AP-National

By SYLVIE CORBET and JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press JOSSIGNY, France (AP) — Protesting farmers encircled Paris with traffic-snarling barricades Monday, using hundreds of lumbering tractors and mounds of hay bales to block highways leading to France’s capital to pressure the government over the future of their industry, which has been shaken by repercussions of the

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s election commission on Monday formally registered President Vladimir Putin as a candidate for the March presidential election, a vote in which he’s all but certain to win another six-year term in office. Putin, 71, is running as an independent, although he relies on the tight control over Russia’s political system that

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has unveiled Italy’s big development plan for Africa at a summit of African leaders. The government is hoping the plan will help stem migration numbers, diversify energy sources and forge a new relationship between Europe and the continent. Two dozen African leaders, top

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will start implementing a new requirement for the developers of major artificial intelligence systems to disclose their safety test results to the government. The White House AI Council is scheduled to meet Monday to review progress made on the executive order that President Joe

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is marking Monday’s 15th anniversary of a landmark federal pay equity law with new action to help close gaps in pay for federal employees and employees of federal contractors. Despite progress since the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed into law in January

GENEVA (AP) — Shares of Holcim Ltd. have jumped Monday after the Swiss-based cement and building materials company announced plans to spin off its North American unit and list its shares in the U.S. Sunday’s announcement of the listing and spinoff comes 15 months after Holcim’s French subsidiary Lafarge pleaded guilty to paying millions of

By SYLVIA HUI Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s government says it will ban the sale of disposable vapes and limit their cornucopia of flavors to prevent children from becoming addicted to nicotine. It also says it will stick to a contentious proposal to ban today’s young people from ever buying cigarettes. It is currently

By YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A group of Japanese citizens, including a man of Pakistani descent, is suing the country’s police, accusing authorities of racial profiling and discrimination. The case, launched on Monday, is to be heard in Tokyo District Court. It comes as Japan has seen an influx of workers from

By ROBERT BADENDIECK and MEHMET GUZEL Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a Roman Catholic church in Istanbul during Mass that killed one person. It said in a statement late Sunday that it “attacked a gathering of Christian unbelievers during their polytheistic ceremony” inside the

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels said they attacked a U.S. Navy mobile base at sea Monday without offering evidence, something immediately rejected by an American defense official. Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed the group fired a missile at the USS Lewis B. Puller in the Gulf

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s weekend test of new cruise missiles for submarine launches has added to its provocative start to 2024, as leader Kim Jong Un flaunts his growing nuclear arsenal and threatens nuclear conflict with Washington, Seoul and Tokyo. Kim has gained confidence from the advancement

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday was forced to start this year’s parliamentary session with an apology over one of the country’s biggest corruption scandals in decades. Prosecutors recently indicted 10 people, including three lawmakers and a number of political aides. The scandal is the latest

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Monthslong tension between three coup-hit countries in West Africa and the regional bloc known as ECOWAS boiled over when the nations announced their immediate withdrawal from the bloc, accusing it of a lack of support and “inhumane” coup-related sanctions. The juntas of Niger, Mali and Burkina

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The Indian and Seychelles forces rescued two fishing vessels separately hijacked by Somali pirates and freed 23 Iranian and Sri Lankan crew members onboard the boats, both countries said in statements. The Seychelles’ defense forces and coast guard rescued six Sri Lankan fishermen whose vessel

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian state media say authorities executed four men convicted of planning sabotage and alleged links with Israel’s Mossad secret service. The official IRNA news agency said the men were convicted of planning to target a factory in 2022 belonging to Iran’s defense ministry and involved in missile and defensive equipment in

By BERNARD CONDON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump could potentially have his real estate empire ordered “dissolved” for repeated misrepresentations on financial statements to lenders in violation of New York’s powerful anti-fraud law. But an Associated Press analysis of nearly 70 years of similar cases showed Trump’s case stands apart: It’s the

By BERNARD CONDON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Within days, Donald Trump could potentially have his sprawling real estate business empire ordered “dissolved” for repeated misrepresentations on financial statements to lenders, adding him to a short list of scam marketers, con artists and others who have been hit with the ultimate punishment for violating

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina judge on Monday denied Alex Murdaugh’s bid for a new trial after his defense team accused a clerk of court of tampering with a jury. Judge Jean Toal said she wasn’t sure if Colleton County Clerk Becky Hill was telling the truth that

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan and Iran on Monday agreed to work together to improve security cooperation in the wake of deadly airstrikes by Tehran and Islamabad earlier this month that killed at least 11 people, marking a significant escalation in fraught relations between the neighbors. The development came after the