World

  FILE - A TV screen shows file images of North Korean soldiers during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Oct. 18, 2024. China\'s response to Russia\'s growing influence over North Korea and its leader, Kim Jong Un, likely combines "exasperation" and "panic" as Beijing appears to be losing control over its client state, according to former U.S. policy and intelligence officials. They noted that the explicit security partnership between China\'s two neighbors —Russia and North Korea — could undermine China\'s strategic position in East Asia and has long-term implications that are not beneficial for China. On Wednesday, Russia\'s Foreign Ministry announced that North Korean Foreign Minister Ch...

  In this photograph taken on July 22, 2024 Russian army deserter and dissident Alexander poses for photograph with his wife Irina during an interview with AFP at an undisclosed location. London — Thousands of Russians, including soldiers, have fled their country to seek asylum in the West since Moscow\'s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, although only a fraction of asylum applications has been approved. However, in a landmark case, France has allowed several Russian army deserters to enter the country to seek refugee status. Anti-war activists hope it will prompt more Russian soldiers to flee. Alexander, who does not want to give his family name for fear of political retaliation, is among the six Russian men and four of their partners permitted ...

  A man phones with his mobile while entering the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva, Apr. 12, 2022. Beijing — Beijing said Wednesday it had lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organization over the European Union\'s decision to impose hefty tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars. The extra taxes of up to 35% were announced Tuesday after an EU probe found Chinese state subsidies were undercutting European automakers, but the move has faced opposition from Germany and Hungary, which fear provoking Beijing\'s ire and setting off a bitter trade war. China slammed Brussels\'s decision on Wednesday morning, saying it did not "agree with or accept" the tariffs and had filed a complaint under the World Trade Orga...

  FILE - Former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak walks out from the Federal Court during a court break, in Putrajaya, Malaysia, August 23, 2022. KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — A Malaysian court ruled on Wednesday jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak will have to defend himself against more abuse of power and money laundering charges in another trial over the multi-billion dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB. Najib faces four charges of abuse of power and 21 charges of money laundering for allegedly receiving $526 million from 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). He has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, Najib faces up to 20 years in prison and fines up to five times the amount of funds involved in the offence. Najib, 71, was sentenced to 1...

  FILE - Iraqi lawmakers attend a parliamentary session to vote for a new head of state president in Baghdad, Iraq, October 13, 2022. Iraqi Parliament Media Office/Handout via REUTERS BAGHDAD — The ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) came first in a parliamentary election in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq, winning 39 seats, the election commission said on Wednesday, positioning it to lead the next regional government. The KDP\'s historic rival and junior coalition partner in government, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), was second with 23 seats, the commission told a news conference. It said turnout among registered voters was reported at 72%. The Iraqi Kurdistan Parliament has 100 seats with five reserved for min...

  People walk through flooded streets in Valencia, Oct. 30, 2024. BARCELONA, Spain — At least 51 people have died in Spain’s eastern region of Valencia after flash floods swept away cars, turned village streets into rivers and disrupted rail lines and highways in the worst natural disaster to hit the European nation in recent memory. Emergency services in the eastern region of Valencia confirmed the death toll on Wednesday. Rainstorms on Tuesday caused flooding in a wide swath of southern and eastern Spain. Floods of mud-colored water tumbled vehicles down streets at frightening speeds. Pieces of wood swirled with household articles. Police and rescue services used helicopters to lift people from their homes and cars. Authorities repo...

  A voter casts her ballot as an electoral official and a Botswana Police officer look on at the Gaborone Block 8 polling station in Gaborone on October 30, 2024, during Botswana's general election. Gaborone, Botswana — Southern Africa\'s diamond-rich nation of Botswana voted in general elections Wednesday with the ruling party seeking to extend its nearly six-decade rule and hand a second term to President Mokgweetsi Masisi. Polls opened at 6:30 a.m. for more than a million people registered to vote, with four presidential candidates in the race to head the region\'s oldest democracy, installed on independence from Britain in 1966 when the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) took office. "It is my time to voice my opinion. I can\'...

  A man passes by a bridge that links Lebanon to Syria, in Qusair, Syria, Oct. 27, 2024. The bridge was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike on Oct. 24, 2024. Qusair, Syria — A stream of refugees fleeing Lebanon to Syria crossed a narrow makeshift bridge on foot Sunday in the Qusair area of Syria\'s Homs province after the official border crossing was put out of commission by an Israeli strike two days earlier. Only three functioning crossings remain between the countries, which share a border 375 kilometers (233 miles) long. In late September, an Israeli airstrike hit the border crossing of Matraba in Lebanon\'s northeast, forcing it to close. A few weeks later came a strike on Masnaa, the main crossing between the two countries, putting it...

  FILE - Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman attends the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in Saint Petersburg on June 6, 2024. RIYADH — Saudi Arabia is "committed" to maintaining crude capacity at 12.3 million barrels per day, Energy Minister Prince Abulaziz bin Salman said on Tuesday. Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in Riyadh, he said the world\'s largest oil exporter would maintain its crude targets while also pursuing its climate aims. "We will monetize every molecule of energy this land has, period," Prince Abdulaziz said. That policy would be carried out hand in hand with other goals, such as emission reduction, he added. "We are ...

  FILE - A young man holds an EU flag as he attends an opposition protest against the results of the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Oct. 28, 2024. TBILISI, Georgia — For some Georgians who supported the ruling Georgian Dream party in Saturday\'s disputed parliamentary election, the aspiration to go West toward the European Union had to be balanced by the brutal reality of the need to keep the peace with Russia. The opposition and foreign observers had cast the election as a watershed moment that would decide if Georgia moves closer to Europe or leans back towards Russia amid the war in Ukraine. The ruling party, which is seen as loyal to its billionaire founder Bidzina Ivanishvili, says it wants to one day join the EU but ...