AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading again to the Middle East, making his 11th trip to the region since the Gaza war erupted last year and as Israel steps up attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The State Department says Blinken will depart Monday for a weeklong trip to
Continue ReadingBy Dakin Andone, Ed Lavandera, Cindy Von Quednow and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN (CNN) — Death row inmate Robert Roberson did not appear Monday to testify before the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence – in person or otherwise – despite a subpoena lawmakers issued last week that halted his execution for a crime he and
Continue ReadingBy Jessie Yeung and Lucas Lilieholm, CNN (CNN) — Turkish Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, a longtime bitter rival of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan who was blamed for a deadly failed coup attempt in 2016, has died at age 83, according to Turkish officials and a media outlet linked to the cleric’s movement. The death
Continue ReadingAssociated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam has elected Luong Cuong, a military general, as its new president, the fourth official to fill the role in 18 months. Cuong, 67, was elected by the National Assembly on Monday to replace To Lam, who remained president even after he was formally appointed as the general secretary
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Israel says it is planning to carry out more strikes in Lebanon against a Hezbollah-run financial institution that it targeted the night before. It says the militant group uses the deposits of Lebanese people to finance rocket attacks against Israel. Israeli forces struck at least 15 branches of Al-Qard Al-Hasan
Continue ReadingZURICH (AP) — Former U.S. national team captain Becky Sauerbrunn and Netherlands forward Vivianne Miedema are among more than 100 women’s soccer players who have signed an open letter protesting FIFA’s sponsorship deal with Saudi Arabian state oil giant Aramco. The letter calls the deal, which includes sponsorship at the 2027 Women’s World Cup, “much
Continue ReadingAssociated Press TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese police chief has apologized to Iwao Hakamada for his decades-long suffering because of a wrongful conviction that had kept him on death row decades until last month when he was acquitted in a retrial. The 88-year-old Hakamada, a former boxer, was acquitted in September after a court ruled
Continue ReadingPARIS (AP) — The French transport minister is expected to meet with cycling associations following the death of a cyclist in Paris after a dispute with a driver. The 27-year-old cyclist was allegedly deliberately run over last week by a SUV driver, who now faces preliminary charges of murder. The incident has sparked protests across
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SAYLORSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Fethullah Gülen, a reclusive U.S.-based Islamic cleric who inspired a global social movement while facing unproven accusations that he masterminded a failed 2016 coup in his native Turkey, has died. The Alliance for Shared Values, a New York-based group that promotes Gülen’s work in the U.S., said that Gülen
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The shooting at former President Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania rally in July was “preventable and should not have happened.” That’s according to a bipartisan House panel that is investigating what it calls the “stunning security failures” that preceded the assassination attempt against the Republican presidential nominee. The task force released its
Continue ReadingBy Christian Edwards, CNN (CNN) — Moldovans have voted by the thinnest of margins in favor of joining the European Union, near-complete results showed Monday, as President Maia Sandu condemned an “unprecedented assault” by foreign actors on the country’s democracy. With more than 99% of votes counted, 50.4% had voted “yes” in the pivotal referendum
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of people with private health insurance would be able to pick up over-the-counter methods like condoms, the “morning after” pill and birth control pills for free under a new rule the White House proposed on Monday. Right now, health insurers must cover the cost of prescribed contraception, including prescription
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Mizzou’s come-from-behind victory Saturday on Faurot Field wasn’t enough to get much love from the nation’s college football writers. Mizzou fell two spots in the AP Top 25 on Sunday — moving from No. 19 to No. 21 — after needing a last-minute touchdown to overcome a 2-5 Auburn squad. Now the Tigers move on
Continue ReadingBy Nadeen Ebrahim and Mike Schwartz, CNN Tel Aviv and Ma’ale Adumim (CNN) — A 40-year-old father of four, Eliran Mizrahi deployed to Gaza after the deadly Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The Israeli military reservist returned a different person, traumatized by what he had witnessed in the war against Hamas in
Continue ReadingATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s coast guard says a search and rescue operation off the coast of the eastern Greek island of Samos has recovered the bodies of two people reported missing overnight after a boat carrying 24 migrants ran into trouble in rough weather. Authorities say they received a distress call from the passengers
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea has summoned the Russian ambassador to demand the immediate pullout of North Korean troops allegedly deployed in Russia. South Korea’s spy agency said last week it had confirmed that North Korea sent 1,500 special operation forces to Russia earlier this month to support Russia’s war against
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Eight people are confirmed dead and almost 20 are missing after a boat whose passengers included villagers fleeing from fighting in Myanmar capsized in the Andaman Sea. A villager helping rescue operations said Monday about 79 people were rescued from the boat, which was carrying an estimated 100 people. It
Continue ReadingAssociated Press CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Electoral data shows that Moldovans have voted by a razor-thin majority in favor of securing the country’s path toward European Union membership. The pro-Western president is again accusing foreign interference and “criminal groups” of trying to undermine the vote in the former Soviet republic. Moldovan authorities claim that Moscow
Continue ReadingAssociated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the United States will get Ukraine what it needs to fight its war with Russia. But in an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday he gave no hint that Washington might endorse key planks of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s so-called “victory plan.” Austin
Continue ReadingBy Hilary Whiteman, CNN Brisbane, Australia (CNN) — Britain’s King Charles III had just finished giving a speech to Australia’s Parliament House on Monday when an Indigenous senator began yelling, “You are not my king.” From the back of the room, Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe shouted at the royal couple, “Give us our land back,
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