World

  FILE - In this photo taken from video provided by Lefortovo District Court, Robert Shonov, a Russian national who worked at the now-closed U.S. consulate in Vladivostok, is escorted by officers to the courtroom at the Lefortovo District Court in Moscow on May 18, 2023. MOSCOW — A court in Russia\'s far east said on Friday it had convicted Robert Shonov, a former U.S. consular employee, of illegally and covertly cooperating with the U.S. government to harm Russia\'s national security and had jailed him for nearly five years. Russia\'s FSB security service detained Shonov, a Russian national, in Vladivostok in May 2023 and accused him of taking money to covertly supply U.S. diplomats with information that was potentially harmful to Russia...

  FILE - In this photo provided by the Royal Norwegian Navy, the Norwegian Army fires a National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, or NASAMS, in Andoya, Norway, on May 10, 2023. Three NASAMS are included in a $2 billion proposed arms sale to Taiwan by the U.S. TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Taiwan is expected to receive several weapons that have been battle tested in Ukraine from the United States over the next few years. Analysts say those weapons can help bolster Taiwan’s defense and strike capabilities amid growing military pressure from China. In the latest round of arms sales to Taiwan, worth about $2 billion, the United States plans to deliver three medium-range National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, also known as NASAMS. The weapons include advanced AMRAAM Extended R...

  Kemi Badenoch smiles after being elected as the new leader of the U.K.'s opposition Conservative Party in London on Nov. 2, 2024. LONDON — Kemi Badenoch became the Conservatives\' new leader and the first Black woman to a head a major British political party, after winning a leadership contest Saturday on a promise to return the party to its founding principles. Badenoch, 44, replaces former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and has pledged to lead the party through a period of renewal after its resounding defeat in Britain\'s July election, saying it had veered toward the political center by "governing from the left." On the right of the Conservative Party, Badenoch will likely back policies to shrink the state and challenge what she says is institutional left-wing thinking, sa...

  FILE - A B-52 Stratofortress prepares for refueling during a close-air-support mission in this undated handout photo from the U.S. Air Force. washington — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is sending additional bomber aircraft and Navy warships to the Middle East to bolster the U.S. presence in the region as an aircraft carrier and its warships are preparing to leave, U.S. officials said Friday. Austin ordered several B-52 Stratofortress bomber aircraft, tanker aircraft and Navy destroyers to deploy to the Middle East, according to four U.S. and military officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss troop movements. The military moves come as Israel\'s wars with Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon rage, including...

  When the U.S. Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on three companies belonging to Denis Postovoy on Wednesday, it was yet another move to break up what U.S. authorities say was an international scheme to violate sanctions. A month earlier, on September 16, law enforcement officials arrested the 44-year-old Russian national in Sarasota, Florida. He was charged with conspiring to violate sanctions on Russia, commit smuggling, commit money laundering and defraud the United States. According to the indictment, Postovoy used an international network of companies to export dual-use microelectronic components from the United States to Russia –– potentially spare parts for military drones used in the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine.   Denis Postovoy Postovoy is ...

  FILE - People run away from tear gas during a protest on the street in Kano, Nigeria, Aug. 1, 2024. ABUJA, Nigeria — Twenty-nine children could be facing the death penalty in Nigeria after they were arraigned Friday for participating in a protest of the country\'s record cost-of-living crisis. Four of them collapsed in court due to exhaustion before they could enter a plea. A total of 76 protesters were charged with 10 felony counts, including treason, destruction of property, public disturbance and mutiny, according to the charge sheet seen by The Associated Press. According to the charge sheet, the minors ranged in age from 14 to 17 years old. Frustration over the cost-of-living crisis has led to several mass protests in recent month...

  Sudanese people fleeing Al Jazirah state settle in a camp for the displaced in the city of Gedaref, Oct. 31, 2024. In late October, the Rapid Support Forces attacked villages across Al Jazirah, reportedly killing more than 120 civilians. united nations — The U.N. secretary-general on Friday strongly condemned recent attacks in Sudan\'s Al Jazirah state by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and reiterated his call for the war to end. "The secretary-general is appalled by large numbers of civilians being killed, being detained or being displaced, as well as acts of sexual violence against women and girls, the looting of homes and the looting of markets and the burning of farms," spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters. ...

  Paramedics and volunteers transport an injured victim of a bomb explosion in Mastung town, upon arrival at a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan, Nov. 1, 2024. ISLAMABAD — A bomb blast in southwestern Pakistan early Friday morning killed at least nine people, including five schoolchildren, and injured 17 others. Authorities said that a homemade bomb attached to a motorcycle was detonated in Mastung, a district in the violence-affected Balochistan province, apparently targeting a police vehicle near a school. At least one police officer was among the dead, and several others also sustained injuries. Officials reported that a police vehicle was transporting personnel to protect polio vaccination teams involved in the ongoing national campaign...

  FILE - The seal of the U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, is displayed on Feb. 6, 2017, at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. CENTCOM said on Oct. 30, 2024, that it conducted strikes on Islamic State camps in Syria, killing nearly 35 operatives. WASHINGTON — Airstrikes carried out by the U.S. military this week against several Islamic State targets in Syria highlight concerns about the terror group\'s growing presence in the war-torn country, experts say. U.S. Central Command, or CENTCOM, said Wednesday that its forces had conducted strikes on Monday targeting multiple camps belonging to IS, or ISIS, in the Syrian desert. Nearly 35 IS operatives, including senior leaders, were killed in the airstrikes, the U.S. military said. SE...

  FILE - Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi, right, and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed attend the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding agreement that allows Ethiopia to use a Somaliland port, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Jan. 1, 2024. As the dispute between Somalia and Ethiopia over sea access escalates, Ethiopia\'s prime minister on Thursday said his country was seeking access to the Red Sea "through peaceful means." Speaking at the parliament where he was questioned by lawmakers, Abiy Ahmed said Ethiopia has a "clear stance" on the issue. "Let the world hear today, Ethiopia maintains a clear national interest — it needs Red Sea access through peaceful means," he said. "If we do not succeed, ...