KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Voting began Saturday in crucial state elections in Malaysia, where Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s multi-coalition government is seeking to strengthen its hold against a strong Islamic opposition.Queues formed outside schools and other polling stations as voters began to stream in. Nearly 9.8 million people, or about half the country’s electorate
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Back in February, recording artist Kelsea Ballerini quietly released an EP of strikingly intimate and vulnerable songs about her recent divorce from Australian musician Morgan Evans, with no expectation of performing or promoting them in the way she would a traditional album. But after receiving an overwhelmingly positive response from fans
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Friday unveiled a plan to spend 1 trillion reais (nearly $200 billion) on infrastructure, energy and transportation over the next four years, part of a larger effort to boost economic growth and employment in Latin America’s largest nation.The Growth Acceleration Program, known
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States and Iran reached a tentative agreement this week that will eventually see five detained Americans in Iran and an unknown number Iranians imprisoned in the U.S. released from custody after billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets are transferred from banks in South Korea to Qatar.The
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed financial sanctions against four Russians on the board of Alfa Group, one of Russia’s largest conglomerates with interests in oil, natural gas and banking.The sanctions are part of continuing efforts to place restrictions on the economy of Russia and its wealthiest powerbrokers, a response to
WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Friday he is appointing a special counsel in the Hunter Biden probe, deepening the investigation of the president’s son ahead of the 2024 election.Garland said he is naming David Weiss, the U.S. attorney in Delaware who has been probing the financial and business dealings of the president’s
CAIRO (AP) — The United Nations said Friday that five staff members who were kidnapped in Yemen 18 months ago have walked free.In a brief statement, Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, said all “available information suggests that all five colleagues are in good health.” Haq named the freed men
Phil Mickelson has wagered more than $1 billion over the last three decades and wanted to place a $400,000 bet on the 2012 Ryder Cup while playing for Team USA, according to a much-anticipated book by renowned gambler Billy Walters.Mickelson denied ever betting on the Ryder Cup.“While it is well known that I always enjoy
WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election conspiracy case against Donald Trump will hear arguments Friday over a request by prosecutors for a protective order seeking to bar the former president from publicly disclosing evidence shared by the government.The protective order sought by special counsel Jack Smith’s team has become an early
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Sweden first knocked off the United States and then bounced Japan to snag a spot in the semifinals of the Women’s World Cup. The Swedes, the World Cup runners-up in 2003 and three-time third-place finishers, eliminated previously unbeaten Japan 2-1 in Friday’s quarterfinal. With Japan out of the lineup, this
