AP

By MICHELLE GUMEDE Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African police and army units held a parade Wednesday involving helicopters, K-9 dog units and officers on motorcycles in a show of force ahead of expected protests around this weekend’s Group of 20 world leaders summit in Johannesburg. South Africa has deployed 3,500 extra police officers

By NICOLE WINFIELD and ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press ROME (AP) — Ukraine has asked the Vatican to formalize its role facilitating negotiations over the return of Ukrainian children and civilians taken by Russia during the nearly four-year war, a Kyiv government official said Wednesday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made the request in a letter to Pope

By ZANA CIMILI Associated Press PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo lawmakers on Wednesday failed to elect a new government, paving the way for an early election following a monthslong political crisis in the small Balkan nation. Prime Minister-designate Glauk Konjufca, from the governing Self-Determination Movement party won 56 votes in the 120-member assembly, which is

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Some of the estimated 20 trillion cubic feet of natural gas discovered in waters off Cyprus could reach European markets as soon as 2027, the Cypriot president said Wednesday, as Europe looks for more ways to wean itself off Russian energy. President Nikos Christodoulides said that

By TUNDE OMOLEHIN AND DYEPKAZAH SHIBAYAN Associated Press SOKOTO, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s president postponed his trip to this weekend’s Group of 20 summit after promising to intensify efforts to rescue 24 schoolgirls who were abducted by gunmen earlier this week in a northwestern region of the country. Civil society leaders have accused security forces

By SAM McNEIL Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union rolled out a new defense package on Wednesday to allow tanks and troops to deploy more rapidly across the many borders of the 27-nation bloc in the event of a conflict, as concern mounts that Russia is already probing its defenses. Since Russia’s invasion

LONDON (AP) — Britain warned Russia on Wednesday that it was ready to deal with any incursions into its territory after the spy ship Yantar was detected on the edge of U.K. waters north of Scotland. Defense Secretary John Healey said on Wednesday that the Russian vessel had directed lasers at pilots of surveillance aircraft

By ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A large Russian drone and missile barrage on Ukraine’s western city of Ternopil killed at least 25 people, including three children, authorities said Wednesday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went to Turkey in search of diplomatic support for his fight against Russia’s invasion. The nighttime attack hit

LUSAKA, Zambia (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang will start a two-day visit to the southern African nation of Zambia on Wednesday that will focus on the $1.4 billion refurbishment of a Cold War-era railway line to further improve China’s access to critical minerals. China is heavily invested in mining in Zambia, which is one

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish authorities have arrested several people in connection with a blast that damaged a rail line linking Warsaw to the Ukrainian border over the weekend, state media reported Wednesday. Jacek Dobrzyński, the spokesman for Poland’s secret services minister, said the suspects were being questioned but did not provide details on how

By HUSSEIN MALLA, BASSEM MROUE and WAFAA SHURAFA Associated Press SIDON, Lebanon (AP) — The Israeli military carried out barrages of airstrikes in southern Lebanon Wednesday on what it said were Hezbollah sites, including weapons storage facilities, after a drone strike earlier in the day killed one person and wounded several others, including students on