Putin welcomes China’s Xi to Kremlin amid Ukraine war
March 20, 2023 GMTRussian President Vladimir Putin warmly welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the Kremlin on Monday, a visit that sent a powerful message to Western leaders allied with Ukraine that their efforts to isolate Moscow have fallen short.
Putin sticks to protocol during Chinese leader Xi’s visit
March 20, 2023 GMTMOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin wasn't waiting at the end of the red carpet to greet Chinese leader Xi Jinping upon his arrival in Russia on Monday for a high-profile visit.
North Korea: Latest missile simulated nuclear counterattack
March 20, 2023 GMTSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Monday it simulated a nuclear attack on South Korea with a ballistic missile launch over the weekend that was its fifth missile demonstration this month to protest the largest joint military exercises in years between the U.S.
China’s Xi meeting Putin in boost for isolated Russia leader
March 20, 2023 GMTBEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet with Vladimir Putin in a political boost for the isolated Russian president after the International Criminal Court charged him with war crimes in Ukraine.
World on ‘thin ice’ as UN climate report gives stark warning
March 20, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Humanity still has a chance, close to the last one, to prevent the worst of climate change ’s future harms, a top United Nations panel of scientists said Monday.
Former Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou will visit China
March 20, 2023 GMTTAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou will visit China next week in what a spokesman called a bid to ease tensions between the self-ruled island and the mainland.
Ma presided over a period of warm ties with Beijing, but left office under a cloud after a trade deal with the mainland failed to win approval amid the island's largest protests since the 1990s.
Report: 43,000 estimated dead in Somalia drought last year
March 20, 2023 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A new report says an estimated 43,000 people died amid Somalia's longest drought on record last year and half of them likely were children under 5 years old.
Volunteer doctors providing critical care near Ukraine war front lines
March 20, 2023 GMTKHRESTYSHCHE, Ukraine (AP) — In a cramped municipal building in this former front-line village, its front window boarded up with plywood, a team of volunteer specialist doctors have set up a mobile clinic.
French government fights to survive 2 no-confidence motions
March 20, 2023 GMTPARIS (AP) — France’s government is facing a critical, maybe fatal, moment Monday with no-confidence motions filed by lawmakers furious that President Emmanuel Macron ordered the use of special constitutional powers to force through an unpopular bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 without giving them a vote.
N. Ireland unionists say no to Sunak’s Brexit deal, for now
March 20, 2023 GMTLONDON (AP) — Northern Ireland’s main British unionist party said Monday it will vote against a deal struck by Britain and the European Union to resolve a thorny trade dispute that vexed U.K.-EU relations and triggered a political crisis in Belfast.
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Man arrested after windows smashed at Indian mission in UK
March 20, 2023 GMTLONDON (AP) — Windows at India’s High Commission in London were smashed and two security guards were slightly injured during a demonstration by Sikh protesters, police said Monday.
London’s Metropolitan Police force said a man was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder outside the diplomatic mission on Sunday afternoon.
Biden calls Israel’s Netanyahu with judicial plan ‘concern’
March 19, 2023 GMTWILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden spoke Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express "concern” over his government’s planned overhaul of the country’s judicial system that has sparked widespread protests across Israel and to encourage compromise.
North Korea launches missile into sea amid US-SKorea drills
March 19, 2023 GMTSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the sea on Sunday, its neighbors said, ramping up testing activities in response to ongoing U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal.
Long-serving Montenegro president to face newcomer in runoff
March 19, 2023 GMTPODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — The long-serving incumbent will face a political newcomer in a runoff presidential election in Montenegro next month no one won in the first round of voting on Sunday held amid a political turmoil in the Balkan country, early projections showed.
Putin makes surprise trip to occupied Mariupol
March 19, 2023 GMTKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the occupied port city of Mariupol, his first trip to Ukrainian territory that Moscow illegally annexed in September and a show of defiance after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest on war crimes charges.
