AP World News

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin is stalling efforts to end Russia’s war on Ukraine, and is testing the West with tactics that fall “just below the threshold of war,” the head of Britain’s MI6 spy agency said Monday. Blaise Metreweli, the intelligence agency’s new boss, said Putin is

By DIDI TANG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy former Hong Kong media mogul who has come to symbolize defiance to Beijing, would devote himself to God and his family rather than political activism if he were released, his daughter said Monday after he was convicted in a national security case. Claire

By ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chile has become the latest country in Latin America to veer toward the right, electing a deeply conservative veteran politician who has long attracted comparisons to Donald Trump. The president-elect, José Antonio Kast, has expressed nostalgia for the 17-year military dictatorship of the late Gen. Augusto

By MANUEL RUEDA Associated Press BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The Colombian government’s delegation in peace talks with the National Liberation Army on Monday condemned an “armed strike” — which confines civilians to their homes and restricts commercial activity — that the rebel group is conducting this week in response to the U.S. military’s naval buildup

By BEN FINLEY and HANNAH FINGERHUT Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The two Iowa National Guard members killed in a weekend attack in Syria that the U.S. military blamed on the Islamic State group were identified Monday and remembered as dedicated soldiers. The U.S. Army named them as Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des

By ANSELM GIBBS Associated Press PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP) — The government of Trinidad and Tobago said Monday that it would allow the U.S. military to access its airports in coming weeks as tensions build between the United States and Venezuela. The announcement comes after the U.S. military recently installed a radar system at the airport

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Western and Arab diplomats toured an area along Lebanon’s border with Israel Monday where Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers have been working for months to end the armed presence of the militant Hezbollah group. The delegation that included the ambassadors of the United States and Saudi Arabia

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros ($75 million) for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals, officials said Monday. The move is the latest government action in Spain against short-term rental companies such as Airbnb and Booking.com as the country grapples with a housing affordability problem, particularly in city centers. The consumer rights

By AMIR VAHDAT Associated Press TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s rial slid further Monday to a new record low of more than 1.3 million to the U.S. dollar, deepening the currency’s collapse less than two weeks after it first breached the 1.2-million mark amid sanctions pressure and regional tensions. Currency traders in Tehran quoted the

By JOVANA GEC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime on Monday charged a government minister and three others with abuse of office and falsifying of documents to help pave the way for a real estate project linked to Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. Proposed criminal charges were announced

By KRISTEN GELINEAU Associated Press SYDNEY (AP) — As the sounds of bullets rang out and the bodies fell, the young mother threw herself on top of her 5-year-old son and prayed. “Please don’t let us die,” 33-year-old Rebecca begged God from her hiding place under a table in a park overlooking Bondi, Australia’s most

By SYLVIE CORBET and JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Workers at the Louvre Museum voted Monday to strike over working conditions and other complaints, dealing another blow to the Paris landmark and home of the “Mona Lisa” after an embarrassing jewelry heist in October. The CFDT union said the vote was taken at

SYDNEY (AP) — A father and son are suspected by officials to have killed 15 people on a popular Australian beach, shocking a country where gun violence is rare. The government on Monday, a day after the shootings, proposed tougher new gun laws amid criticism that officials didn’t take seriously enough a string of antisemitic

By RAJESH ROY and SIBI ARASU Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Dense toxic smog blanketed India’s national capital Monday, pushing air pollution levels to their worst levels in weeks, disrupting travel and causing authorities to impose the strictest containment measures. More than 40 flights were cancelled and several dozens delayed. Over 50 trains arriving

By CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY, ROD MCGUIRK and KRISTEN GELINEAU Associated Press SYDNEY (AP) — Australian leaders promised on Monday to immediately overhaul already-tough gun control laws after a mass shooting targeted a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach. At least 15 people died in the attack, which has fueled criticism that authorities are not doing enough

By STEFANIE DAZIO and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The U.S. has agreed to provide unspecified security guarantees to Ukraine as part of a peace deal to end Russia’s nearly four-year war, and more talks are likely this weekend, U.S. officials said Monday following the latest discussions with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin.

By DAVID KLEPPER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As the rest of the world rushes to harness the power of artificial intelligence, militant groups also are experimenting with the technology, even if they aren’t sure exactly what to do with it. For extremist organizations, AI could be a powerful tool for recruiting new members, churning

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media mogul and outspoken critic of Beijing, was convicted Monday in a landmark national security trial, which could send him to prison for the rest of his life. Three government-vetted judges found Lai, 78, guilty of conspiring with others

By CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY, KRISTEN GELINEAU and ROD McGUIRK Associated Press SYDNEY (AP) — It was a beautiful summer evening at Sydney’s famous Bondi Beach, thronged on Sunday by thousands of people soaking up the lingering warmth or taking sunset dips in the sparkling sea. Nearby, a Hanukkah celebration attracted families of all faiths, drawn in

The Associated Press Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at Australia’s leader on Sunday while nations expressed shock and sympathy over a mass shooting at a Jewish holiday event, saying he had warned Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that “your call for a Palestinian state pours fuel on the antisemitic fire.” Netanyahu during the war

By ABBY SEWELL Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — A man who carried out an attack in Syria that killed three U.S. citizens had joined Syria’s internal security forces as a base security guard two months earlier and was recently reassigned amid suspicions that he might be affiliated with the Islamic State group, a Syrian official

By MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — At least 11 people were killed Sunday in an attack on a Hannukah celebration at a popular Sydney beach and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was quick to call it an act of antisemitic terrorism. Antisemitism has been on the rise in Australia, fueled in

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski arrived for an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, direct from a dentist appointment. The 63-year-old veteran human rights advocate — looking pale, visibly tired and emaciated — was experiencing a return to daily

SYDNEY (AP) — A bystander seen in a widely circulated video disarming a gunman during a deadly shooting rampage at a popular Australian beach is being heralded as a hero who saved lives. Video footage posted to social media shows a passerby dressed in a white T-shirt and dark pants crouching behind a parked car

JERUSALEM (AP) — Hamas on Sunday confirmed the death of a top commander in Gaza, a day after Israel said it had killed Raed Saad in a strike outside Gaza City. The Hamas statement described Saad as the commander of its military manufacturing unit. Israel had described him as an architect of the Oct. 7,

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s biggest pro-democracy party voted Sunday to dissolve after more than 30 years of activism, marking the end of an era of the Chinese semiautonomous city ‘s once-diverse political landscape. Democratic Party chairperson Lo Kin-hei said the political environment was “one important point” among the

BY SAMY MAGDY AND AHMED HATEM Associated Press LUXOR, Egypt (AP) — Egypt on Sunday revealed the revamp of two colossal statues of a prominent pharaoh in the southern city of Luxor, the latest in the government’s archaeological events that aim at drawing more tourists to the country. The giant alabaster statues, known as the