COTONOU, Benin (AP) — French troops have started leaving Niger more than two months after mutinous soldiers toppled the African country’s democratically elected president, the military said Wednesday. The French didn’t specify how many troops were departing or where they were headed.Late Tuesday, Niger’s state television broadcast images of a convoy leaving a base in
High school students’ scores on the ACT college admissions test have dropped to their lowest in more than three decades, showing a lack of student preparedness for college-level coursework, according to the nonprofit organization that administers the test.Scores have been falling for six consecutive years, but the trend accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students in
TOKYO (AP) — Officials from Sapporo and the Japanese Olympic Committee on Wednesday announced a decision to withdraw the northern Japanese city as a candidate to host the 2030 Winter Olympics, with the effort soiled by massive corruption and bid-rigging tied to the one-year delayed Tokyo Games. Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto and JOC President Yasuhiro
VIGO, Spain (AP) — A fire in an apartment building that was reportedly occupied by squatters in Spain’s northwestern city of Vigo killed four people, including three children, municipal authorities said Wednesday.Emergency services initially said that all four victims were between 9 and 14 years old, but Vigo Mayor Abel Caballero later confirmed one of
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Dozen of activists protested Wednesday at Norway’s parliament to express frustration over the Norwegian government’s failure to shut down a wind farm they say endangers the way of life of Sami reindeer herders.At the center of the dispute are the 151 turbines of Europe’s largest onshore wind farm, which is located
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s Wildlife Department defended its use of puppies as live bait to capture black panthers spotted at a Malaysian village after animal rights groups protested the method and appealed to the government to use other means.The department resorted to using puppies after earlier attempts to lure the panthers with a
From Bangladesh to Las Vegas and Brazil to Rome, demonstrations by supporters of Israel and the Palestinians were held around the world as people took to the streets to expresses their views and often outrage as the war escalated between Israel and Hamas militants.Demonstrators have taken to the streets of Rome, Barcelona, Brasilia, Buenos Aires
BRUSSELS (AP) — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived at NATO for Wednesday’s meetings with alliance defense ministers to further drum up support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia.The U.S. is hosting a meeting of the Ukraine contact group to seek more weapons and ammunition for the war-ravaged country. NATO allies and partner countries will be
BANGKOK (AP) — A military tribunal in strife-torn Myanmar has sentenced two high-ranking generals to life imprisonment after they were found guilty of high treason, accepting bribes, illegal possession of foreign currency and violating military discipline, state-run media reported Wednesday.The sentences appeared to be the harshest so far for the senior members of the military’s
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A Chinese-Australian journalist who was convicted on murky espionage charges and detained in China for three years has returned to Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday.Cheng Lei has reunited with her two children in Melbourne, Albanese said. The 48-year-old Lei worked for the international department of China’s state broadcaster CCTV.“Her
