World News - The Morning Sun

Devotees prepare before taking part during Palm Sunday in Zaragoza, northern Spain, Sunday, April 2, 2023. Millions of Spaniards take to the road in the days leading up to Easter, traveling to see family or for a holiday break. For many, seeing traditional processions with painted religious icons that can weigh over a ton is a cathartic annual ritual, a time to reflect on past sorrows and current ills. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

AP PHOTOS: Easter week still a ritual in more secular Spain

SEVILLE, Spain (AP) — The drum beat rises on a packed Seville street as Jose Maria Segura opens his mouth and begins the wail of the “saeta,” a pained, mournful ode to Jesus Christ in … more

By EMILIO MORENATTI and JENNIFER O'MAHONY | 4/7/23

Morning sun filters into the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Thursday, April 6, 2023 during the Holy Thursday Mass. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Why do Jerusalem tensions fuel regionwide unrest?

It’s become something of a grim, springtime tradition in the Holy Land. Israeli police fire tear gas and rubber bullets at Palestinians stockpiling rocks and fireworks inside one of the most … more

4/7/23

Pope Francis waves during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, April 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope washes feet in Holy Thursday rite at Rome youth prison

VATICAN CITY (AP) — In a Holy Thursday ritual symbolizing humility, Pope Francis washed and dried the feet of a dozen residents of a Rome juvenile prison, assuring them of their dignity and telling … more

By FRANCES D'EMILIO Associated Press | 4/7/23

Wilfredo Salvador, center, and two actors stay on crosses during a reenactment of Jesus Christ's sufferings as part of Good Friday rituals April 7, 2023 in the village of San Pedro, Cutud, Pampanga province, northern Philippines. The real-life crucifixions, a gory Good Friday tradition that is rejected by the Catholic church, resumes in this farming village after a three-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.(AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Filipinos to be nailed to crosses despite church objection

At least 12 Filipinos are to be nailed to crosses to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a gory Good Friday tradition that is rejected by the Catholic church. The tradition draws huge crowds of … more

By JIM GOMEZ | 4/7/23

Members of Japan Self Defense Force watch a Japan Coast Guard ship search for a missing army helicopter off Miyako Island Okinawa prefecture, southern Japan, Friday, April 7, 2023. Japan's coast guard says it is searching for an army helicopter carrying 10 crew members that went missing off a southern Japanese island. (Koji Harada/Kyodo News via AP)

Debris found in search for Japanse army copter with 10 crew

An unused lifeboat, a door and other fragments believed to be from a Japanese army helicopter have been found after the Black Hawk carrying 10 crew members was presumed to have crashed at sea. … more

By MARI YAMAGUCHI | 4/6/23

Rajan, who only uses one name, sits in his home in a forest in the heart of the city in Kochi, southern Kerala state, India, March 3, 2023. For nearly sixty years, Rajan has lived comfortably among the trees, then the surrounding city of Kochi boomed as the state's financial capital and swallowed up once-protected green areas and Rajan's former home. (AP Photo/R S Iyer)

In India, mangrove trees make way for booming city of Kochi

Burrowed between mangroves and a bustling skyline, 70-year-old Rajan, who only uses one name, reminisces about his old home. For nearly sixty years, Rajan has lived comfortably among the trees in … more

By K PRAVEEN KUMAR, Press Trust of India | 4/6/23

Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine, waves as he inspects the guard of honour, before his meeting with his Greek counterpart Nikos Panagiotopoulos, in Athens, on Tuesday, April 6, 2023. Reznikov is in Greece on an official visit. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Greece to send more arms to Ukraine, but sets limits

Greece has pledged military assistance to Ukraine for “as long as it takes” but officials cautioned that the country needs to keep much of its Russian-made weaponry for its own defensive needs. … more

By SRDJAN NEDELJKOVIC and DEREK GATOPOULOS | 4/6/23

In this photo provided by Brian Emmenis, people look inside a plane at the Welkom Airport, in Welkom, South Africa, as they search for a venomous snake that the pilot found hiding under his seat midair, Monday April 3, 2023. Rudolf Erasmus had four passengers on board the light aircraft during Monday's flight when he felt “something cold” slide across his lower back. He glanced down to see the head of a fairly large Cape Cobra “receding back under the seat,” he said. (Brian Emmenis via AP)

Snake on a plane! South African pilot finds cobra under seat

A pilot in South Africa made a hasty emergency landing after discovering a highly venomous cobra hiding under his seat. Rudolf Erasmus had four passengers on board the light aircraft during the … more

By GERALD IMRAY | 4/6/23

FILE - Croatian police officers stand as people walk with banners during a protest against the violent pushbacks of migrants, allegedly conducted by Croatian police, near the border crossing between Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina in Maljevac, Croatia, on June 19, 2021. An independent investigative group on Thursday April 6, 2023 accused Croatian officials and police of using a clandestine WhatsApp group to share sensitive information about migrants trying to enter the country. (AP Photo/Edo Zulic, File)

Report: Croatian officials shared information on migrants

An independent investigative group has accused Croatian officials and police of using a clandestine WhatsApp group to share sensitive information about migrants trying to enter the country. It says … more

4/6/23

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, meets reporters after an army helicopter went missing, at his official residence in Tokyo Thursday, April 6, 2023. Japan's coast guard says it is searching for an army helicopter carrying 10 crew members that went missing off a southern Japanese island. Kishida said the Defense Ministry is investigating and "We will do our utmost to save their lives." (Kyodo News via AP)

