World News - The Morning Sun

Celeste Saulo, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General, speaks about the state of Global Climate 2023, during a press conference at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Tuesday, March 19, 2024. The U.N. weather agency is sounding a “red alert” about global warming, citing record-smashing increases last year in greenhouse gases, land and water temperatures and melting of glaciers and sea ice, and warning that the world's efforts to reverse the trend have been inadequate. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)

UN weather agency issues 'red alert' on climate change after record heat, ice-melt increases in 2023

The U.N. weather agency is sounding a “red alert” about global warming, citing record-smashing increases last year in greenhouse gases, land and water temperatures and melting of glaciers and sea … more

By JAMEY KEATEN and SETH BORENSTEIN | 3/19/24

A lawmaker watches his phone during the second reading of the Basic Law Article 23 legislation at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, Tuesday, March 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

How will a new national security law affect different walks of life in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong has passed a new national security law that could redefine the liberties of its citizens, and its role on the world stage. Four years ago, Beijing imposed a sweeping security law triggered … more

By KANIS LEUNG | 3/19/24

FILE - President Joe Biden, center, poses for a photo with Pacific Island leaders on the North Portico of the White House in Washington, Sept. 29, 2022. From left, New Caledonia President Louis Mapou, Tonga Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni, Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr., Tuvalu Prime Minister Kausea Natano, Micronesia President David Panuelo, Fiji Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, Biden, Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, Marshall Islands President David Kabua, Samoa Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa, French Polynesia President Edouard Fritch and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

US officials say pact with strategically key Pacific island nations underscores American commitment

U.S. officials say newly-approved legislation providing billions of dollars in funding for three strategically important Pacific island nations is an important sign of American commitment, which … more

By DAVID RISING | 3/19/24

This image was taken a drone and provided by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO) shows displaced equipment and misshapen materials inside the No. 1 reactor as a drone probes the inside of the worst-hit reactor at the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma town, northeastern Japan, on March 14, 2024. Images taken by two miniature drones sent inside a badly damaged reactor at the Fukushima nuclear plant show displaced key control equipment and other materials but leave many questions unanswered, underscoring the daunting task of decommissioning the plant.(TEPCO via AP)

Images taken deep inside melted Fukushima reactor show damage, but leave many questions unanswered

Images taken by miniature drones from deep inside a badly damaged reactor at the Fukushima nuclear plant show displaced control equipment and misshapen materials but leave many questions unanswered, … more

By MARI YAMAGUCHI | 3/19/24

Police officers stand guard outside the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, Tuesday, March 19, 2024. Hong Kong's lawmakers met in a special session to resume debate on a proposed national security law Tuesday, paving the way to grant the government more power to quash dissent in the southern Chinese city. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Hong Kong lawmakers hold special session, nearing vote on law that could further quash dissent

Hong Kong’s lawmakers met in a special session to resume debate on a proposed national security law Tuesday, paving the way to grant the government more power to quash dissent in the southern … more

By KANIS LEUNG | 3/19/24

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, shakes hands with Philippines' Secretary of Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo at the Sofitel Hotel in Manila, Philippines Tuesday, March 19, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Blinken to underline 'ironclad' support for Philippines as it clashes with China in disputed sea

The U.S. State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken will underscore Washington’s “ironclad commitment” to its alliance with the Philippines on Tuesday as he meets with top … more

BY JIM GOMEZ | 3/19/24

Thousands of Israelis are staying away from their homes along the Israeli-Lebanese border as fears persist because of the slow-simmering cross-border conflict between Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group and Israeli forces. (Mar 4).

Israelis evacuated from the Lebanese border wonder if they'll ever return

Around 60,000 Israelis who evacuated from cities and towns along the border with Lebanon are grappling with the question of when they will be able to return home. Hezbollah began launching rockets … more

By MELANIE LIDMAN | 3/19/24

U.S. United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield addresses a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on maintenance of international peace and security Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, Monday, March 18, 2024, at U.N. headquarters. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

US and Japan seek UN resolution calling on all nations to ban nuclear weapons in outer space

The United States and Japan are sponsoring a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on nations not to deploy or develop nuclear weapons in space. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told a … more

By EDITH M. LEDERER | 3/18/24

Destroyed buildings stand in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel, Monday, March 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

Israel urges UN court to reject South Africa's request for more emergency orders in genocide case

Israel is urging the top United Nations court to reject the latest request by South Africa for interim orders to prevent starvation in Gaza. The request is part of a case accusing Israel of breaching … more

By MIKE CORDER | 3/18/24

Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak looks on as he visits an apprentice training centre at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), in Coventry, England, Monday March 18, 2024. (Carl Recine/Pool via AP)

The UK's contentious plan to send migrants to Rwanda could soon clear a major hurdle

The British government hopes one last push can revive its stalled plan to send some asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda. A bill aimed at overcoming a U.K. Supreme Court block on the … more

By JILL LAWLESS | 3/18/24

FILE - Safia Ibrahim demonstrates for the camera the tools and techniques she uses to perform female genital mutilation (FGM), which she learned at the age of 15 and has been practising for 35 years, in the courtyard of her home in Hargeisa, Somaliland, a semi-autonomous breakaway region of Somalia, on Feb. 7, 2022. Lawmakers in Gambia are preparing to vote Monday, March 18, 2024 on legislation that would repeal a 2015 law banning female genital mutilation, which would make it the first country to reverse a ban. The procedure requires the partial or full removal of external genitalia. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)

