World News - The Morning Sun

A police officer holds a resident who was shot in the head during violent gang clashes, as he carries him away on a moto-taxi in the Carrefour-Feuilles district of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/ Odelyn Joseph)

Haiti gang leader vows to fight any foreign armed force if it commits abuses

An ex-police officer considered by many to be Haiti’s most powerful gang leader warns he will fight any international armed force deployed to the Caribbean country if it commits any abuses. Jimmy … more

By EVENS SANON | 8/16/23

A cat walks over waste lining the shore of Lake Maracaibo in the Santa Rosa de Agua neighborhood of Maracaibo, Venezuela, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. The pollution around the lake, one of Latin America's largest, is the result of decades of excessive oil exploitation on its bed, inadequate maintenance, and a lack of investment to improve an already obsolete infrastructure, according to environmentalists. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Pollution in Venezuela's Lake Maracaibo threatens life in one of the world's oldest lakes

The fishermen of Lake Maracaibo say they face their worst nightmare everyday as fish stocks decline and pollution degrades the health of this great freshwater lake, one of the oldest — and largest … more

By ARIANA CUBILLOS and JUAN PABLO ARRÁEZ | 8/16/23

This satellite photo from Planet Labs PBC shows Triton Island in the South China Sea on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. China appears to be constructing an airstrip on a disputed South China Sea island that is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, according to satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

China appears to be building an airstrip on a disputed South China Sea island

Satellite photos analyzed by The Associated Press appear to show China is constructing an airstrip on a South China Sea island also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. The work on Triton island in the … more

8/16/23

This photo shows a jade mine area where a landslide accident took place in Hpakant township, Kachin state, Myanmar Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023. A landslide at the jade mine left scores of people missing, and a search and rescue operation was underway on Monday, a rescue official said. (AP Photo)

Rescuers recover 33 bodies from a landslide at a Myanmar jade mine, with 3 people still missing

Rescuers have recovered the bodies of 33 people from a landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar and are searching for three people believed to be missing. In the landslide on Sunday in Hpakant, … more

By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI | 8/16/23

In this photo provided by the district police office, a police officer pours water into a burning house in a Christian neighborhood following an angry mob attack in Jaranwala near Faisalabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. A Muslim mob stormed a Christian locality in Pakistan's eastern Punjab province, burning three churches and demolishing the house of a man after accusing him of desecrating the pages of Islam's holy book, police said. (District Police Office via AP)

Muslim mob attacks 3 churches after accusing Christian man of desecrating Quran in eastern Pakistan

Police say a Muslim mob has attacked a Christian locality in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province, burning a church, damaging two others and demolishing a man's house after accusing him of … more

8/16/23

FILE - Protesters, some of them are ethnic Belarusian, light flares as they attend a protest demanding freedom for political prisoners in Belarus near Medininkai village near Lithuanian-Belarusian, Lithuania, Saturday, June 12, 2021. Lithuania on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023 decided to temporarily close two of its six checkpoints with Belarus later this week amid growing tensions with its eastern neighbor, an ally of Russia. The Lithuanian government has said that the crossings at Tverecius and Sumskas will be closed, and traffic will be diverted to the Medininkai border checkpoint, which is the largest of Lithuania’s six checkpoints. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis, file)

Lithuania to temporarily close two checkpoints with Belarus amid tensions on border

Lithuania has decided to temporarily close two of its six checkpoints with Belarus this week amid growing tensions with its eastern neighbor, an ally of Russia. Wednesday's decision came as … more

By LIUDAS DAPKUS | 8/16/23

FILE - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg talks to US army soldiers while visiting Prague, Czech Republic, on Sept. 9, 2015. The Czech Republic has completed the ratification of an defense treaty with the United States that deepens military cooperation and make it easier to deploy U.S. troops on Czech territory. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala's signature on Wednesday Aug. 16, 2023 was the final step in the ratification process of the Defense Cooperation Agreement. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek, File)

Czechs ratify defense treaty with US that makes it easier to deploy US troops in Czech territory

