World News - The Morning Sun

FILE - People ski on a cross country slope in Ramsau, Austria, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. Sparse snowfall and unseasonably warm weather in much of Europe is allowing green grass to blanket many mountaintops across the region where snow might normally be. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

AP PHOTOS: Snow is a no-show as Europe feels the winter heat

Mild weather has left many regions of Europe that would normally be blanketed in snow at this time of year bare, and winter sports resorts are fearing for the future. Many are using snow machines to … more

1/7/23

FILE - Women protest the death of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini who was detained by the morality police, in Tehran, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. in this photo taken by an individual not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran. Iran said it executed two men Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023, convicted of allegedly killing a paramilitary volunteer during a demonstration, the latest executions aimed at halting the nationwide protests now challenging the country's theocracy. (AP Photo/Middle East Images, File)

Iran executes 2 more men detained amid nationwide protests

Iran says it has executed two men convicted of allegedly killing a paramilitary volunteer, the latest executions aimed at halting the nationwide protests now challenging the country’s theocracy. … more

1/7/23

FILE - Lawyer Harry Durimel, right, stands next to an activist with a sign that reads in French "No to Chlordecone poison," as they protest during the arrival of the French government's Health Minister Roselyne Bachelot in Raizet Abymes, Guadeloupe, Nov. 18, 2007. Nearly 20 years after Caribbean islanders sued to hold the French government criminally responsible for the banana industry’s extended use of a banned pesticide in Martinique and Guadeloupe, a panel of judges dismissed their case on Jan. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Dominique Chomereau-Lamotte, File)

Paris court deals blow to French Caribbean pesticide fight

A nearly 20-year fight to hold the French government criminally responsible for using a banned pesticide in the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe has received a serious blow. A court in … more

By DÁNICA COTO | 1/6/23

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his New Year speech to medical workers at the Centre Hospitalier Sud Francilien Hospital in the southern Paris suburban city of Corbeil-Essonnes, Friday Jan. 6, 2023. Emmanuel Macron visits a pediatric hospital and gives a new year's speech to medics, amid protests and anger over long-unresolved funding and hiring issues in France's health care system.( Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)

Macron to overhaul France's struggling health care system

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced an overhaul of France’s struggling health system, including new funding methods for doctors and hospitals, more hiring and other organizational … more

1/6/23

FILE - Anti-government demonstrators set a barricade on fire during clashes in N'Djamena, Chad, Thursday Oct. 20, 2022. Chad’s government foiled an attempt to destabilize the country and undermine the constitution, said Aziz Mahamat Saleh, government spokesman in a statement Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo, File)

Chad's government says it foiled 'destabilization' attempt

Chad’s government says it has foiled an attempt to destabilize the country and undermine the constitution. The government spokesman said Thursday that 11 people conspired in the plot including … more

By SAM MEDNICK | 1/6/23

FILE -- Soldiers follow a Marder infantry fighting vehicle during a demonstration event held for the media by the German Bundeswehr in Bergen near Hannover, Germany, Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011. U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed in a joint statement Thursday that the U.S. would provide Bradleys to Ukraine while Germany would provide Marder armored personnel carriers. The statement did not give the number of vehicles or the total cost of the aid package. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn,file)

Germany to supply around 40 armored carriers to Ukraine

The German government says Berlin aims to supply around 40 Marder armored personnel carriers to Ukraine in this year's first quarter. Officials gave more details of the plan, which marks another … more

1/6/23

FIle - Kenyan members and supporters of the LGTB community wear masks to preserve their anonymity as they stage a protest in Nairobi, Kenya, Monday, Feb. 10, 2014. Police in Kenya are investigating the death of LGBT activist Edwin Chiloba, whose body was found on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, stuffed in a metal box on a road in Uasin Gishu County, in the west of the country. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)

Kenyan LGBTQ activist's body found in metal box

Police in Kenya are investigating the death of a local LGBTQ activist whose body was found stuffed in a metal box. The body of Edwin Chiloba was found on Wednesday on a road in Uasin Gishu County in … more

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI | 1/6/23

Hosam Naoum, a Palestinian Anglican bishop, walks with other clergy where vandals desecrated more than 30 graves at a historic Protestant Cemetery on Jerusalem's Mount Zion in Jerusalem, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. Israel's foreign ministry called the attack an "immoral act" and "an affront to religion." Police officers were sent to investigate the profanation. (AP Photo/ Mahmoud Illean)

Israel police arrest 2 teens in attack on Christian cemetery

The Israeli police have arrested two teenagers who they said vandalized over two dozen Christian graves in a historic Jerusalem cemetery earlier this week. The graves of Christian figures at the … more

1/6/23

A view of an apartment building, damaged during a heavy fighting, in Mariupol, in Russian-controlled Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov)

Kremlin-ordered truce is uncertain amid suspicion of motives

The impact of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order for his forces in Ukraine to observe a unilateral, 36-hour cease-fire is in doubt. Kyiv officials dismissed the move as a ploy but didn’t … more

By ANDREW MELDRUM | 1/6/23

A body in a coffin is carried out of a mortuary of a hospital in Beijing, Friday, Jan. 6, 2023. China is seeking to minimize the possibility of a major new COVID-19 outbreak during this month’s Lunar New Year travel rush following the end of most pandemic containment measures.(AP Photo/Andy Wong)

EXPLAINER: Is China sharing enough COVID-19 information?

