World News - The Morning Sun

Ukrainian drone video provides a grim look at casualties as Russian troops advance toward Avdiivka

As Russian forces press forward with an attempt to capture the town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, The Associated Press obtained aerial footage that indicates their staggering losses. The bodies of … more

By EVGENIY MALOLETKA | 12/17/23

FILE - Haitian migrants wade through water as they cross the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama in hopes of reaching the U.S., May 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia, File)

Jungle between Colombia and Panama becomes highway for hundreds of thousands from around the world

The jungle between Colombia and Panama used to be impenetrable for migrants heading north from Latin America. This year, it became a highway for hundreds of thousands of people from around the world. … more

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN | 12/17/23

Supporters of the proposed draft of a new Constitution hold a closing campaign in Santiago, Chile, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. Chileans have until Dec. 17th to study the articles and decide whether it will replace the current constitution, imposed by the military dictatorship 41 years ago, or if they prefer another path to change. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Chileans to vote on conservative constitution draft a year after rejecting leftist charter

Chileans are voting on whether to approve a new constitution that will replace the country’s dictatorship-era charter. In September 2022 voters resoundingly rejected a proposed constitution that … more

By MARÍA VERZA and PATRICIA LUNA | 12/17/23

In this handout photo from the Viasna Human Rights Center, Leanid Sudalenka, an activist from Belarus, holds portraits of imprisoned journalists Larysa Shchyrakova and Yauhen Merkis, in Belostok, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 5, 2023. Sudalenka, who was imprisoned for three years in Belarus, said authorities there hold political prisoners in conditions amounting to "torture." He told The Associated Press that when he was in a Belarusian penal colony, he nearly died from COVID-19 and a lack of medical care. (Viasna Human Rights Center via AP)

Belarus political prisoners face abuse, no medical care and isolation, former inmate says

A human rights activist imprisoned for three years in Belarus accused authorities of holding political prisoners in conditions amounting to “torture.” Leanid Sudalenka told The Associated Press … more

By YURAS KARMANAU | 12/17/23

This undated photo issued by Greater Manchester Police on Thursday Dec. 14, 2023 shows missing British schoolboy Alex Batty who was believed to have been abducted by his mother six years ago and has been found in France. Batty, who went missing six years ago on a family holiday in Spain has been found in southwestern France, French media reported on Thursday Dec. 14, 2023. (Greater Manchester Police via AP)

Teenager Alex Batty returns to Britain after being missing for 6 years and then turning up in France

British teenager Alex Batty has come back to the U.K, six years after he left home on what was meant to be a two-week family vacation in Spain. Batty never returned to his grandmother and guardian in … more

By JILL LAWLESS | 12/16/23

Iraqi security forces members participate in the provincial elections in Najaf, Iraq, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)

Voter apathy and concerns about violence mark Iraq's first provincial elections in a decade

Iraqis have begun voting for the first time in a decade to select new provincial council members, who in turn will appoint governors, with the outcome seen as a bellwether for the parliamentary … more

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA | 12/16/23

Former South African President Jacob Zuma, centre speaks as his daughter Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla listens, during a press conference in Soweto, South Africa, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. Zuma has denounced his ruling African National Congress party and announced that he will vote for a newly-formed political formation in the country's general election next year. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

South African ex-President Jacob Zuma has denounced the ANC and pledged to vote for a new party

Former South African President Jacob Zuma has denounced the governing African National Congress party and announced that he will vote for a newly-formed political formation in the country’s general … more

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME | 12/16/23

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends his annual news conference in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. (Aleksander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Putin supporters formally nominate him as independent candidate in Russian presidential election

Russian state news agencies have reported that President Vladimir Putin's supporters have formally nominated him to run in the 2024 presidential election as an independent candidate. The nomination … more

12/16/23

A green scarf with a message that reads in Spanish: “To decide is sacred, just and necessary” adorns an altar to the Virgin Mary, in the office of the Catholics for the Right to Decide, in Mexico City, Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. Members of the organization denounce the invisibility of women in some religious environments and advocate for the reinterpretation of sacred texts with a feminist perspective. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

Catholic activists in Mexico help women reconcile their faith with abortion rights

In Mexico, activists from Catholics for the Right to Decide are helping women reconcile their faith and abortion rights. For these Catholic women, faith does not conflict with their fight for … more

By MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ | 12/16/23

FILE - Kuwait's then-Crown Prince Sheik Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah attends the closing session of the 25th Arab Summit in Bayan Palace in Kuwait City, Wednesday, March 26, 2014. Kuwait's ruling emir, the 86-year-old Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, has died, state television reported Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Nasser Waggi, File)

Kuwait's ruling emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, dies at age 86

Kuwait’s ruling emir, the 86-year-old Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, has died. State television reported his death on Saturday. Kuwait TV broke into programming with Quranic verses just before … more

By JON GAMBRELL | 12/16/23

Chaplain Ivan of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine reads a prayer for Ukrainian servicemen of the 72nd mechanized brigade during the sacred liturgy before the upcoming Christmas at the frontline near Vuhledar, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Valentyn Kuzan)

Russia and Ukraine exchange drone attacks after EU funding stalled

Both Russia and Ukraine have reported dozens of attempted drone attacks in the past day. Ukraine’s air force said Saturday that Ukrainian air defense had shot down 30 out of 31 drones launched … more