Macron’s leadership at risk amid tensions over pension plan
March 19, 2023 GMTPARIS (AP) — A parody photo appearing on protest signs and online in France shows President Emmanuel Macron sitting on piles of garbage. It's both a reference to the trash going uncollected with Paris sanitation workers on strike — and to what many French people think about their leader.
Vandals attack French politician’s office over pensions row
March 19, 2023 GMTPARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron pledged Sunday to protect lawmakers facing threats for supporting his push to raise the retirement age, amid sustained strikes and protests over the pension bill ahead of high-stakes votes in parliament Monday.
Israel, Palestinians aim to curb violence as holiday nears
March 19, 2023 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Israel and the Palestinians pledged Sunday at a meeting in Egypt to take steps to lower tensions ahead of a sensitive holiday season — including a partial freeze on Israeli settlement activity and an agreement to work together to “curb and counter violence.”
Gunmen kill 9 Chinese at mine in Central African Republic
March 19, 2023 GMTBANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Gunmen stormed a Chinese-operated gold mining site that had recently been launched in Central African Republic, killing nine Chinese nationals and wounding two others Sunday, authorities said.
Greek city marks 80th anniversary of Auschwitz train convoy
March 19, 2023 GMTTHESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greece’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki, commemorated on Sunday the 80th anniversary of the departure of the first train convoy for the Auschwitz camp.
Officials, led by President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, marched from Eleftherias ("Freedom") Square, where members of the city’s Jewish community were rounded up by the German occupying forces, to the city’s Old Train Station, where they laid red carnations on the tracks.
Pope Benedict XVI’s aide acknowledges criticism over memoir
March 19, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — The longtime secretary to Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged Sunday that his tell-all memoir, published in the days after Benedict’s death, had been criticized for casting Pope Francis in an unfavorable light, but insisted that some of the polemics were more about anti-Benedict prejudice than anything else.
UK aims to send migrants to Rwanda in months if courts agree
March 19, 2023 GMTKIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Britain’s government said Sunday that it could start deporting asylum-seekers to Rwanda in the next few months — but only if U.K. courts rule that the controversial policy is legal.
Nations approve key UN science report on climate change
March 19, 2023 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Governments gave their blessing on Sunday to a major new U.N. report on climate change, after approval was held up by a battle between rich and developing countries over emissions targets and financial aid to vulnerable nations.
Pakistani police file terrorism charges against ex-PM Khan
March 19, 2023 GMTISLAMABAD (AP) — Police in the Pakistani capital filed charges Sunday against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, 17 of his aides and scores of supporters, accusing them of terrorism and several other offenses after the ousted premier's followers clashed with security forces in Islamabad the previous day.
Pakistani police storm home of former PM Khan, arrest 61
March 19, 2023 GMTLAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police stormed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's residence in the eastern city of Lahore on Saturday and arrested 61 people amid tear gas and clashes between Khan's supporters and police, officials said.
2 skiers missing in avalanche near Mont Blanc
March 19, 2023 GMTROME (AP) — Rescue teams were searching Sunday for two skiers who were caught in an avalanche near Mont Blanc on Italy’s northern border with France, local authorities said.
Two surviving off-piste skiers sounded the alarm shortly after the 1 p.m.
Croatian authorities destroy World War II anti-ship mine
March 19, 2023 GMTZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatian authorities on Sunday destroyed a huge anti-ship mine from World War II that was buried in the seabed near a key northern Adriatic Sea port.
Local authorities in the port of Rijeka sounded emergency sirens early on Sunday to mark the start of the operation.
Kazakhs vote in newly competitive parliamentary election
March 19, 2023 GMTASTANA, Kazakhstan (AP) — Voters in Kazakhstan on Sunday went to the polls to choose lawmakers in the lower house of parliament, which is being reconfigured in the wake of deadly unrest that gripped the resource-rich Central Asian nation a year ago.
Niinistö: Sweden security OK if Finland joins NATO first
March 19, 2023 GMTHELSINKI (AP) — Sweden won't be in a vulnerable security situation even if Finland joins NATO first, the Finnish president said Sunday, as both Nordic membership candidates negotiate bilateral military pacts with the United States.
