BERLIN (AP) — The German government has agreed on a budget for 2025 and a stimulus package for Europe’s largest economy, ending a monthslong squabble that threatened to upend Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left coalition. German news agency dpa reported that Scholz, a Social Democrat, and leaders of the Free Democrats and Greens agreed on the
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The leader of Australia’s Northern Territory says the crocodile population must be either maintained or reduced and cannot be allowed to outstrip the human population. The remarks followed the death this week of a 12-year-old girl who was swimming in a Northern Territory creek. The crocodile population has
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Separate Israeli airstrikes killed at least six people Friday in central Gaza, including two children at a home and at least one United Nations worker, Palestinian hospital officials and first responders said, even as stalled cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas show signs of renewed momentum. Four
Continue ReadingPROVO, Utah (AP) — Authorities say malfunctioning fireworks veered into the stands at a crowded Utah football stadium and struck members of the audience. An event spokesperson said six people were taken to the hospital following the mishap at a Fourth of July celebration in Provo. One had serious injuries. The accident occurred Thursday during
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A former Philippine opposition senator accused ex-President Rodrigo Duterte of plundering state coffers in a criminal complaint filed, alleging that he conspired with aide Christopher Lawrence Go to award government infrastructure contracts worth millions of dollars to cronies. Filed with the Department of Justice in Manila on Friday, it
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is worried about the outcome of the runoff elections in France. Scholz, who is normally tightlipped when asked about domestic politics in other European countries, has in recent weeks more than once expressed concern that the far-right, nationalist National Rally may win a parliamentary majority in
Continue ReadingAssociated Press After advancing further than ever in World Cup qualifying, the Palestinian soccer team is determined to host a game for a change. The football association has proposed playing games in the third stage of its Asian qualification campaign in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and already has support from a number of its opponents,
Continue ReadingBy Helen Regan, Rob Picheta and Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN (CNN) — Nigel Farage, a driving force behind Britain’s Brexit movement and a confidant of former US President Donald Trump, has been elected to parliament for the first time, as his upstart right-wing Reform UK party looks to shake up the country’s politics. Farage becomes a member
Continue ReadingAssociated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — After her son, the family’s shining light and only breadwinner, was arrested last year, Tambudzai Tembo went into meltdown. In Zimbabwe, where clinical mental health services are scarce, her chances of getting professional help were next to zero. She contemplated suicide. “I didn’t want to live anymore. People who
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LONDON (AP) — For someone often derided as dull, Keir Starmer has delivered a sensational election result. Starmer has led Britain’s Labour Party to a landslide election victory, and on Friday officially became prime minister. It’s the latest reinvention for a man who went from human rights attorney to hard-nosed prosecutor and from
Continue ReadingCNN Analysis by Rob Picheta, CNN London (CNN) — Keir Starmer is the United Kingdom’s new prime minister after sweeping away a 14-year era of Conservative rule by leading his center-left Labour party to a massive landslide election victory. British rejected the Conservatives by a historic margin, and Starmer will be a very powerful prime
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose to more records Friday after a highly anticipated report on the job market bolstered Wall Street’s hopes that interest rates may soon get easier. The S&P 500 climbed 0.5% to set an all-time high for a third straight day following Thursday’s pause in trading for
Continue ReadingAssociated Press MONUMENT VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) — Thunderstorms are hopscotching around the Southwestern U.S., bringing much-needed moisture to a region where every drop counts. In fact, it’s the time of year when Arizona and New Mexico receive about half of their annual precipitation. Northern Mexico logs even more. From church altars and farm houses to
Continue ReadingBy Brad Lendon, CNN (CNN) — The US military will send dozens of its newest fighter jets to Japan as part of a $10 billion upgrade of its forces in the country, the Defense Department announced Wednesday. In a news release, the Pentagon said the effort would be carried out “over the next several years”
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LONDON (AP) — The Labour Party has won Britain’s general election, bringing a new party to power for the first time in 14 years. But Labour leader Keir Starmer didn’t actually become prime minister until a carefully choreographed ceremony on Friday during which King Charles III formally asked him to form a new
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Organizers of an effort to scale back Arkansas’ abortion ban said they have more than enough signatures to try to put their proposal before voters in November’s election. Arkansans for Limited Government submitted petitions said they turned in more than the 90,704 signatures from registered voters needed to
Continue ReadingAssociated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — In parts of Afghanistan where there are no street names or house numbers, utility companies and their customers have adopted a creative approach for connecting. They use mosques as drop points for bills and cash, a “pay and pray” system. Now the national postal service wants to phase this
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran held a runoff presidential election on Friday that pitted a hard-line former nuclear negotiator against a reformist lawmaker after the first round of voting saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. Initial results early Saturday put reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian ahead of hard-liner Saeed
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, says he will lead a “government of service” on a mission of national renewal. The comment came in Starmer’s first official remarks after his Labour Party swept to power in a landslide victory after more than a decade in opposition. Starmer led his party
Continue ReadingBy Reuters (CNN) — Senior members of Jemaah Islamiyah, the Southeast Asian militant network blamed for the deadly Bali bombings, have announced they are disbanding the group, according to a report by a Jakarta-based think tank on Thursday. The report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) confirmed the authenticity of a June
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