Month: September 2024

BERLIN (AP) — The cost of a popular ticket that allows people to use all local and regional trains, buses and subway systems across Germany is set to increase by about 18% next year. Transport ministers from Germany’s 16 states agreed Monday that the price of the Germany Ticket, which has cost 49 euros per

Associated Press MULTAN, Pakistan (AP) — The family of a doctor accused of blasphemy says he was killed by police while in custody in southern Pakistan after he voluntarily surrendered following assurances that he would be given a chance to prove his innocence, denying a police account that he was accidentally killed in a shootout.

Associated Press PARIS (AP) — France’s new government dominated by conservatives and centrists has gathered for the first time as Prime Minister Michel Barnier set budget and migrant issues as top priorities. The long-awaited list of government members was unveiled Saturday, more than two months after elections that produced a hung parliament and deepened political divisions. Macron

AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Two new reports provide a mixed but compelling outlook on the wave of book removals and challenges as the annual Banned Books Week begins for schools, stores and libraries nationwide. The American Library Association found a substantial drop in 2024 so far in complaints about books stocked in

MOSCOW (AP) — A Soyuz capsule carrying two Russians and one American from the International Space Station has landed in Kazakhstan, ending a record-breaking stay for the Russian pair. The capsule landed on the Kazakh steppe about 3 1/2 hours after undocking from the space station in an apparently trouble-free descent. In the last stage

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s coast guard says four people have died and five others have been rescued after a boat carrying migrants sank off the island of Samos. The coast guard says five other people were rescued from the sea after the accident on Monday. Another 26 who had safely made it to the

Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Sudanese health authorities say cholera has killed at least 388 people and sickened about 13,000 others over the past two months. The Health Ministry said in a report Sunday that the casualties from cholera included six dead and about 400 sickened over the weekend. It said the disease was detected

SEATTLE (AP) — Alaska Airlines said it grounded its flights in Seattle briefly on Sunday night due to “significant disruptions” from an unspecified technology problem that was resolved by about 10 p.m. local time. In comments from its account on X to customers complaining of delays and problems with the airline’s app and website, the

Associated Press TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Rescuers have recovered the bodies of more workers killed in an explosion at a coal mine in eastern Iran. The recoveries brought the death toll in the disaster to at least 38. Another 14 miners are still believed to be trapped below ground. The blast struck a coal mine

Associated Press LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — British Treasury chief Rachel Reeves has promised not to return to an era of public spending cuts despite the dire state of the U.K.’s national finances. She tried to inject a dose of optimism after weeks of negative headlines for the country’s new Labour Party government. Reeves used a

Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican has confirmed that plans remain in place for Pope Francis to go to Belgium and Luxembourg. That follows the cancellation of all of his audiences on Monday because of a “slight flu-like state.” Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni says the cancellation only concerned Monday’s events. Francis is to

AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — With its larger-than-usual half-point cut to its key interest rate last week, the Federal Reserve underscored its belief that it’s all but conquered inflation after three long years. The public at large? Not so much. Consumer surveys show that most Americans remain unhappy with the economy, still bruised by

Associated Press PUERTO ESCONDIDO, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane John struck Mexico’s southern Pacific coast Monday night with fierce winds and heavy rainfall after strengthening from a tropical storm to major hurricane in a matter of hours. John’s rapid intensification caught authorities off guard as they scrambled to update their guidance to residents and keep pace

Associated Press MARJAYOUN, Lebanon (AP) — Israeli strikes Monday on Lebanon killed more than 490 people, including more than 90 women and children, Lebanese authorities said, in the deadliest barrage since the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war. The Israeli military warned residents in southern and eastern Lebanon to evacuate ahead of its widening air campaign against Hezbollah.

Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Pakistani Taliban have denied involvement in a bombing attack on a police convoy that was escorting foreign ambassadors in the restive northwest. Authorities said Monday they were still trying to determine who was behind it. The ambassadors and senior envoys were traveling Sunday to the Swat Valley, a former

Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Marxist politician Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s president on Monday after an election that saw voters reject an old guard accused of leading the country into economic crisis. Dissanayake, 55, who ran as head of the Marxist-leaning National People’s Power coalition, defeated President Ranil