AP National News

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank has slowed the pace of its interest rate increases, stepping back like the U.S. Federal Reserve from a string of jumbo hikes aimed at snuffing out inflation. But the ECB also said Thursday that it’s “not pausing” even as its efforts

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank has slowed the pace of its interest rate increases, stepping back like the U.S. Federal Reserve from a string of jumbo hikes aimed at snuffing out inflation. The ECB’s quarter-point hike Thursday follows evidence that its efforts are working by making

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. (AP) — Officials say an explosion at a pharmaceutical plant in Massachusetts left one worker missing and sent four people to the hospital as a precaution. The explosion happened around 1 a.m. Thursday at the Sequens/PCI Synthesis plant in Newburyport. Video footage showed most of the roof torn off the building. A fire

By JOE McDONALD and MATT OTT AP Business Writers Wall Street tipped lower in premarket trading Thursday as anxiety over the stability of regional banks dragged on a day after the Federal Reserve announced another interest rate hike. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrials fell 0.3%. Concerns about a rush of

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s centrist government wants to spend 38 billion kroner ($5.6 billion) over the next decade to modernize military facilities, renovate shabby and dilapidated buildings, increase the number of soldiers and upgrade outdated computer systems. Acting Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen called it “a very serious situation.” and He said Thursday that

BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors say a man who seriously wounded two young girls in an attack at a school in Berlin may have been suffering from a drug-induced psychological illness. Prosecutors say they are asking a court to have the 38-year-old suspect held in a psychiatric hospital pending further investigation. The man, who was

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s populist prime minister likened liberalism to a “virus” in an opening speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in the Hungarian capital on Thursday, painting a picture of a global right-wing movement mobilizing to defeat “progressive elites.” Viktor Orban’s speech at CPAC Hungary centered around

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Volkswagen profits fell 30% in the first three months of the year despite booming business in Europe and North America. That’s because sales fell in China, where the German company is facing increasing competition from homegrown models. VW reported Thursday that after-tax profit fell to 4.7 billion euros from 6.7 billion

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Six soldiers have been killed in a shootout with militants in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban near the border with Afghanistan. A military statement said the exchange of fire Thursday took place in North Waziristan, a district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The region is a former stronghold of the

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog is opening a review of the artificial intelligence market, focusing on the technology underpinning chatbots like ChatGPT. The Competition Markets Authority said Thursday that it will look into the opportunities and risks of AI as well as the competition rules and consumer protections that may be needed. Artificial intelligence’s

NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Napoli fans are preparing to celebrate the Italian league soccer title for the third time in five days. Napoli can seal its first Serie A title in more than three decades if it wins or draws at Udinese later in the day. Diego Maradona led the southern club to its only

By JERRY HARMER Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Opinion polls show Paetongtarn Shinawatra to be the heavy favorite to take the prime minister’s post after Thailand’s May 14 general election. But there are fears that victory for Paetongtarn, the youngest daughter of ousted former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, could plunge Thailand back into a familiar

By ISABEL DEBRE and TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press NABLUS, West Bank (AP) — Israeli troops on Thursday killed three Palestinian militants wanted in connection with a shooting attack that killed a British-Israeli woman and two of her daughters, the Israeli military said, the latest bloodshed in a relentless wave of violence. In a rare daytime

By WASBIR HUSSAIN Associated Press GUWAHATI, India (AP) — Indian army soldiers are patrolling the streets and enforcing a curfew after thousands of people clashed in a remote northeastern state, causing casualties and damage to several homes and vehicles. N. Biren Singh, the top elected official of Manipur state bordering Myanmar, also suspended internet services

By TIA GOLDENBERG Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israelis have blocked roads and demonstrated against a contentious government plan to overhaul the judiciary. The protesters hope Thursday’s events will ramp up pressure on lawmakers days after parliament reconvened following a month-long recess. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paused the overhaul in March after intense