Scottish independence at crossroads in testy SNP leader race
March 19, 2023 GMTLONDON (AP) — The Scottish National Party is finding Nicola Sturgeon a hard act to follow.
Bosnia: rights activists assaulted following LGBT event ban
March 19, 2023 GMTSARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — Rights activists in the Serb-run part of Bosnia were assaulted late Saturday, hours after police banned an LGBT event planned there over the weekend, citing security concerns.
Palestinian militant group: commander assassinated in Syria
March 19, 2023 GMTDAMASCUS (AP) — A commander in the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad was killed in Syria on Sunday in what it described as an assassination by Israeli agents.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Jihad group, said in a statement that Ali Ramzi al-Aswad, 31, was killed Sunday morning in the Damascus countryside in a “cowardly assassination with bullets bearing the fingerprints of the Zionist enemy,” referring to Israel.
In Zimbabwe’s rainy season, women forage for wild mushrooms
March 19, 2023 GMTHARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe's rainy season brings a bonanza of wild mushrooms, which many rural families feast upon and sell to boost their incomes.
But the bounty also comes with danger as each year there are reports of people dying after eating poisonous fungi.
Strong earthquake kills at least 14 in Ecuador, 1 in Peru
March 19, 2023 GMTQUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A strong earthquake shook southern Ecuador and northern Peru on Saturday, killing at least 15 people, trapping others under rubble, and sending rescue teams out into streets littered with debris and fallen power lines.
Serbia, Kosovo agree on how to implement EU plan, envoy says
March 18, 2023 GMTOHRID, North Macedonia (AP) — The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo have tentatively agreed on how to implement a European Union-sponsored plan to normalize their relations after decades of tensions between the two Balkan wartime foes, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Saturday after chairing talks between them.
French protesters march past garbage piles, resisting Macron
March 18, 2023 GMTPARIS (AP) — A smattering of protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise France's retirement age from 62 to 64 took place Saturday in Paris and beyond, as uncollected garbage reeked in the streets of the French capital amid a strike by sanitation workers.
Russia, Ukraine extend grain deal to aid world’s poor
March 18, 2023 GMTKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An unprecedented wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat and high food prices are pushing more people into poverty was extended just before its expiration date, officials said Saturday.
Reports of violence in Nigeria election for new governors
March 18, 2023 GMTABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Millions of Nigerians voted Saturday to elect state governors but faced intimidation and violence in some cities amid heightened tensions following a disputed presidential election in Africa's most populous nation last month.
Israelis protest legal overhaul plans for 11th week
March 18, 2023 GMTTEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israelis on Saturday took to the streets in protests, now in their 11th week, against plans by Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line government to overhaul the country’s legal system.
UK minister in Rwanda to reinforce migrant deportation plan
March 18, 2023 GMTLONDON (AP) — Britain's interior minister arrived in Rwanda on Saturday for a visit aimed at reinforcing the U.K. government's commitment to a controversial plan to deport some asylum-seekers to the African country.
Pope promotes ‘humanitarian corridors’ for asylum-seekers
March 18, 2023 GMTVATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis met Saturday with thousands of refugees and charity groups hosting them in Italy as he sought to promote legal migration routes to Europe as an alternative to smuggling operations that he said have turned the Mediterranean Sea into a “cemetery.”
How a warrant for Putin puts new spin on Xi visit to Russia
March 18, 2023 GMTFacing arrest warrant, Russia’s Putin visits annexed Crimea
March 18, 2023 GMTKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula’s annexation from Ukraine on Saturday, the day after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the Russian leader accusing him of war crimes.
Japan, German leaders agree to strengthen ties, supply chain
March 18, 2023 GMTTOKYO (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday held the first round of government consultations in Tokyo and agreed to strengthen economic and defense ties to better cope with China's growing influence and global security concerns.
Journalists held over South Sudan president video are freed
March 18, 2023 GMTJUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan’s National Security Service has released the remaining journalists who had been detained for weeks over a video apparently showing the country’s president urinating on himself during an event.
