AP National News

By ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of the Russian Orthodox Church is calling for a 36-hour Christmas cease-fire in Ukraine at the end of this week. But his appeal Thursday looked unlikely to bring any breakthrough in halting the war that began last February with Russia’s invasion. Moscow Patriarch Kirill

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine national police chief says he has tendered his resignation to encourage nearly a thousand other police officials to heed an official appeal for them to resign en masse to regain public trust after some enforcers were implicated in drug trafficking. Police Gen. Rodolfo Azurin

By NICOLE WINFIELD, GIADA ZAMPANO and FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis joined tens of thousands of faithful in bidding farewell to Benedict XVI at a rare requiem Mass Thursday for a dead pope presided over by a living one, ending an unprecedented decade for the Catholic Church that was triggered

By ANDY WONG and KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Patients, mostly older people, laid on stretchers in hallways or took oxygen while sitting in wheelchairs as a COVID-19 outbreak stretched public health facilities’ resources in China’s capital Beijing, even after its reported peak. The Chuiyangliu hospital in the city’s east was packed Thursday

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain had its warmest year on record in 2022, the latest evidence that climate change is transforming Europe’s weather. The Met Office weather agency said the provisional annual average temperature in the U.K. was 10.03 degrees Celsius (50 Fahrenheit), the highest since comparable records began in 1884.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sony has unveiled a new high-tech prototype car it will produce in partnership with Honda. The vehicle, first announced in October, glided out on stage at the CES tech show in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be called the Afeela. Yasuhide Mizuno, CEO of Sony Honda Mobility, said the company expects

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Officials say Pakistan is expected to seek $16.3 billion in aid from the international community for reconstruction for millions of victims of last summer’s climate-induced devastation floods. The request is the centerpiece of Monday’s summit the poverty-stricken nation is hosting with the United Nations in Geneva. Pakistan’s

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Global shares mostly rose Thursday following a rally on Wall Street as investors assessed minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting of policymakers and welcomed encouraging data on U.S. jobs. France’s CAC 40 lost 0.6% to 6,736.01 in early trading, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.4% to

By OMAR FARUK Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A doctor says the death toll in a pair of suicide car bombings in Somalia early Wednesday has risen to at least 20, including nine members of the same family. The doctor with the hospital in Mahaas district told The Associated Press that more than 50

By NICOLE WINFIELD, GIADA ZAMPANO and FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis honored his predecessor Benedict XVI, the German theologian who made history by retiring, presiding Thursday over a rare requiem Mass for a dead pontiff by a living one before thousands of mourners in St. Peter’s Square. Bells tolled and

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry alleges in a much-anticipated new memoir that his brother Prince William lashed out and physically attacked him during a furious argument over the brothers’ deteriorating relationship, The Guardian reported Thursday. The newspaper said it obtained an advance copy of the book, “Spare,” due to be

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong will start to reopen its border with mainland China on Sunday and allow tens of thousands of people to cross from each side every day without quarantine, the city’s leader said. The city’s land and sea border checkpoints with the mainland have been largely

By RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Afghan Taliban have killed eight Islamic State group fighters and arrested nine others in raids against the militants’ hideouts in Afghanistan. A senior Taliban spokesman said Thursday in a tweet that the IS members had a key role in the attack on a Chinese hotel and

By VASILISA STEPANENKO Associated Press KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — Sitting on comfy armchairs in a low-lit room smelling of lavender and pine trees, the men take deep breaths as they close their eyes and listen to meditation music. But this is not a spa. Uniformed Ukrainian soldiers are taking a break at this rehabilitation center

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rapper Theophilus London has been found safe after disappearing for months, a relative announced Wednesday night. “We have found Theo. He is safe and well,” the rapper’s cousin, Mikhail Noel, posted on Instagram. “At this time the family would love prayers and privacy. Thank you all!!!” The post didn’t provide details

By STEVE PEOPLES and JILL COLVIN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The stalemate over the Republican House speaker vote is more than just an embarrassment for Kevin McCarthy, who is now the first person in a century to muddle through multiple ballots. The revolt is raising alarms within the GOP as members warn they

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Palestinian Health Ministry says that a 16-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire during an arrest raid in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus. It said that Amer Abu Zeitoun died from a gunshot wound to the head after he was shot by Israeli soldiers on Thursday. The police said

By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The man accused in the November slayings of four University of Idaho students is back in Idaho, where he’s charged with four counts of first-degree murder and felony burglary, and could make his first court appearance as early as Thursday. Bryan Kohberger’s return to the state

By ABBY SEWELL Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s economy has hit its lowest point since the start of its civil war nearly 12 years ago, with spiraling inflation, a currency plunge and severe fuel shortages in both government-run and rebel-held areas. Life in Damascus has come to a near standstill. Streets are almost empty