MOSCOW (AP) — Former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who fled prosecution after revealing highly classified surveillance programs, has received a Russian passport and taken the citizenship oath, Russian news agencies quoted his lawyer as saying Friday. Lawyer Anatoly Kucherena was reported as saying that Snowden got the passport and took the oath on Thursday, about three months after Russian President Vladimir Putin granted him citizenship.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A top adviser to Ukraine's president has cited military chiefs as saying 10,000 to 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the country's nine-month struggle against Russia's invasion, a rare comment on such figures and far below estimates of Ukrainian casualties from Western leaders.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Eritrean troops have continued killing dozens of civilians in Ethiopia’s Tigray region and committing other abuses weeks after the two main warring parties signed a peace deal, according to an official document seen by The Associated Press.
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine on Friday banned the activities of religious organizations “affiliated with centers of influence” in Russia and said it would examine the links between the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox churches. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree enacting a National Security and Defense Council decision to impose personal sanctions against representatives of religious organizations associated with Russia, which invaded Ukraine more than nine months ago.
MADRID (AP) — Police in Spain detonated a suspicious parcel discovered at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, Spanish officials said Thursday, a day after a similar package sent to the Ukrainian Embassy ignited upon opening and injured an employee. “We can confirm a suspicious package was received at the U.S. Embassy in Madrid, and are aware of reports of other packages sent to other locations throughout Spain,” the American embassy said in a response to an Associated Press inquiry.
BEIJING (AP) — More Chinese cities eased anti-virus restrictions and police patrolled their streets Thursday as the government tried to defuse public anger over some of the world’s most stringent COVID measures and head off more protests. Following weekend demonstrations at which some crowds made the politically explosive demand that leader Xi Jinping resign, the streets of major cities have been quiet in the face of a crackdown that has been largely out of sight.
BEIJING (AP) — Three Chinese astronauts have docked with their country's space station where they will overlap for several days with the three-member crew already onboard and expand the facility to its maximum size. The latest crew includes the veteran of a 2005 space mission and two first-time astronauts. The six-month mission will be the last in the construction phase of China’s space station.
CAIRO (AP) — Thousands of Egyptians are demanding that the British Museum return the Rosetta stone. The bilingual carvings on the relic proved to be the breakthrough in the decipherment of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics after being unearthed by colonialists in Egypt in 1799. The stone is the centerpiece of a new exhibition at London’s largest museum, celebrating the 200th anniversary of the stone's decipherment.
BEIJING (AP) — State media report former Chinese President Jiang Zemin has died at age 96. Jiang led China out of isolation after the army crushed the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in 1989. He supported economic reforms that led to a decade of explosive growth. State media say Jiang died in Shanghai of leukemia and multiple-organ failure.
BUCHAREST (AP) — NATO is struggling to find ways to help three countries shaken by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — Bosnia, Georgia and Moldova. The military alliance is seeking to extend its security umbrella across Europe. Foreign ministers from the three countries met Wednesday with their NATO counterparts, as the war in Ukraine exposes them to political, energy and territorial uncertainty.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — A top Qatari official involved in preparing his country’s hosting of the World Cup has put the number of worker deaths for the tournament “between 400 and 500” for the first time. That's drastically higher than any other number previously offered by Doha. The comment by Hassan al-Thawadi, the secretary-general of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, appeared to come off the cuff during an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan.
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese universities are sending students home and police are fanning out in Beijing and Shanghai to prevent more protests. That comes after crowds angered by severe anti-virus restrictions called for leader Xi Jinping to resign in the biggest show of public dissent in decades. Authorities have eased some controls after demonstrations in at least eight mainland cities and Hong Kong. But they showed no sign of backing off their larger “zero-COVID” strategy that has confined millions of people to their homes for months at a time
KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian authorities are investigating sites where torture allegedly took place in the city of Kherson. More than two weeks after Russians retreated from the southern city, investigators say five torture rooms have been found in the city and at least four more in the wider Kherson region. Ukrainians allege that they were confined, beaten, shocked with electricity, interrogated and threatened with death.
LONDON (AP) — Fewer than half the people in England and Wales consider themselves Christian, according to the most recent census — the first time the country's official religion has been followed by a minority of the population. Britain has become less religious in the decade since the last census, figures from the 2021 census released Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics revealed.
MESAIEED, Qatar (AP) — As Qatar welcomes more than a million fans for the monthlong World Cup, even its camels are working overtime. An influx of visitors the tiny emirate has never before seen is rushing to check off a bucket-list of quintessential Gulf tourist experiences: ride on a camel’s back, take a photograph with a falcon and wander through the cobbled alleys of old markets.
KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Devastating Russian strikes in Ukraine have cut off power to many hospitals. Power outages have strained and disrupted the country’s healthcare system, already battered by years of corruption, mismanagement, the COVID-19 pandemic and nine months of war. Scheduled operations are being postponed; patient records are unavailable because of internet outages; and paramedics have had to use flashlights to examine patients in darkened apartments.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Europol says law enforcement authorities in six different countries have joined forces to take down a “super cartel” of drugs traffickers controlling about one-third of the cocaine trade in Europe. The European Union crime agency said on Monday that 49 suspects were arrested during the investigation, with the latest series of raids across Europe and the United Arab Emirates taking place between Nov. 8-19. Over 30 tons of drugs were seized during the investigations run in Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UAE.
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities have eased some anti-virus rules but affirmed their severe “zero COVID” strategy after protesters demanded President Xi Jinping resign in the biggest show of opposition to the ruling Communist Party in decades. The government made no comment Monday on the protests or the criticism of Xi, but the decision to ease at least some of the restrictions appeared to be aimed at quelling anger.
MILAN (AP) — Search teams have recovered seven dead, including a 3-week-old infant, buried in mud and debris that hurtled down a mountainside and through a densely populated port city on the resort island of Ischia, officials said Sunday. The Naples prefect confirmed that five people remained missing, and feared buried under the debris of an enormous landslide that struck Casamicciola before dawn on Saturday. Its force collapsed buildings and pushed vehicles into the sea.
KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Officials say shelling by Russian forces has hit several areas in eastern and southern Ukraine overnight as utility crews scramble to restore power, water and heating from widespread strikes. With persistent snowfall blanketing the capital, Kyiv, on Sunday, analysts predicted that wintry weather could have an increasing impact on the conflict that has been raging since Russian forces invaded Ukraine more than nine months ago.
SHANGHAI (AP) — Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China’s powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party.
Eyewitnesses and aid workers say that allies of Ethiopia’s federal military are looting property and carrying out mass detentions in Tigray. The accounts raise fresh concern about alleged …
BEIJING (AP) — A fire in an apartment building in northwestern China's Xinjiang region killed 10 people and injured nine, authorities said Friday, amid stringent lockdowns that have left many residents in the area stuck in their homes for more than three months.
A barrage of missiles has struck the recently liberated city of Kherson in a marked escalation of attacks since Russia withdrew two weeks ago. At least four people were killed in the strikes, which …
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Residents of Ukraine's bombed but undaunted capital clutched empty bottles in search of water and crowded into cafés for power and warmth Thursday, switching defiantly into survival mode after new Russian missile strikes a day earlier plunged the city and much of the country into the dark.