AP National News

By JOVANA GEC and DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — At a central square in Serbia’s capital of Belgrade, dozens of Russians gathered recently to denounce President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, holding up photos of political prisoners from their homeland. Across the plaza, a billboard touts the Russian propaganda outlet RT, which

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian and Chinese trade ministers are holding their first bilateral meeting since 2019 as Australia urges China to lift barriers that are costing exporters $14 billion a year. Trade Minister Don Farrell held a teleconference from Australia’s Parliament House with his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao on

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A Buddhist temple has been extensively damaged by fire in the Australian city of Melbourne. About 80 firefighters fought the blaze at the Bright Moon Buddhist Temple for more than two hours before it was brought under control late Sunday. Spot fires were still being put out Monday. There were no

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The overall death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck southeast Turkey and northern Syria on Monday rose to 360 as health officials in the Syrian capital of Damascus reported that 237 people died in government-held areas of the country. Hundreds more were reported injured in

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has scheduled a major political conference to discuss the “urgent task” of improving its agricultural sector. The meeting is a possible sign of worsening food insecurity as the country’s economic isolation deepens amid a defiant nuclear weapons push. State media said Monday the

By RIAZAT BUTT Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — On Islamabad’s outskirts, burly men bind together in a scrum on a rugby pitch that has seen better days. The sign bearing the club’s name is worn. The floodlights are too costly to use, given high electricity prices and the paltry $135 total that the club earns

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Beyoncé sits alone atop the Grammy throne as the ceremony’s most decorated artist in history, but at the end of Sunday’s show it was Harry Styles who walked away with the album of the year honor. The Grammys spread its top awards among other

By RIO YAMAT Associated Press NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. (AP) — Victims, detectives and federal agents are expected to speak in court Monday before a Las Vegas-area judge decides whether to grant bail to a former “Dances With Wolves” actor. That’s because Nathan Chasing Horse’s public defenders invoked his right to a detention hearing last

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia: (AP) — An Indigenous senator in Australia has quit the minor Greens party in a disagreement over a referendum to be held this year that would create an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Sen. Lidia Thorpe’s resignation on Monday illustrates deep divisions among Indigenous Australians on the referendum. The Greens

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling buildings and sending panicked residents pouring outside in a cold winter night. At least 195 people were killed in both countries, hundreds were injured and the toll was expected to rise. Rescue workers

By BILL BARROW Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger wants his state to become an early presidential primary host — just not in 2024, as President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party are pushing. The Republican election chief tells The Associated Press he’d back an early primary in 2028. Raffensperger

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Kyrsten Sinema won Democrats a U.S. Senate seat from Arizona for the first time in a generation thanks in no small part to unity in her party and division among Republicans. That Democratic unity of 2018 was on display again in the next two election cycles

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Harry Styles won album of the year at Sunday’s Grammy Awards, taking home the top honor on a night that Beyoncé dominated and became the ceremony’s most decorated artist. Beyoncé won her 32nd award, breaking a 26-year-old record. But as in years past, the

By DEMETRIS NELLAS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Authorities say four children and a woman died when a boat carrying at least 41 migrants crashed on a rocky coast on the Greek island of Leros. The Coast Guard was alerted by a person who saw a body floating at sea. One boy found unconscious

BEIJING (AP) — China on Monday accused the United States of indiscriminate use of force when the American military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon Saturday. The U.S. shot down a balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kevin Harvick won’t spend a single day in retirement when his NASCAR driving days are over: Fox said Sunday it has hired Harvick for its broadcast booth next season. Harvick announced last month that he will retire from NASCAR competition at the end of

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Beyoncé stands alone on her Grammy throne: With her fourth win Sunday night, she has become the most decorated artist in the show’s history surpassing the 26-year-old record once held by the late Hungarian-British conductor Georg Solti. “I’m trying not to be too emotional,”

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — Officials monitoring the smoldering, tangled wreckage of a train derailment in northeastern Ohio urgently warned hundreds of nearby residents who had declined to evacuate to do so Sunday night, saying a rail car was at risk of a potential explosion that could launch deadly shrapnel as far as a mile.

By SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit southeast Turkey and Syria early Monday, toppling buildings and sending panicked residents pouring outside in a cold winter night. At least 100 were killed, and the toll was expected to rise. Rescue workers and residents frantically searched for survivors under