World News - The Morning Sun

FILE — Emma, 3, who was displaced by the fighting between M23 rebels and FARDC government forces, finds refuge in a school North of Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nov. 25, 2022. A new U.N. report says rebels in eastern Congo have killed at least 131 people and inflicted "unspeakable violence" against civilians. The findings published this week in a preliminary investigation by the United Nations, accuses M23 rebels of killing men, women and children in two villages in Congo's Rutshuru territory in North Kivu province last month. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, file )

131 civilians killed by M23 rebels in eastern Congo, says UN

A new U.N. report says rebels in eastern Congo have killed at least 131 people and inflicted “unspeakable violence” against civilians. The findings published this week in a preliminary … more

AL-HADJI KUDRA MALIRO & SAM MEDNICK | 12/8/22

A Ukrainian volunteer Oleksandr Osetynskyi, 44 holds a Ukrainian flag and directs hundreds of refugees after fleeing from the Ukraine and arriving at the border crossing in Medyka, Poland, Monday, March 7, 2022. This was the year war returned to Europe, and few facets of life were left untouched. Russia’s invasion of its neighbor Ukraine unleashed misery on millions of Ukrainians, shattered Europe’s sense of security, ripped up the geopolitical map and rocked the global economy. The shockwaves made life more expensive in homes across Europe, worsened a global migrant crisis and complicated the world’s response to climate change. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)

2022 was year the horror of war returned to Europe

This was the year war returned to Europe, and few facets of life were left untouched. Russia’s invasion of its neighbor Ukraine unleashed misery on millions of Ukrainians, shattered Europe’s … more

By JILL LAWLESS | 12/8/22

A Federal Police officer tries to remove a 'Last Generation' activist from a street at the BER Airport in Berlin, Germany, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. Climate activists have briefly disrupted traffic at Munich and Berlin airport in Germany, in a protest against the environmental impact of air travel. (Paul Zinken/dpa via AP)

Climate activists stage protests at 2 German airports

Climate activists have briefly disrupted traffic at Munich airport in southern Germany, in a protest against the environmental impact of air travel. The group Last Generation said some of its members … more

12/8/22

Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Center for Civil Liberties, arrives at Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, Norway, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. This year’s Nobel Peace Prize was shared by jailed Belarus rights activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian group Memorial and the Center for Civil Liberties. The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the laureates “have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy.” The prize was seen as a strong rebuke to the authoritarian rule of Putin. (Javad Parsa/NTB Scanpix via AP)

Nobel laureate: No lasting peace in Ukraine without justice

The Ukrainian rights activist who leads the group that won this year's Nobel Peace Prize says there will be no lasting peace in Ukraine until there is justice and human rights. Oleksandra Matviichuk … more

By JAN M. OLSEN | 12/8/22

FILE - A Romanian border police officer, seen through a plexiglass fence, patrols a railway border crossing point between Romania and Moldova in Ungheni, Romania, on Jan. 18, 2011. European Union countries will weigh on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, whether the bloc's three newest members — Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia — can fully open their borders and participate in Europe's ID check-free travel zone, but more delays to their entry appear likely. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, File)

EU split over newest members joining ID-check-free zone

European Union countries are to weigh whether Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia can fully open their borders and participate in Europe’s ID-check-free travel zone. But concerns over migration appear … more

By STEPHEN McGRATH and LORNE COOK | 12/8/22

Aisha Ali, 40, cries as she and her daughter Husseina, 9, wait in Tabawa, northeastern Nigeria, for four her or children to be prepared for burial Wednesday Oct. 26, 2022. When floodwaters reached her hut made of woven straw mats and raffia palms, she packed up what belongings she could and set off on foot with her eight youngest children. "While the flood was trying to destroy things, we were trying to save ourselves," she said.(AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)

'God's plan': Family flees amid catastrophic Nigeria floods

This year, heavy rains inundated Nigeria and neighboring countries, causing flooding the region hasn’t seen in at least a decade. Hundreds have died. When the floodwaters reached Aisha Ali’s hut … more

