AP World News

By MEG KINNARD Associated Press Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Thursday linked the seizure of an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela to the Trump administration’s counterdrug efforts in Latin America as tensions escalate with the government of President Nicolás Maduro. Noem’s assertion, which came during her testimony to the House Homeland Security

GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s long-celebrated yodeling has received a response from the U.N. cultural agency: The Alpine tradition of chant and song is indeed worthy of classification in a list of the world’s cultural heritage. A committee of Paris-based UNESCO, meeting in New Delhi, on Thursday listed yodeling in its list of intangible cultural heritage.

By WAFAA SHURAFA, BASSEM MROUE, and JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Rains drenched Gaza’s tent camps and dropping temperatures chilled Palestinians huddling inside them Thursday as winter storm Byron descended on the war-battered territory, showing how two months of a ceasefire have failed to sufficiently address the spiraling humanitarian crisis

By JAMES BROOKS Associated Press LYNGBY, Denmark (AP) — It was a wedding that captivated the world — in 1981, Lady Diana Spencer said “I will” to Prince Charles, becoming Princess of Wales and bringing youth and glamour to Britain’s royal family. More than 40 years after the wedding and many years after the marriage

By VESELIN TOSHKOV Associated Press SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria’s government resigned on Thursday after mass protests gripped the country and just weeks before the European Union nation is due to join the eurozone. The resignation of the minority coalition, led by the center-right GERB party, was announced minutes before parliament was scheduled to vote

By REBECCA SANTANA and LISA MASCARO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defiantly defended the Trump administration’s hard-line immigration policies on Thursday during a House committee hearing, portraying migrants as a major threat faced by the nation that justifies a crackdown that has seen widespread arrests, deportations and a dizzying pace

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — U.S. strategic bombers joined a fleet of Japanese fighter jets in a joint military exercise meant to demonstrate their military cooperation around Japan’s airspace, defense officials said Thursday, as tensions with China escalate. The exercise showcasing joint Japanese-U.S. air power came a day after Chinese and Russian

By ILLIA NOVIKOV and SUSIE BLANN Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that negotiators are wrestling with the question of territorial possession in U.S.-led peace talks on ending the war with Russia, including the future of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, one of

By JERRY HARMER and JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Associated Press SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Cambodia said Thailand launched more airstrikes Thursday, as heavy fighting flared along the two countries’ border and both sides accused the other of violating their sovereignty along the contested border region. The latest large-scale fighting was set off by a skirmish Sunday that

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press VERONA, Italy (AP) — Verona’s ancient Roman Arena will receive a modern facelift and become more accessible to people with disabilities ahead of the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, where it will host both the Olympic closing ceremony and the Paralympic opening ceremony. Built by the Romans in the 1st Century,

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian authorities on Thursday demanded some of the world’s biggest social media platforms report how many accounts they have deactivated since a ban on accounts for children younger than 16 became law. Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch all said they

By DIDI TANG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration may have softened its language on China to maintain a fragile truce in their trade war, but Congress is charging ahead with more restrictions in a defense authorization bill that would deny Beijing investments in highly sensitive sectors and reduce U.S. reliance on Chinese

By CARLOS VALDEZ and ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Bolivian law enforcement officials on Wednesday arrested former President Luis Arce as part of a corruption investigation, opening an uncertain chapter in the country’s politics a month after the inauguration of conservative President Rodrigo Paz ended 20 years of socialist rule. A

By REBECCA SANTANA Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreigners who are allowed to come to the United States without a visa could soon be required to submit information about their social media, email accounts and extensive family history to the Department of Homeland Security before being approved for travel. The notice published Wednesday in the

By SAM METZ Associated Press RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Two adjacent four-story buildings collapsed overnight in the Moroccan city of Fez, killing 22 people in the second fatal collapse there this year, authorities said Wednesday. Morocco’s state news agency, MAP, reported that the two buildings housed eight families. Sixteen people were injured and taken to

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado didn’t arrive in Norway early enough to receive her Nobel Peace Prize in person, but her trip elicited mixed feelings in her country, where many backed her precisely because she had not left her homeland. Machado’s daughter accepted the

By SAM McNEIL and RENATA BRITO Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — As sympathy for immigrants erodes around the world, European nations agreed Wednesday to consider changes that rights advocates say would weaken migrant protections that have underpinned European law since World War II. The consensus coalesced as mainstream political parties across Europe have adopted tougher

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio has ordered diplomatic correspondence to stop using the Calibri font and return to the more traditional Times New Roman effective Wednesday, reversing a Biden administration shift to the less formal typeface that he called wasteful, confusing and unbefitting the dignity of

By JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Aid deliveries into Gaza are falling far short of the amount called for under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire, according to an Associated Press analysis of the Israeli military’s figures as humanitarian groups say the shortfall is severely impacting the strip’s 2 million people. Under the October ceasefire deal

By ELÉONORE HUGHES Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s lower house of Congress approved a bill Wednesday aimed at reducing the time that former President Jair Bolsonaro spends behind bars following his sentence of more than 27 years for attempting a coup. But his successor has said he would veto the measure. The

By WILSON McMAKIN Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 said that it’s taken control of the strategic city of Uvira in eastern Congo on Wednesday afternoon, following a rapid offensive since the start of the month. The announcement, made on X by M23 spokesperson Lawrence Kanyuka, encouraged citizens to return to

By JOSEPH FALZETTA Associated Press JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — Dozens of people were killed Tuesday evening in a drone strike near Sudan’s largest oil processing facility carried out by the Sudanese Armed Forces, according to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The RSF, which has been fighting Sudan’s military since 2023, said the oil field

By ILLIA NOVIKOV and DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said he and European leaders discussed proposals to end the war in Ukraine in “pretty strong terms” Wednesday, adding that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “has to be realistic” about his country’s position on a peace plan. As tension builds around

By PAOLO SANTALUCIA, SILVIA STELLACCI and NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Italian food is known and loved around the world for its fresh ingredients and palate-pleasing tastes. The U.N.’s cultural agency gave foodies on Wednesday another reason to celebrate their pizza, pasta and tiramisu by listing Italian cooking as part of the world’s

By JERRY HARMER and JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI Associated Press SURIN, Thailand (AP) — Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating Wednesday, with hundreds of thousands of displaced people in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Associated Press reporters on the Thai side of the border heard outgoing fire. The