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BEIJING (AP) — China says it’s willing to hold talks with the U.S. to promote a “soft landing” in Afghanistan, while heavily criticizing Washington and again demanding that the Biden administration halt its attacks on China. A Foreign Ministry statement said that Foreign Minister Wang Yi, in a phone call Monday with U.S. Secretary of

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s national fire chief says a massive wildfire that has consumed a large swath of forest west of Jerusalem has been brought under control. The chief made the announcement on Tuesday after a three-day battle that required over 100 firefighting teams from across the country, more than a dozen firefighting planes and

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Chinese fighter jets, anti-submarine aircraft and combat ships have conducted assault drills near Taiwan. The People’s Liberation Army says the exercise was necessary to safeguard China’s sovereignty and that recent U.S.-Taiwan provocations severely violated it. China has stepped up military exercises around self-ruled Taiwan, which it considers its own territory. Taiwan’s

By ELENA BECATOROS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Hundreds of firefighters backed by more than 30 water-dropping planes are gaining ground against a large forest fire burning for the second day northwest of Athens that has led to the evacuation of a nursing home and several villages. The fire in the Vilia area, which

By DAVID RISING Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — The UN’s nuclear watchdog says Iran continues to produce uranium metal, which can be used in the production of a nuclear bomb, in a move that further complicates the possibility of reviving a landmark 2015 deal with world powers on Iran’s nuclear program. In a report issued

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — German rescue teams have recovered the body of a woman from the water and are still searching for one more person who was swept off a bridge by sudden floods in Bavaria. German authorities said Tuesday that eight other people were rescued uninjured from the floods. Heavy,

By DANIEL COLE and ANGELA CHARLTON Associated Press LA GARDE-FREINET, France (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron says firefighters have been able to “stabilize” a wildfire that is racing through forests near the French Riviera. The fire has forced the evacuation of some 6,000 people from homes, campsites and hotels in the popular vacation destination.

By NICK PERRY Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s government has taken drastic action by putting the entire nation into a strict lockdown after finding a single case of coronavirus infection in the community. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern invoked some of the stirring rhetoric she used early in the pandemic by urging

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Sudoku creator Maki Kaji, whose life’s work was spreading the joy of puzzles, has died at age 69 of cancer. Known as the “Godfather of Sudoku,” Kaji created the numbers puzzle to be easy for children and others who didn’t want to think too hard. He

By AHMAD SEIR, RAHIM FAIEZ, KATHY GANNON and JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban have vowed to respect women’s rights, forgive those who fought them and ensure Afghanistan does not become a haven for terrorists. Their longtime spokesman emerged from the shadows as part of a publicity blitz aimed at reassuring

By CONSTANTIN GOUVY Associated Press LE BOURGET, France (AP) — The poorest region in mainland France has managed to dramatically speed up its COVID-19 vaccination campaign. That’s notably thanks to walk-in pop-up centers aimed at reaching people where they live and work. The multicultural, working-class region of Seine-Saint-Denis, north of Paris, initially struggled in getting

By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets have rebounded after Wall Street fell on weak retail sales as investors awaited an update from the Federal Reserve on possible plans to reduce U.S. stimulus. Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index declined from a record

By SOPHENG CHEANG and DAVID RISING Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The defense team for the former head of state of Cambodia’s brutal Khmer Rouge regime says his genocide conviction should be overturned. The arguments came during Khieu Samphan’s appeal hearing at the international tribunal’s Supreme Court chamber. French attorney Anta Guissé told

By TERENCE CHEA, ETHAN SWOPE and JOHN ANTCZAK Associated Press GRIZZLY FLATS, Calif. (AP) — Pacific Gas & Electric says it has begun shutting off power to about 51,000 customers in 18 Northern California counties to prevent wildfires. The utility announced Tuesday evening that it has begun enacting the shutoffs as a precaution to prevent