AP National News

KIRUNA, Sweden (AP) — The European Union wants to bolster its capacity to launch small satellites into space with a new launchpad in Arctic Sweden. EU officials and Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf inaugurated the EU’s first orbital launch complex on Friday during a visit to Sweden of the European Commission. The new facility near

By KIM CHANDLER and JEFF MARTIN Associated Press SELMA, Ala. (AP) — Crews worked through the night searching for people trapped after a deadly storm system spawned tornadoes across parts of the U.S. South, killing at least seven people and causing substantial damage in the historic city of Selma, Alabama. Six died in Autauga County,

By SUZAN FRASER and JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has denounced a protest by Kurds in central Stockholm where an effigy of Turkey’s president was hung from a lamppost as an act of “sabotage” against Sweden’s bid to join NATO. The protest outside City Hall on

By ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s outgoing army chief has warned against plans by Benjamin Netanyahu’s new coalition to grant more control to pro-settler lawmakers and make other changes to the Israeli security establishment. Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi’s rare criticism on Friday adds to the growing alarm over the most right-wing government

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — There are now two special counsels investigating the handling of classified documents. A special counsel has been named to investigate the presence of classified documents at President Joe Biden’s Delaware home and office. Attorney General Merrick Garland described the appointment Thursday as underscoring the Justice Department’s commitment

By ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia claimed Friday that its forces captured a fiercely contested salt mining town, in what would mark a rare victory for the Kremlin after a series of setbacks in its invasion of Ukraine. There was no immediate confirmation from Ukrainian authorities of Soledar’s fall. There have

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic has received a warm and enthusiastic welcome in his return to Melbourne during an exhibition match against Nick Kyrgios. Djokovic’s visa for entering Australia was revoked and he was deported ahead of last year’s Australian Open because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19. He still hasn’t gotten the shots,

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s lawmakers have voted to approve a new law on judicial accountability that the government hopes will meet European Union expectations and help unfreeze billions of euros in pandemic recovery funds for the country. Brussels suspended the aid for Poland because it says the government’s policies

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia’s military says members of the Amhara region special forces have started leaving the country’s Tigray region two months after a peace agreement in the Tigray conflict. The Ethiopian National Defense Force statement said the Amhara forces who fought alongside Ethiopian federal ones had left the Tigray town of Shire, a

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s center-right coalition government wants to cut red tape when it comes to dancing by abolishing a decade-old requirement for restaurants, nightclubs and other venues to obtain permits before they let patrons shimmy and sway. The proposal made Thursday means that venues no longer would need a license to organize dances. Instead,

COLOMBO Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church wants the country’s former leader to be criminally prosecuted for negligence. Duthika Perera, an attorney representing Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, said Friday the church  is expecting the attorney general to file criminal charges against former President Maithripala Sirisena and four others whom the court found to have neglected

BEIRUT (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister says talks with regional rival Saudi Arabia are continuing and could eventually restore diplomatic relations that were severed years ago. Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters in Beirut Friday that he met with his Saudi counterpart during a conference in Jordan last month. It ws the highest-level encounter between the two

By ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s Defense Ministry says its forces captured the salt-mining town of Soledar. The ministry said that Soledar, the focus of a bloody battle between Russian and Ukrainian forces, was captured on Thursday. There was no immediate confirmation from Ukrainian authorities to Russia’s claim to have seized

MYTILENE, Greece (AP) — The trial of 24 aid workers and volunteers who participated in migrant rescue operations has resumed on an eastern Greek island. The Greek and foreign defendants argue they were doing nothing more than assisting people whose lives were at risk. Their lawyers have objected to the procedures followed by the prosecution,

By STEVE PEOPLES and JILL COLVIN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Virtually everything was going right for President Joe Biden to open the year. Biden’s approval ratings were ticking up. Inflation was slowing. And Republicans were at war with themselves after a disappointing midterm season. But Biden’s rosy political outlook veered into uncertainty Thursday

By GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s national statistics office says the country’s economy appears to have stagnated in the fourth quarter. It said Friday that Europe’s biggest economy managed full-year growth of 1.9%, a slowing somewhat from 2021 as the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine weighed on its performance. Germany releases

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s border and coast guard agency says that the number of attempts by migrants to enter Europe without authorization reached around 330,000 last year. Frontex says that’s the highest number since 2016. The agency’s estimates released Friday say that almost half of the attempts were made over land through the

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s big financial fraud and corruption trial is hearing from a public relations specialist who has long harbored a grudge against one of the prime defendants. Francesca Chaouqui was called to answer questions after text messages entered into the court record indicated that she helped