News

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Tonga’s prime minister says he is open to Beijing’s offer of security support for the South Pacific kingdom hosting a major regional leaders’ summit, raising concerns in the United States as it strives to counter China’s growing influence. Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni says there’s nothing to

By JOHNSON LAI and KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HUALIEN, Taiwan (AP) — Rescuers searched Thursday for dozens of people still missing a day after Taiwan’s strongest earthquake in a quarter century damaged buildings, killed nine people, and left others stranded in remote areas or sleeping in tents. In the eastern coastal city of Hualien near

ERIKA KINETZ and SOLOMIIA HERA The Associated Press DOVHENKE, Ukraine (AP) — Yukov says the same thing to all the mothers. He tells them to talk about their dead children, so they will be remembered. There is one person in particular whose story Yukov does not want forgotten: Oleksandr Romanovych Hrysiuk — Sasha, to his

BERLIN (AP) — Austria’s justice minister says she plans to tighten the country’s rules on espionage, which currently is explicitly banned if directed against Austria itself but not if it targets other countries or international organizations. Her push to tighten Austria’s laws comes as the arrest of a former Austrian intelligence officer on allegations of

By HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A nighttime Russian attack using Iranian-designed drones killed four people and wounded 12 in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, local authorities said. Shahed drones smashed into two apartment buildings in the city near the Russian border that has frequently been targeted during more than two years of

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer Monday’s total solar eclipse might become one of the most filmed and photographed events of the year. As the moon passes in front of the sun, plunging a swath of North America into a few minutes of darkness, throngs will take pictures or videos of the moment. But powerful

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto has held talks with Malaysia’s leader on bolstering bilateral ties as part of a regional visit that has also taken him to China and Japan. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Thursday he and Subianto discussed the next steps to strengthen bilateral ties, and also exchanged views

By LORNE COOK and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO is celebrating its 75th anniversary as Russia’s war on Ukraine corrodes its unity and resolve. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts on Thursday marked the moment NATO’s founding treaty was signed on this date in 1949. Sweden took part in

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Plans are underway by to airlift a stranded killer whale calf out of a remote tidal lagoon off northern Vancouver Island in an effort to reunite the young orca with its extended family, Canadian authorities said Wednesday. Canadian Fisheries Department and First Nations officials said the plan involves placing the

BANGKOK (AP) — Panicked passengers have jumped into the sea to escape a raging ferry fire in the Gulf of Thailand, and all 108 people on board are safe. The overnight ferry was about to arrive at the popular tourist island of Koh Tao when one of the passengers suddenly heard a crackling sound and

By PAT EATON-ROBB AP Sports Writer STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Defending national champion UConn had a tough time getting off the ground on the way to the Final Four. The Huskies finally took off from Bradley International Airport near Hartford at about 1:30 a.m. EDT Thursday after the plane they were supposed to take experienced

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops launched waves of Shahed drones against the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv overnight, killing four people and wounding 12, regional Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said Thursday. Ukrainian soldiers shot down 11 of the 20 drones Russia launched over Ukraine during the night, the General Staff said. Three rescuers in Kharkiv were

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer It’s never really the end of the road for Kiss. The hard rock quartet have sold their catalog, brand name and IP to Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment Group in a deal estimated to be over $300 million, it was announced Thursday. This isn’t the first time Kiss has partnered

By JOHN HANNA AP Political Writer TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Republican lawmakers and the Democratic governor in Kansas have brokered a deal on cutting taxes. GOP leaders gave up on moving the state to a single-rate personal income tax that the governor strongly opposed. The Kansas House and Senate expected to vote on the

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO will celebrate on Thursday 75 years of collective defense across Europe and North America as Russia’s war on Ukraine enters its third year and sorely tests the allies’ resolve while rising populism gnaws at their unity. At a cake-cutting ceremony in Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State

By The Associated Press Video and photos of suspects in a mass shooting show them apparently being brutalized by Russian security forces — without any rebuke from authorities. A top Kremlin official urges that hit squads be sent to assassinate Ukrainian officials. Senior lawmakers call for restoring capital punishment, abolished decades ago. The aftermath of