World News - The Morning Sun

A man walks past the rubble of a demolished al-Siraji Mosque in Basra, Iraq, on Monday, July 17, 2023. An official said the old mosque would be replaced with a modern, better-designed one that would not impede traffic flow. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)

Demolition of historic minaret in southern Iraq's Basra sparks outcry

For three centuries, the al-Siraji Mosque, with its minaret inlaid with blue ceramic tiles, was a distinctive feature of the city of Basra in southern Iraq. But in recent days, bulldozers razed the … more

By ABDULRAHMAN ZEYAD and DAWOOD SALMAN | 7/19/23

This image provided by Planet Labs PBC shows Great Swan Island or the Islas del Cisne in Honduras, on July 13, 2023. Honduras says it will build a maximum security prison on this tiny island off its Caribbean coast to contain the leaders of the country’s most fearsome gangs. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Honduras wants to build West's only island prison colony and lock gangsters inside

Honduras plans to build the only island prison colony in the Western Hemisphere and send its most-feared gangsters there. It's tearing a page from neighboring El Salvador’s unforgiving approach to … more

By MARLON GONZÁLEZ and MEGAN JANETSKY | 7/19/23

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern sea early Wednesday in what appeared to be a statement of defiance as the United States deploys a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea for the first time in decades. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

North Korea fires 2 short-range missiles into the sea as US docks nuclear submarine in South Korea

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern sea early Wednesday in what appeared to be a statement of defiance as the United States deploys a nuclear-armed submarine to … more

By KIM TONG-HYUNG and HYUNG-JIN KIM | 7/18/23

Trees scorched by the Donnie Creek wildfire line a forest north of Fort St. John, British Columbia, Sunday, July 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Wildfires have burned a record amount of area in the Canadian province of British Columbia

Canadian officials say say wildfires have already burned a record amount of area in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the situation will probably get worse due to more hot, dry weather. … more

7/18/23

FILE - Panama's former President Ricardo Martinelli talks to reporters near his home, in Panama City, Aug. 9, 2019. Martinelli was sentenced on July 18, 2023 to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering in a case that revolved around the purchase of a media company. (AP Photo/Eric Batista, File)

Panama Ex-President Martinelli is sentenced to 10 years in prison for money laundering

Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering. Martinelli, 71, had been trying to mount a political comeback in next year’s … more

By KATHIA MARTÍNEZ | 7/18/23

Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of Move Forward Party, center. and Leader of Pheu Thai party Chonlanan Srikaew, left , wave to supporters after meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, July 17, 2023. The top candidate to become Thailand's next prime minister, Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, who was rebuffed last week by an initial vote of Parliament, declared Monday he will remain a candidate for a second round of ballot but acknowledges he may have to make way for a political ally if he cannot attract substantially more support. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thai election winner set to make last stand in contentious bid to become prime minister

The leader of Thailand’s Move Forward Party is expected to get a last chance to win parliament's confirmation as the country’s next prime minister. Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat … more

By GRANT PECK and JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI | 7/18/23

This photo taken on Monday, March 12, 2018 and released by svaboda.org RFE/RL shows Belarusian journalist Ihar Karnei, who was arrested in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on Monday, July 17, 2023. Authorities in Belarus have arrested Ihar Karnei, 55, a prominent journalist working with the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the latest step in a yearslong crackdown on opposition figures, independent journalists and human rights activists. (svaboda.org RFE/RL Photo via AP)

Belarus arrests a prominent journalist in its continued crackdown on dissent

Authorities in Belarus have arrested a prominent journalist working with the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the latest step in a yearslong crackdown on opposition figures, independent … more

By YURAS KARMANAU | 7/18/23

Comforted by Khrystyna Liubymska, top, Zynaida Nedoleshko weeps next to a casket carrying the remains of her nephew, Roman Shadlovskyi, during a reburial service for him in Bucha, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. The Ukrainian armed forces veteran, who was initially buried in a mass grave as an unidentified victim after being killed last year by Russian troops, received a reburial Tuesday after a DNA test confirmed his identity. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

