AP-National

By RAF CASERT and SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Farmers in France have staged protests across the country and in Brussels against low wages and what they consider to be excessive regulation, mounting costs and other problems. Roadblocks spread in many French regions on Wednesday. The demonstrations come a day after a farmer

By The Associated Press A Russian military transport plane crashed Wednesday in a border region near Ukraine, and Moscow accused Kyiv of shooting it down, saying all 74 people aboard were killed, including 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war headed for a swap. Russia offered no evidence and Ukraine didn’t immediately confirm or deny it. Video

By NAJIB JOBAIN, JACK JEFFERY and TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Qatar said it was appalled Wednesday by leaked remarks made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he criticized the country’s mediation efforts with Hamas, complicating already arduous negotiations meant to halt the hostilities in exchange for a hostage

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s train drivers have brought rail traffic to a standstill again when they began a six-day strike to push their demands in a rancorous dispute with the country’s main railway operator over working hours and pay. The strike by the GDL union, which began early Wednesday, will affect passenger services and freight

By JUTARAT SKULPICHETRAT Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court has ruled that popular progressive politician Pita Limjaroenrat, who was blocked from becoming prime minister even though his party placed first in last year’s election, did not violate the election law and can retain his seat in Parliament. Pita had been suspended from the

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — China’s central bank plans to reduce the ratio of reserves banks must keep on hold as part of a slew of measures to support its slowing economy. Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China, said the government soon plans to issue a policy on

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher on Thursday, with Chinese stocks extending gains after Beijing announced a raft of policies to support sagging markets. Hong Kong rose 1.4% and Shanghai surged 2%. Benchmarks fell in Tokyo and Seoul. U.S. futures were mixed and oil prices advanced. Late

FORT SMITH, Northwest Territories (AP) — A coroner’s service in Canada’s Northwest Territories said there are fatalities from a plane crash near community of Fort Smith. The Northwest Territories Coroner’s Service did not say how many have died or give further details, saying it must first notify next of kin. There was no word yet

BANGKOK (AP) — Japan has reported its exports surged almost 10% in December from a year earlier, helped by a revival in trade with China and strong demand for vehicles. Imports fell almost 7%, leaving a trade surprise of 62 billion yen  ($410 million). A weak Japanese yen has helped export manufacturers like Toyota, Honda

PRAGUE (AP) — A fast train has collided with a truck in eastern Czech Republic, killing one person and injuring at least 19 people. The Czech Railways says the driver of the train was killed and that the injured have been transported to nearby hospitals with no life threatening injuries. The accident occurred early on

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — A tropical low slowly moving toward northeast Australia reached cyclone strength on Wednesday and will bring flooding into Queensland state into the weekend. Tropical Cyclone Kirrily was moving west at 5 mph and forecast to make landfall overnight Thursday. Gusty winds were expected to affect the Whitsunday Islands on Wednesday evening

By KEN MORITSUGU and NG HAN GUAN Associated Press UCHTURPAN, China (AP) — Aftershocks from a magnitude 7.1 earthquake continued to rock western China on Wednesday, while more than 12,000 displaced people relying on tents and shelters lit bonfires to fend off freezing weather. The quake early Tuesday in a remote part of China’s Xinjiang

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s bid to join NATO — held up for almost two years — cleared its next-to-last hurdle when Turkey’s parliament gave its go-ahead to let the Nordic country into the alliance. All existing NATO countries must give their approval before a new member can join the alliance, and Hungary is now the

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County’s annual count of homeless residents began Tuesday night — a crucial part of the region’s efforts to confront the crisis of tens of thousands of people living on the streets. Up to 6,000 volunteers with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority fanned out

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney has requested a second court delay in its legal battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees over who controls Walt Disney World’s governing district. The request this week comes as the company is accusing the appointees and the governor’s office of failing to produce documents

By TOM KRISHER, FATIMA HUSSEIN and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden picked up an endorsement from the United Auto Workers union Wednesday, an important boost to the Democratic president’s reelection bid as he pushes to sway blue-collar workers his way in critical auto-making swing states such as Michigan and Wisconsin.

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court is set to decide whether popular politician Pita Limjaroenrat, who was blocked from becoming prime minister, should now lose his seat in Parliament. The election victory last year by Pita’s Move Forward party reflected a surprisingly strong mandate for change among Thai voters after nearly a decade of military-controlled

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County will pay $5 million to the founder and CEO of a software company who was briefly accused of stealing data on county poll workers in a case he said was pushed by conspiracy theorists. KNBC-TV says the county Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve the settlement of

BEIJING (AP) — China and Nauru formally restored diplomatic relations Wednesday after the tiny Pacific island nation cut its ties with Taiwan earlier this month, in a further move by Beijing to isolate Taipei’s democratic government. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Nauru’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Lionel Aingimea at the Diaoyutai

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Christopher Nolan was still sleeping when his film, “Oppenheimer,” landed a leading 13 Academy Awards nominations Tuesday. Emma Thomas, Nolan’s wife and producing partner, roused him after a flurry of congratulatory messages came through on her phone. Nolan and Thomas didn’t have much reason to