AP National News

Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has visited Moscow for a rare meeting by a European leader with Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed peace proposals for Ukraine. The visit Friday triggered condemnation from Kyiv and some European officials that he had no mandate for discussions beyond bilateral relations. The visit

Associated Press ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — Tsenguun Saruulsaikhan, a young and newly minted member of Mongolia’s parliament, is unhappy with below-cost electricity rates that she says show her country has yet to fully shake off its socialist past. Most of Mongolia’s power plants date from the Soviet era and outages are common in some areas.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Officials say a roadside bomb planted on a bridge has struck a rickshaw in northwest Pakistan, killing at least three people. Police say seven other people were wounded in Friday’s attack in Mardan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. No one claimed responsibility for the attack. Such attacks previously have been

Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The German government has announced an agreement on its budget for 2025 and a stimulus package for Europe’s largest economy, easing a monthslong squabble that threatened to upend Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left coalition. Scholz, a Social Democrat, and leaders of the Free Democrats and Greens agreed on the budget early

Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The leader of Australia’s Northern Territory says the crocodile population must be either maintained or reduced and cannot be allowed to outstrip the human population. The remarks followed the death this week of a 12-year-old girl who was swimming in a Northern Territory creek. The crocodile population has

Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Separate Israeli airstrikes killed at least six people Friday in central Gaza, including two children at a home and at least one United Nations worker, Palestinian hospital officials and first responders said, even as stalled cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas show signs of renewed momentum. Four

PROVO, Utah (AP) — Authorities say malfunctioning fireworks veered into the stands at a crowded Utah football stadium and struck members of the audience. An event spokesperson said six people were taken to the hospital following the mishap at a Fourth of July celebration in Provo. One had serious injuries. The accident occurred Thursday during

Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A former Philippine opposition senator accused ex-President Rodrigo Duterte of plundering state coffers in a criminal complaint filed, alleging that he conspired with aide Christopher Lawrence Go to award government infrastructure contracts worth millions of dollars to cronies. Filed with the Department of Justice in Manila on Friday, it

Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is worried about the outcome of the runoff elections in France. Scholz, who is normally tightlipped when asked about domestic politics in other European countries, has in recent weeks more than once expressed concern that the far-right, nationalist National Rally may win a parliamentary majority in

Associated Press After advancing further than ever in World Cup qualifying, the Palestinian soccer team is determined to host a game for a change. The football association has proposed playing games in the third stage of its Asian qualification campaign in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and already has support from a number of its opponents,

Associated Press HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — After her son, the family’s shining light and only breadwinner, was arrested last year, Tambudzai Tembo went into meltdown. In Zimbabwe, where clinical mental health services are scarce, her chances of getting professional help were next to zero. She contemplated suicide. “I didn’t want to live anymore. People who

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — For someone often derided as dull, Keir Starmer has delivered a sensational election result. Starmer has led Britain’s Labour Party to a landslide election victory, and on Friday officially became prime minister. It’s the latest reinvention for a man who went from human rights attorney to hard-nosed prosecutor and from

Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Organizers of an effort to scale back Arkansas’ abortion ban said they have more than enough signatures to try to put their proposal before voters in November’s election. Arkansans for Limited Government submitted petitions said they turned in more than the 90,704 signatures from registered voters needed to

Associated Press KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — In parts of Afghanistan where there are no street names or house numbers, utility companies and their customers have adopted a creative approach for connecting. They use mosques as drop points for bills and cash, a “pay and pray” system. Now the national postal service wants to phase this

Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran held a runoff presidential election on Friday that pitted a hard-line former nuclear negotiator against a reformist lawmaker after the first round of voting saw the lowest turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history. Initial results early Saturday put reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian ahead of hard-liner Saeed

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, says he will lead a “government of service” on a mission of national renewal. The comment came in Starmer’s first official remarks after his Labour Party swept to power in a landslide victory after more than a decade in opposition. Starmer led his party

Associated Press TULUM, Mexico (AP) — Beryl moved into the the Gulf of Mexico Friday and took aim at the south Texas coast after battering Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Texas officials issued disaster declarations and urge coastal residents to prepare as the storm headed their way. Beryl hit Tulum as a Category 2 hurricane and toppled