AP National News

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, a hard-line protege of the country’s supreme leader who helped oversee the mass executions of thousands in 1988 and later led the country as it enriched uranium near weapons-grade levels, launched a major attack on Israel and experienced mass protests,

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s hush money trial is entering its final stretch as the prosecution’s star witness Michael Cohen returns to the stand. Cohen took the stand last week and placed Trump directly at the center of the alleged scheme to stifle negative stories to fend off damage to his 2016 White House

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, JENNIFER PELTZ, JAKE OFFENHARTZ and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s hush money trial is heading into the final stretch, with prosecutors’ last and star witness back on the stand Monday for more grilling before the former president’s lawyers get their chance to put on a

By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand has officially begun the selection of new set of senators, a process that has become part of the ongoing war between progressive forces hoping for democratic political reforms and conservatives seeking to keep the status quo. Hopeful candidates headed to district offices across the country on

By PIYUSH NAGPAL and BISWAJEET BANERJEE Associated Press AYODHYA, India (AP) — Millions of Indians across 49 constituencies are casting ballots as the country’s six-week-long election enters its final stages. Voting is also happening in northern Ayodhya city, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened a controversial Hindu temple on the site of a razed mosque.

By SOPHIKO MEGRELIDZE Associated Press TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia’s parliament speaker on Monday vowed to override a presidential veto on divisive legislation that sparked weeks of mass protests by critics who see it as a threat to democratic freedoms and the country’s aspirations to join the European Union. The law, passed by the parliament

By GERALD IMRAY Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Former South African President Jacob Zuma was disqualified Monday from standing in a national election next week because of a previous criminal conviction, a decision by the country’s highest court that’s bound to raise political tensions ahead of a pivotal vote. The Constitutional Court

By FADI TAWIL Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Ireland’s top diplomat has expressed concerns about the slow progress of criminal proceedings against several Lebanese men charged with the killing of an Irish peacekeeper in Lebanon. Irish Foreign Minister and Defense Minister Micheál Martin told journalists during a visit to Lebanon on Monday that Ireland is

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal’s prime minister will continue leading his shaky governing coalition after winning his fourth vote of confidence in two years on Monday. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal called the vote in Nepal’s lower house of parliament after a small party in his coalition split up and withdrew support. Dahal won the

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s first Vice President Mohammad Mokhber was appointed as acting president of the Islamic Republic on Monday after the death of President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in the country’s northwest. Mokhber, 68, largely has been in the shadows compared to other politicians

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s foreign minister were found dead Monday hours after their helicopter crashed in fog, leaving the Islamic Republic without two key leaders as extraordinary tensions grip the wider Middle East. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the

By BARAA ANWER Associated Press RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Leaning into the microphone in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Nora let loose a primal scream. Guitars wailed and drums throbbed behind her as part of a set with her bandmates during a recent show. The performance by Seera, an all-women psychedelic rock band that blends traditional

By JOSEPH KRAUSS Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The helicopter crash in which Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister and other officials were killed is likely to reverberate across the Middle East, where Iran’s influence runs wide and deep. That’s because Iran has spent decades supporting armed groups and militants in Lebanon, Syria,

By RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack on foreigners in central Afghanistan last week in which three Spanish citizens and three Afghans were killed. An interior ministry spokesperson said seven people were wounded in the attack in Bamiyan province on Friday. A local Taliban

By ABBY SEWELL Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The helicopter crash that killed Iran’s president and foreign minister has sent shock waves around the region. Iranian state media said on Monday that President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, and others have been found dead at the site after an hourslong search through

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Julian Assange faced a key hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or could provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The WikiLeaks founder, who has spent the past five years

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A plan to boost pay for Uber and Lyft drivers in Minnesota that lawmakers believe would prevent the companies from leaving the market advanced in the state Legislature before the midnight deadline. The House passed the compensation bill but the measure was held up in the Senate before winning approval

By BARAA ANWER Associated Press RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Leaning into the microphone in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Nora let loose a primal scream. Guitars wailed and drums throbbed behind her as part of a set with her bandmates during a recent show. The performance by Seera, an all-women psychedelic rock band that blends traditional