World

Israel swears in new parliament

Published on Mon, 03/16/2020 - 5:03pm

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel swore in its newly elected parliament on Monday under stringent restrictions because of the coronavirus outbreak, in a surreal ceremony reflecting the country’s unprecedented dual crisis in politics and public health.

Brave new world: Wartime tactics against coronavirus foe

Published on Fri, 03/13/2020 - 5:00pm
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MADRID, Spain (AP) — Coronavirus deaths soared to their highest levels ever in Italy on Friday, three weeks to the day since the nation’s first case was declared, and U.S. President Donald Trump prepared to invoke emergency powers as nations around the world warned of nearly wartime measures to contain the pandemic.

Iraq army says US strikes killed 6

Published on Fri, 03/13/2020 - 4:39pm
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BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s military said five security force members and a civilian were killed early Friday in a barrage of U.S. airstrikes launched hours after a rocket attack killed and wounded American and British servicemen at a base north of Baghdad.

An Iran-backed Shiite militia group vowed to exact revenge for the U.S. strikes, potentially signalling another cycle of tit-for-tat violence between Washington and Tehran that could play out inside Iraq.

WHO: Don’t expect travel bans, ‘Mother Nature’ to beat virus

Published on Fri, 03/13/2020 - 12:00am
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GENEVA (AP) — Countries may gain time in the short-term as they limit travel to fight the new coronavirus pandemic, but the World Health Organization thinks overall that “it doesn’t help to restrict movement,” a top adviser to the U.N. health agency’s chief said Thursday.

Death toll at 21 as Egypt storms and flooding enter day 2

Published on Fri, 03/13/2020 - 12:00am
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CAIRO (AP) — Thunderstorms and flooding around Egypt entered a second day Friday, interrupting daily life in much of the country, including the capital Cairo, as the death toll rose to 21, authorities said.

Turkish, Russian troops to start Syria patrols on Sunday

Published on Fri, 03/13/2020 - 12:00am
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ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish and Russian troops will begin jointly patrolling a key highway in northwest Syria on Sunday as part of a fragile truce brokered by the countries, Turkey’s defense minister said Friday.

Greece’s first female president is sworn in

Published on Fri, 03/13/2020 - 12:00am
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ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s first female president, a former high court judge, was formally sworn in to office Friday, nearly two months after the country’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to elect her.

Travel bans, market chaos: Dizzying reaction to virus

Published on Thu, 03/12/2020 - 4:54pm
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ROME (AP) — Sweeping travel bans cascaded around the globe Thursday, walling off countries and even entire continents, keeping people inside their homes, and slowing the engines of commerce to stem the coronavirus pandemic. Markets collapsed with the growing realization that there would be no fast end to the uncertainty.

Supercomputer helps track East Africa locust outbreak

Published on Thu, 03/12/2020 - 4:28pm
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KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — A supercomputer is boosting efforts in East Africa to control a locust outbreak that raises what the U.N. food agency calls “an unprecedented threat” to the region’s food security. 

Opposition’s street protests losing appeal in Venezuela

Published on Thu, 03/12/2020 - 4:27pm

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — When a re-energized opposition leader Juan Guaidó returned to Venezuela from a world tour that saw him meet President Donald Trump, he turned to a well-worn page in the opposition’s playbook for ousting socialist President Nicolás Maduro —- he called a street protest. 

But after only a modest number of supporters showed up Tuesday and they were scattered mid-march, ducking tear gas fired by heavily armed security forces, analysts say it is time for Guaidó and his international backers to refine their approach.