World

Arctic 'doomsday' seed vault receives 50,000 new deposits

Published on Thu, 02/23/2017 - 4:56pm
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HELSINKI (AP) — Nearly 10 years after a "doomsday" seed vault opened on an Arctic island, some 50,000 new samples from seed collections around the world have been deposited in the world's largest repository built to safeguard against wars or natural disasters wiping out global food crops.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a gene bank built underground on the isolated island in a permafrost zone some 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the North Pole, was opened in 2008 as a master backup to the world's other seed banks, in case their deposits are lost.

Iraq retakes Mosul airport amid cautious advances against IS

Published on Thu, 02/23/2017 - 4:53pm
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SOUTH OF MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Closely supported by the U.S.-led international coalition, Iraqi forces secured a series of cautious advances on Thursday, pushing into a sprawling military base outside of Mosul and onto the grounds of the city's airport, where they took control of the runway.

Mass slaughter in Brazil prison exposes gang war over drugs

Published on Wed, 02/22/2017 - 3:35pm
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MANAUS, Brazil (AP) — Shortly after midnight on New Year's Eve, hundreds of inmates watched from a Manaus prison yard as the sky lit up with fireworks, paid for by the gangs that dominate the jail system.

The revelry continued well into the next day, and inmates celebrated with their wives and girlfriends. But then the guards noticed something strange: The prisoners were asking their guests to go. "That is all for today, leave now," guards heard prisoners say. The last family member left at 4:09 p.m. on New Year's Day.

Sticker shock for olive oil buyers after bad Italian harvest

Published on Tue, 02/21/2017 - 1:43pm
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ROME (AP) — From specialty shops in Rome to supermarkets around the world, lovers of Italian olive oil are in for some sticker shock this year, with prices due to jump by as much as 20 percent.

The combination of bad weather and pests hit the harvest in Southern Europe, most of all in Italy, where production is halved from last fall. That's pushing up Italian wholesale prices by 64 percent as of mid-February compared with a year earlier, which translates to shelf price increases of 15 to 20 percent in Italy.

3 men convicted in $110 million Paris modern art heist

Published on Mon, 02/20/2017 - 4:24pm
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PARIS (AP) — An agile thief nicknamed "Spiderman," an antiques dealer and an art expert were sentenced to prison Monday and ordered to pay Paris for stealing five masterpieces from the city's Modern Art Museum worth 104 million euros ($110 million.)

The paintings — by Picasso, Matisse, Modigliani, Braque and Fernand Leger — have not been seen since the dramatic 2010 heist.

Amid protests, UK lawmakers debate downgrading Trump visit

Published on Mon, 02/20/2017 - 3:51pm
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LONDON (AP) — Thousands of protesters against U.S. President Donald Trump rallied outside Britain's Parliament on Monday, while lawmakers inside urged the government to rescind its offer to the president of a state visit stamped with pomp, pageantry and royal approval.

In a passionate debate that's unlikely to change the British government's position, Trump was labeled a misogynist, a bigot and a "petulant child" by opposition legislators. They argued that a state visit planned for later this year will demean the U.K. and Queen Elizabeth II, the president's official host.

Ecuador election could decide Assange's continued asylum

Published on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 5:01pm
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By GONZALO SOLANO, Associated Press

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can stay at the Ecuadorean embassy in London could depend on the winner of Sunday's presidential election in the South American country.

Ruling party candidate Lenin Moreno, who is the hand-picked successor of outgoing President Rafael Correa, has indicated he would back Assange's continued stay. But his main challenger, former banker Guillermo Lasso, has indicated in interviews that he would evict the Australian activist within 30 days of taking office.

Pakistan cracks down on militants after IS shrine attack

Published on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 4:57pm

By KATHY GANNON, Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A brutal attack on a beloved Sufi shrine that killed 88 people raised fears that the Islamic State group has become emboldened in Pakistan, aided by an army of homegrown militants benefiting from hideouts in neighboring Afghanistan, analysts and officials said Friday.

Ukraine leader warns West not to "appease" Russia

Published on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 4:56pm

By GEIR MOULSON, Associated Press

MUNICH (AP) — Ukraine's president warned Friday against any "appeasement" of Russia, arguing that cutting a bilateral deal with Moscow on his country would only make the fighting in eastern Ukraine worse. He said that the new U.S. administration has a "historic chance" to halt Russia's ambitions.

Many in Europe are concerned about the U.S. stance toward Russia under President Donald Trump amid talk of a more cooperative relationship.

Food is harder to find in west Mosul, say fleeing Iraqis

Published on Fri, 02/17/2017 - 4:55pm

By BALINT SZLANKO, Associated Press

KHAZER CAMP, Iraq (AP) — Umm Mohammed decided to flee western Mosul after her husband told her the alternative was that they starve.

Their family — six boys and a girl — had been eating little for the last three months as money ran out and supplies became harder to get a hold of in the half of the northern Iraqi city that is still under the rule of the Islamic State group.