AP National News

By HENG SINITH and SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press POIPET, Cambodia (AP) — A massive fire at a Cambodian hotel casino Thursday injured over 60 people and killed at least 19 — a number that officials warned would rise after the search for bodies resumes Friday. The blaze, which started around midnight Wednesday, was put out

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has overseen the commissioning of new warships and vowed to further strengthen his country’s navy. The ships commissioned on Thursday included a corvette, a minesweeper and a nuclear submarine. The Generalissimus Suvorov submarine is armed with Bulava nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles and is the latest addition to Russia’s

By RIAZAT BUTT Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A quarter of Afghanistan’s private universities risks closure because of the ban on female students imposed by the Taliban government, a spokesman for the sector said Thursday. Afghanistan’s rulers last week barred women from attending universities effective immediately, dealing another blow to women and girl’s rights

By KEN MORITSUGU and HUIZHONG WU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Moves by several countries to mandate COVID-19 tests for passengers arriving from China reflect global concern that new variants could emerge in its ongoing explosive outbreak — and that the government may not inform the rest of the world quickly enough. There have been

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is assessing the impact of Beijing’s rollback of anti-COVID 19 controls and increase in infections in an attempt to streamline the approach of its 27 nations on testing passengers coming from China. The EU Commission said that the prevalent variant in China is already

By RADUL RADOVANOVIC Associated Press MITROVICA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo has reopened the main border crossing with Serbia after a nearby barricade that led to its closure was removed. Serbia’s president said other Serb roadblocks in northern Kosovo also would be dismantled starting Thursday. The move could defuse weeks of tensions between Kosovo and Serbia

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines says President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. hopes to sign a number of agreements during a visit to Beijing that comes amid ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea. A statement from the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs on Thursday said a number of projects were under discussion, including in

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea has staged large-scale military drills to simulate shooting down North Korean drones. South Korea is trying to ease public concerns over its defense readiness after the North flew drones into its territory earlier this week. South Korean warplanes and helicopters failed to bring

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The Portuguese government’s chief official in charge of transportation, including the fate of the troubled national airline and a long-postponed plan for high-speed train lines, has resigned. Infrastructure and Housing Minister Pedro Nuno Santos quit late Wednesday amid an outcry over a 500,000-euro ($532,000) compensation payment made to a board member

By RENATA BRITO and HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Multiple regions of Ukraine, including its capital, faced a massive Russian missile attack Thursday, the biggest wave of strikes in weeks targeting power stations and other critical infrastructure during freezing weather. Air raid sirens rang out across the country. Ukraine’s military chief, Gen.

By ILAN BEN ZION Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Benjamin Netanyahu was set to return to office Thursday at the helm of the most religious and ultranationalist government in Israel’s history, vowing to implement policies that could cause domestic and regional turmoil and alienate the country’s closest allies. Netanyahu’s new government has pledged to prioritize

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Margret Yama’s phone screensaver is a picture of her cousin, Rifkatu Galang, who is still held by Boko Haram extremists nearly nine years after she and 275 other girls were seized from their school in northeastern Nigeria. Yama was among those taken but later freed. Dozens

By COURTNEY WALSH Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Fiji’s Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has vowed to address the “litany of woe” created by the nation’s former government while raising concerns about the Pacific nation’s massive debt. In his first address to the country since being sworn in to office on Christmas Eve, Rabuka said

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares slipped in Europe and Asia on Thursday after benchmarks fell more than 1% on Wall Street in the middle of a mostly quiet and holiday-shortened week. U.S. futures were mixed and oil prices declined more than $1 a barrel. Investors are watching to see how

By SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A massive fire that lasted more than 12 hours in a Cambodian hotel casino killed at least 16 people and injured about 50, while other victims were apparently not yet accounted for Thursday, as neighboring Thailand sent firetrucks to help fight the blaze in a

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — With its brutality, technological accomplishments and rigid ideology, the Soviet Union loomed over the world like an immortal colossus. It led humankind into outer space, exploded the most powerful nuclear weapon ever, and inflicted bloody purges and cruel labor camps on its own citizens while portraying itself

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic has reiterated his earlier comments that he bears no hard feelings on his return to Australia after his visa cancellation and subsequent deportation in January ahead of the Australian Open tennis tournament. Djokovic was deported almost 12 months ago after arriving unvaccinated against COVID-19 at a time when the

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A freight truck collided with a bus on a highway near the South Korean capital Seoul on Thursday, causing a fire that killed at least five people and injured 37 others, officials said. It wasn’t immediately known what caused the collision and fire, nor what cargo the truck was carrying.

By SOPHENG CHEANG Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A massive fire raging more than 12 hours in a Cambodian hotel casino killed at least 11 people, injured 30 and apparently trapped others Thursday as neighboring Thailand sent firetrucks to help fight the blaze in a bustling border region. Videos posted on social media

By RENATA BRITO and HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Multiple regions of Ukraine, including its capital, faced a massive Russian missile attack Thursday, the biggest wave of strikes in weeks targeting national infrastructure. Air raid sirens rang out across the country. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Russia