NEW DELHI (AP) — India was counting down to landing a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole Wednesday — an unchartered territory that scientists believe could hold important reserves of frozen water and precious elements.A lander with a rover inside was orbiting before attempting to touch down on the lunar surface, creating an agonizing wait
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran sentenced seven men and a woman to prison after their convictions over allegedly aiding two men who were earlier executed for killing a paramilitary volunteer during the nationwide protests last year that followed Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody, state media reported Wednesday. The sentences come just ahead
BULIISA, Uganda (AP) — Alex Wakitinti is worried about the sacred natural sites he tends in the large swath of bushy grassland near Lake Albert. It’s the same slice of his homeland that oil companies are developing in order for Uganda to become an oil producer by 2026.But French oil company TotalEnergies and others working
BEIRUT (AP) — Four years into its historic economic meltdown, Lebanon’s political elites, masters at survival, are pushing for a recovery that would sidestep tough reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund.Economic experts and former officials involved in designing Lebanon’s original IMF-approved recovery plan in 2020 say the political leadership and associates in the banking
ABOARD BRP CABRA (AP) — As a U.S. Navy plane circled overhead, two Philippine boats breached a Chinese coast guard blockade in a dangerous confrontation in the disputed South China Sea to deliver food and other supplies to Filipino forces guarding a contested shoal.Two Philippine coast guard vessels escorting the supply boats, however, were blocked
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A former government minister from the Central African Republic denied involvement in crimes against humanity and war crimes for his alleged role in a deadly conflict in the impoverished nation when he appeared at a pretrial hearing at the International Criminal Court Tuesday.Prosecutors accuse Maxime Jeoffroy Eli Mokom Gawaka of
HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Polls opened in Zimbabwe on Wednesday as President Emmerson Mnangagwa seeks a second and final term in a country with a history of violent and disputed votes.These are the second general elections since the ouster of longtime repressive ruler Robert Mugabe in a coup in 2017.There are 12 presidential candidates on
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Tropical Storm Franklin roared toward the island of Hispaniola shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti early Wednesday amid fears it would trigger deadly landslides and heavy flooding in both countries. Franklin was expected to swirl above the island for most of Wednesday, with forecasters warning the storm could
BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s divisive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was transferred from prison to a hospital early Wednesday, less than a day after he returned from an extended exile and started serving an 8-year sentence.He had returned to Thailand after 15 years abroad on the same day a party linked to him won a
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Bernardo Arévalo’s experience in peacebuilding and diplomacy eminently qualify him to lead Guatemala as the conflict-riven country’s next president, those who know him say. But first he will have to overcome forces that could keep him from taking power. Guatemalans voted for Arévalo in a landslide Sunday, but his opponent, former