The Czech Republic has completed the ratification of a defense treaty with the United States that deepens military cooperation and makes it easier to deploy U.S. troops in Czech territory. Czech … more

8/16/23

In this photo provided by the Odesa Regional Administration Press Office, a granary destroyed in a Russian drone attack at night is seen in a Danube port near Odesa, Ukraine, early hours Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023. (Odesa Regional Administration Press Office via AP)

Russia hits Ukrainian grain depots again as a foreign ship tries out Kyiv's new Black Sea corridor

Officials say Russia has resumed its targeting of grain infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, using drones in overnight strikes on storage facilities and ports along the Danube River. … more

By HANNA ARHIROVA and SUSIE BLANN | 8/16/23

FILE - Mohamed Toumba, one of the soldiers who ousted Nigerian President Mohamed Bazoum, addresses supporters of Niger's ruling junta in Niamey, Niger, Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. Nigeriens are preparing for war against regional countries threatening to invade, three weeks after mutinous soldiers ousted the nation’s democratically elected president. Residents in the capital, Niamey, are calling for the mass recruitment of volunteers to assist the army in the face of a growing threat by the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, which says it will use military force if the junta doesn’t reinstate the deposed President Mohamed Bazoum. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick)

Nigeriens prepare for war against regional countries threatening to invade, 3 weeks into the coup

Nigeriens are preparing for war against regional countries threatening to invade, three weeks after mutinous soldiers ousted the nation’s democratically elected president. Residents in the capital, … more

By SAM MEDNICK | 8/16/23

Lauren Dickason stands in the dock at the Christchurch High Court, in Christchurch, New Zealand, on July, 17, 2023. A New Zealand jury on Wednesday, Aug. 16, found Dickason, a mother guilty of murdering her three young daughters in a case that shocked the nation. (George Heard/New Zealand Herald via AP)

New Zealand jury finds mom guilty of killing her 3 young daughters in a case that shocked the nation

A New Zealand jury has found a woman guilty of murdering her three young daughters in a case that shocked the nation. Lauren Dickason, 42, had earlier admitted killing her 2-year-old twin daughters … more

By NICK PERRY | 8/16/23

Polish troops take part in a massive military parade to celebrate the Polish Army Day, commemorating the 1920 battle in which Polish troops defeated advancing Bolshevik forces, in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. Poland is holding a military parade to showcase its state-of-the-art weapons and defense systems, as war rages across its southeastern border in neighboring Ukraine and ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for Oct. 15. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Poland showcases military might in a parade as war rages in neighboring Ukraine

NATO member Poland displayed its state-of-the-art weapons and defense systems at a massive military parade as war rages in neighboring Ukraine and ahead of parliamentary elections in two months. … more

By MONIKA SCISLOWSKA | 8/16/23

FILE- Indian army vehicles move in a convoy in the cold desert region of Ladakh, India, Sept. 18, 2022. Chinese and Indian military commanders have pledged to “maintain the peace and tranquility” along their disputed border in an apparent effort to stabilize the situation following a rise in tensions. China's Defense Ministry issued a joint press release on social media saying the 19th round of commander-level talks between the sides had produced a “positive, constructive and in-depth discussion" centered on resolving issues related to the Line of Actual Control in the border's western sector. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan, File)

India and China pledge to maintain 'peace and tranquility' along disputed border despite tensions

Chinese and Indian military commanders have pledged to “maintain the peace and tranquility” along their disputed border in an apparent effort to stabilize the situation following a rise in … more

8/16/23

A house's entrance gate is buried under the sand at the Bedouin village of al-Ghuraifabout 100 km, 62 miles, southeast of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, July 9, 2023. Built-in the 1970s, the village was abandoned two decades later as oil wealth transformed the country into a global hub of commerce and tourism, home to the futuristic cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

An abandoned desert village an hour from Dubai offers a glimpse at the UAE's hardscrabble past

Nestled in the sand dunes an hour’s drive from the skyscrapers of Dubai, a desert village abandoned in the 1990s stands as an eerie relic of the rapid urbanization of the United Arab Emirates. … more