As COVID-19 rips through China, other countries and the World Health Organization are calling on its government to share more comprehensive data. Some even say many of the numbers it's reporting are … more

By HUIZHONG WU and ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL | 1/6/23

FILE - This Oct. 17, 2019 frame grab from video provided by the Mexican government shows Ovidio Guzman Lopez at the moment of his detention, in Culiacan, Mexico. Mexican security forces were forced to release the son of Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman that day after his gunmen shot up the western city of Culiacan. (CEPROPIE via AP File)

Violence paralyzes Mexican stronghold of Sinaloa drug cartel

Organized crime has paralyzed the western Mexico city of Culiacan, a stronghold of the Sinaloa drug cartel. Alleged cartel members carjacked residents and set vehicles ablaze, apparently responding … more

1/5/23

Mourners carry the body of Palestinian Amer Abu Zeitoun, 16 during his funeral in the West Bank refugee camp of Balata, Nablus, Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Abu Zeitoun was killed Thursday by Israeli fire during an arrest raid in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Palestinians say teen killed by army in West Bank clashes

The Palestinian Health Ministry says that a 16-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire during an arrest raid in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus. It said that Amer Abu Zeitoun died from … more

1/5/23

Ukrainian businessman and former lawmaker Kostiantyn Zhevago, center with a mask and a cap, is escorted after a court appearance as a first step toward eventual extradition in the court house of Chambery, French Alps, Thursday, Jan.5, 2023. Kostiantyn Zhevago, who is suspected of embezzling more than $100 million, was arrested last week in a French ski resort. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Ukrainian tycoon denies embezzlement in French hearing

A Ukrainian billionaire and former lawmaker suspected of embezzling more than $100 million appeared in a French court Thursday. Kostiantyn Zhevago called the case against him politically driven and … more

By NICOLAS VAUX-MONTAGNY and JAMEY KEATEN | 1/5/23

Workers clear the snow next to a billboard with a portrait of a Russian soldier awarded for action in Ukraine and the words "Glory to the heroes of Russia" in St. Petersburg, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Russian church head calls for Ukraine truce, finds no takers

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church is calling for a 36-hour Christmas cease-fire in Ukraine at the end of this week. But his appeal Thursday looked unlikely to bring any breakthrough in halting … more

By ANDREW MELDRUM | 1/5/23

FILE - People sit on the sun-parched grass in Greenwich Park with the Maritime museum and Canary Wharf financial district in the background in London, Sunday July 17, 2022. Britain had its warmest year on record in 2022, official figures showed Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, the latest evidence of how climate change is transforming Europe’s weather. (AP Photo/Tony Hicks, File)

UK saw hottest-ever year in 2022 as Europe's climate warms

Britain had its warmest year on record in 2022, the latest evidence that climate change is transforming Europe’s weather. The Met Office weather agency said the provisional annual average … more

By JILL LAWLESS | 1/5/23

Flood victims from monsoon rain use a makeshift barge to carry hay for cattle, in Jaffarabad, a district of Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, on Sept. 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

Flood-hit Pakistan to seek $16B at next week's conference

Officials say Pakistan is expected to seek $16.3 billion in aid from the international community for reconstruction for millions of victims of last summer’s climate-induced devastation floods. The … more

By MUNIR AHMED | 1/5/23

Afghan Taliban kill 8 in raids of IS hideouts in Afghanistan

The Afghan Taliban have killed eight Islamic State group fighters and arrested nine others in raids against the militants' hideouts in Afghanistan. A senior Taliban spokesman said Thursday in a tweet … more

By RAHIM FAIEZ | 1/5/23

Police officers patrol the St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023. The Vatican announced that Pope Emeritus Benedict died on Dec. 31, 2022, aged 95, and that his funeral will be held on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Thousands pour into St. Peter's for funeral of Benedict XVI

Mourners are streaming into St. Peter’s Square for the funeral of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. They are hoping to pay final respects to the German theologian who made history by retiring. It's a … more

By NICOLE WINFIELD | 1/5/23

A man wearing a face mask tends to his elderly relative resting in a corridor of the emergency ward to receive an intravenous drip at a hospital in Beijing, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. As the virus continues to rip through China, global organizations and governments have called on the country start sharing data while others have criticized its current numbers as meaningless. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Beds run out at Beijing hospital as COVID brings more sick

Patients, most of them elderly, are lying on stretchers in hallways and taking oxygen while sitting in wheelchairs as COVID-19 surges in China's capital Beijing. The Chuiyangliu hospital in the … more

1/5/23

Mourners queue inside St. Peter's Basilica at The Vatican to see off Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI lied out in state, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, as thousands of people filed by to pay tribute to the pontiff who shocked the world by retiring a decade ago. Benedict died Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. He was 95. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

EXPLAINER: Benedict's funeral to be simple, but with pomp

Pope Benedict XVI held one of the world’s highest-profile positions but in his final years expressed a desire to be “hidden to the world.” His funeral Thursday will respect his wishes for … more

By FRANCES D'EMILIO | 1/4/23