In Ukraine, a family's ordeal to identify and honor a veteran killed in Bucha ends after 16 months

The family of a Ukrainian veteran who was tortured and killed during the Russian occupation of Bucha finally has been able to give him a proper burial. His gravestone carries his photograph and … more

By HANNA ARHIROVA | 7/18/23

FILE - Body bags are laid out at the scene where dozens of bodies have been found in shallow graves in the village of Shakahola, near the coastal city of Malindi, in southern Kenya on April 24, 2023. The number of people who died in connection with Kenya’s doomsday cult has crossed the 400 mark as detectives exhumed 12 more bodies on Monday, July 18, 2023, believed to be followers of a pastor who ordered them to fast to death in order to meet Jesus. Pastor Paul Mackenzie, who is linked to the cult based in a forested area in Malindi, coastal Kenya, is in police custody, along with 36 other suspects. All have yet to be charged. (AP Photo)

Kenya doomsday cult deaths top 400 as detectives exhume 12 more bodies, with the pastor in custody

The death toll in connection with Kenya’s doomsday cult has crossed the 400 mark as detectives exhumed 12 more bodies. The mass graves exhumed Monday are believed to a burial site for followers of … more

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI | 7/18/23

Tug boat Mercia pulls the Bibby Stockholm accommodation barge into Portland in Dorset where it is due to house migrants after travelling from dry dock in Falmouth, Cornwall, Tuesday July 18, 2023.. The first asylum seekers are expected to board the Bibby Stockholm later this month. With a backlog of asylum cases in the UK, the Government is seeking to cut the cost of hotel bills by using alternative accommodation including the Bibby Stockholm and former military bases. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)

Barge to house asylum-seekers arrives in UK as Parliament passes controversial migration bill

A barge that will house up to 500 asylum-seekers has arrived in England as Parliament passed its controversial bill to curb migration. The boat Bibby Stockholm pulled into Portland on Tuesday after … more

By BRIAN MELLEY | 7/18/23

FILE - Exterior view of the grain storage terminal during visit of United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the Odesa Sea Port, in Odesa, Ukraine, on Aug. 19, 2022. The fate of a wartime deal designed to move food from Ukraine to parts of the world where millions are going hungry is unclear as it faces renewal Monday July 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Kostiantyn Liberov, File)

Russia targets key Ukraine Black Sea port of Odesa, a day after halting grain export deal

Ukrainian forces have shot down 25 exploding drones and six cruise missiles from a pre-dawn Russian attack on the port of Odesa. The attack came a day after Moscow broke off a deal that had allowed … more

By FELIPE DANA | 7/18/23

In this image made from video, a cylindrical object is seen on beach in Green Head, Australia, July 17, 2023. Authorities were investigating on Tuesday whether a cylindrical object about the size of a small car that washed up on a remote Australian beach is space junk from a foreign rocket. (CHANNEL 9 via AP)

Mystery object that washed up on the Australian coast could be space junk, officials say

Authorities are investigating whether a cylindrical object about the size of a small car that washed up on a remote Australian beach is space junk from a foreign rocket. Police had cordoned off the … more

7/18/23

A giant electoral poster depicting Spain's Prime Minister and Socialist candidate Pedro Sánchez, top, and conservative PP party leader Alberto Nunez Feijóo and VOX far-right party leader Santiago Abascal is displayed on a building at the Gran Via avenue in Madrid, Spain, Monday, July 10, 2023. A general election on Sunday July 23, 2023, could make Spain the latest European Union member to swing to the right. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the early election after his Spanish Socialist Workers' Party and its far-left partner, Unidas Podemos, took a beating in local and regional elections. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Spain's early election could put the far right in power for the first time since Franco

A general election this Sunday could make Spain the latest European Union member to swing to the right. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the early election after his Spanish Socialist Workers’ … more

By CIARÁN GILES | 7/18/23

Protesters wearing masks of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, second from left, U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, second from right, attend a rally against a meeting of Nuclear Consultative Group between South Korea and the United States in front of the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. A bilateral consulting group of South Korean and U.S. officials met Tuesday in Seoul to discuss strengthening their nations' deterrence capabilities against North Korea's evolving nuclear threats. The signs read "Disintegration of Nuclear Consultative Group" (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Bilateral South Korea-US consulting group meets in response to North Korean nuclear threats

