Kim Jong Un’s sister says U.S. spy plane repelled
SEOUL, South Korea — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un alleged that the country’s warplanes repelled a U.S. spy plane flying over nearby waters Monday and warned of “shocking” consequences if the U.S. continues reconnaissance in the area.
U.N. debates deep sea mining provisional licenses
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A U.N. agency tasked with regulating the deep sea is debating whether to open the Earth’s watery depths to countries and companies that as of Monday were allowed to start applying for provisional mining licenses.
No warnings given before New Zealand volcano eruption
Tourists received no health and safety warnings before they landed on New Zealand’s most active volcano ahead of a 2019 eruption that killed 22 people, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
Biden heading to Europe, king, war are on agenda
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden leaves on Sunday for Europe, where he will spend time in three nations tending to alliances that have been tested by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Iowa GOP schedules Jan. 15 for presidential caucuses
DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Republicans announced Saturday that the party’s presidential nominating caucuses will be held Jan. 15, on the federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., putting the first votes of the 2024 election a little more than six months away as the GOP tries to reclaim the White House.
Afghan man who spent years helping U.S. forces killed
WASHINGTON, D.C. — At 31 years old, Nasrat Ahmad Yar had spent most of his adult life working with the U.S. military in Afghanistan before escaping to America in search of a better life for his wife and four children.
Cities digging up water mains, leaving lead in ground
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Prandy Tavarez and his wife were expecting a baby when they bought a four-bedroom house in a well-kept neighborhood of century-old homes here. They got to work making it theirs, ripping off wallpaper, upgrading the electrical and replacing windows coated in paint that contained lead, a potent neurotoxin that can damage brain development in children.
Solar storm to make Northern Lights visible in 17 states
A solar storm forecast for Thursday is expected to give skygazers in 17 American states a chance to glimpse the Northern Lights, the colorful sky show that happens when solar wind hits the atmosphere.
Zelenskyy hails Ukraine’s soldiers to mark 500 days of war
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marked the 500th day of the war Saturday by hailing the country’s soldiers in a video from a Black Sea island that became the symbol of Ukraine’s resilience in the face of the Russian invasion.
Russian fighter jets harass American drones over Syria
BEIRUT — Russian fighter jets have “harassed” American drones over Syria for the third day in a row this week, the U.S. military said.
Protests grow as Israel’s government advances judicial overhaul
TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel’s anti-government protest movement gained new momentum on Saturday night as tens of thousands of people spilled into the streets of cities across the country to oppose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious plan to overhaul the judicial system.
Dutch PM hands in resignation, government collapses
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte visited the king Saturday to hand in the resignation of his four-party coalition, setting the deeply divided Netherlands on track for a general election later this year.
A German county elected a far-right candidate, raising concern
SONNEBERG, Germany — Mike Knoth is more than thrilled that a far-right populist party’s candidate recently won the county administration in his hometown in rural eastern Germany for the first time since the Nazi era.
U.S. will provide cluster bombs to Ukraine
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden on Friday defended what he said was a “difficult decision” to provide cluster munitions to Ukraine, a move the administration said was key to the fight and buttressed by Ukraine’s promise to use the controversial bombs carefully.
In Iowa, Trump says DeSantis ‘despises’ the state’s ethanol
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — Campaigning in Iowa, former President Donald Trump attacked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as an enemy of corn-based ethanol in his largest campaign event in the leadoff caucus state in nearly four months.
U.S. destroys last of its declared chemical weapons
RICHMOND, Ky. — The last of the United States’ declared chemical weapons stockpile was destroyed at a sprawling military installation in eastern Kentucky, the White House announced Friday, a milestone that closes a chapter of warfare dating back to World War I.
Biden takes aim at insurance, vowing to save consumers money
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden on Friday rolled out a new set of initiatives to reduce health care costs: a crackdown on what he called “junk” insurance plans that play consumers as ‘suckers,’ new guidance to prevent surprise medical bills and an effort to reduce medical debt tied to credit cards.
Cooler hiring could help achieve a ‘soft landing’ for U.S. economy
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Another month, another solid gain for America’s job market.
More access to Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant sought
TOKYO — The head of the United Nations nuclear agency said Friday he was pushing for access to the rooftops of reactors at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, where Ukrainian officials accused Russia of planting explosives.
NATO offers Ukraine support; membership off the table
BRUSSELS — NATO leaders will agree next week to help modernize Ukraine’s armed forces, create a new high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will join their alliance one day, the organization’s top civilian official said Friday. But the war-torn country will not start membership talks soon.