Month: March 2023

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has canceled his trip to China after contracting pneumonia, the presidential palace said on Saturday. Lula, 77, was admitted to a hospital in the capital of Brasilia with flu-like symptoms and was diagnosed with “bacterial and viral bronchopneumonia due to influenza A,” the

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Republican Gov. Brad Little signed a bill allowing execution by firing squad, making Idaho the latest state to turn to older methods of capital punishment amid a nationwide shortage of lethal-injection drugs. The Legislature passed the measure March 20 with a veto-proof majority. Under it, firing squads will be used only

By GARY FIELDS and MICHAEL TARM Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — The voting precinct could have been any one of hundreds throughout Chicago, except that these voters in the first round of the mayoral election were all wearing the same beige smocks. And the security at this polling place wasn’t intended to keep disrupters and

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The West’s steady criticism of Hungary on democratic and cultural issues makes the small European country’s right-wing government reluctant to offer support on practical matters, specifically NATO’s buildup against Russia, Hungary’s foreign minister said. In an interview with The Associated Press, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany have held a memorial service for the six people killed during a mass shooting at a religious service in Hamburg this month. A 35-year-old German man who opened fire during the March 9 service killed himself as police arrived. Officials

By ELÉONORE HUGHES Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Retired Formula One champion Nelson Piquet has been ordered to pay $950,000 in “moral damages” for making racist and homophobic comments about Lewis Hamilton. The 70-year-old Brazilian had referred to seven-time champion Hamilton as “neguinho,” a racially offensive term which means “little Black guy,” in

JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AP) — Snowfall and heavy rain killed at least three people in Afghanistan, including a child, a government spokesman said Saturday. The severe weather hit nine provinces in different parts of the country on Friday and Saturday: Balkh, Zabul, Faryab, Uruzgan, Nimroz, Nangarhar, Kunar, Nuristan, and Laghman. The snow and rain injured seven

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell says he’ll run for governor in 2024. He’ll likely be required to best Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson to earn the Republican nomination. Folwell announced his decision at Saturday’s Republican Party convention for Forsyth County. He told The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The top commander of Ukraine’s military said Saturday that his forces were pushing back against Russian troops in the long and grinding battle for the town of Bakhmut, and British military intelligence says Russia appears to be moving to a defensive strategy in eastern Ukraine. “The Bakhmut direction is the most

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Pope Francis on Saturday accepted a resignation request from a German bishop who asked to step down because of his mistakes in handling sexual abuse cases.  Franz-Josef Bode became the bishop of Osnabrueck, Germany, in 1995. He said in a personal statement that his decision to resign

By KAWEEWIT KAEWJINDA Associated Press NONTHABURI, Thailand (AP) — Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has officially accepted his party’s nomination as its main candidate to keep the job in the upcoming general election, promising to build a new political climate that does away with decades of conflict. The 69-year-old former general led a military coup

By CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will try to deepen and reframe U.S. relationships in Africa during a weeklong trip that’s the latest and higher profile outreach by the Biden administration as it acts to counter China’s growing influence. Harris plans to visit Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia, focusing on

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen say they are imposing severe restrictions on U.N. and other humanitarian flights arriving in the capital, Sanaa. The Houthi-run Civil Aviation Authority said that no humanitarian flights would be allowed to land in Sanaa between March 25-30. It said in a

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Recent moves by President Joe Biden to pressure TikTok and approve oil drilling in an untapped area of Alaska are testing the loyalty of a young voters. And that’s a group that’s largely been in Biden’s corner. Youth turnout surged surged after Donald Trump was