News

By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president has dismissed calls for independent investigations into allegations involving his wife and top officials. President Yoon Suk Yeol’s move drew strong rebukes from his rivals Thurday. After suffering a heavy loss in the recent April 10 parliamentary elections, Yoon

By JOSH FUNK AP Business Writer Norfolk Southern shareholders will decide Thursday morning whether to back an activist investor’s bid to take over the railroad’s board and replace management. Ancora Holdings picked up significant support during the campaign from major investors like EdgePoint Investment Group, two major rail unions and some customers. But the rest

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Former Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama has been sentenced to a year in prison for interfering in a criminal investigation while leading the government of his South Pacific island nation. The Fiji Times newspaper reported Bainimarama was sentenced Thursday and the suspended police commissioner received a

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen have killed seven barbers in a home in a volatile province in southwestern Pakistan. Police and a government official say the killings occurred early Thursday in Baluchistan province. The barbers were from Punjab province and lived and worked together. Police are investigating who was behind the attack. Separatists often target

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Thursday claimed two missile attacks in the Gulf of Aden on two Panama-flagged container ships that caused no damage, while also saying they targeted a ship in the Indian Ocean in a previously unreported assault. The claims by Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree come

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union marks its annual Europe Day on Thursday. But instead of the humdrum celebrations, all eyes are on the EU elections in a month’s time. They portend a steep rise of the extreme right and a possible move away from the bloc’s global trendsetting climate

By ZEN SOO AP Business Writer HONG KONG (AP) — China reported Thursday that its exports and imports returned to growth in April, suggesting that demand is improving despite an uneven economic recovery. Customs data showed that exports grew 1.5% in April compared to a year earlier after falling 7.5% in March, the first contraction

BEIJING (AP) — A crash between a truck and a passenger van on a highway in northwestern China’s Ningxia region has killed nine people. State media said two others were injured in the crash early Thursday outside the city of Qingtongxia. They were in stable condition at a hospital. An official said the driver of

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England is expected to maintain interest rates at a 16-year high of 5.25% Thursday, but a cut wouldn’t be a huge surprise as inflation falls from multi-decade highs. The consensus in financial markets is that a majority of the bank’s nine-member Monetary Policy Committee

By GEORGE WALKER IV, JOEY CAPPELLETTI and ED WHITE Associated Press COLUMBIA, Tenn. (AP) — Forecasters warned a wave of dangerous storms in the U.S. could march through parts of the South early Thursday, after storms a day earlier spawned damaging tornadoes and massive hail, leaving two dead in Tennessee and one dead in North

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — This December marks the centennial of Rod Serling, the late host and writer of the classic TV series “The Twilight Zone.” A newly published story by Serling is the latest to draw upon his traumatizing World War II service, for which he received a Bronze

MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Torchbearers are carrying the Olympic flame Thursday through the streets of France’s southern port city of Marseille, a day after it arrived on a majestic three-mast ship for the welcoming ceremony. The torch begins its 11-week journey across the country with about 10,000 bearers passing through more than 450 towns until

By ZIMO ZHONG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Asian shares were mixed on Thursday after Wall Street’s lull stretched into a second day, with Chinese benchmarks rising after China reported better-than-expected trade figures for April. U.S. futures were slightly lower and oil prices rose. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index was down 0.3% at

By DAVID RISING Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Six months into an offensive against Myanmar ’s military government, opposition forces have made massive gains, but civilian casualties are rising sharply as regime troops increasingly turn toward scorched-earth tactics in the Southeast Asian country’s bitter civil war. There is pressure on all fronts from powerful militias

By CEDAR ATTANASIO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Fellow former hostages, family and coworkers celebrated the life of journalist and philanthropist Terry Anderson Wednesday, remembering a man who helped others while struggling to heal himself. The news writer became a news subject when he was taken hostage in Lebanon by members of an Islamic