Month: May 2023

BERLIN (AP) — Heavy rains in southwestern Germany have flooded roads and basements, forced train routes to close temporarily and left some residents trapped in their homes. In Zollernalbkreis county in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, hundreds of firefighters were on duty late Sunday after thunderstorms led to creeks bursting their banks and flooding streets. German

BEIJING (AP) — China’s foreign minister has told the U.S. ambassador that Washington is responsible for the downturn in relations between the two countries and must “reflect deeply” before ties can return to a healthy track. Qin Gang’s comments follow a suspension of serious dialogue on a range of issues between the world’s largest economies,

By SUSIE BLANN Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia enacted a major security clampdown before Tuesday’s annual commemorations marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, curbing the use of drones and ride-sharing services in its largest cities — even jet skis on the canals of St. Petersburg — amid its 14-month

By DAVID KOENIG AP Airlines Writer The Biden administration is working on new regulations that would require airlines to compensate passengers and cover their meals and hotel rooms if they are stranded for reasons within the airline’s control. The White House said President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg would announce the start of

By REBECCA SANTANA and VALERIE GONZALEZ Associated Press BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Under a set of white tents at the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, dozens of Venezuelan men waited. Some sat on curbs and others leaned on metal barricades. When the gates eventually opened, the long line of men filed slowly up the pedestrian

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has led the traditional ceremony on Paris’ Champs-Elysees Monday commemorating May 8, the day that marked the end of World War II in Europe in 1945. He laid a wreath and a brass band played the Marseillaise. To limit disruptions amid ongoing opposition to Macron and his contested

By FARNOUSH AMIRI Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department says it’s “unfortunate” the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s chairman has threatened to hold Secretary of State Antony Blinken in contempt of Congress if the department doesn’t turn over classified cables related to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul pledged Friday

By BASSEM MROUE and KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — An opposition war monitor and a pro-government radio station are reporting that airstrikes over southern Syria have killed one of the country’s most well-known drug dealers. The strikes early Monday come a day after Arab governments reinstated Syria to the Arab League, after the

By EDNA TARIGAN and ANDI JATMIKO Associated Press LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia (AP) — A picturesque tourist destination will host crisis-weary Southeast Asian leaders with sun-splashed tropical islands, turquoise waters brimming with corals and manta rays, seafood feasts, and a hillside savannah crawling with Komodo dragons. The sunshiny setting is a stark contrast to the seriousness

By HILARY FOX Associated Press LONDON (AP) — There’s nothing like nearly winning to wake people up. And the U.K.’s second-place position at last year’s Eurovision Song Contest has helped kickstart widespread enthusiasm for 2023’s edition — taking place in Liverpool this week. Sam Ryder’s “Space Man” restored the nation’s interest last year with his

By ANDREW WILKS Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — As Turkey heads for presidential and parliamentary elections at the weekend that are shaping up to be the strongest challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his 20 years as leader, complaints are growing about the fairness of the vote. Erdogan receives far more coverage on state-controlled

Norway’s aging king, Harald V, has been admitted to a hospital due to an infection. The Norwegian palace said Monday that “the king has been diagnosed with an infection that needs to be treated, and will therefore remain in hospital for a few days.” The palace added that the 86-year-old monarch was stable in Oslo’s

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has hanged two men convicted of blasphemy. The hangings Monday represent rare death sentences carried out for the crime as executions surge across the Islamic Republic following months of unrest. Iran remains one of the world’s top executioners, having put to death at

By NOHA ELHENNAWY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s Doctors Syndicate says at least 100 people were killed in clashes that erupted last month between armed fighters in a city in Sudan’s restive region of Darfur. All hospitals were still out of service in the Darfur city of Genena and an accurate count of the

By The Associated Press Victory Day is Russia’s most important secular holiday, lauding two tenets that are central to its identity: military might and moral rectitude. But the war in Ukraine undermines both this year. Many regions have canceled their observances of the 78th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s capitulation in World War II because of