AP National News

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Millions of students wearing face masks streamed back to primary and secondary schools across the Philippines on Monday for their first in-person classes after two years of coronavirus lockdowns that are feared to have worsened alarming illiteracy rates among children. Officials grappled with daunting problems, including

BANGKOK (AP) — Singapore’s decision to decriminalize sex between men is being hailed as a step in the right direction for LGBTQ rights in the Asia-Pacific region, a vast area of nearly 5 billion people with different laws and attitudes. Although many places have decriminalized sexual acts between people of the same sex, only a

By VANESSA GERA and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — On March 8, nearly two weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, Taisiia Mokrozub took her infant son, parted from her husband and joined an exodus to safety in Poland. She believed the war would end quickly and she would be home by May. But

By MALAK HARB Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar recently arrested at least 60 foreign workers who protested going months without pay and deported some of them, an advocacy group said, just three months before Doha hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The move comes as Qatar faces intense international scrutiny over

By TOH EE MING and EILEEN NG Associated Press SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore’s gay community Monday hailed a plan to decriminalize sex between men as “a triumph of love over fear” but warned there is still a long way to equality and new bans on same-sex unions could entrench discrimination against them. Prime Minister Lee

BEIJING (AP) — A notice reported by Chinese news outlets says power rationing that forced factories in the southwest to shut down has been extended through at least Thursday due to low water at hydroelectric dams. That adds to losses from China’s hottest, driest summer in decades. Tencent News said the “tense situation” of power

By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press MULBERRY, Ark. (AP) — Federal authorities said Monday they have started a civil rights investigation following the suspension of three Arkansas law enforcement officers after a video posted on social media showed two of them beating a man while a third officer held him on the ground. The officers were

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani police have filed terrorism charges against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, authorities said Monday, escalating political tensions in the country as the ousted premier holds mass rallies seeking to return to office. The charges followed a speech Khan gave in Islamabad on Saturday in which he

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Millions of students wearing face masks streamed back to primary and secondary schools across the Philippines Monday in their first in-person classes after two years of coronavirus lockdowns that are feared to have worsened one of the world’s most alarming illiteracy rates among children. Officials grappled

MULBERRY, Ark. (AP) — Three Arkansas law enforcement officers were suspended Sunday following social media outrage over a video that seemingly showed two deputies and an officer striking a suspect under arrest. Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante issued a statement Sunday evening, stating two county deputies will be suspended during the course of the Arkansas

By ED WHITE Associated Press Jurors will hear closing arguments Monday in the retrial of two men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020. Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. declined to testify Friday as defense lawyers rested their case in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The government has portrayed

By SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ohio hog farmer Joe Brandt changed his operation a few years ago to give his pigs more room and keep pregnant sows out of the narrow crates used by most farms. Brandt said he wanted to treat his pigs more humanely, but in doing so

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Schools are installing panic buttons to summon help during a shooting, as they scramble to reassure worried parents after this spring’s massacre in Uvalde, Texas, and ahead of back-to-school. Panic buttons are mandated in multiple states. The mother of a Parkland, Florida, shooting victim promotes the

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Indiana’s Republican governor has begun a visit to Taiwan, following two recent high-profile visits by U.S. politicians that drew China’s ire and Chinese military drills. Gov. Eric Holcomb will focus on economic exchange, particularly semiconductors, and is expected to meet with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen. His

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States and South Korea began their biggest combined military training in years Monday as they heighten their defense posture against the growing North Korean nuclear threat. The drills could draw an angry response from North Korea, which has dialed up its weapons testing