News

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A Chinese envoy has asked Australian authorities to increase efforts in the search for 39 crew members who were aboard a Chinese fishing boat that capsized in the Indian Ocean, as Chinese media reported two bodies had been recovered.. No survivors or life rafts have been

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand police have arrested a man and charged him with two counts of arson in connection with the fire at a Wellington hostel that killed at least six people. Police said Thursday that the investigation is ongoing and they could file more serious charges

BEIJING (AP) — China says its special envoy met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during talks in Kyiv earlier this week. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily briefing on Thursday that Ukraine’s foreign minister also met with Li to discuss how to end Russia’s war, but no details were disclosed and the

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top court has ruled to allow the continuation of the bull-taming sport of jallikattu, which is celebrated as cultural heritage in the southern state of Tamil Nadu but criticized by animals rights groups. Five justices held Thursday that the state government was taking sufficient steps

By SUSIE BLANN Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched cruise missiles at Ukraine’s capital and the Odesa region early Thursday, officials said, in an escalation ahead of a much-anticipated counteroffensive. Most of the missiles were shot down, and one death was reported from the attacks. Loud explosions were heard in Kyiv, and falling

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — China has opened its doors to Australian timber imports for the first time in more than two years, in another sign that the tattered bilateral relationship is being repaired. Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian said the timber ban had been lifted from Thursday because Australian

By JOSEF FEDERMAN Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has deployed over 2,000 police for a parade by flag-waving Jewish nationalists through the main Palestinian thoroughfare in Jerusalem’s Old City. Authorities say the heightened security presence is part of a determined effort to ensure the contentious event passes without violence on Thursday. Police have decided

By ADAM SCHRECK Associated Press HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — World leaders landed in Hiroshima on Thursday for a Group of Seven meeting in Hiroshima, the site of the world’s first atomic bomb attack, with Russia’s war in Ukraine expected to be high on the agenda. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida kicked off his summit diplomacy

By BERNAT ARMANGUE and HELENA ALVES Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The show must go on, even when its Ukrainian director is drafted by the army weeks before opening night. “Silence, Silence, Silence, Please,” a play that tackles Russia’s war in Ukraine had its world debut in Portugal last week, but it’s chief creator

By JOE McDONALD Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Foreign embassies in Beijing were asked by the Chinese government to avoid displaying what it calls propaganda in an apparent response to shows of support for Ukraine. Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government says it is neutral in Moscow’s 15-month-old invasion of Ukraine but has repeated Russian justifications,

By RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — A U.K.-based rights group on Thursday launched an interactive map documenting rampant human rights abuses and violence against civilians since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan nearly two years ago. The documented violations — committed by both the Taliban and militant groups such as the Islamic State