AP National News

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis gave the World Cup a shout-out on Wednesday and prayed that the Qatar tournament may be an occasion for harmony and peace in the world. Francis is a life-long soccer fan and has long promoted sport as a way of promoting solidarity and fraternity. Speaking at the end of

By JOHN LEICESTER and SAM MEDNICK Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An overnight rocket attack destroyed a hospital maternity ward in southern Ukraine, killing a 2-day-old baby, Ukrainian authorities said Wednesday. Ukraine’s first lady said the attack caused “horrible pain,” vowing that “we will never forget and never forgive.” The baby’s mother and a

By ANDI JATMIKO Associated Press CIANJUR, Indonesia (AP) — More rescuers and volunteers were deployed Wednesday in devastated areas on Indonesia’s main island of Java to search for the dead and missing from an earthquake that killed at least 271 people. With many missing, some remote areas still unreachable and more than 2,000 people injured

By ALEX BRANDON Associated Press CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — A shooter opened fire in a Walmart in Virginia late Tuesday, leaving six people dead, police said, in the second high-profile mass killing in a handful of days. The assailant is also dead. The store in Chesapeake is now safe, Officer Leo Kosinski said in the

By JILL COLVIN Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump has teased a third presidential campaign from the moment he left the White House. But in the week since Trump officially declared his candidacy, the Republican former president has been uncharacteristically low key. There has been no massive stadium kickoff rally. Trump’s newly reinstated

BERLIN (AP) — The first of several ships that will serve as floating terminals to receive liquefied natural gas imports in Germany have arrived off the Baltic Sea port of Mukran. In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany has scrambled to secure alternative sources of gas to replace Russian supplies, on which the country

PARIS (AP) — The European Space Agency is unveiling its newest astronaut recruits, concluding its first recruitment drive in over a decade that aims to bring diversity to space travel. Over 22,000 applicants came forward in the hiring push announced February of last year by Europe’s answer to NASA — including more women than ever

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — World shares have advanced ahead of Wednesday’s release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting. Benchmarks rose in London, Paris, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Markets were closed in Japan for a holiday. The Federal Reserve minutes could give investors more insight into the U.S.

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The U.K. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Scotland does not have the power to hold a new referendum on independence without the consent of the British government. The judgment is a setback for the Scottish government’s campaign to break away from the United Kingdom. Scottish First Minister

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli rights group says the Israeli military has demolished a school in the occupied West Bank, part of a long-standing expulsion order against eight Palestinian hamlets. B’Tselem, the rights group, said schoolchildren were inside the classrooms as soldiers arrived ahead of Wednesday’s demolition. Video provided by the group showed a bulldozer

By JOE McDONALD and ZEN SOO AP Business Writers BEIJING (AP) — Employees at the world’s biggest Apple iPhone factory were beaten and detained in protests over pay amid anti-virus controls, according to witnesses and videos on social media Wednesday, as tensions mount over Chinese efforts to combat a renewed rise in infections. Videos that

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An overnight rocket attack struck a hospital maternity ward in southern Ukraine, killing a newborn baby, Ukrainian authorities said Wednesday. The baby’s mother and a doctor were pulled alive from the rubble. The region’s governor said the rockets were Russian. The strike in Vilniansk, close to the city of Zaporizhzhia, adds

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s government says it is ready to appoint a new army chief for the country as political turmoil and feuding continues to grip its political elite. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s office said Wednesday it had received a list of six senior army generals as nominees for the

By TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — As millions of people travel the interstates this Thanksgiving, many will encounter patches of traffic at a standstill for no apparent reason — no construction or accident. Researchers say the problem is you. Human drivers just don’t do a good job of navigating dense traffic conditions,

By SUMETH PANPETCH Associated Press HAT YAI, Thailand (AP) — Police are trying to identify the suspect in a bombing of police housing that killed one officer and wounded 45 other people in southern Thailand. Police said the suspect drove a black pickup truck into the compound then walked out after parking the vehicle. He

By HOGIR AL ABDO Associated Press QAMISHLI, Syria (AP) — The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria says his group is prepared to repel a ground invasion by Turkey. SDF head Mazloum Abdi tells the The Associated Press that his group has been preparing for another such attack since Turkey launched

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s disaster management agency says an earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 has hit a town in northwestern Turkey, causing panic and damage to some buildings. The earthquake early Wednesday was centered in the town of Golkaya, in Duzce province, some 125 miles east of Istanbul. It was felt in Istanbul

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Supreme Court is due to rule Wednesday on whether Scotland can hold a vote on independence without the consent of the U.K. government, a case with huge implications for the future of the United Kingdom. The semi-autonomous Scottish government has asked the top court to decide

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard says an explosion in Syria has killed one of its officers. The Guard on Wednesday identified the officer killed as Col. Davoud Jafari, blaming Israel for the blast. The Guard said Jafari was working for force’s airspace division. Iran has been a main