Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, has visited Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, a move that could threaten the delicate Gaza cease-fire talks. The visit was the latest act of defiance by an ultranationalist settler leader who has transformed himself over the decades from an outlaw and
Continue ReadingAssociated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — The Vietnamese Communist Party says President To Lam on Thursday became the caretaker of the Party while its general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong focuses on receiving treatment for his health. Trong, who has been Vietnam’s most powerful politician since 2011, is an ideologue who views corruption as the biggest
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PARIS (AP) — A special kind of iron curtain came down across central Paris on Thursday, with the beginning of an Olympic anti-terrorism perimeter along the banks of the River Seine sealing off a kilometers-long (miles-long) area to Parisians and tourists who hadn’t applied in advance for a pass. The words on many
Continue ReadingBEIJING (AP) — Chinese investigators suspect construction work sparked a fire that caused 16 deaths in a shopping mall in the southwestern city of Zigong. The fire broke out Wednesday evening, state media reported. The 14-story commercial building was evacuated, with 75 people led to safety, according to the official news agency Xinhua. Fire hazards
Continue ReadingAP National Writer The swimsuit that Michael Phelps wore while winning eight golds medals at the Beijing Olympics is still revered around Speedo’s design center. The LZR Racer is a reminder of just how much a suit can help an athlete. Of course, the rules these days are much more of a hindrance to swimsuit
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — What began as peaceful protests by students in Bangladesh against a quota system for government jobs eventually turned into an uprising that forced Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee the country by helicopter. Now, opposition leaders and the country’s military are talking about appointing an interim government
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A Kenyan court has suspended a police ban on protests in the capital. The high court said Thursday that that citizens have a right to demonstrate peacefully. Police had barred protests in Nairobi indefinitely before the court decision. They said that the protests lacked leadership that would ensure peaceful
Continue ReadingBERLIN (AP) — Police say an American man who made threats against Taylor Swift on social media was detained ahead of her first concert in the German city of Gelsenkirchen and will be kept in custody until her shows there are over. Local police said Thursday that the suspected stalker, a 34-year-old whose name wasn’t
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea says it has restarted anti-Pyongyang propaganda broadcasts across the border in response to North Korea’s resumption of trash-carrying balloon launches. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff says its frontline loudspeaker broadcasts were conducted between Thursday evening and Friday morning in areas where North Korea floated the
Continue ReadingBy Jillian Sykes, CNN (CNN) — An Illinois woman was fatally shot inside her home this month by a sheriff’s deputy who responded to her 911 call, and the deputy is now charged with murder in the case, a prosecutor said this week. Sonya Massey, 36, called 911 on July 6 because she thought an intruder was in her
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — State media say North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has visited a major tourism site being constructed on the country’s eastern coast and discussed steps to open the zone by next year. Kim’s visit to the Wonsan-Kalma zone earlier this week comes as North Korea continues to block
Continue ReadingHELSINKI (AP) — Wireless and fixed-network equipment maker Nokia has reported a double-digit fall in profit and sales in the second quarter due to a continuing weak market as clients are holding off investments in 5G technology. The Espoo, Finland-based company, reported Thursday a net profit of 328 million euros for the April-June period, down
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Police and government supporters clashed Thursday with student activists trying to shut down transportation across Bangladesh as part of dayslong protests over the allocation of government jobs, and media reports said 19 people died in the violence. The new casualties Thursday would bring the overall toll to 25 dead
Continue ReadingBy Chris Lau, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — A Wall Street Journal reporter in Hong Kong said she was fired after being elected to lead a press union that has come under attack by Beijing amid a national security crackdown. Selina Cheng, who was elected chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) on June
Continue ReadingBy Oren Liebermann and Brad Lendon, CNN Tokyo (CNN) — America’s two most powerful allies in the Pacific are taking their defense ties to new heights amid increasing concerns over China’s assertiveness in the region and North Korean threats, Japan’s top general said Thursday. Before a trilateral meeting with US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
Continue ReadingBELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s Interior Minister says a police officer has been killed and another wounded by an assailant who opened fire after being stopped by a patrol in a border town. Interior Minister Ivica Dačić said the shooting happened just before 1 a.m. Thursday in the western town of Loznica near the border
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank left its key interest rate benchmark unchanged Thursday as its rate-setting council and President Christine Lagarde take their time to make sure stubborn inflation is firmly under control before lowering rates again. The decision leaves the deposit rate at 3.75%, where it has stood
Continue ReadingAssociated Press STRASBOURG, France (AP) — Lawmakers at the European Parliament have reelected Ursula von der Leyen to a second 5-year term as president of the European Union’s executive commission. The reelection ensures leadership continuity for the 27-nation bloc as it wrestles with crises ranging from the war in Ukraine to climate change, migration and
Continue ReadingBy Kathleen Magramo, photo curation by Noemi Cassanelli, CNN (CNN) — Shiite Muslims across the globe on Tuesday observed Ashura, an annual commemoration mourning the seventh-century martyrdom of a grandson of the Prophet Mohammed. Imam Hussein bin Ali’s death in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD is believed to have cemented the split between Shiites – who
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BEIJING (AP) — China’s ruling Communist Party has ended a top-level meeting by endorsing policies aimed at building the country’s technological power and fortifying its national security. A statement released when the meeting ended provided only a broad-brush summary of any decisions. More details are likely to emerge days later. The meeting’s agenda
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