AP-National

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The politician favored to become Britain’s next prime minister has kicked off an election year by accusing the governing Conservatives of leading the country into decline and despair. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said Thursday that a Labour government would deliver “Project Hope” after 14 years of

By GIADA ZAMPANO and PAOLO SANTALUCIA Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has told her European Union partners that curbing migration flows from African countries has less to do with offers of charity than strong partnerships coupled with strategic investments in those nations. Meloni told reporters at a year-end news conference that

By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) — The new year on the PGA Tour feels a lot like the old one. There are questions about a fractured landscape and more money than ever. LIV Golf is gearing up for another season while fans wonder who will be the next player to get

By FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — After pushback by some bishops in Africa, Poland and elsewhere, the Vatican on Thursday defended the recent move by Pope Francis to allow blessings for same-sex couples, insisting there is nothing “heretical” involved. In a five-page statement, the Holy See’s office to safeguard doctrinal orthodoxy expressed understanding

Associated Press Christians around the world will mark the Epiphany on Jan. 6 with a series of celebrations that go from parades and gift-giving for children to the blessing of water. The holiday is also called the Feast of Epiphany, Three Kings Day and Theophany. Why is it known with different names? Some Western Christian

By MATT OTT AP Business Writer The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week as the labor market continues to show resilience despite elevated interest rates. Jobless claims fell to 202,000 for the week ending Dec. 30, down by 18,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average

By KRYSTA FAURIA Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Jessica Chastain first read the script for “Memory,” she was struck by the unanswered questions left swirling around her head about issues pertaining to love, sex and consent. That might be antithetical to what some audiences expect from a movie. But it was writer and

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A hotel owner and 10 other people are standing trial accused of negligence over the deaths of 72 people, including players from a school volleyball team in breakaway northern Cyprus, who perished when their hotel crumbled during a powerful earthquake that struck Turkey last year. The trial is the first relating

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — With the cooperation of the Anne Frank House, a novel based on Frank’s life immediately before she began keeping a diary will be released in September by the children’s publisher Scholastic. “When We Flew Away: A Novel of Anne Frank, Before the Diary” is written

BERLIN (AP) — A German man who served prison time for a high-profile 1996 kidnapping has been convicted of robbery and attempted murder on Thursday for his alleged role in a string of armed robberies in Germany in 2018 and 2019. The Cologne state court on Thursday sentenced Thomas Drach to 15 years in prison.

By TOM MURPHY AP Health Writer Walgreens is chopping its dividend nearly in half as the drugstore chain looks to strengthen its balance sheet. The health care giant said Thursday that reducing its quarterly payout to shareholders to 25 cents per share will help free up capital to spend growing its pharmacy and health care

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The longest planned strike in the history of Britain’s state-funded National Health Service has entered its second day of six with doctors in England at loggerheads with hospitals over requests for some to return to work to cover urgent needs. The British Medical Association said Thursday that

BERLIN (AP) — There’s a bit of post-Christmas cheer on the menu for elephants and other tenants at the Berlin Zoo: they can chomp on Christmas trees that didn’t find a home. The tree treats were unwrapped Thursday in what has become an annual event. Elephants tore off branches with their trunks and either gobbled

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s military wants to reintroduce obligatory military service as tensions continue to rise in the Balkans. The army command said in a statement Thursday that the proposal for compulsory service of up to four months is made “to increase the defense capabilities of the Serbian Armed

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press HSINCHU, Taiwan (AP) — With Taiwan’s presidential and parliamentary elections less than two weeks away, the island’s alternative party candidate and chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party, Ko Wen-je, is promoting a policy of patience toward China, which has been upping its threat to annex the island by force. Ko,

By ELAINE KURTENBACH and MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — The swift and safe evacuation of a Japan Airlines jet that caught fire after hitting a Coast Guard aircraft while it was landing Tuesday at Tokyo’s Haneda airport reflects the carrier’s dogged dedication to safety, born of hard experience. The Aug. 12, 1985, crash

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A Taliban spokesman says authorities have arrested women in the Afghan capital Kabul for wearing “bad hijab.” It’s the first official confirmation of a crackdown on women who don’t follow the dress code imposed by the Taliban since they returned to power in 2021. Thursday’s development is the latest blow to

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer The men’s basketball teams at Tennessee State in a three-season span from 1956 through 1959 were nearly unbeatable and somehow largely unnoticed. They had a coach in John McLendon who would be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach and contributor. They had five players who

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and ABBY SEWELL Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — Officials say an airstrike on the logistical support headquarters of an Iran-backed militia in central Baghdad has killed a high-ranking militia commander. Thursday’s strike comes amid mounting regional tensions fueled by the Israel-Hamas war and fears that it could spill over into surrounding countries.

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — A study shows that carbon dioxide emissions in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, dropped to their lowest level in seven decades. The use of coal declined unexpectedly sharply in 2023 and economic pressures weighed down production by energy-intensive industry. The Agora Energiewende think tank said Thursday its preliminary