Kazakhs to vote in newly energized parliament elections
March 18, 2023 GMTMOSCOW (AP) — Voters in Kazakhstan will cast ballots Sunday after a short but active campaign for seats in the lower house of parliament that is being reconfigured in the wake of deadly unrest that gripped the resource-rich Central Asian nation a year ago.
International court issues war crimes warrant for Putin
March 18, 2023 GMTTHE HAGUE (AP) — The International Criminal Court said Friday that it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.
New COVID origins data point to raccoon dogs in China market
March 17, 2023 GMTBEIJING (AP) — Genetic material collected at a Chinese market near where the first human cases of COVID-19 were identified show raccoon dog DNA comingled with the virus, adding evidence to the theory that the virus originated from animals, not from a lab, international experts say.
Death toll rises, locals pick up pieces after Cyclone Freddy
March 17, 2023 GMTBLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — Authorities are still getting to grips with the scale of Cyclone Freddy's destruction in Malawi and Mozambique since late Saturday, with over 370 people confirmed dead, several hundreds still missing and tens of thousands displaced.
Russia to award pilots involved in US drone incident
March 17, 2023 GMTMOSCOW (AP) — Russian fighter pilots involved in an incident with a U.S. drone that resulted in its crash will be given state awards, the Defense Ministry announced Friday. The move appears to signal Moscow's intention to adopt a more aggressive stance toward future U.S.
20 years after U.S. invasion, young Iraqis see signs of hope
March 17, 2023 GMTBAGHDAD (AP) — On the banks of the Tigris River one recent evening, young Iraqi men and women in jeans and sneakers danced with joyous abandon to a local rap star as a vermillion sun set behind them.
Governments pledge money, attention to Venezuela’s crisis
March 17, 2023 GMTCARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Governments and financial institutions pledged millions of dollars Friday for humanitarian and development projects to address the urgent needs of Venezuelans at home and abroad affected by a crisis that diplomats acknowledged requires renewed attention.
Turkey’s president says he will back Finland’s NATO bid
March 17, 2023 GMTISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Friday that his government would move forward with ratifying Finland’s NATO application, paving the way for the country to join the military bloc ahead of Sweden.
Scientists create mice with cells from 2 males for 1st time
March 17, 2023 GMTFor the first time, scientists have created baby mice from two males.
This raises the distant possibility of using the same technique for people – although experts caution that very few mouse embryos developed into live mouse pups and no one knows whether it would work for humans.
China’s Xi to meet Putin as Beijing seeks bolder global role
March 17, 2023 GMTKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping plans to visit Moscow next week, offering a major diplomatic boost to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the same day the International Criminal Court announced it wants to put the Russian leader on trial for alleged war crimes.
Turkish FM to visit Egypt as countries end decade-long split
March 17, 2023 GMTISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will visit Egypt, both countries announced Friday, the first such high-level trip in more than a decade as their leaders repair relations damaged in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring.
Elite officers in Israel’s military plan Sunday walkout
March 17, 2023 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — Hundreds of elite officers in Israel’s military reserves say they will not show up for duty starting on Sunday in protest over the government's plans to overhaul the judicial system.
Pakistan athlete who died in migrant boat crash laid to rest
March 17, 2023 GMTQUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Mourners attended the funeral Friday of a Pakistani female field hockey player who died in a migrant boat crash off Italy’s coast last month, sending a wave of shock and grief through this impoverished Islamic nation.
North Korea says ICBM test aimed to strike fear into enemies
March 17, 2023 GMTSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Friday it fired an intercontinental ballistic missile to “strike fear into the enemies” as South Korea and Japan agreed at a summit to work closely on regional security with the United States and staged military exercises around the region.
In Israel, TV’s dystopian ‘Handmaids’ is protest fixture
March 17, 2023 GMTTEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — It's become an ominous fixture of the mass anti-government protests roiling Israel: a coil of women in crimson robes and white caps, walking heads bowed and hands clasped. They are dressed as characters from Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel, “The Handmaid's Tale,” and the eponymous TV series.
