Month: February 2023

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 5.7 earthquake has struck near the New Zealand capital Wellington as the nation grapples with widespread landslides and flooding days after a cyclone. New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Center tweeted that the quake on Wednesday was widely felt in the North Island. There

BEIJING (AP) — The head of China’s national soccer federation has been arrested on corruption charges in the latest blow to the country’s effort to grow its standing in the international game. A one-sentence statement from the ruling Communist Party’s anti-graft watchdog body says Chen Shuyuan had been placed under investigation by national and Hubei

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press AKERNI, Albania (AP) — A new, multimillion-euro international airport near Albania’s coastal city of Vlora will mean hundreds of jobs for area residents. But environmentalists warn it could cause irreparable damage to the fragile ecosystems of protected lagoons that host flamingos, pelicans and millions of other migratory birds. Albania’s new,

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A defense lawyer says a court in northwest Pakistan has acquitted the parents of an exiled female human rights activist three years after the couple was arrested on charges of terror financing and sedition. The 2019 arrests of the activist Gulalai Ismail’s parents, Mohammad  Ismail and Uzlifat Ismail, had drawn widespread

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea says it’s still premature to determine whether the recently unveiled daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is being groomed as her father’s successor. Speculation about the status of Kim’s daugher, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae and aged about 10, has further

By PIYUSH NAGPAL and CHONCHUI NGASHANGVA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s tax officials searched BBC offices in India for a second straight day on Wednesday questioning staff about the organization’s business operations in the country, some staff members said. BBC management told editorial and other staff members to work from home after they

By MARK PRATT Associated Press BOST0N (AP) — An increasing number of municipal, county and state governments are using federal pandemic relief funds to pay residents’ burdensome medical debt. Experts say medical debt often forces people to make difficult decisions about which bills to pay and even whether to seek critical medical care. Cook County,

Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — U.S. forces had shot down an Iranian-made drone flying over a base housing American troops in northeastern Syria. The U.S. military statement on Wednesday said reconnaissance drone flew over Mission Support Site Conoco on Tuesday afternoon before American forces shot it down. No group claimed responsibility for flying the drone

By PAUL WISEMAN and DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writers An Egyptian widow is struggling to afford meat and eggs for her five children. An exasperated German laundry owner watches as his energy bill jumps fivefold. Nigerian bakeries have shut their doors, unable to afford the exorbitant price of flour. One year after Russia invaded Ukraine

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s inflation rate remained above 10% for a fifth consecutive month in January as consumers continued to struggle with high food and energy prices. Inflation eased to 10.1% in the 12 months through January, from 10.5% a month earlier, the Office for National Statistics said Wednesday. The consumer prices index peaked at

By CAROLYN THOMPSON Associated Press BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A white supremacist is set to be sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for killing 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket in an attack fueled by racist conspiracy theories he encountered online. Payton Gendron is scheduled to appear in Erie County Court, where he pleaded

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Billionaire Elon Musk said Wednesday that he anticipates finding a CEO for Twitter “probably toward the end of this year.” Speaking via a video call to the World Government Summit in Dubai, Musk said making sure the platform can function remained the most important