian

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials said inflation has fallen further toward their target level in recent months but signaled that they expect to cut their benchmark interest rate just once this year. The policymakers’ forecast for one rate cut was down from a previous forecast of three, likely

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s top trade official is predicting China will lift a ban on Australian lobster imports after Chinese Premier Li Qiang visits the country. That would end the final obstacle for exports to China since it imposed a series of official and unofficial trade barriers in 2020.

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hailed the country’s expanding relationship with Russia on Wednesday, as reports suggest that Russian President Vladimir Putin will soon visit the country for his third meeting with Kim. Military, economic and other cooperation between North Korea and Russia have

By OMAR ALBAM and ABBY SEWELL Associated Press IDLIB, Syria (AP) — For more than a decade, a steady flow of Syrians have crossed the border from their war-torn country into Lebanon. But anti-refugee sentiment is rising there, and in the past two months, hundreds of Syrian refugees have gone the other way. They’re taking

By MONIKA PRONCZUK Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — As Muslims worldwide prepare to celebrate Eid Al-Adha, Senegal’s locally bred star sheep have their moment to shine. The animals that can fetch tens of thousands of dollars live a life of luxury in special parlors where they are massaged, groomed and fed syringes full of

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Muslim pilgrims have been streaming into Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca for the Hajj, as the annual pilgrimage returns to its monumental scale. Saudi officials say more than 1.5 million foreign pilgrims have arrived in Mecca so far. More are expected, and hundreds of

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press BOSTON (AP) — Defense attorneys for a woman accused of leaving her Boston police officer boyfriend for dead in a snowbank grilled the lead investigator Wednesday about a series of offensive and inappropriate texts he wrote about the suspect during the investigation. Massachusetts State Trooper Michael Proctor also acknowledged that

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Survivors and relatives of the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre in Florida had hoped by now to have a permanent memorial place at the site. But scaled-back plans for a memorial to the 49 people killed and 53 wounded in the attack on the gay-friendly club in Orlando are

By ADAM BEAM Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to back out of a deal he made last year to pay doctors more money to treat Medicaid patients. It’s part of his plan to cover an estimated $45 billion budget deficit this year. But Newsom might not have a choice.

By TERESA CRAWFORD and JOHN O’CONNOR Associated Press WAUBEKA, Wis. (AP) — Each June, the people of Waubeka venerate perhaps the nation’s most enduring symbol, celebrating Flag Day, a holiday that escapes the notice of many Americans. But this unincorporated Wisconsin town about 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Milwaukee takes the day seriously. After

By VIVIANNE WANDERA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Piles of firewood surrounded Jane Muthoni in her kitchen made of iron sheets. The roof, walls and wooden pillars were covered in soot. As she blew on the flame for tea, the 65-year-old was engulfed in smoke. “I’ve used firewood all my life,” she said. “Sometimes

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — An extreme weather phenomenon known as the dzud has killed more than 7.1 million animals in Mongolia this year, more than a tenth of the country’s entire livestock holdings, endangering herders’ livelihoods and way of life. Dzuds are a combination of perennial droughts and severe, snowy

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press AMSTERDAM (AP) — A Dutch court has convicted three men of murder for their roles in the 2021 shooting of investigative reporter Peter R. de Vries, a brazen attack in downtown Amsterdam that sent a shockwave through the Netherlands. The shooter, getaway driver and organizer of the attack were convicted