By EMILIE CHETTY Associated Press VICTORIA, Seychelles (AP) — The president of Seychelles has declared a state of emergency after a huge blast at an explosives depot followed deadly flooding in other parts of the country’s main island. President Wavel Ramkalawan says three people have died in the flooding and more than 100 were injured
Continue ReadingBy STAN CHOE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting Thursday following its first three-day losing streak since Halloween. The S&P 500 was 0.5% higher in midday trading and continuing to hang near its highest level since March 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 16 points, or less than
Continue ReadingBy CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — West Africa’s top court has rejected a request by Niger’s junta for a lifting of coup-related sanctions imposed by its neighbors. The court based in the Nigerian capital of Abuja has ruled that the junta is unconstitutional and therefore lacks the authority to make such a
Continue ReadingBy COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Italian melodrama’s official recognition as a global cultural treasure is getting trumpeted with La Scala’s season premiere of Verdi’s “Don Carlo.” The start of the Milan opera house’s 2023-24 season Thursday will serve as an unofficial national celebration of the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO including Italian lyric
Continue ReadingCOPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A British hedge fund trader extradited from the United Arab Emirates to Denmark where he was wanted for allegedly orchestrating a more than 9 billion kroner ($1.3 billion) tax fraud has been ordered to remain in custody until his Jan. 3 trial. Sanjay Shah was convicted in May in Dubai of
Continue ReadingBy JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A new law has been passed in Denmark’s parliament that makes it illegal to desecrate any holy text in the country. The vote on Thursday came after a recent string of public desecrations of the Quran by a handful of anti-Islam activists sparked angry demonstrations
Continue ReadingBy MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has pledged $4.5 billion to Ukraine, including $1 billion in humanitarian aid to help support the war-torn country’s recovery efforts. Kishida made the announcement late Wednesday in Tokyo while hosting his last Group of Seven summit as this year’s chairperson. The $1
Continue ReadingBy HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer Tennis pro Nick Kyrgios is setting up a free-to-access OnlyFans page. Kyrgios is a 28-year-old Australian who was the runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2022 but was sidelined by injuries for nearly all of this past season. He played in just one official singles match in 2023.
Continue ReadingBy AMANDA SEITZ and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is putting pharmaceutical companies on notice. Washington is warning them that if the price of certain drugs is too high, the government might cancel their patent protection and allow rivals to make their own versions. Under a plan announced Thursday, the
Continue ReadingBy Rob Picheta, CNN (CNN) — Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron has urged US lawmakers to “lift the morale” of Ukraine by passing an aid package for Kyiv that has become entangled in Republican quarrelling. Cameron, a former British prime minister, told CNN during a trip to Washington, DC, on Thursday that the US is
Continue ReadingCNN By Rob Picheta, CNN (CNN) — Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Cameron has urged US lawmakers to “lift the morale” of Ukraine by passing an aid package for Kyiv that has become entangled in Republican quarrelling. Cameron, a former British prime minister, told CNN during a trip to Washington, DC, on Thursday that the US
Continue ReadingMOSCOW (AP) — State news agencies and authorities in Russia say a girl shot several classmates before killing herself at a school in the city of Bryansk. Initial reports said one person besides the shooter was killed and five people were wounded in Thursday’s gunfire. Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reports that one of
Continue ReadingLONDON (AP) — European Union talks on comprehensive artificial intelligence regulations were paused after 22 straight hours. Officials haven’t yet hammered out a deal on a rulebook for the rapidly advancing technology behind popular services like ChatGPT. European Commissioner Thierry Breton tweeted that talks that ran through the night into Thursday would resume on Friday.
Continue ReadingBy JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says he will “do what is necessary” to revive a blocked deal to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda, even if it means ignoring human rights laws. The U.K. Supreme Court has declared the plan illegal, but Sunak said Thursday that a planned new
Continue ReadingBy Tami Luhby, CNN (CNN) — The Biden administration Thursday announced five new measures that seek to lower health care costs by promoting competition. Reducing health care prices is one of President Joe Biden’s key platforms as he seeks to build momentum in the 2024 presidential campaign. The president has repeatedly pointed to the steps
Continue ReadingBy MATT OTT AP Business Writer U.S. applications for jobless benefits ticked up last week, but the overall number of people in the U.S. collecting unemployment benefits fell after hitting its highest level in two years last week. Unemployment benefits claims rose by 1,000 to 220,000 for the week ending Dec. 2, the Labor Department
Continue ReadingBy FRANCIS KOKUTSE and SAM METZ Associated Press ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — The United Nations’ top peacekeeping official has defended its missions worldwide even as many countries where peacekeepers operate are demanding their withdrawal. Undersecretary General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said in Accra on Wednesday that missions were underfunded but still effective. He noted
Continue ReadingBy JOSEF FEDERMAN and SAMY MAGDY Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — The United States has offered strong support to Israel in its war against the Hamas militant group that rules the Gaza Strip. But the allies are increasingly at odds over what will happen to Gaza once the war winds down. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin
Continue ReadingBy KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — The leaders of China and the European Union held talks Thursday that focused on their disputes over trade, subsidies and a deep divide over the war in Ukraine. Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Beijing with the two European presidents, Ursula von der Leyen from the EU
Continue ReadingBy BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Two international human rights groups say two Israeli strikes that killed a Reuters videographer and wounded six other journalists in south Lebanon nearly two months ago were apparently deliberate and a direct attack on civilians. The investigation by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch was released Thursday.
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