By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday pushed back against Australian demands for an end to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s prosecution, saying the Australian citizen was accused of “very serious criminal conduct” in publishing a trove of classified documents more than a decade ago. Australia’s
Continue ReadingBY SAM MEDNICK and CHINEDU ASADU Associated Press NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — The African Union has asked the junta that overthrew the democratically elected government of Niger to return to barracks within 15 days just as the soldiers, facing growing international pressure, met with senior civil servants to discuss how to run the West African
Continue ReadingVANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Port workers in the province of British Columbia have voted to reject a mediated contract offer meant to end a labor dispute that stopped goods moving in and out of harbors, including at Canada’s busiest port in Vancouver. International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada President Rob Ashton said late Friday
Continue ReadingBy ASHRAF KHALIL Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Pamela Smith’s voice soared and quivered like a preacher in midsermon as she recalled her troubled childhood and how it helped prepare her for the challenges she faces as the new police chief in the nation’s capital. “I stand before you as a child who had no
Continue ReadingBy Jared Formanek and Ray Sanchez, CNN (CNN) — Manslaughter charges have been dropped against five Oklahoma City police officers who fatally shot a 15-year-old armed robbery suspect in 2020, a prosecutor said Friday. The five officers were charged in the death of Stavian Rodriguez after the teen dropped a firearm to the ground, according
Continue ReadingBy MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Toshihiro Mutsuda was only 5 years old when he last saw his father, who was drafted by Japan’s Imperial Army in 1943 and killed in action. For him, his father was a bespectacled man in an old family photo standing by a signed good-luck flag that he
Continue ReadingTALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A 9-year-old girl and her 10-year-old brother have been called as witnesses in a criminal case against their mother who is accused of “discrediting” the Russian army. Lidia Prudovskaya and her two children were summoned by investigators in the northern Russian region of Arkhangelsk to give testimony in the case, Russian
Continue ReadingBOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombian police arrested the president’s son Saturday as part of a high-profile money laundering probe into funds he allegedly collected from convicted drug traffickers during last year’s presidential campaign. President Gustavo Petro, a former rebel who rose through Colombia’s political ranks as an anti-corruption crusader, said he wouldn’t interfere with the
Continue ReadingBy Pierre Meilhan, Martin Goillandeau and Joshua Berlinger, CNN (CNN) — France and the EU have cut off financial support to Niger after a coup toppled the West African country’s democratically elected president. In a statement, France – Niger’s former colonial power – called for the “immediate return to the Nigerien constitutional order” adding to
Continue ReadingBy MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The cosmos is offering up a double feature in August: a pair of supermoons culminating in a rare blue moon. Catch the first show Tuesday evening as the full moon rises in the southeast, appearing slightly brighter and bigger than normal. That’s because it
Continue ReadingBy R.J. RICO Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — “Excuse me, are you a city of Atlanta voter? Do you know about ‘Cop City?’” Clipboards in hand, canvassers Sienna Giraldi and Gabriel Sanchez approached shopper after shopper at a Kroger supermarket lot on a recent evening collecting signatures for a referendum over whether to cancel the
Continue ReadingBANGKOK (AP) — A large explosion at a fireworks warehouse in southern Thailand has killed at least 10 people and wounded dozens. The local Public Relations Department said that at least 118 people were hurt in the blast on Saturday and that residents of more than 200 households have been affected. About 100 residences in
Continue ReadingBy HOLLY MEYER Associated Press Compared with the devil, angels carry more credence in America. Angels even get more credence than, well, hell. More than astrology, reincarnation, and the belief that physical things can have spiritual energies. In fact, about 7 in 10 U.S. adults say they believe in angels, according to a new poll
Continue ReadingBy KRISHAN FRANCIS Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi says that Sri Lanka’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean makes it a key partner in realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific. The minister is in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, where he met with President Ranil Wickremesinghe and his
Continue ReadingNEW DELHI (AP) — A group of Indian opposition lawmakers on Saturday visited a remote northeastern state where deadly ethnic clashes have killed at least 130 people, in a bid to pressure the government to take action against the violence, which began in May. The delegation of 20 MPs, who are part of a new
Continue ReadingBy FRANCES D’EMILIO Associated Press ROME (AP) — The Vatican says Pope Francis will make a two-day trip to Marseille, France, in late September. The announcement on Saturday adds more travel to a flurry of trips the 86-year-old pontiff will be making in the coming weeks. Francis had said that he would go to the
Continue ReadingBy Konstantin Toropin and Alex Stambaugh, CNN (CNN) — Ukraine has passed legislation moving its official Christmas holiday to December 25, further distancing itself from the traditions of the Putin-aligned Russian Orthodox Church, which celebrates the holiday on January 7. The bill was passed by Ukraine’s parliament earlier this month. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed it
Continue ReadingNEW DELHI (AP) — Police say an explosion ripped through a firecracker factory in southern India, killing eight people and wounding several others. There was no immediate word as to what had caused the explosion on Saturday in the district of Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu state. Authorities told the Press Trust of India news agency
Continue ReadingBy ROD McGUIRK Associated Press CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The United States says it will expand its military industrial base by helping Australia manufacture guided missiles and rockets for both countries within two years. The new cooperation on guided weapon production announced on Saturday follows a trilateral partnership announcement in March that will see Britain
Continue ReadingBy Isabel Rosales and Zoe Sottile, CNN (CNN) — Jadarrius Rose, the unarmed Black man who was attacked by a police dog in Ohio on July 4, described being “terrified” and fearing for his life during the assault in an interview with CNN. Rose, 23, was driving a commercial semi-truck when he failed to pull
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