By NICK EL HAJJ | 8/16/23

FILE - Gordon Brown, United Nations Special Envoy for Global Education and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, holds a news conference at U.N. headquarters, on Sept. 16, 2016. Brown told a virtual U.N. press conference on the second anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023, that its rulers are responsible for “the most egregious, vicious and indefensible violation of women’s rights and girls’ rights in the world today.” (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

UN envoy says ICC should prosecute Taliban for crimes against humanity for denying girls education

The U.N. special envoy for global education says the International Criminal Court should prosecute Taliban leaders for crimes against humanity for denying education and employment to Afghan girls and … more

By EDITH M. LEDERER | 8/16/23

Paraguay's newly sworn-in President Santiago Pena and wife Leticia Ocampos wave from a car taking them to the Cathedral on Pena's inauguration day in Asuncion, Paraguay, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

New Paraguay president stresses South American country's ties with Taiwan at swearing-in ceremony

President Santiago Peña said Paraguay and Taiwan are “not just allies, but also brothers” when he was sworn in as the South American country’s new president on Tuesday. Peña took the … more

8/15/23

FILE - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses the assembly during the opening session of a three-day U.N. Food and Agriculture Agency's summit on food systems in Rome, July 24, 2023. The U.N. chief urged the international community on Tuesday, Aug. 15, to deploy a multinational force comprising “police special forces and military support units” to Haiti to combat gangs with sophisticated weapons and restore security to the impoverished Caribbean nation. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

UN chief urges deployment of police special forces and military support to combat gangs in Haiti

The United Nations chief is urging the international community to deploy a multinational force comprising “police special forces and military support units” to Haiti to combat gangs with … more

By EDITH M. LEDERER | 8/15/23

A TV screen shows a file image of American soldier Travis King during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 24, 2023. The deputy commander of the U.N. Command said Monday it has started conversations with North Korea over King who ran into the North last week across the Koreas' heavily armed border. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

North Korea says US soldier bolted into North after being disillusioned at American society

North Korea is asserting that a U.S. soldier who bolted into the North across the heavily armed Korean border last month did so after being disillusioned at the inequality of American society. It’s … more

8/15/23

Smoke rises during clashes between rival militias in Tripoli, Libya, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. According to local media, fighting broke out between the 444 brigade and the Special Deterrence Force late Monday evening. (AP Photo/Yousef Murad)

Deadly clashes between rival militias in Libya's capital trap civilians, authorities say

Deadly clashes between rival militias in Libya’s capital have left residents trapped in their homes and unable to escape the violence. The fighting on Tuesday appears to be the most intense to … more

By JACK JEFFERY | 8/15/23

FILE - Sudanese Ambassador to the United Nations Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed, third from right bottom, listens as Karim Khan, third from right top, Prosecutor of International Criminal Court, addresses a Security Council meeting on the situation in Sudan, Thursday, July 13, 2023, at United Nations headquarters. Twenty United Nations and other international organizations on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023 called for peace, access to humanitarian support and respect for human rights in Sudan at the four-month mark of a war that has led to food shortages, death and injury, and sexual violence, among other troubles. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

The UN and its partners ramp up their appeal for peace and aid at the 4-month mark of Sudan's war

Twenty United Nations agencies and other international organizations are calling for peace, access to humanitarian support and respect for human rights in Sudan. The country in northeast Africa was … more

By JAMEY KEATEN and JACK JEFFERY | 8/15/23

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, firefighters clear a road lashed by floods in the aftermath of flood waters from an overflowing river in Shangzhi City in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on Aug. 11, 2023. A vast swath of northeastern China is threatened by flooding as at least 90 rivers have risen above warning levels and 24 have already overflowed their banks. State media say crews are standing by to defend homes and farmland across the Songliao Basin north of Beijing which includes parts of four provinces and several major cities with a total population of almost 100 million. (Zhang Tao/Xinhua via AP)

Vast swath of northeastern China threatened by flooding as rivers rise above warning levels

A vast swath of northeastern China is threatened by flooding as at least 90 rivers have risen above warning levels and 24 have already overflowed their banks. State media say crews are standing by to … more

8/15/23