A bilateral consulting group of South Korean and U.S. officials has met in Seoul to discuss strengthening their nations' deterrence capabilities against North Korea's evolving nuclear threats. The … more

By HYUNG-JIN KIM | 7/18/23

U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, left, and Chinese Premier Li Qiang shake hands before a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Tuesday, July 18, 2023. (Florence Lo/Pool Photo via AP)

Climate envoy John Kerry meets with Chinese officials amid US push to stabilize rocky relations

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry has told China's top diplomat that President Joe Biden's administration is “very committed" to stabilizing relations between the world's two biggest economies. Kerry … more

7/18/23

In this photo provided by Grupomar/Atun Tuny, Australian Tim Shaddock has is blood pressure taken after being rescued by a Mexican tuna boat in international waters, after being adrift with his dog for three months. Haddock and his dog Bella were aboard his incapacitated catamaran Aloha Toa some 1,200 miles from land when they were rescued. (Grupomar/Atun Tuny via AP)

Australian man and his dog rescued by Mexican tuna boat after drifting 3 months in the Pacific Ocean

An Australian sailor who had been adrift at sea with his dog for three months has been rescued by a Mexican tuna boat in international waters. The Grupomar fishing company said Monday that Tim … more

7/17/23

A damaged car stands in front of a burned tree near Loutraki 80 Kilometres west of Athens, Greece, Monday, July 17, 2023. Two wildfires threatened homes in areas outside Athens, where strong winds made the flames difficult to contain. Most of southern Greece, including greater Athens, was an elevated level of alert for fire risk, while more extreme temperatures are expected later this week. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

After heat wave, wildfires force thousands to flee seaside resorts outside Greek capital

Wildfires outside Athens forced thousands to flee seaside resorts, closed highways and gutted vacation homes Monday, with high winds pushing flames through hillside scrub and pine forests parched by … more

By PETROS GIANNAKOURIS and DEREK GATOPOULOS | 7/17/23

This handout photo issued by British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) shows pilot whales in North Tolsta, on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, Sunday, July 16, 2023. A pod of 55 pilot whales have died after they were found washed ashore on a beach in Scotland in the worst mass whale stranding in the area, marine experts said Monday. Marine rescuers, the coast guard and police were called to Traigh Mhor beach on the Isle of Lewis in northwest Scotland after receiving reports that dozens of the mammals were in difficulty there early Sunday. (Cristina McAvoy/BDMLR via AP)

Pod of 55 pilot whales die after being stranded on a beach in Scotland

A pod of 55 pilot whales have died after they were found washed ashore on a beach in Scotland. Marine experts say it is the worst mass whale stranding in the area. Marine rescuers were called to … more

7/17/23

A malnourished baby is measured by a health worker at the Gheskio Center in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Friday, July 14, 2023. The Center monitors malnourished children's weight gain and growth on a weekly basis and hands out peanut-based therapeutic supplements to help them gain weight. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Lack of funding forces UN to slash food program in Haiti amid a surge in malnutrition

The U.N.’s World Food Program says it is facing a shortage of funds and won’t be able to help 100,000 people in Haiti this month who urgently need assistance. The 25% cut comes as a record 4.9 … more

7/17/23

FILE - Municipal workers disinfect dead pelicans on San Pedro beach in Lima, Peru, on Dec. 1, 2022. The World Health Organization said more than two dozen cats have been infected with bird flu across Poland, but no people appeared to have been sickened. In a statement on Monday, July 17, 2023 the U.N. health agency said it was the first time so many cats had been reported to have bird flu over such a wide geographical area in a single country, amid an unprecedented global outbreak of the latest version of the H5N1 version of the disease. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo, File)

Dozens of cats in Poland had bird flu but the risk to people is low, the UN health agency says

The World Health Organization says more than two dozen cats have been infected with bird flu across Poland, but no people appear to have been sickened. In a statement on Monday, the U.N. health … more

7/17/23