Month: July 2024

Associated Press CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Former South African President Jacob Zuma’s disciplinary hearing with the African National Congress has been postponed for more arguments, as he faces expulsion for campaigning against the organization he once led as head of a new political party. The hearing could see Zuma, 82, become the first

Associated Press Dozens of aging bridges in 16 states will be replaced or improved with the help of $5 billion in federal grants announced Wednesday by President Joe Biden’s administration, the latest beneficiaries of a massive infrastructure law. The projects range from coast to coast, with the largest providing an additional $1.4 billion to help

Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — President Joe Biden tested positive for the coronavirus Wednesday while trying to shore up support among disenchanted voters key to his reelection chances, prompting him to cancel a meeting with members of a Latino civil rights organization in the battleground state of Nevada. After testing positive, Biden was unable

AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly lower Thursday, with Tokyo’s benchmark dipping more than 2%, after Wall Street’s record-breaking rally slammed into a wall of worries over potentially worsening trade tensions with China. By early afternoon, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was down 1.9% at 40,324.17. The markets’ spotlight was squarely on

Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The EU general court says the European Commission did not allow the public enough access to information about COVID-19 vaccine purchase agreements it secured with pharmaceutical companies during the pandemic. The decision Wednesday comes a day ahead of a vote at the European Parliament at which European Commission President Ursula

Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — The U.S. Central Command says that the Islamic State group is trying “to reconstitute” as the number of attacks in Syria and Iraq is on track to double those of the previous year. IS has claimed 153 attacks in both countries in the first six months of 2024, CENTCOM said

Associated Press DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Several major universities in Bangladesh have agreed to shut their doors after at least six people died in violent campus protests. Also Wednesday, protest organizers said they would shut down all but essential services as relentless clashes between demonstrators and police stretched into the night. Protesters are demanding an

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Inflation in the U.K. held steady at the Bank of England’s target rate of 2% in June. The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that the largest upward contribution came from restaurants and hotels, with some economists attributing the increases to Taylor Swift’s tour of the U.K. The biggest downward

Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip Wednesday in the Seine River, fulfilling a promise to show that the long-polluted waterway was clean enough to host swimming competitions during the 2024 Olympics as well as part of the opening ceremony, now only nine days away. Daily water quality tests in

AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — In a year of major elections setting the course of many countries for years to come, China’s ruling Communist Party is holding top-level meetings in Beijing to draft policies for reviving its slowing economy. The closed-door meetings come at a time of growing pressure to fix chronic problems dragging

AP Science Writer The head of upcoming climate negotiations is telling world leaders that a new financial aid package for poor and disaster-struck nations is the urgent and make-or-break goal of United Nations talks this fall. Mukhtar Babayev, the Azerbaijan ecology minister who will preside over the November talks in his home country, said time

Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Initial autopsy results showed traces of cyanide in the blood of six Vietnamese and American guests at a luxury hotel in central Bangkok and one of them is believed to have poisoned the others over a bad investment, Thai authorities said Wednesday. The bodies were found Tuesday in the Grand

SYDNEY (AP) — Papua New Guinea’s sidelined Petroleum Minister, Jimmy Maladina, will appear in a Sydney court in March to fight a charge of assaulting a woman during a domestic dispute. The 58-year-old appeared in the Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday to have a hearing date set over the assault that allegedly occurred in

Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — A final blast from The Mirage’s signature volcano marked the passage Wednesday of an aging Las Vegas resort that wowed crowds when it opened in 1989 and went on to revolutionize the casino resort industry and reshape Las Vegas as a tourist destination. “What would The Mirage be without

Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — After almost 30 months of war with Russia, Ukraine’s difficulties on the battlefield are mounting even as its vital support from the United States is increasingly at the mercy of changing political winds. A six-month delay in military assistance from the U.S., the biggest single contributor to Ukraine, opened

Associated Press MILWAUKEE (AP) — On the floor of the Republican National Convention Tuesday evening, vice presidential candidate JD Vance greeted and shook hands with excited delegates as he walked toward his seat. It was a marked contrast from former President Donald Trump, who entered the hall a few minutes later and was separated from

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Britain’s new Labour Party government has set out its plans for “national renewal,” saying it will calm the country’s febrile politics and ease its cost-of-living crisis. The government laid out its agenda at the grand State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday. King Charles III read out a speech written by the government

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge’s stunning decision to dismiss the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump brought the prosecution to a halt. But it’s hardly the final word. An appeal by special counsel Jack Smith of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s order is expected to tee up a court fight that