By CHINEDU ASADU | 12/8/22

Metropolitan Oleksandr delivers a religious service with clerics inside the Transfiguration of Jesus Orthodox Cathedral during blackout caused by recent Russian rocket attacks, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022. A top Orthodox priest in Ukraine's capital says he supports the efforts of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government and counter-intelligence agency to end Russian spying and meddling in Ukrainian politics through a Moscow-affiliated church. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Scrutiny of Ukraine church draws praise, fear of overreach

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is being praised and criticized for proposing legislation that could crack down on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church for alleged ties to Moscow. He is proposing … more

By PETER SMITH and VASILISA STEPANENKO | 12/8/22

A foreign tourist looks at the plaque bearing names of the victims of the Bali bombings at the Bali Bombing Memorial Monument in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. An Islamic militant convicted of making the explosives used in the 2002 attack that killed over 200 people was paroled Wednesday, after serving about half of his original 20-year prison sentence, despite strong objections by Australia, which lost scores of citizens in the Indonesian attacks. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

Australia wants Indonesia to monitor released bombmaker

Australia’s government says it is seeking assurances from Indonesia that the man convicted of making the bombs used in the 2002 Bali terrorist attacks would continue to be monitored after his … more

12/8/22

FILE - Jailed, former Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina attends his pre-trial hearing for alleged corruption in Guatemala City, July 22, 2016. A Guatemalan court is expected to announce on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022 its ruling in a different case, for alleged fraud, by Perez Molina. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo, File)

Guatemalan court convicts ex-president of fraud, conspiracy

A court in Guatemala has convicted former President Otto Pérez Molina and his vice president, Roxana Baldetti, on fraud and conspiracy counts. Both were acquitted Wednesday of illegal enrichment … more

12/7/22

FILE - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in his office in Kyiv, Ukraine, on April 9, 2022. Time Magazine on Wednesday Dec. 7, 2022 named Zelenskyy its person of the year, awarding him the accolade “for proving that courage can be as contagious as fear.” (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)

Zelenskyy and 'spirit of Ukraine' named Time person of year

Time Magazine has named Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy its person of the year. It awarded him the accolade “for proving that courage can be as contagious as fear.” He was named alongside … more

12/7/22

Mark, the last brown bear in captivity in Albania, looks out of his cage, before it will be transferred, in Tirana, Albania, on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. Mark, a 24-year-old bear was kept in a cage for 20 years at a restaurant in the capital Tirana. Albania's last brown bear in captivity has been rescued by an international animal welfare organisation and taken to a sanctuary in Austria. (AP Photo/Franc Zhurda)

Albania's last captive bear rescued to Austrian sanctuary

Albania’s last brown bear in captivity has been rescued by an international animal welfare organization and taken to a sanctuary in Austria. Four Paws on Wednesday began the long journey with the … more

By LLAZAR SEMINI | 12/7/22

FILE - Janusz Walus, Polish immigrant and convicted killer of South African Communist Party leader Chris Hani, is sworn in during a Truth and Reconcilliation Commission hearing in Pretoria, South Africa, on Nov. 24, 1997. Walus has been released from prison in the capital Pretoria after serving more than 28 years for the 1993 murder. (AP Photo/Cobus Bodenstein, File)

South Africa paroles convicted killer of anti-apartheid icon

The convicted killer of South African anti-apartheid leader Chris Hani has been released from prison in the capital Pretoria after serving more than 28 years for the 1993 murder. Janusz Walus, 69, … more

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME | 12/7/22

File - Indonesian Muslim militant Umar Patek is escorted by prosecutors and plain-clothed police officers as he leaves the courtroom after his hearing at West Jakarta district court in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, May 21, 2012. A bombmaker in the 2002 Bali attack that killed 202 people has walked free from an Indonesian prison Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022 after serving half of a 20-year sentence, despite upsetting Australia’s leader who described him as “abhorrent.” Umar Patek, 55, whose real name is Hisyam bin Alizein, was a leading member of the al Qaida-linked network Jemaah Islamiyah. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana, File)

Indonesia releases bombmaker in Bali attacks on parole

A bombmaker in the 2002 Bali attacks that killed 202 people has been released from an Indonesian prison after serving half his 20-year sentence. Australia’s prime minister has opposed his early … more

