World News - The Morning Sun

FILE - South Africa's Oscar Pistorius starts in the men's semi-finals of the 400-meter in the Olympic Stadium at the 2012 Summer Olympics, London on Aug. 5, 2012. Oscar Pistorius is due on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024 to be released from prison on parole to live under strict conditions at a family home after serving nearly nine years of his murder sentence for the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

Track star, convicted killer, now parolee. A timeline of Oscar Pistorius's life

A list of the major moments in the life of Oscar Pistorius, the South African double-amputee Olympic runner who was released from prison on parole Friday having served nearly nine years of a murder … more

By GERALD IMRAY | 1/5/24

People walk on the street towards the grave of the late Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani as a mosque is seen in background in the city of Kerman about 510 miles (820 kms) southeast of the capital Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. Investigators believe suicide bombers likely carried out an attack on a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 U.S. drone strike, state media reported Thursday, as Iran grappled with its worst mass-casualty attack in decades and as the wider Mideast remains on edge. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran mourns those slain in Islamic State-claimed suicide blasts as death toll rises to 89

Iran is mourning those slain in an Islamic State group-claimed suicide bombing targeting a commemoration for a general slain in a U.S. drone strike in 2020. The funeral Friday came as the death toll … more

By AMIR VAHDAT, VAHID SALEMI and JON GAMBRELL | 1/5/24

FILE- INS Chennai, a Kolkata class destroyer, is moored at a jetty in Mumbai, India, Friday, Nov. 18, 2016. The Indian navy said on Friday, Jan. 5, 2023, that it has deployed the ship and a patrol aircraft in the Arabian Sea following a hijacking attempt onboard a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade, File)

Indian Navy deploys ship and patrol aircraft following bid to hijack a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier.

The Indian navy says it has deployed a ship and a patrol aircraft in the Arabian Sea following a hijacking attempt onboard a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier. It says the vessel sent a message … more

1/5/24

Rescuers inspect the wreckage of trains after a collision in Cicalengka, West Java, Indonesia, Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. The two trains collided on Indonesia's main island of Java on Friday, causing several carriages to buckle and overturn, officials said. (AP Photo/Abdan Syakura)

Trains collide on Indonesia's main island of Java, killing at least 3 people

Two trains have collided on Indonesia’s main island of Java, causing several carriages to buckle and overturn and killing at least three people. Officials say the accident happened near a train … more

By ADI MARSIELA | 1/4/24

In this undated photo provided on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, with his daughter visits a factory that produces transport erector launchers in North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korea's Kim orders increased production of mobile launch vehicles as tensions grow with US

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered authorities to increase production of mobile launch vehicles for missiles, saying the country faces a looming military showdown with its enemies. The … more

By HYUNG-JIN KIM | 1/4/24

Mourners carry the coffin of Saleh Arouri, one of the top Hamas commanders, who was killed in an apparent Israeli strike Tuesday, as they pass in front of a graffiti that shows late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, during his funeral in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Thousands attend the funeral of a top Hamas official killed in an apparent Israeli strike in Beirut

Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Beirut for the funeral of Saleh Arouri, top commander of militant Palestinian group Hamas, who was killed earlier this week in an apparent Israeli … more

By FADI TAWIL and BASSEM MROUE | 1/4/24

Families of victims of the explosions gather at the courtyard of a hospital in the city of Kerman, about 510 miles (820 kilometres) southeast of the capital Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. Two bombs exploded Wednesday at a commemoration for a prominent Iranian general slain by the U.S. in a 2020 drone strike, Iranian officials said, as the Middle East remains on edge over Israel's war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (Sare Tajalli, ISNA via AP)

Iran suspects suicide bombers carried out attack on commemoration for slain general that killed 84

Investigators believe suicide bombers likely carried out an attack on a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 U.S. drone strike. That's according to a state media report Thursday, … more

1/4/24

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni answers journalists' questions during her year end press conference, in Rome, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Italian Premier Meloni says curbing migrant arrivals from Africa is about investment, not charity

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has told her European Union partners that curbing migration flows from African countries has less to do with offers of charity than strong partnerships coupled with … more

By GIADA ZAMPANO and PAOLO SANTALUCIA | 1/4/24

Relatives of the members of a school volleyball team killed in last year's earthquake gather outside the justice court during a trial in Adiyaman, southeastern Turkey, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. Parents of the members of a school volleyball team that perished when their hotel crumbled in last year's powerful earthquake testified in the trial against the hotel's owner on Thursday, describing how hopes of finding their loved ones alive quickly turned to despair. (Dia Images via AP)

Parents of Cyprus school volleyball team players killed in Turkish quake testify against hotel owner

A hotel owner and 10 other people are standing trial accused of negligence over the deaths of 72 people, including players from a school volleyball team in breakaway northern Cyprus, who perished … more

1/4/24

Junior doctors and members of the British Medical Association (BMA) demonstrate outside St Thomas' Hospital, London, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, as they take to picket lines for six days. Doctors in the early stages of their careers in England have started a 72-hour strike in their long-running dispute over pay levels. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

Striking doctors in England at loggerheads with hospitals over calls to return to work

The longest planned strike in the history of Britain’s state-funded National Health Service has entered its second day of six with doctors in England at loggerheads with hospitals over requests for … more

