AP-National

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Inflation is headed down in Europe. The official figure came in at 2.8% on Thursday. That’s more relief for consumers whose paychecks didn’t go as far after inflation peaked at record-high double digits in 2022. The decline also is fueling speculation that it might soon

By ABBY SEWELL and MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The prospect of a full-scale war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia terrifies people on both sides of the border, but some see it as an inevitable fallout from Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. Such a war could be the most destructive

By JAMIE STENGLE Associated Press DALLAS (AP) — A Dallas pastor is the new head of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition civil rights group, stepping into the role that has been held for decades by the Rev. Jesse Jackson. The Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III was formally installed as president and CEO of the Chicago-based organization

By JOSH BOAK and EMILY SWANSON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Stocks are near record highs. Growth was surprisingly strong last year. And once-hot inflation has begun to cool. But so far, U.S. adults are feeling only slightly better about the economy. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds

SYDNEY (AP) — New Zealand’s government says it will contemplate sharing advanced military technologies with the United States and Britain as part of closer defense ties with Australia. The defense and foreign ministers of Australia and New Zealand met in Melbourne on Thursday. Talks centered on deepening security ties between the neighboring nations amid worries

By FRANK BAJAK AP Technology Writer A new report says Israeli-made Pegasus spyware was used in Jordan to hack the cellphones of nearly three dozen people, including journalists, lawyers and human rights activists. The digital rights group Access Now says the hacking with spyware made by Israel’s NSO Group occurred from 2019 until September. It

BERLIN (AP) — German beer sales dropped 4.5% last year, resuming a long-term downward trend, official figures showed Thursday. German-based breweries and distributors sold about 8.4 billion liters (2.2 billion gallons) of beer last year, the Federal Statistical Office said. That figure doesn’t include non-alcoholic beer and beer imported from outside the European Union. In

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s finance minister has unveiled a short-term budget to meet government expenditures until national elections are held by May, saying it will boost spending on infrastructure projects, build homes for poor villagers and cut the fiscal deficit by reducing subsidies. Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans to raise

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norway’s most powerful storm in more than three decades has ripped off roofs, heightened avalanche risks and left households without power. Hurricane-force winds brought gusts of up to 180 kilometers (112 miles) per hour to some parts of the country. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute said

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Just like the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England is edging toward cutting interest rates — though not quite yet. The United Kingdom’s central bank kept its main interest rate at a near 16-year high of 5.25% on Thursday and indicated that borrowing costs have probably

By MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A dissident Russian rock band angered by Moscow’s war in Ukraine has arrived in Israel after being deported from Thailand under suspected pressure from the Kremlin. Speaking Thursday in the arrival hall of Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, guitarist and singer Aleksandr

By LORNE COOK and SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Leaders of the 27 European Union countries sealed a deal Thursday to provide Ukraine with 50 billion euros ($54 billion) in support for its war-ravaged economy after Hungary dropped weeks of threats to veto the measure. European Council President Charles Michel said the agreement

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A member of Taiwan’s pro-unification Nationalists has been elected speaker of the island’s legislature. The election of Han Kuo-Yu on Thursday is sort of consolation prize for China after the candidate of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party won Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13. The Nationalists,

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares mostly rose Friday, helped by optimism about technology shares following a Wall Street rally led by big tech stocks. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 added 0.8% to 36,283.49. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.3% to 7,688.10. South Korea’s Kospi surged 2.2% to 2,596.79. Hong Kong’s Hang

By SIMINA MISTREANU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A new report says automakers including Tesla, General Motors, Volkswagen and Toyota are failing to ensure they are not using forced labor as part of their China supply chains. Human Rights Watch says it linked some of the world’s largest car manufacturers to aluminum allegedly produced

By JOHN ANTCZAK Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — The first of back-to-back atmospheric rivers is drenching California. Heavy rain and gusty winds began hitting the state’s north on Wednesday before moving south along the coast and snarling the Thursday morning commute in Los Angeles. The storm has flooded roads, toppled trees and caused traffic

BERLIN (AP) — Most of Germany’s major airports canceled scores of flights after security workers launched a one-day strike to step up pressure in a pay disput. The ver.di union called on workers to strike at 11 airports on Thursday: Frankfurt, Berlin, Cologne, Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Hannover, Dresden, Bremen and Erfurt. All departures for

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean judge has convicted a man of murder for an unprovoked car-and-stabbing rampage that killed two people and injured 12 others in a city near Seoul last year. Prosecutors had sought a death penalty for 23-year-old Choi Won-jong, but Judge Kang Hyun-koo of

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Farmers burned bales of hay, threw eggs and firecrackers at police — and wrested some promises of relief from European leaders on Thursday, the culmination of weeks of protests across the continent over excessive red tape and competition from cheap imports. Eager to reassure a key part

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Tokyo’s fish market has opened a long-awaited outer section with Japanese-style seafood restaurants and a spa for relaxation, as the wholesale venue that has struggled since relocating from the beloved Tsukiji market seeks to lure more visitors. Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai on Thursday opened a food court resembling