12/7/22

FILE - Local residents gather near a generator to charge their mobile devices in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Mariupol, Ukraine, Friday, April 22, 2022. When Russian forces two months ago launched a military campaign against infrastructure in Ukraine, it opened an urgent second front far from the contact line: Along power lines, water mains, and heating systems, and in places like homes, schools, offices and churches. (AP Photo/Alexei Alexandrov, File)

Donors race to get generators, other aid to hard-hit Ukraine

When Russian forces launched a military campaign against infrastructure in Ukraine, they opened a front that carried the war along power lines and water mains to homes, schools, hospitals and … more

By JAMEY KEATEN | 12/7/22

Passengers and railway staff are seen at the scene of a train collision in Montcada i Reixac, Spain, Wednesday Dec. 7, 2022. Spanish officials say two trains have collided near Barcelona and 155 people have been hurt. Emergency services for Catalonia said no passengers were seriously injured. The collision occurred on a train line in Montcada i Reixac, a town just north of Barcelona. (Josep Jorge via AP)

Train collision in Spain hurts 155, no serious injuries

Spanish officials say two trains have collided near Barcelona and 155 people have been hurt. Emergency services for Catalonia said no passengers were seriously injured although 14 were taken to … more

12/7/22

The mother and father of a four-month-old baby that urgently needs a heart operation leave the High Court in Auckland, New Zealand, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. The court on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022, ruled against the family who had refused blood transfusions for their baby son unless the blood came from donors who hadn't been vaccinated against COVID-19. (Michael Craig/New Zealand Herald via AP)

New Zealand court rules against anti-vax parents of ill baby

A New Zealand court has temporarily taken away medical custody of a baby from his parents after they refused blood transfusions for him unless the blood comes from donors who are unvaccinated against … more

By NICK PERRY | 12/7/22

Police officers stand by a searched property in Frankfurt during a raid against so-called 'Reich citizens' in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. Thousands of police carried out a series of raids across much of Germany on Wednesday against suspected far-right extremists who allegedly sought to overthrow the state by force. Federal prosecutors said some 3,000 officers conducted searches at 130 sites in 11 of Germany's 16 states against adherents of the so-called Reich Citizens movement. Some members of the grouping reject Germany's postwar constitution and have called for the overthrow of the government. (Boris Roessler/dpa via AP)

Germany: 25 arrested on suspicion of planning armed coup

Officials say thousands of police have carried out a series of raids across much of Germany against suspected far-right extremists who allegedly sought to overthrow the state in an armed coup. … more

By FRANK JORDANS | 12/7/22

Police officers stand guard near a police station where an explosion went off in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022. An unidentified attacker blew himself up outside a police station in Indonesia’s main island of Java on Wednesday in a latest of suicide attacks in the world’s most populous Muslim nation, police said. (AP Photo/Ahmad Fauzan)

Bombing at Indonesian police station injures 3 officers

A man blew himself up Wednesday outside a police station on Indonesia’s main island of Java in what appeared to be the latest in a string of suicide attacks in the world’s most populous Muslim … more

By ADI MARSIELA | 12/6/22

FILE - The closed Basilica of Lourdes is pictured May 8, 2020, in Lourdes, southwestern France. The Vatican came under pressure Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, to explain why it didn’t prosecute a famous Jesuit artist and merely let his order restrict the priest's ministry following allegations that he abused his authority over adult women. Mosiacs by Rev. Marko Ivan Rupnik decorate several churches and chapels, including the Lourdes basilica. (AP Photo/Bob Edme, File)

Jesuit artist has ministry cut; Vatican doesn't prosecute

The Vatican is under pressure to explain why it didn’t prosecute a famous Jesuit artist and merely let his order restrict the priest's ministry following allegations that he abused his authority … more

By NICOLE WINFIELD | 12/6/22

Liz Barham, senior conservator of the Museum of London Archaeology, displays an early medieval gold and gemstone necklace during a photo call, in London, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. Archaeologists say a 1,300-year-old gold and gemstone necklace found during construction of a housing development marks the grave of a powerful woman who may have been an Anglo-Saxon aristocrat or early Christian religious leader in Britain. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Dig at UK housing site yields major 7th century treasures

A 1,300-year-old gold and gemstone necklace uncovered near Northampton in central England is being hailed as a find of major significance. The necklace was found with other items on the site of a new … more

By JILL LAWLESS | 12/6/22