BANGKOK (AP) — Germany sailed two warships through the Taiwan Strait on Friday in its first transit of the disputed waters in more than two decades, as Berlin seeks to increase its defense engagement in the Asia-Pacific region. China claims the self-governing democratic island of Taiwan as its own, and views such transits as provocative
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A 29-year-old man in Denmark faced a whopping 86 preliminary charges Friday for driving at high speed on motorcycles, riding on the rear wheel — also at high speed — and endangering others, police said, adding that the man had mounted a camera on his motorcycle helmet which provided investigators with
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A police swoop on 20 child welfare homes in Malaysia where hundreds of children were allegedly sexually abused has exposed weaknesses in child protection in the country and cast a spotlight on the Islamic business group that ran the homes. Malaysian authorities rescued 402 children, half of them boys and
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Gunmen killed 14 people in a Shiite-majority area in central Afghanistan, the Taliban said Friday, in one of the deadliest attacks in the country this year. The Islamic State group claimed responsibility before the Taliban acknowledged the shootings, which took place Thursday and targeted people as they traveled between the Shiite-majority provinces
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisians are expected to take to the streets on Friday to denounce the tumult that’s plagued the country’s upcoming election, with candidates arrested, kicked off the ballot or banned from politics for life. The newly-formed “Tunisian Network for the Defense of Rights and Freedoms” hopes to draw attention to what it
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s central bank raised its key interest rate by a full percentage point to 19% to combat high inflation as government spending on the military strains the economy’s capacity to produce goods and services and drives up workers’ wages. The central bank said in a statement Friday that “growth in domestic demand
BERLIN (AP) — Wolfgang Gerhardt, a politician who led Germany’s pro-business Free Democrats from 1995 to 2001, died on Friday at the age of 80. Gerhardt’s death was announced by Christian Lindner, the current head of the Free Democrats, a small party that has been a coalition partner in several German governments, including the current
SINGAPORE (AP) — Pope Francis wrapped up his visit to Singapore on Friday by praising its tradition of interfaith harmony , closing out his four-nation trip through Asia with the same message of tolerance that he delivered at the start. Francis presided over a gathering of young people from some of the religious traditions that
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea offered a rare glimpse into a secretive facility to produce weapons-grade uranium as state media reported Friday that leader Kim Jong Un visited the area and called for stronger efforts to “exponentially” increase the number of his nuclear weapons. It’s unclear if the site is at the North’s
BALTIMORE (AP) — Investigators working to pinpoint the cause of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse discovered a loose cable that could have caused electrical issues on the Dali, the massive cargo ship that lost power and disastrously veered off course before striking the bridge. When disconnected, the problematic cable triggered an electrical blackout on
