AP National News

Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Paraguay’s foreign minister says his country is committed to its relationship with Taiwan and has no plans to break off their diplomatic relationship in favor of China as he visited the increasingly isolated island. Paraguay is the only country in South America and one of 12 worldwide that recognizes

Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on Friday for talks with North Korean military and political leaders as the countries deepen their cooperation over Russia’s war in Ukraine. In announcing the visit, Russia’s Defense Ministry didn’t say whom Belousov would meet or the purpose of

Associated Press GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Sergio Mena’s life dissolved in hours. After years resisting President Daniel Ortega, the rural activist fled Nicaragua in 2018, joining thousands of protesters fleeing a yearslong crackdown on dissent. Mena returned from exile in neighboring Costa Rica in 2021 to continue protesting, only to be thrown in a prison

Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos says impeaching the vice president, who is facing a legal storm after publicly threatening to have him killed, would be a waste of time for Congress. It is unclear whether Marcos’ remark on Friday would stop plans by several groups to file impeachment complaints against

Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Desertion is starving the Ukrainian army of desperately needed manpower and crippling its battle plans at a crucial time in its war with Russia, which could put Kyiv at a clear disadvantage in future ceasefire talks. Facing every imaginable shortage, tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops, tired and bereft,

Associated Press NYANGAMBE, Zimbabwe (AP) — It was an alarming, even sickening, suggestion: Farmers in Zimbabwe hit hard by drought should farm maggots to feed their animals and boost their household incomes. But the smelly solution has been embraced after some convincing in a country where people have traditionally associated flies with diseases such as

Associated Press MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — One of the Middle East and North Africa’s largest film festivals is openiong in Morocco, drawing actors and directors from throughout the world to present 70 features from 32 countries. The Marrakech International Film Festival, now in its 21st year, will showcase Oscar contenders and screen films for members

AP Business Writers NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers used giveaways and big discounts to reward U.S. shoppers who ventured out for Black Friday even as earlier offers, the prospect of better bargains in the days ahead and the ease of e-commerce drained much of the excitement from the holiday shopping season’s much-hyped kickoff. Frequent deals

Associated Press ON BOARD THE SANTA TRAIN (AP) — Since 1943, the people of Appalachian Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee have looked forward to Santa’s arrival. Not in a sleigh on their rooftops, but on a train. The Santa Train marks its 82nd running this year, bringing presents and joy to small towns along a 110-mile

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump is set to create a National Energy Council that he says will establish American “energy dominance” around the world as he seeks to boost U.S. oil and gas drilling and move away from President Joe Biden’s focus on climate change. The energy council — to be led

Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Hours after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah went into effect, Lebanon woke up to the sound of celebratory gunfire instead of Israeli airstrikes and drones buzzing overhead. It was a rare moment of respite for Lebanon, as bombs stopped falling after a year of

AP Sports Writer GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Jordan Love threw two touchdown passes to Jayden Reed and the Green Bay Packers capitalized on a fast start to beat Miami 30-17 and snap the Dolphins’ three-game winning streak. Green Bay has won three straight and seven of its last eight. Miami continued its recent history

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Coffee drinkers can sip their beverages and view a quiet North Korean mountain village from a new Starbucks at a South Korean border observatory. Customers have to pass a military checkpoint before entering the observatory at Aegibong Peace Ecopark, which is less than a mile from North Korean territory and

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks posted solid gains as Wall Street put the finishing touches on one of its best months of the year. The S&P 500 rose 0.6% while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4%. Both indexes closed out November with their best monthly performances of the year. The Nasdaq added 0.8%. Friday

Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Every Wednesday, retiree Zhang Zhili travels an hour by bus to an education center, drawn by the pulsing rhythms of the African drum she plays there in a classroom filled with fellow retirees whose hands move in unison, every beat lifting her spirits. Zhang, 71, has found joy and

Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A South Korean National Assembly member has called for a moratorium on wood pellet imports from Indonesia and an investigation into South Korea’s biomass use after government data and satellite analysis linked the country’s biomass imports to deforestation in Indonesia. In South Korea, biomass has grown to become the

Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Mistakes by members of the crew caused a New Zealand navy ship to plow into a reef off the coast of Samoa, where it caught fire and sank, according to the preliminary findings of a military Court of Inquiry released Friday. The ship’s crew did not realize autopilot

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Silvia Pinal, an actress from Mexico’s Golden Age of cinema of the 1940s and 50s, has died at 93. Over her 60-year career, Pinal appeared in movies with Mexican comics like Cantinflas and Tin Tan, heartthrobs like Pedro Infante, and starred in Luis Buñuel’s 1961 film “Viridiana.” She was one of

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The owner of an oil field in Los Angeles County is suing the state of California over a law that will require it to stop production and plug its wells or face costly fines. Inglewood Oil Field owner Sentinel Peak argues in the lawsuit, filed this week, that the law, which