News

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s most populous state has reported its worst day of the pandemic with 478 new infections and seven COVID-19 deaths as pandemic restrictions tightened in other parts of the country. The previous record daily tally in New South Wales before Monday was 466 new cases reported

By EILEEN NG Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has resigned less than 18 months in power, apologizing for his shortcomings but blaming those he said were “hungry for power.” Muhyiddin says he hoped to stay on until the coronavirus vaccination program is completed and the economy has recovered,

By ZEKE MILLER, JONATHAN LEMIRE and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he stands “squarely behind” his decision for the U.S. to leave Afghanistan. Speaking about the chaotic situation in Kabul, Biden says he faced a choice between sticking with an agreement to leave or sending thousands more U.S. troops

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press The chop of U.S. military helicopters whisking American diplomats to Kabul’s airport has punctuated a frantic rush by thousands of other foreigners and Afghans to flee to safety as well, as a stunningly swift Taliban takeover reached Afghanistan’s capital. U.S. reports of gunfire at the airport Sunday

By BEN FINLEY Associated Press Earthquakes have been wreaking havoc in Haiti since at least the 18th century, when the city of Port-au-Prince was destroyed twice in 19 years. The 21st century has been no less kind. Saturday’s powerful quake killed hundreds and injured thousands more. Eleven years earlier a temblor killed tens of thousands

By MARK STEVENSON and EVENS SANON Associated Press LES CAYES, Haiti (AP) — Haitian authorities have raised the death toll from the powerful earthquake that struck southwestern Haiti over the weekend to 1,419. The country’s Civil Protection Agency also said Monday that the number of injured people has grown to 6,000. The earthquake destroyed thousands

By ASHRAF KHALIL and JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has approved a significant and permanent increase in the levels of food stamp assistance available to needy families. It’s the largest single increase in the program’s history. Starting in October, average benefits for food stamps  will rise more than 25 percent

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER, ROBERT BURNS and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is calling the violent chaos at Kabul’s airport “gut-wrenching,” but he’s standing by America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Biden spoke from the White House on Monday in his first in-person remarks since the Taliban over the weekend rolled over an

By SHEIKH SAALIQ Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s harsh anti-terror law is coming under rare scrutiny. Some Indian courts and legal experts say the law allows for arbitrary arrests and is being used to squash dissent. Tough requirements for granting bail mean people often spend months, sometimes years, in jail without being found

By The Associated Press A young Chinese woman says she was held for eight days at a Chinese-run secret detention facility in Dubai along with at least two Uyghurs. While so-called “black sites” are common in China, the account of 26-year-old Wu Huan is the only testimony known to experts that Beijing has set one

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets have declined amid turmoil in Afghanistan and unease about China’s economic outlook after July activity was weaker than expected. Shanghai, Hong Kong and South Korea retreated while Tokyo rose. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose to a new high despite rising American

By SLAMET RIYADI Associated Press YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s most active volcano has erupted with its biggest lava flow in months on the densely populated island of Java. The eruption sent a river of lava and searing gas flowing more than 2 miles down Mount Merapi and rumbling could be heard miles away. Hot

By SOPHENG CHEANG and DAVID RISING Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The last living leader from the inner circle of Cambodia’s brutal Khmer Rouge regime is in court seeking to overturn his conviction on genocide charges before a long-running international tribunal. Ninety-year-old Khieu Samphan was the former head of state for the Khmer