12/16/23

Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary General, Peace operations speaks at the UN Peacekeeping ministerial meeting at the Accra international conference center in Ghana, on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023. Lacroix said that The United Nations Peacekeeping efforts is under resourced as its $5.5 billion budget for worldwide operations is less than the New York Police Department's $6.1 billion budget, even though it has 30,000 more personnel. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

UN peacekeeping chief welcomes strong support for its far-flung operations despite `headwinds'

The United Nations peacekeeping chief says he was very satisfied with the strong support of many countries for its far-flung operations at a recent ministerial meeting, despite “headwinds and … more

By EDITH M. LEDERER | 12/15/23

Al Jazeera correspondent Wael Dahdouh is treated at Nasser hospital after being wounded in an Israeli strike in Khan Younis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Dahman)

Israeli strike on school kills Al Jazeera cameraman in southern Gaza, network says

An Israeli strike killed a Palestinian cameraman for the TV network Al Jazeera and wounded its chief Gaza correspondent as they reported at a school in the south of the besieged territory. The … more

By JACK JEFFERY | 12/15/23

FILE - President Joe Biden reaches out to shake hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as they meet in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, in Washington. The White House says funding for Ukraine has run out and it has been increasing pressure on Congress to pass stalled legislation to support the war against Russia. On Tuesday, however, Biden touted a new military aid package worth $200 million for Ukraine. That may seem contradictory, but it’s due to the complex programs used to send aid to Ukraine. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

The West supports Ukraine against Russia's aggression. So why is funding its defense in question?

Hungary's Viktor Orban's veto of an aid package from Europe to war-torn Ukraine was the latest sign that Western support for the country's defense against Russia has become complicated. Member … more

By LAURIE KELLMAN | 12/15/23

FILE- In this Jan. 29, 2016 file photo, Biafran separatist leader Nnamdi Kanu attends a court hearing at the Federal High court in Abuja, Nigeria. Nigeria’s Supreme Court on Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, ordered the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu, a popular separatist leader whose terrorism trial has been blamed for the violent extremism in the country’s southeast region. (AP Photo/ File)

Nigeria's Supreme Court reinstates terrorism charges against separatist leader

Nigeria’s Supreme Court has overturned a lower court ruling dismissing terrorism charges against a popular separatist leader whose trial has been blamed for an outbreak of violence in the … more

By CHINEDU ASADU | 12/15/23

FILE - Rogelio Jiménez Pons, director of Fonatur, points to a map of a planned tourist train line through the Yucatan Peninsula known as the Maya Train, during an interview in Mexico City, March 18, 2019. Mexico’s president on Dec. 15, 2023 inaugurated the first part of this project of his administration. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte, File)

Mexico's president inaugurates first part of $20 billion tourist train project on Yucatan peninsula

Mexico’s president has inaugurated the first part of the pet project of his administration, a tourist train that runs in a rough loop around the Yucatan peninsula. The $20 billion, 965-mile line, … more

12/15/23

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to French President Emmanuel Macron during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 7, 2022. French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday, Dec. 15, 2023, he would still consider talking with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin if it helps creating a “sustainable peace” between Ukraine and Russia.Macron and Putin enjoyed a good working relationship before Russia invaded its neighbor in Feb. 22, 2022. In the weeks preceding the start of the war, Macron's diplomatic efforts failed but he then kept an open line of communication with the Russian head of state for months. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

'I didn’t change my number': Macron still open to dialogue with Putin if it helps to bring peace

French President Emmanuel Macron says he'd still consider talking with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin if it helps to forge a “sustainable peace” between Ukraine and Russia. Macron and … more

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN | 12/15/23

FILE - Migrants stand at the Arguineguin port in Gran Canaria island, Spain, after being rescued in the Atlantic Ocean by emergency workers on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2020. The deployment of two Spanish surveillance planes to watch for migrant boats heading on the treacherous route from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands has enabled authorities to stop 59 canoes from Senegal and Gambia carrying around 7,200 migrants in the past two months, a senior Spanish official said Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Javier Bauluz, File)

A Spanish official says spotter planes are helping curtail the number of West African migrant boats

A senior Spanish official says the deployment of two Spanish surveillance planes to watch for migrant boats heading on the treacherous route from West Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands has enabled … more

12/15/23

A woman holds her child waving a national flag as they celebrate Georgia's EU candidacy at Liberty Square in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Friday, Dec. 15, 2023. Several thousand people attend a march in support of Georgia's EU candidacy. European Union flags waved across Georgia Friday after the European Council took a step forward along the long road towards granting Georgia and Moldova as EU membership. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Moldova and Georgia celebrate as their aspirations for EU membership take crucial steps forward

Moldova and Georgia celebrated after European Union leaders buoyed their aspirations to join the 27 member nation bloc by removing key hurdles on their long path toward membership. Lawmakers in both … more

By EMMA BURROWS | 12/15/23

FILE - Niger's President Mohamed Bazoum smiles before a working lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron, Feb. 16, 2023 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. A court of the West African regional bloc ordered the release and reinstatement of Niger's democratically elected president Friday Dec. 15, 2023 nearly five months after he was overthrown by mutinous soldiers. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

West African court orders Niger's president to be released and reinstated nearly 5 months after coup

A court of the West African regional bloc has ordered the release and reinstatement of Niger’s democratically elected president. The legal team of President Mohamed Bazoum said on Friday that the … more

By SAM MEDNICK | 12/15/23