By PAN PYLAS | 1/4/24

An Asian elephant plays with a Christmas tree during the annual Christmas tree feeding at Berlin Zoo, in Berlin, Thursday Jan. 4, 2024. There's something different on the menu for the elephants and some of their fellow residents at the Berlin Zoo: Christmas trees. The treats were unwrapped at the zoo on Thursday in what has become an annual event. (Jens Kalaene/dpa via AP)

Unsold Christmas trees are on the menu for elephants and bison at the Berlin Zoo

There’s a bit of post-Christmas cheer on the menu for elephants and other tenants at the Berlin Zoo: they can chomp on Christmas trees that didn't find a home. The tree treats were unwrapped … more

1/4/24

Ko Wen-je, Taiwan People's Party (TPP) presidential candidate, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at his campaign office in Xiangshan District, southwest Hsinchu City, Taiwan, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

Taiwan's presidential candidate Ko Wen-je seeks a middle ground with China, attracting young voters

With Taiwan's presidential and parliamentary elections less than two weeks away, the island's alternative party candidate and chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party, Ko Wen-je, is promoting a policy … more

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN | 1/4/24

Ambulances line up in front of a headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Force after it was hit by an airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024. The Popular Mobilization Force - a coalition of militias that is nominally under the control of the Iraqi military - announced in a statement that its deputy head of operations in Baghdad, Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, or "Abu Taqwa," had been killed in the strike. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Airstrike in central Baghdad kills Iran-backed militia leader as regional tensions escalate

Officials say an airstrike on the logistical support headquarters of an Iran-backed militia in central Baghdad has killed a high-ranking militia commander. Thursday's strike comes amid mounting … more

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and ALI JABAR | 1/4/24

FILE - In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second right, with his daughter and his wife Ri Sol Ju, left, attends a performance to celebrate the New Year in Pyongyang, North Korea, Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

South Korea views the young daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as his likely successor

South Korea's intelligence service says it views the young daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as her father’s likely heir apparent. The assessment by the National Intelligence Service is … more

By HYUNG-JIN KIM and JIWON SONG | 1/4/24

In this Dec. 10, 2023 photo supplied by the Australian Reptile Park, a male specimen of the Sydney funnel-web spider, the world's most poisonous arachnid, has been found and donated to the Australian Reptile Park, north of Sydney. The spider, given the name "Hercules", measured 7.9 centimeters (3 inches) from foot to foot, surpassing the park's previous record-holder from 2018, the male funnel-web named "Colossus" and will be used in the reptile park's antivenom program. (Caitlin Vine/Australian Reptile Park via AP)

Lethal Sydney funnel-web spider 'Hercules' sets record for largest specimen collected in Australia

The largest male specimen of the world's most poisonous spider that boasts fangs powerful enough to pierce a human fingernail has found a new home after being discovered north of Sydney, Australia. … more

1/4/24

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele takes his reelection campaign beyond the borders

El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele has taken his presidential reelection campaign beyond the tiny Central American country’s borders to capitalize on his rising profile across Latin America. During a … more

By MARCOS ALEMAN | 1/4/24

In this image provided by the U.S. Navy, the amphibious dock landing ship USS Carter Hall and amphibious assault ship USS Bataan transit the Bab al-Mandeb strait on Aug. 9, 2023. The top commander of U.S. naval forces in the Middle East says Yemen’s Houthi rebels are showing no signs of ending their “reckless” attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea. But Vice Adm. Brad Cooper said in an Associated Press interview on Saturday that more nations are joining the international maritime mission to protect vessels in the vital waterway and trade traffic is beginning to pick up. (Mass Communications Spc. 2nd Class Moises Sandoval/U.S. Navy via AP)

US calls for urgent UN action on attacks by Yemen's Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea

The United States is calling on the U.N. Security Council to take urgent action against Yemen’s Houthi rebels for attacking ships in the key Red Sea trade route, and is warning their longtime … more

By EDITH M. LEDERER | 1/3/24

FILE - Tampa Bay Rays' Wander Franco looks on during a baseball game on Aug. 13, 2023, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Franco was arrested Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in the Dominican Republic after being interviewed by prosecutors investigating him for an alleged relationship with a minor, according to an official in the Puerto Plata province prosecutor's office. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)

Prosecutors file evidence against Rays shortstop Wander Franco in Dominican Republic probe

Dominican prosecutors investigating Wander Franco amid allegations that the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop had a relationship with a minor have delivered evidence to a judge in the Dominican Republic. The … more

By MARTÍN ADAMES ALCÁNTARA | 1/3/24

Firefighters extinguish the fire inside an apartment following a massive explosion in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. Hamas and Hezbollah have accused Israel of carrying out an airstrike that killed a top Hamas leader in Beirut. While Israel has not claimed responsibility, Tuesday's airstrike had the hallmarks of an Israeli attack. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A look at killings of militant leaders believed targeted by Israel

Hamas and Hezbollah have accused Israel of carrying out an airstrike that killed a top Hamas leader in Beirut. While Israel has not claimed responsibility, Tuesday’s airstrike had the hallmarks of … more

By MELANIE LIDMAN | 1/3/24

FILE - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem, Dec. 10, 2023. A law that would make it harder to remove Netanyahu from office must go into effect only after the next parliamentary elections, the country's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, saying the legislation was clearly crafted for personal reasons. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Israel's Supreme Court delays activation of law that makes it harder to remove Netanyahu from office

Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled that a law that could make it harder to remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from office must go into effect only after the next elections. The court says the … more

By TIA GOLDENBERG | 1/3/24