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By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A Sri Lankan minister in charge of prisons has resigned following a public outcry after he allegedly threatened to kill two ethnic minority prisoners. Lohan Ratwatte, state minister of Prison Management and Prisoners’ Rehabilitation, was accused of entering a prison in Anuradhapura north of  Colombo

By KIM COOK Associated Press The pandemic may have made us restless for the outside world, but it has also helped us appreciate our homes more. Even if you didn’t redo a basement playroom or create a workspace in an apartment closet, you probably rediscovered what you like about your home. As the fall nesting

BERLIN (AP) — Germany said China has rejected a planned stopover of a German warship in a Chinese port. The frigate left Germany last month for a tour of the Indo-Pacific region as part of the German government’s effort to increase its activities there. A German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Wednesday that “after some consideration,

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — The head of Iraq’s electoral commission says attempts to buy votes have been thwarted one month before Iraq is set to hold federal elections. Judge Jaleel Adnan Khalaf says he has heard that “citizens are selling their voter cards,” a way for candidates to

SURFSIDE, Fla. (AP) — Commissioners in Surfside, Florida, have rejected a proposal to trade public land to the eventual buyer of the condominium collapse site. A $120 million offer for the Champlain Towers property is on the table. A judge said a property sale with a land swap would enable victims to be compensated while

POINT COMFORT, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice says a Texas plastics company has agreed to pay nearly $3 million in civil penalties for violating the Clean Air Act. The DOJ says Formosa Plastics Corporation also agreed to improve its risk management program at its petrochemical plant in Point Comfort, Texas. An investigation

By LORI HINNANT Associated Press PARIS (AP) — The key defendant in the 2015 Paris attacks trial said the coordinated killings were part of the Islamic State network’s war against France. Salah Abdeslam called the deaths of 130 people “nothing personal” as he acknowledged his role for the first time. Abdeslam wore all black and

BERLIN (AP) — A memorial in Berlin to the Polish victims of World War II has moved a step closer to realization. Germany’s foreign minister said Wednesday that construction should start during the next German parliament’s four-year term. The project was mandated last October by the German parliament. Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939, beginning

By JILL LAWLESS and PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has demoted his top diplomat and fired his education minister in a Cabinet reshuffle, as he attempted to move on from a series of political missteps and U-turns. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab faced strong criticism last month for delaying

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says nearly 3 million consumers took advantage of a special six-month period to sign up for subsidized health insurance coverage made more affordable by his COVID-19 relief law. He calls that number encouraging and is urging Congress to help keep the trend going by

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — When European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen was at a loss for words to capture the true spirit of Europe’s young, she introduced a special guest of honor at her State of the Union address. Paralympic wheelchair fencer Bebe Vio of Italy became the symbol of

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — In “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” Jessica Chastain gives perhaps the most ambitious performance of her career so far. For the widely admired actor of “The Tree of Life,” “Zero Dark Thirty” and “The Help,” it’s the first time she’s tackled a decades-spanning biopic with

LONDON (AP) — The European Union’s top official outlined on Tuesday ambitious plans to kickstart chipmaking capability so that the bloc can stand on its own in the face of intensifying global competition for semiconductors. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a European Chips Act to provide official support to boost the bloc’s