News

By ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The sun is setting on Stumpy, the gnarled old cherry tree that has become a social media phenom. This year’s cherry blossom festivities in Washington will be the last for Stumpy and more than 100 other cherry trees that will be cut down as part of a

By BRIAN INGANGA Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Hundreds of Kenyan doctors have protested in the streets demanding better pay and working conditions in an ongoing nationwide strike that has entered its second week. The doctors carried placards and chanted against the Kenyan government on Friday, saying it had failed to implement a raft

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission wants to prevent Russia from using agriculture products as a tool to wreak havoc on the EU market and will impose tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus. Imports of cereals, oilseeds and derived products from Russia and its Belarus ally are just

By JIM GOMEZ Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine officials say Chinese coast guard ships backed by a military helicopter tried unsuccessfully to block two Philippine government vessels carrying scientists from reaching two sandbars in the disputed South China Sea. They say Chinese coast guard personnel blew the horn on one of their ships

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A strong and shallow undersea earthquake has shaken the eastern side of Indonesia’s main island of Java, causing some damage but no immediate reports of casualties. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake Friday measured 6.4 and struck at a depth of 5.2 miles north of Paciran in East Java province.

By NOHA ELHENNAWY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — The Egyptian government has raised fuel prices in a move that is bound to exacerbate inflationary pressures on an already-struggling population. The new prices came into effect Friday morning. The Egyptian economy has been hit hard by years of government austerity, the coronavirus pandemic, the fallout from Russia’s invasion of

By JUSTIN SPIKE Associated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s populist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has congratulated Russian President Vladimir Putin on his victory in an election whose outcome was never in doubt after systematic crackdowns on dissent. Orbán, widely seen as Putin’s closest ally in the European Union, sent the letter of congratulations on

By PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Avian influenza is killing tens of thousands of seals and sea lions in different corners of the world, disrupting ecosystems and flummoxing scientists who don’t see a clear way to slow the devastating virus. The worldwide bird flu outbreak that began in 2020 has led to

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks were mixed Friday in Europe and Asia after Wall Street tapped fresh records, led by big gains in chipmakers. Germany’s DAX edged 0.1% higher, to 18,201.03 and the CAC 40 in Paris fell 0.2% to 8,164.36. In London, the FTSE 100 climbed 0.7% to 7,936.38.

By SHEIKH SAALIQ and KRUTIKA PATHI Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Supporters of an anti-corruption crusader and one of India’s most consequential politicians of the past decade held protests Friday against his arrest, which opposition parties say is part of a crackdown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government before national elections. Arvind Kejriwal, who

BEIJING (AP) — A former executive at Yoozoo Games has been sentenced to death in the poisoning of the founder of the high-profile Chinese gaming company. A court says Xu Yao poisoned the food of company founder Lin Qi in December 2020 because of a dispute over the running of the business. Lin died about

By KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The race is on for Congress to pass the final spending package for the current budget year and push any threats of a government shutdown to the fall. With spending set to expire for several key federal agencies at midnight Friday, the House and Senate are expected

By JSARH NGARNDEY ULRICH and JESSICA DONATI Associated Press METCHE CAMP, Chad (AP) — Overcrowded refugee camps in eastern Chad are set to run out of money soon, exacerbating a dire humanitarian situation caused by the spillover from the conflict in Sudan. Over a million people in Chad, including many refugees from Sudan, face losing

By HANNA ARHIROVA and JIM HEINTZ Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia attacked electrical power facilities in much of Ukraine, including the country’s largest hydroelectric plant, causing widespread outages and killing at least five people, officials said Friday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said more than 60 drones and about 90 rockets were used in the

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine officials say a former Filipino congressman accused of masterminding the killings of a provincial governor and several others has been arrested in East Timor and will be deported. The Department of Justice said Friday that Arnolfo Teves Jr. was arrested while playing at a golf driving range Thursday. Teves is

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Stocks were mixed Friday in Asia after Wall Street tapped fresh records, led by big gains in chipmakers. Japan’s Nikkei 225 topped 41,000 for the first time early Friday but then fell back, closing up 0.2% lower at 40,888.43. Chinese property and tech companies weighed on

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing that targeted people trying to collect their salaries at a bank in southern Afghanistan. The bombing Thursday at a branch of New Kabul Bank in Kandahar city killed three people and wounded 12 others. A Kandahar official said all of the