News

By EILEEN NG Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Less than a year after taking office, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim faces a critical first test in state elections next month that pits his government against a powerful Islamic opposition.  The Election Commission said Wednesday that over 9.7 million voters will head to the ballot

By MAJDI MOHAMMED and IMAD ISSEID Associated Press JENIN, West Bank (AP) — The Israeli military withdrew its troops from a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, ending an intense two-day operation that killed at least 13 Palestinians, drove thousands of people from their homes and left a wide swath of damage

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — New York City elections officials began releasing preliminary results Wednesday from ranked choice voting in last week’s City Council primaries. The city is still tabulating first round results, so those results may change in the coming days and weeks as additional ballots are tallied. Voting in the

By MORGAN LEE and PAUL J. WEBER Associated Press EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A white Texas gunman who killed 23 people at a Walmart in 2019 returns to court Wednesday for sentencing in a mass shooting that targeted Hispanic shoppers in the border city of El Paso. Patrick Crusius, 24, is set to receive

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI Associated Press STAR, Idaho (AP) — Once he and his wife Jennifer moved to a Boise suburb last year, Tim Kohl could finally express himself. Kohl did what the couple never dared at their previous house outside Los Angeles — the newly-retired Los Angeles police officer flew a U.S. flag and a

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets sank Wednesday after a survey showed Chinese industrial activity weakening. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney retreated. Oil prices were mixed. U.S. markets were closed Tuesday for a holiday. An index of service industry activity by a leading Chinese business magazine, Caixin, weakened

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press FUTABA, Japan (AP) — The United Nations nuclear chief toured Japan’s tsunami-wrecked nuclear power plant Wednesday, including some of the key facilities that will release treated radioactive water into the sea, the day after his agency affirmed the safety of a contentious plan. On the coastal observation “green deck,” International

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The satellite North Korea failed to put into orbit wasn’t advanced enough to conduct military reconnaissance from space as it claimed, South Korea’s military said Wednesday after retrieving and studying the wreckage. North Korea had tried to launch its first spy satellite in late May,

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has criticized Hong Kong authorities over their pursuit of two pro-democracy activists who live in Australia. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee said Tuesday that eight pro-democracy activists who now live in the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia will be pursued for life for alleged

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The U.N. nuclear chief is to visit Japan’s tsunami-wrecked nuclear power plant Wednesday after the agency affirmed the safety of a contentious plan to release treated radioactive water into the sea. On his way to the Fukushima Daiichi plant, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Mariano Grossi

By MANUEL RUEDA Associated Press BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s largest rebel group says it will stop attacks on the nation’s military as it prepares for a ceasefire with the government that could bring both sides closer to ending five decades of war. In a statement published Tuesday, the National Liberation Army’s Central Command ordered