Former Israeli premier urges world leaders to shun Netanyahu
March 17, 2023 GMTTEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s former prime minister on Thursday urged world leaders to shun Israel’s current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, as he presses ahead with a plan to overhaul the country's justice system.
Japan, South Korea renew ties at Tokyo summit
March 17, 2023 GMTTOKYO (AP) — Japan and South Korea agreed to resume regular visits between their leaders and take steps to resolve a trade dispute during a long-awaited summit Thursday. Japan's prime minister called their meeting a “big step” to rebuilding the two nations’ security and economic ties as they try to overcome a century of difficult history.
El Salvador’s congress extends anti-gang crackdown
March 17, 2023 GMTEl Salvador’s congress has voted to approve yet another extension of emergency rules allowing police to round up suspected members of street gangs.
The vote late Wednesday was widely expected, and marks the 12th such one-month extension granted to President Nayib Bukele since the measure was first approved on March 27, 2022.
Pakistan court rejects ex-PM Khan’s plea to suspend warrant
March 17, 2023 GMTLAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani court on Thursday rejected a petition from former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s lawyers to suspend a warrant for him to appear in court in a graft case linked to his term in office — a development that increases the likelihood of another police attempt to arrest the ousted premier.
US, partners stage military drills amid Japan-S. Korea talks
March 17, 2023 GMTTOKYO (AP) — The United States, Canada, India, Japan and South Korea are staging joint anti-submarine warfare drills amid talks between Japanese and South Korean leaders aimed at strengthening their alliance with Washington against threats from China and North Korea.
Pentagon video shows Russian jet dumping fuel on US drone
March 17, 2023 GMTKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Biden administration released video Thursday of a Russian fighter jet dumping fuel on a U.S.
UN nuclear watchdog: 2.5 tons of uranium missing in Libya
March 17, 2023 GMTDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Some 2.5 tons of natural uranium stored in a site in war-torn Libya have gone missing, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Thursday, raising safety and proliferation concerns.
Australia to buy up to 220 Tomahawk missiles from the US
March 17, 2023 GMTCANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia said it's planning to buy up to 220 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the United States after the U.S. State Department approved the sale Friday.
The deal comes days after Australia announced it would buy nuclear-powered attack submarines from the U.S.
Timeline of events: 20 years since U.S.-led invasion of Iraq
March 17, 2023 GMTBAGHDAD (AP) — It’s been 20 years since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq began. Here are some key dates from the invasion and following developments.
Teen allegedly shoots mom, kills 2 officers in west Canada
March 17, 2023 GMTTORONTO (AP) — A 16-year-old wounded his mother with a firearm and then killed two police officers before taking his own life in western Canada early Thursday, officials told The Associated Press.
Exhibit: ‘Invisible’ Monet, Leon, was key to impressionism
March 17, 2023 GMTPARIS (AP) — Behind some great men, there is a bigger brother.
Claude Monet’s older sibling is the focus of a landmark Paris exhibit illuminating the hitherto unknown role Leon Monet played in the French impressionist painter’s life and art.
Poland detains 9 people suspected of spying for Russia
March 16, 2023 GMTWARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish authorities said Thursday that the nation's security services detained members of a Russian espionage ring, alleging they were preparing acts of sabotage in Poland and had been monitoring railroad routes used for the transport of weapons into Ukraine.
Argentines struggle to make ends meet amid 100% inflation
March 16, 2023 GMTBUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Jesica Fernández used to join seven family members every weekend for a large beef barbeque. Beef is no longer on the menu, and now they’re more likely to eat spaghetti or chicken wings.
Officials say 21 workers killed at coal mine in Colombia
March 16, 2023 GMTBOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Rescue operations at a coal mine in central Colombia that collapsed earlier this week ended Thursday and officials said the accident had left 21 workers dead.
The mine near the town of Sutatausa collapsed late Tuesday following an explosion that blocked several of its entrances.