An Iceland volcano erupts again but spares the nearby town of Grindavik for now

An Iceland volcano erupts again but spares the nearby town of Grindavik for now

GRINDAVIK, Iceland (AP) — A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted Thursday evening for the sixth time since December, spewing red lava through a new fissure on the Reykjanes Peninsula. The eruption began shortly after 9 p.m. following a series of strong earthquakes and within the hour a 4-kilometer (2.4-mile) fissure cut through the Sundhnúkur crater.

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Long-running battle over lucrative beach concessions between Italy and EU could be in final chapter

Long-running battle over lucrative beach concessions between Italy and EU could be in final chapter

ROME (AP) — The latest chapter in a seemingly endless saga over the management of Italy’s lucrative beach concessions has set Italian beaches on fire this summer. For almost two decades, the European Commission has been locked in a legal tug-of-war with Italy over its beach concession practices, accusing the peninsular nation of lacking transparency

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US expands area in Mexico to apply for border asylum appointments, hoping to slow push north

US expands area in Mexico to apply for border asylum appointments, hoping to slow push north

CIUDAD HIDALGO, Mexico (AP) — As soon as she stepped onto Mexican soil this week, Venezuelan migrant Yuri Carolina Meléndez downloaded the U.S. government’s app to apply for asylum appointments. The CBP One app has been around, but as of Friday migrants in Mexico’s southernmost states bordering Guatemala will be able to apply for appointments.

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Young humpback whale freed from fishing tackle that had entangled its tail in Sydney Harbor

Young humpback whale freed from fishing tackle that had entangled its tail in Sydney Harbor

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A young humpback whale was freed from fishing tackle that had entangled its tail during an almost 24-hour rescue operation in Sydney Harbor. The juvenile whale immediately began swimming toward the Sydney Heads and the open Pacific Ocean after government wildlife rescuers removed the ropes late Friday morning, Macquarie University whale

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Kiribati’s pro-China government bars foreign officials from visiting until 2025, citing elections

Kiribati’s pro-China government bars foreign officials from visiting until 2025, citing elections

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The government of Kiribati is suspending all diplomatic visits to the tiny Pacific Island nation until next year and has cancelled some already planned, because it is in the midst of an election process that could run for several more months, an official said Thursday. The official in Kiribati’s foreign

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Palestinians plan UN resolution enshrining court demand for Israel to end occupation with time frame

Palestinians plan UN resolution enshrining court demand for Israel to end occupation with time frame

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Palestinians said Thursday they are planning to introduce a U.N. General Assembly resolution in September enshrining the recent sweeping ruling by the U.N.’s top court that declared Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories unlawful — and setting a time frame for it to end. Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N.

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