Month: January 2024

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s weekend test of new cruise missiles for submarine launches has added to its provocative start to 2024, as leader Kim Jong Un flaunts his growing nuclear arsenal and threatens nuclear conflict with Washington, Seoul and Tokyo. Kim has gained confidence from the advancement

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday was forced to start this year’s parliamentary session with an apology over one of the country’s biggest corruption scandals in decades. Prosecutors recently indicted 10 people, including three lawmakers and a number of political aides. The scandal is the latest

By KANIS LEUNG and ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court ordered China Evergrande, the world’s most heavily indebted real estate developer, to undergo liquidation following a failed effort to restructure $300 billion owed to banks and bondholders that fueled fears about China’s rising debt burden. “It would be a

By EILEEN NG Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia charged a former minister on Monday with failing to declare assets. It’s the latest step in a corruption probe that’s targeting people connected to the country’s last prime minister. Former Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin, who left office more than 20 years ago, is a

By CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Monthslong tension between three coup-hit countries in West Africa and the regional bloc known as ECOWAS boiled over when the nations announced their immediate withdrawal from the bloc, accusing it of a lack of support and “inhumane” coup-related sanctions. The juntas of Niger, Mali and Burkina

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s diplomats are talking with Somali authorities trying to ascertain the whereabouts of a fishing vessel and its six crewmembers suspected of being abducted by Somali pirates. The abduction Saturday came two weeks after Sri Lanka said it would join a U.S.-led operation to

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian state media say authorities executed four men convicted of planning sabotage and alleged links with Israel’s Mossad secret service. The official IRNA news agency said the men were convicted of planning to target a factory in 2022 belonging to Iran’s defense ministry and involved in missile and defensive equipment in

By BERNARD CONDON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump could potentially have his real estate empire ordered “dissolved” for repeated misrepresentations on financial statements to lenders in violation of New York’s powerful anti-fraud law. But an Associated Press analysis of nearly 70 years of similar cases showed Trump’s case stands apart: It’s the

By BERNARD CONDON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Within days, Donald Trump could potentially have his sprawling real estate business empire ordered “dissolved” for repeated misrepresentations on financial statements to lenders, adding him to a short list of scam marketers, con artists and others who have been hit with the ultimate punishment for violating

By JEFFREY COLLINS Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Alex Murdaugh is returning to a South Carolina courtroom, but this time the convicted killer, disbarred attorney and admitted thief won’t be fidgeting in the spotlight. Instead, it’s the jurors who found him guilty of the shooting deaths of his wife and son who’ll be questioned

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister was in Pakistan on Monday for talks on deescalating tensions after deadly airstrikes by Tehran and Islamabad earlier this month killed at least 11 people, marking a significant escalation in fraught relations between the neighbors. Hossein Amirabdollahian landed at an airport near Islamabad before

BY JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is throwing allegations at his successor, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and even raising the prospect of removing him from office, bringing into the open a long-rumored split between the two. In an expletive-laden speech late Sunday, the former populist leader alleged Marcos’

By CHRISTINE FERNANDO Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — Legislative efforts in Missouri and Mississippi are attempting to prevent voters from having a say over abortion rights, building on anti-abortion strategies seen in other states, including last year in Ohio. Democrats and abortion rights advocates say the efforts are evidence that Republican lawmakers and abortion opponents

By STEVE KARNOWSKI Associated Press DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — A dying thief who confessed to stealing a pair of ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in “The Wizard of Oz” because he wanted to pull off “one last score” is expected to stay out of prison after he’s sentenced Monday. Terry Jon Martin, 76, stole

By KANIS LEUNG and ZEN SOO Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court ordered China Evergrande, the world’s most heavily indebted real estate developer, to undergo liquidation following a failed effort to restructure $300 billion owed to banks and bondholders that fueled fears about China’s rising debt burden. Judge Linda Chan said

NEW YORK (AP) — Two men accused of murder in the death of Run-DMC star Jam Master Jay in 2002 are set to go on trial in New York City. Prosecutors allege Ronald Washington and Karl Jordan Jr. killed the 37-year-old DJ in his recording studio 2002 after Washington was cut out of a cocaine

By The Associated Press This week’s new streaming entertainment releases include the launch of the final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” on Sunday, Donald Glover starring as a spy in the new TV series “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” and a documentary on Run-D.M.C. airing on Peacock. The National Geographic’s “Genius” anthology series this time focuses