Japanese army helicopter carrying 10 crew members missing

Japan’s coast guard says it is searching for an army helicopter carrying 10 crew members that went missing off a southern Japanese island. The coast guard says it received information that a Ground … more

4/6/23

Demonstrators march Thursday, April 6, 2023 in Nantes, western France. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to fill the streets of France Thursday for the 11th day of nationwide resistance to a government proposal to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. The furious public reaction to the plan has cornered and weakened French President Emmanuel Macron. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)

Protests again grip France but Macron not backing down

Protesters have blocked a road at Paris’ main airport and are gathering again in other French cities for another nationwide push with strikes and demonstrations to get President Emmanuel Macron to … more

4/6/23

Pope Francis blesses chrism oil contained in a jar during a Chrism Mass where the chrism, the oil of the catechumens and the oil of the sick are consecrated, and all the priests renew the promises made on the day of their ordination, inside St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Thursday, April 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope leads Holy Thursday service in Vatican basilica

Pope Francis has begun the first of two major Holy Thursday ceremonies. Francis is presiding at mid-morning Mass in St. Peter's Basilica. Later in the day, inmates at a juvenile prison on Rome's … more

By FRANCES D'EMILIO | 4/6/23

FILE - A woman holds a sign reading "France says no" during a demonstration in Marseille, southern France, Thursday, March 16, 2023. With President Emmanuel Macron thousands of miles away in China, French protesters and unions returning to the streets continue to reveal cracks in his domestic political authority. Hundreds of thousands are expected again for the 11th day of nationwide resistance to raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 Thursday, April 6 as the controversial law is being considered by the Constitutional Council. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole, File)

Why are the French so angry over retiring 2 years later?

Hundreds of thousands of people will fill the streets of France Thursday for the 11th day of nationwide resistance to a government proposal to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. The furious … more

By THOMAS ADAMSON | 4/6/23

Henry Carey holds up shells while diving for conch off the coast of McLean's Town, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas, Monday, Dec. 5, 2022. Queen conch, the key food species, is a marine snail that reaches up to a foot in length and can live for 30 years. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Takeaways from AP report on overfishing's threat to conch

No longer a theoretical threat, overfishing across the globe has wiped out species from areas where they once thrived. One impact is that it’s taken off the table forever beloved culturally … more

By PATRICK WHITTLE | 4/5/23

Fishmonger Ethio Fall holds a white grouper, also known as thiof, the preferred fish for the dish thieboudienne at the Soumbedioune fish market in Dakar, Senegal, May 31, 2022. "It's very difficult to get thiof. You have to go as far as 40-50 kilometers to get this," Fall says. (AP Photo/Grace Ekpu)

Senegal struggles with loss of fish central to diet, culture

Senegal's national dish of thieboudienne is entwined in the country’s history and culture. But the preferred fish for the dish is white grouper, and the fishery has collapsed in the face of … more

By GRACE EKPU and PATRICK WHITTLE | 4/5/23

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech as he attends a ceremony to receive credentials from newly appointed foreign ambassadors to Russia, at the Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, April 5, 2023. (Vladimir Astapkovich, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Putin: West helped Ukraine mount acts of sabotage

Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses Western intelligence agencies of helping Ukraine to carry out acts of sabotage. During a call Wednesday with members of his Security Council, he urged his … more

4/5/23

The land is ploughed under electrical pylons leading from a coal-powered electricity generating plant east of Johannesburg, on Nov. 17, 2022. The electricity shortages that plague many of Africa's 54 countries are a serious drain on the continent's economic growth. In recent years South Africa's power generation has become so inadequate that the continent's most developed economy must cope with rolling power blackouts of eight to 10 hours per day. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

South Africa ends 'state of disaster' over electricity

The South African government has terminated the national state of disaster it declared two months ago to deal with an electricity crisis, although there are no signs that the power problems are … more

By GERALD IMRAY | 4/5/23

U.N. atomic energy chief Rafael Mariano Grossi speaks to journalists after visiting Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant during a press conference in Dnipro, Ukraine, Wednesday, March 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

UN nuclear chief discusses Ukraine nuclear plant in Russia

U.N. nuclear head Rafael Grossi has met with Russian officials in Kaliningrad for negotiations on the safety of Ukraine’s Moscow-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Grossi’s trip to the … more

4/5/23

A signboard of a Yoshinoya restaurant, a fast food beef bowl chain, is seen Wednesday, April 5, 2023, in Tokyo. Japanese police have arrested two men on suspicion of shoveling ginger condiment into his mouth directly from a communal container with his chopsticks at a famous beef bowl restaurant in western Japan, a latest in the series of food pranks that had earlier hit sushi chains and known as “sushi terrorism.” (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japan police arrest 2 in food prank at beef bowl diner

Japanese police have arrested two men who posted a clip in which one of them is eating ginger from a communal container with his chopsticks at a famous beef bowl restaurant. It's part of a series of … more

By MARI YAMAGUCHI | 4/5/23

FILE - Spanish actress Ana Obregon poses on arrival for the Goya Awards in Madrid, Spain, on Feb. 17, 2013. A heated debate in Spain triggered by Obregón, who was reported to have used a surrogate mother in Miami to have a baby took a twist Wednesday, April 5, 2023 when the woman announced in socialite magazine ¡Hola! that the baby is actually the daughter of her son who died of cancer in 2020. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)

Veteran Spanish actress says surrogate baby is granddaughter

A heated debate in Spain triggered by a 68-year-old Spanish celebrity who was reported to have used a surrogate mother in Miami to have a baby has taken a twist with the woman announcing in a … more

By CIARÁN GILES | 4/5/23