AP National News

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa and leading officials from several Middle Eastern countries in Madrid on Wednesday after Spain, Ireland and Norway recognized a Palestinian state. The diplomatic move by the three western European nations on Tuesday was slammed

NEW YORK (AP) — Jury deliberations in Donald Trump ‘s criminal hush money trial are expected to begin Wednesday after the panel receives instructions from the judge on the law governing the case and what they can take into account in evaluating the former president’s guilt or innocence. The historic deliberations follow Tuesday’s whirlwind of

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Hopes for interest rate cuts this year by the Federal Reserve are steadily fading, with a stream of recent remarks by Fed officials underscoring their intention to keep borrowing costs high as long as needed to curb persistently elevated inflation. A key reason for the delay

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office says police have searched the residence of an employee of the European Parliament and his office in the Parliament’s building in Brussels over suspected Russian interference. They said Wednesday that the suspect’s office in Strasbourg, where the EU Parliament’s headquarters are located in

By GERALD IMRAY, MOGOMOTSI MAGOME and FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africans voted Wednesday at schools, community centers, and in large white tents set up in open fields in an election seen as their country’s most important in 30 years. It could put the young democracy in unknown territory. At stake is

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran says that Saudi Arabia expelled six members of a crew from its state television broadcaster after they had been detained for nearly a week in the kingdom ahead of the Hajj. The incident comes a year after Riyadh and Tehran reached a Chinese-mediated detente. There have been tensions

By AAMER MADHANI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are stepping up their reelection pitch to Black voters, a key part of their 2020 winning coalition that has shown signs of fraying. They’ll launch a new Black voter outreach effort during a visit to the battleground state of

By STEPHEN GROVES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The top-ranking Republican on a Senate committee that oversees the military is calling for a “generational investment” in America’s defense, saying aggressive and significant spending increases are necessary to deter coordinated threats from U.S. adversaries such as Russia, Iran and China. Sen. Roger Wicker told The Associated

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The U.S. has appointed a new representative to Taiwan as China boosts its threats against the self-ruled island following the election of a new president who wants the territory to maintain its de-facto independence. China claims Taiwan as its own territory and this week staged naval and air force drills that

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (AP) — Police say militants have burned a girls’ school in a former Pakistani Taliban stronghold, destroying furniture, computers and books. No one was hurt in the overnight attack in North Waziristan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. A police official said Wednesday that officers are still investigating to determine who was behind

By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA Associated Press KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — One of the greatest Mount Everest guides on Wednesday expressed concerns about the peak’s growing piles of garbage, as he was honored by his government to mark Everest Day. Sherpa guide Kami Rita, who has scaled Mount Everest a record 30 times, was honored by Nepal’s

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has flown hundreds of balloons carrying trash and manure toward South Korea. South Korea’s military has mobilized chemical and explosive response teams to recover objects and debris in different parts of the country. North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un also urged his

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden will give $1.23 billion in military aid to Ukraine, in its largest donation so far. It includes air defense, artillery ammunition and armored vehicles. Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonsson reiterated that the Nordic country has ruled out for now sending any Swedish-built JAS 39

LONDON (AP) — The owner of Britain’s Royal Mail says it has accepted a 3.6 billion pound ($4.6 billion) takeover offer from Czech investor Daniel Křetínský. Under the deal, Křetínský’s EP Group would buy International Distribution Services, which owns Royal Mail, for 370 pence ($4.72) per share. Including debt, the deal values IDS at 5.2