World

  FILE - An EV from MG, a brand of Chinese state-owned carmaker SAIC, is seen through the glass of a car showroom in Santander, Spain, June 13, 2024. China has told its automakers to halt big investment in European countries that support extra tariffs on Chinese-built electric vehicles, two people briefed about the matter said, a move likely to further divide Europe. The new European Union tariffs of up to 45.3% came into effect on Wednesday after a year-long investigation that divided the bloc and prompted retaliation from Beijing. Ten EU members including France, Poland and Italy supported tariffs in a vote this month, in which five members including Germany opposed them and 12 abstained. Chinese automakers including BYD, SAIC, and Geel...

  An Iranian woman walks past a satirized image of the US flag on the wall of the former US Embassy, in Tehran, Iran, Oct. 22, 2024. TEHRAN, Iran — America\'s presidential election next week comes just after Iran marks the 45th anniversary of the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis — and for many, tensions between Tehran and Washington feel just as high as they did then. Iran remains locked in the Mideast wars roiling the region, with its allies — militant groups and fighters of its self-described "Axis of Resistance" — battered as Israel presses its war in the Gaza Strip targeting Hamas and its invasion of Lebanon amid devastating attacks against Hezbollah. At the same time, Iran still appears to be assessing damage from Israel\'...

  This picture taken and released by Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) on October 31, 2024 shows a car under an uprooted tree at New Taipei City, as Typhoon Kong-rey neared the coast in Taitung. TAIPEI, TAIWAN — A strong Typhoon Kong-rey made landfall on Taiwan\'s east coast on Thursday, the largest storm by size to hit the island in nearly 30 years, closing financial markets, causing hundreds of flights to be canceled and reducing rail services. The typhoon knocked out power to nearly half a million households, the government said. The storm hit the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast county of Taitung, according to Taiwan\'s Central Weather Administration, with strong winds and torrential rain affecting almost all the island....

  People clean their houses affected by floods in Utiel, Spain, Oct. 30, 2024. BARRIO DE LA TORRE, Spain — Survivors of the worst natural disaster to hit Spain this century awoke to scenes of devastation on Thursday after villages were wiped out by monstrous flash floods that claimed at least 95 lives. The death toll could rise as search efforts continue with an unknown number of people still missing. The aftermath looked eerily similar to the damage left by a strong hurricane or tsunami. Wrecked vehicles, tree branches, downed power lines and household items all mired in a layer of mud covered the streets of Utiel, just one of dozens of towns in the hard-hit region of Valencia, where 92 people died between late Tuesday and Wednesday mor...

  A police officer stands guard as a health worker, center, administers a polio vaccine to a child in a neighborhood of Peshawar, Pakistan, Oct. 28, 2024. washington — Militant groups have intensified attacks against polio vaccination teams and their police escorts in Pakistan amid a dramatic resurgence of polio cases in the country. Officials say because of the deteriorating security situation, polio vaccination teams cannot reach communities in high-risk areas where polio is endemic. On Tuesday, militants attacked two health centers in the tribal districts of Orakzai and Waziristan that are being used in the polio vaccination campaign. Two police officials were killed in the attack in the restive region along the Afghan border. Accordin...

  FILE - Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico is shown in Komarno, Slovakia, October 22, 2024. Vienna — Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico begins a six-day visit to China Thursday that includes a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and stops in the central city of Hefei and Shanghai to attend the opening ceremony for this year\'s China International Import Expo. Analysts say China is hoping to use the visit to strengthen ties with Slovak’s prime minister who is an ally of Viktor Orban and, like Hungary’s leader, has been critical of Russian sanctions and the EU’s support of Ukraine. Since coming to power, Fico has been interested in a more pro-China foreign policy. His trip to China, which was scheduled for June, was aborted du...

  Residents wait for their turns to cast their votes during an election to decide if it keeps faith with one of the Africa's longest-ruling parties, in Gaborone, Botswana, Oct. 30, 2024. Gaborone, Botswana — The arid and sparsely populated African nation of Botswana counted votes Thursday from elections expected to return President Mokgweetsi Masisi to office after a first term marked by growing unemployment and concerns over the diamond-dependent economy. Voting on Wednesday was orderly in a country proud of its democratic system installed on independence from Britain in 1966, making it the oldest democracy in the region although it has always been governed by the same party. The ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) is confident ...

  FILE - President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia attends a summit in Stansstad near Lucerne, Switzerland, June 15, 2024. WASHINGTON — Political leaders in Somalia agreed Wednesday on a framework for the country’s first national one-person, one-vote elections, a government statement said. The decision followed marathon monthlong talks led by Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud that saw the withdrawal of Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam, also known as Madobe, from the National Consultative Council meeting in Mogadishu. Somalia\'s government and federal member states said Wednesday that direct universal suffrage would be introduced with local elections set for June 2025. FILE - Jubaland President Ahmed Mohamed Islam speak...

  Rescuers work at the site where an apartment building was hit by a Russian air strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv, Ukraine October 30, 2024. The governor of northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region said Thursday one person was dead and 29 others injured after a Russian missile strike on a residential building. Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram the person killed in the late Wednesday attack was 11 years old. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian attack hit a nine-story building, and he reiterated his calls for more help in defending Ukraine. “Partners see what happens every day,” Zelenskyy said. “In these circumstances, every delayed decision on their part means dozens or even hundreds more Russian bombs used against Ukraine. Their decisions...

  Destination sign of North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, is seen at the Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, South Korea, Oct. 31, 2024. seoul, south korea — More than 100 North Koreans have gone missing after being caught by secret police while trying to defect from the isolated country or even for trying to call relatives in South Korea, a Seoul-based human rights group said Thursday. The Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) released a report detailing patterns of enforced disappearances through its study based on interviews with 62 North Korean escapees in South Korea. Tens of thousands of North Koreans have defected in the decades since the Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice, with many of those caught or repatriated sent to pri...