Gambia could become the first country to reverse a ban on female genital cutting

The West African nation of Gambia could become the first country in the world to reverse a ban on female genital cutting, a practice that experts say is dangerous and has no benefits. Lawmakers are … more

By ABDOULIE JOHN and JESSICA DONATI | 3/18/24

FILE - Croatia's President Zoran Milanovic attends a news conference with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during a meeting at the Bellevue Palace in Berlin, Germany, on Sept. 11, 2020. Milanovic cannot run for prime minister nor take part in the upcoming parliamentary election nor campaign in favor of an opposition party unless he resigns immediately from the current post, the state’s constitutional court ruled Monday, March 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

Croatia's top court rules that the president can't run in the parliamentary election unless he quits

Croatia’s Constitutional Court has ruled that President Zoran Milanović can't run for prime minister or take part in the parliamentary preelection activities of an opposition party unless he … more

3/18/24

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks at the third Summit for Democracy, in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, March 18, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Blinken tells democracy summit that technology must sustain democratic values

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has underscored the need to ensure that technologies sustain democratic values. He said at the third Summit for Democracy in South Korea on Monday that … more

3/18/24

FILE - Doctors stage a rally against the government's medical policy in Seoul, South Korea, on March 3, 2024. South Korean authorities have suspended the licenses of two senior doctors for allegedly inciting the weekslong walkouts by medical interns and residents that disrupted hospital operations across the country. That's according to one of the doctors who spoke to The Associated Press. The suspensions are the government’s first punitive step against physicians after thousands of doctors-in-training walked off the job last month to protest the government’s plan to sharply increase medical school admissions. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

South Korea suspends the licenses of 2 senior doctors in first punitive steps over doctors' walkouts

South Korean authorities have suspended the licenses of two senior doctors for allegedly inciting the weekslong walkouts by medical interns and residents that have disrupted hospital operations. … more

By HYUNG-JIN KIM | 3/18/24

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands during their meeting at the Vostochny cosmodrome outside the city of Tsiolkovsky, about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the city of Blagoveshchensk in the far eastern Amur region, Russia on Sept. 13, 2023. North Korea has shipped around 7,000 containers filled with munitions and other military equipment to Russia since 2023 to help support its war in Ukraine, South Korea’s defense minister said Monday, March 18, 2024. (Vladimir Smirnov/Sputnik Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)

South Korean defense chief says North Korea has supplied 7,000 containers of munitions to Russia

North Korea has shipped around 7,000 containers filled with munitions and other military equipment to Russia since last year to help support its war in Ukraine. South Korean Defense Minister Shin … more

By KIM TONG-HYUNG | 3/18/24

FILE- Indian election officials and paramilitary soldiers with election materials walk along the river Brahmaputra to board on a country boat on the eve of the first phase of general election in Majuli, Assam, India. From April 19 to June 1, nearly 970 million Indians - or over 10% of the world’s population - will vote in the country's general elections. The mammoth electoral exercise is the biggest anywhere in the world - and will take 44 days to complete before results are announced on June 4. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath, File)

India's multi-phase election will stretch over 44 days. Here's why it takes so long

From April 19 to June 1, nearly 970 million Indians are eligible to vote in general elections. The mammoth exercise is the biggest anywhere in the world and will take 44 days before results are … more

By KRUTIKA PATHI | 3/18/24

Pakistani airstrikes target suspected Pakistani Taliban hideouts in Afghanistan, officials say

Officials say Pakistan has targeted multiple suspected hideouts of Pakistani Taliban inside neighboring Afghanistan. Early Monday's airstrikes came two days after Pakistani militants in a suicide … more

By MUNIR AHMED and RAHIM FAIEZ | 3/18/24

FILE - People hold up their cell phones as they protest the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD party, and right-wing extremism in front of the parliament building in Berlin, Germany, Jan. 21, 2024. Millions of Germans have joined rallies all over the country for weeks in a row, attending events with slogans such as "Never Again is Now." The protesters have been alarmed by the AfD's policies and its growing popularity. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

In Germany, the far right is on the rise again. How did it happen?

Millions of Germans have been protesting against the rise of the far-right in huge rallies all over the country for weeks in a row, attending events with slogans such as “Never Again is Now.” … more

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER | 3/18/24

FILE - Cuba President Miguel Diaz-Canel walks through the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Small groups of protesters took to the streets in the eastern city of Santiago on Sunday, March 18, 2024, decrying power outages lasting up to eight hours and food shortages across Cuba. President Miguel Díaz-Canel also referred to protests in a social media post, though he did not specify where they occurred.(AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

Cubans in eastern city of Santiago protest blackouts and food shortages

Small groups of protesters have taken to the streets in the eastern Cuba city of Santiago decryng power outages lasting up to eight hours across the Caribbean nation. Videos on social media showed … more

By ANDREA RODRÍGUEZ | 3/17/24

National Police stand guard outside the empty National Penitentiary after a small fire inside in downtown Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Haiti, Thursday, March 14, 2024. This is the same facility that armed gangs stormed late March 2 and hundreds of inmates escaped. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

Looting is on the rise in Haiti. Among the victims: UNICEF and Guatemala's consul

A number of government and aid agencies in Haiti have reported their facilities and aid supplies have been looted as Haiti spirals into another wave of gang violence. Gangs have raged through Haiti … more

3/17/24