By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press GUANGZHOU, China (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in China on Thursday for five days of meetings in a nation determined to avoid open conflict with the United States, yet the world’s two largest economies still appear to be hashing out the rules on how to compete against each
Continue ReadingBy MATT OTT AP Business Writer The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits rose to their highest level in two months last week, but layoffs remain at historically low levels as the labor market continues to chug along despite elevated interest rates. The Labor Department reported Thursday that filings for unemployment claims for the
Continue ReadingBy PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The British government says it will grant extensions to several large U.K. airports unable to meet the June 1 deadline to fully install new scanning technology. Once online, the new scanners will allow passengers to take two liters (70 ounces) of liquid in their hand luggage —
Continue ReadingBy DORANY PINEDA and SUMAN NAISHADHAM Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — Sea-level rise and increasingly ferocious storms are eroding thousands of miles of Mexico’s coastline. Drought is draining reservoirs dry and creating severe water shortages. Deadly heat is straining people and crops. But the leading presidential candidate Claudia Sheinbaum isn’t making climate a central
Continue ReadingBy HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer Saudi Arabia will host the WTA Finals as part of a three-year deal with the women’s professional tennis tour that will increase the prize money for this November’s season-ending championship to a record $15.25 million. That is a 70% increase from 2023. The event for the top eight singles
Continue ReadingBy DEEPA BHARATH, DAVID CRARY and MARIAM FAM Associated Press Throughout history, solar eclipses have had profound impact on adherents of various religions around the world. They were viewed as messages from God or spiritual forces, inducing emotions ranging from dread to wonder. Ahead of the total solar eclipse that will follow a long path
Continue ReadingBy JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — The U.N.’s leading human rights body has agreed to measures aimed at putting pressure on Myanmar and Iran, whose governments have been accused of using violence against their own people. The council backed by consensus a measure that calls on governments to avoid exporting or selling jet
Continue ReadingBy JOHNSON LAI and KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HUALIEN, Taiwan (AP) — Rescuers searched Thursday for missing people and worked to reach hundreds stranded when Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in 25 years sent boulders and mud tumbling down mountainsides, blocking roads. Ten people died and more than 1,000 were injured. The powerful quake struck during the
Continue ReadingPARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has dismissed as “ridiculous” remarks by Russia’s defense minister suggesting that Ukraine and France could have had a role in last month’s deadly Moscow concert hall attack. Macron’s comments come a day after a rare phone call between the French and Russian defense ministers that led to diverging
Continue ReadingBy THALIA BEATY Associated Press Much about billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s giving remains a mystery, but a recent round of grants to nonprofits offer some insights. The grants announced in March were largely in line with Scott’s other donations in terms of themes. The database of gifts on Scott’s website shows organizations that identified as
Continue ReadingBy RISDEL KASASIRA Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Ugandan gay rights activists asked the international community to mount more pressure on the government of Uganda to repeal an anti-gay law which the country’s Constitutional Court refused to nullify on Wednesday. The court upheld a law that allows the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” and
Continue ReadingBy VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A new diplomatic crisis between Poland and Israel has erupted following the death of a Polish aid worker in Gaza. The Polish president on Thursday denounced a comment by the Israeli ambassador as “outrageous” and the Foreign Ministry in Warsaw said it was summoning him for
Continue ReadingBy Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN (CNN) — The plight of starving Palestinians in Gaza is worsening as Israel’s actions have deterred critical aid agencies and imposed severe constraints on essential humanitarian efforts in the enclave. As famine looms and cases of death by starvation emerge, at least three aid providers are suspending operations in Gaza after
Continue ReadingBy HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president has met the leader of thousands of striking junior doctors and promised to respect their position during future talks over the government’s contentious push to sharply increase medical school admissions. The meeting Thursday between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Park Dan, head
Continue ReadingDUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Kuwait is holding national elections for the fourth time in as many years as the oil-rich country seeks to break out of its longstanding political gridlock. The Persian Gulf country’s elected assembly has more power than most in the Arab world, but has long been at loggerheads with the
Continue ReadingBy KONSTANTIN TESTORIDES Associated Press SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — North Macedonia’s presidential race has kicked off, with seven candidates vying for the largely ceremonial post in a two-round vote that will conclude on May 8. The official start on Thursday to the campaign season means the candidates are allowed to make campaign speeches, hold
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By Kara Nelson, CNN (CNN) — An Orange County, Florida, grand jury has decided not to charge a former Orlando police officer for the shooting of a 26-year-old last July. After being presented “with all relevant evidence,” the grand jury decided not to charge former Orlando officer Jose Velez in the shooting that resulted in Derek Diaz’s death, according
Continue ReadingBy JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — More than 600 British jurists, including three retired judges from the U.K. Supreme Court, are calling on the government to suspend arms sales to Israel, piling pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after the deaths of three U.K. aid workers in an Israeli strike. Britain is just
Continue ReadingKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Najib Razak is seeking to serve the rest of his prison term under house arrest, two months after his graft sentence was halved. His application said he had information that the then-king had issued an order allowing his house arrest during the Jan. 29 pardon
Continue ReadingBy DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press GLYKA NERA, Greece (AP) — Authorities in Greece are stepping up multi-agency fire drills in an attempt to reduce response times ahead of the summer fire season that officially starts May 1. Temperatures touched 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) in late March and large wildfires are already breaking out weeks
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