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BANGKOK (AP) — Singapore’s decision to decriminalize sex between men is being hailed as a step in the right direction for LGBTQ rights in the Asia-Pacific region, a vast area of nearly 5 billion people with different laws and attitudes. Although many places have decriminalized sexual acts between people of the same sex, only a
Continue Reading By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Millions of students wearing face masks streamed back to primary and secondary schools across the Philippines on Monday for their first in-person classes after two years of coronavirus lockdowns that are feared to have worsened alarming illiteracy rates among children. Officials grappled with daunting problems, including
Continue Reading By VANESSA GERA and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — On March 8, nearly two weeks after Russia invaded Ukraine, Taisiia Mokrozub took her infant son, parted from her husband and joined an exodus to safety in Poland. She believed the war would end quickly and she would be home by May. But
Continue Reading By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — According to Russian state TV, the future of the Ukrainian regions captured by Moscow’s forces is all but decided: Referendums on becoming part of Russia will soon take place there, and the joyful residents who were abandoned by Kyiv will be able to prosper in peace.
Continue Reading By MALAK HARB Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar recently arrested at least 60 foreign workers who protested going months without pay and deported some of them, an advocacy group said, just three months before Doha hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The move comes as Qatar faces intense international scrutiny over
Continue Reading By TOH EE MING and EILEEN NG Associated Press SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore’s gay community Monday hailed a plan to decriminalize sex between men as “a triumph of love over fear” but warned there is still a long way to equality and new bans on same-sex unions could entrench discrimination against them. Prime Minister Lee
Continue Reading By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press South Korean police say they believe a possible relative of two children whose bodies were found in suitcases in New Zealand last week is likely in South Korea. Immigration records show that the unidentified woman in her 40s arrived in South Korea in 2018. There has been no record of
Continue Reading By JOE McDONALD AP Business Writer BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mostly lower Monday after China cut an interest rate that affects mortgage lending while investors looked ahead to this week’s Federal Reserve conference for signals about more possible U.S. rate hikes to cool surging inflation. Shanghai advanced after the Chinese central bank
Continue Reading BEIJING (AP) — A notice reported by Chinese news outlets says power rationing that forced factories in the southwest to shut down has been extended through at least Thursday due to low water at hydroelectric dams. That adds to losses from China’s hottest, driest summer in decades. Tencent News said the “tense situation” of power
Continue Reading By ANDREW DeMILLO Associated Press MULBERRY, Ark. (AP) — Federal authorities said Monday they have started a civil rights investigation following the suspension of three Arkansas law enforcement officers after a video posted on social media showed two of them beating a man while a third officer held him on the ground. The officers were
Continue Reading By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Millions of students wearing face masks streamed back to primary and secondary schools across the Philippines Monday in their first in-person classes after two years of coronavirus lockdowns that are feared to have worsened one of the world’s most alarming illiteracy rates among children. Officials grappled
Continue Reading By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani police have filed terrorism charges against former Prime Minister Imran Khan, authorities said Monday, escalating political tensions in the country as the ousted premier holds mass rallies seeking to return to office. The charges followed a speech Khan gave in Islamabad on Saturday in which he
Continue Reading By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Tuesday’s primary elections feature two top Florida Democrats squaring off for the chance to face Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, a rising conservative star frequently mentioned as a top alternative to Donald Trump in the 2024 GOP presidential contest. In New York, redistricting has left two longtime House
Continue Reading By JILL COLVIN and MICHAEL BALSAMO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Mounds of paper piled on his desk. Framed magazine covers and keepsakes lining the walls. One of Shaquille O’Neal’s giant sneakers displayed alongside football helmets, boxing belts and other sports memorabilia, crowding his Trump Tower office and limiting table space. Well before he
Continue Reading MULBERRY, Ark. (AP) — Three Arkansas law enforcement officers were suspended Sunday following social media outrage over a video that seemingly showed two deputies and an officer striking a suspect under arrest. Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante issued a statement Sunday evening, stating two county deputies will be suspended during the course of the Arkansas
Continue Reading By ED WHITE Associated Press Jurors will hear closing arguments Monday in the retrial of two men charged with conspiring to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020. Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. declined to testify Friday as defense lawyers rested their case in federal court in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The government has portrayed
Continue Reading By SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Ohio hog farmer Joe Brandt changed his operation a few years ago to give his pigs more room and keep pregnant sows out of the narrow crates used by most farms. Brandt said he wanted to treat his pigs more humanely, but in doing so
Continue Reading By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Melissa Lee comforted her son and daughter after a student opened fire in their suburban Kansas City high school, wounding an administrator and a police officer stationed there. Then weeks later, she wept for the parents in Uvalde, Texas, who were forced to bury their children
Continue Reading By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Indiana’s Republican governor has begun a visit to Taiwan, following two recent high-profile visits by U.S. politicians that drew Beijing’s ire and Chinese military drills. Gov. Eric Holcomb will focus on economic exchanges, particularly semiconductors, and is meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. His visit comes
Continue Reading By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States and South Korea began their biggest combined military training in years Monday as they heighten their defense posture against the growing North Korean nuclear threat. The drills could draw an angry response from North Korea, which has dialed up its weapons testing
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