By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Chinese coast guard ships have shadowed a group of Filipino activists and fishermen sailing on wooden boats toward a disputed shoal in the South China Sea which Beijing has fiercely guarded from what it regards as intruders. The Philippine coast guard deployed three patrol ships and
Continue ReadingBERLIN (AP) — A court in Germany has convicted a man of murder and sentenced him to life in prison for carrying out a fatal stabbing on a train last year. The state court in Itzehoe on Wednesday convicted the 34-year-old of murder and attempted murder. It found that he fatally stabbed two teenagers and
Continue ReadingBy ANNE D’INNOCENZIO AP Retail Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Americans unexpectedly paused their spending in April from March as inflation continued to sting and elevated interest rates made taking on debt more burdensome. Retail sales were unchanged, coming in well below economists’ expectations, and the figure followed a revised 0.6% pace in March, according
Continue ReadingKATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A high court in Nepal has overturned an eight-year prison sentence for rape for the country’s star cricket player and former captain of the national team, and cleared him of all charges. A two-judge panel of the Patan High Court ruled on Wednesday that Sandeep Lamichhane’s sentence by Kathmandu District Court
Continue ReadingBy BARBARA SURK and JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron is considering imposing state of emergency in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia to curb spiraling violence, the presidency said Wednesday. At least three people were killed and four others, including a gendarme, were seriously injured, according to officials
Continue ReadingBy JOSH BOAK, ZEKE MILLER and JILL COLVIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he won’t participate in the campaign debates sponsored by a nonpartisan commission, instead challenging Republican Donald Trump to a pair of debates. Biden said Wednesday that Trump lost two debates to him in 2020 and since then, he
Continue ReadingBy JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday claimed targeting a U.S. Navy destroyer and a commercial ship in the Red Sea. However, the attack on the warship apparently happened nearly two days earlier and saw the vessel intercept the missile targeting it. The latest statement from
Continue ReadingBy ZIMO ZHONG and MATT OTT Associated Press Trading on Wall Street was muted early Wednesday ahead of the U.S. government’s latest reports on inflation and retail sales. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both ticked up less than 0.1% before the opening bell. The Labor Department will release its
Continue ReadingBy CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — At least 24 worshippers, including four children, were injured in northern Nigeria’s Kano state after a man attacked the mosque where they were praying early Wednesday morning, resulting in an explosion, the police said. The suspect, a 38-year-old resident of the area, confessed that he attacked
Continue ReadingBy JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he won’t participate in the campaign debates sponsored by a nonpartisan commission, instead challenging Republican Donald Trump to a pair of debates. Biden said Wednesday that Trump lost two debates to him in 2020 and since then, he hasn’t shown up for a
Continue ReadingBy EILEEN NG Associated Press KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Singapore’s deputy leader Lawrence Wong has been sworn in as the nation’s fourth prime minister in a carefully planned political succession designed to ensure continuity and stability in the Asian financial hub. A U.S.-trained economist, Wong, 51, succeeds Lee Hsien Loong, 72, who stepped down after
Continue ReadingDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed targeting a U.S. Navy destroyer and a commercial ship in the Red Sea, but there was no immediate confirmation that any attacks took place. Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said Wednesday that the rebels targeted the USS Mason with missiles and launched
Continue ReadingBy Betsy Klein, Michael Williams and Kristen Holmes, CNN Washington (CNN) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have both accepted an invitation from CNN to debate on June 27, a historically early showdown that will set the tone for the final months of the 2024 campaign. “I’ve received and accepted an invitation
Continue ReadingBy DAVID CRARY, HOLLY MEYER and PETER SMITH Associated Press Twenty years ago, Beth Stroud was defrocked from her beloved job as a United Methodist pastor in Philadelphia. In a church trial, she was found guilty of violating “Christian teaching” because she had acknowledged living in a committed relationship with another woman. Earlier this month,
Continue ReadingBy JAMEY KEATEN and ABDOULIE JOHN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s top criminal court on Wednesday convicted a former interior minister of Gambia for crimes against humanity and sentenced him to 20 years over his role in murder, torture and other repression committed by the West African country’s security forces under its longtime dictator.
Continue ReadingBEIJING (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Kremlin is prepared to negotiate over the conflict in Ukraine in an interview with Chinese media on the eve of visit to partner Beijing that has backed Moscow in its full-scale invasion of its neighbor. “We are open to a dialogue on Ukraine, but such negotiations
Continue ReadingCANNES, France (AP) — Start your engines. “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” rolls into the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday. It returns the dystopian action adventure to the Croisette promenade and launches one of the most anticipated movies of the summer. The latest “Mad Max” film stars Anya Taylor-Joy as a young Furiosa. It is
Continue ReadingBy Sophie Tanno, Niamh Kennedy and Pierre Bairin, CNN (CNN) — A rare episode of violence disrupted the peaceful region of Normandy in northern France on Tuesday when gunmen ambushed a prison convoy to spring a notorious prison inmate known as “The Fly.” The attack took place while prisoner Mohamed Amra, 30, was being transported
Continue ReadingBy MATTHEW LEE and ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces withdrew from some areas of the country’s northeast and battled Russian troops in others on Wednesday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy postponed all his upcoming foreign trips, underscoring the seriousness of the threat his soldiers are facing. Against that grim backdrop, U.S.
Continue ReadingCOPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A welding operation sparked a huge fire in February at a water park that was under construction at one of Sweden’s biggest amusement centers, causing the death of one person. A local daily quoting a police report, said Wednesday that when carrying out welding on the water slide “a fire started
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