World

  Yu Miao, owner of JF Books, poses for a photo in his bookstore in Washington, Oct. 3, 2024. Washington — Yu Miao smiles as he stands among the 10,000 books crowded on rows of bamboo shelves in his newly reopened bookstore. It’s in Washington’s vibrant Dupont Circle neighborhood, far from its last location in Shanghai, where the Chinese government forced him out of business six years ago. “There is no pressure from the authorities here,” said Yu, the owner of JF Books, Washington’s only Chinese bookseller. “I want to live without fear.” "Fatty Wang's Bookstore" with the words "temporarily closed" spray painted on the glass wall is seen in Ningbo, in eastern China's Zhejiang province, Oct. 9, 2024. ...

  FILE - A U.S. Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) fires during exercises between the U.S. and South Korea at an undisclosed location in South Korea, July 29, 2017. The White House, Nov. 17, 2024, reportedly allowed Kyiv to use ATACMS missiles for deeper strikes inside Russia. Pentagon — The Pentagon dismissed a new round of Russian accusations that the United States is pushing the war in Ukraine into ever more dangerous territory as “reckless” rhetoric, calling out Moscow and its allies for escalating tensions. U.S. defense officials Monday declined to confirm media reports that President Joe Biden has decided to allow Kyiv to use Washington-supplied, long-range missiles to strike deeper inside Russian territory. But they said Moscow has no grounds for any complaints. "...

  Chidimma Adetshina, representing Nigeria, walks on stage during the 73rd Miss Universe pageant in Mexico City, Nov. 16, 2024. abuja, nigeria — Nigerians are celebrating the success of Chidimma Adetshina at the Miss Universe contest in Mexico Saturday. Adetshina fell just short of the title, being named first runner up, but was still crowned Miss Universe Africa and Oceania. Another Nigerian beauty queen, Stephanie Kingsley, spent Saturday glued to her social media feed as she monitored the pageant. She said her heart pounded with anxiety as Adetshina, 23, progressed to the top five and later emerged as the first runner up, only behind Miss Denmark, Victoria Kjaer Theilvig. "I was talking to my friend in the U.K.,” Kingsley said. “...

  FILE - A view shows water collected at the dam within the Ruzizi I hydroelectric plant in Bukavu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo March 31, 2022. BUKAVU, Democratic Republic of Congo — A tide of plastic waste flowing into a major hydroelectric dam in eastern Congo is causing regular power cuts in several major cities, creating a challenge that local authorities are trying to solve. The Ruzizi dam located at the south end of Lake Kivu, which borders Rwanda, supplies the city of Bukavu and others with electricity and the power outages are hurting local businesses. The problem is linked to the growing use of plastics coupled with a lack of waste collection in the region. Heavy rainfall causes waste to flow down from the mountainous terrain to the lake, where it collect...

  A woman weeps as she passes in front of destroyed shops that were hit Sunday evening in an Israeli airstrike in central Beirut, Nov. 18, 2024. Beirut schools were closed Monday after six people — including the media relations chief for Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon — were killed in airstrikes in the central part of the city a day earlier. The strikes prompted the education ministry to shut schools and higher education institutions in the Beirut area for two days. Hezbollah spokesperson Mohammad Afif was among four people killed in the Ras al-Nabaa district, Hezbollah and the Israeli military said. Israel has rarely hit senior Hezbollah personnel who do not have clear military roles, and its air strikes have mostly targeted Beirut\'s southern suburbs where the group ha...

  FILE - People watch as Senzo Mchunu, South African police minister (not pictured), inspects outside the mineshaft where it is estimated that illegal miners are believed to be hiding underground, in Stilfontein, Nov. 15, 2024. JOHANNESBURG — South Africa\'s President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday lives should not be put at risk in a standoff between police and hundreds of illegal miners stuck underground in a disused mine shaft and the miners should be recovered safely. The police have blocked miners\' supplies of food and water to force them out and arrest them for illegally entering the abandoned mine in North West province in search of leftover gold — an issue that has plagued South Africa for decades. More than 1,000 illegal miners have resurfaced in recent weeks but ...

  A man walks wearing a face mask amidst a thick layer of smog as air pollution shoots up in New Delhi, Nov. 18, 2024. Residents woke up to thick, toxic smog enveloping the city of some 33 million as the air quality became increasingly hazardous. NEW DELHI — Authorities in India\'s capital shut schools, halted construction and banned non-essential trucks from entering the city on Monday after air pollution shot up to its worst level this season. Residents of New Delhi woke up to thick, toxic smog enveloping the city of some 33 million as the air quality became increasingly hazardous. It rose further into the severe category, according to SAFAR, the country\'s main environmental agency, which measures tiny particulate matter in the air that can enter deep into the lungs. The...

  A view shows a residential building, which was damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Sumy, Ukraine, Nov. 18, 2024. A Russian attack on Ukraine’s northeast city of Sumy killed 11 people and injured at least 89, Ukrainian officials said. "Sunday evening for the city of Sumy became hell, a tragedy that Russia brought to our land," military administrator Volodymyr Artyukh said in a post on the Telegram messaging channel. Sumy regional prosecutors said the attack damaged 90 apartments, 28 cars, two educational institutions and 13 buildings. By：VOA

  This handout taken and released on November 18, 2024 by the Philippine Department of National Defense shows US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, left, and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro posing after signing a military intelligence agreement. Manila, Philippines — The Philippines and the United States signed on Monday a military intelligence-sharing deal in a further deepening of defense ties between the two nations facing common security challenges in the region. Visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signed the agreement with his Philippine counterpart, Gilberto Teodoro, at Manila\'s military headquarters where both officials also broke ground for a combined coordination center that will facilitate collaboration between their armed forces. Called th...

  FILE - A farmer sprinkles fertilizer onto crops at a field on Tuti Island, Khartoum, Sudan, Feb. 12, 2020. The island in the middle of the Nile serves as a microcosm for the devastation unleashed by a war that began in April 2023. OMDURMAN, Sudan — Muhammad Awad and his family are among dozens who escaped Sudan\'s Tuti island earlier this year amid a siege by the Rapid Support Forces, finding refuge at a shelter after surviving for months on scant food and the risk of disease. The island in the middle of the Nile serves as a microcosm for the devastation unleashed by a war that began in April 2023. More than 61,000 people are estimated to have died in Khartoum state during the first 14 months of Sudan’s war, significantly more than previously recorded, according to a new ...