World News - The Morning Sun

Supporters of Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the most prominent hard-line candidate for the June 28 presidential election, attend his campaign gathering in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. Qalibaf along with five other candidates is competing in the election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash with seven other officials in May. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iranians vote to replace president killed in a helicopter crash, but apathy remains high

Iranians have started voting in a presidential election to replace late President Ebrahim Raisi. The voting on Friday follows the May helicopter crash that killed Raisi, the foreign minister and … more

By JON GAMBRELL and NASSER KARIMI | 6/28/24

Once an investigative journalist, then an activist, and later a lawmaker, Yehor Soboliev speaks during an interview with Associated Press in Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 3, 2024. In all of these roles, he sought to expose corruption in business and government as a way to defend Ukraine's budding democracy. (AP Photo/Alex Babenko)

Takeaways from AP’s report on Ukraine’s battle to defend its democracy in wartime

Ukraine has spent years trying to build a Western-style democracy, although not without some bumps along the way. Shedding bad habits from the Soviet past are crucial to to Ukraine’s goal of … more

By JILL LAWLESS | 6/28/24

Bolivian police hold the detained Juan Jose Zuniga, former general commander of the Army, in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, June 26, 2024. An apparent failed coup attempt erupted Wednesday in the country, and Zuniga appeared to be leading the rebellion. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Who is General Zúñiga, the shadowy officer behind the thwarted coup in Bolivia?

The man behind the attempted coup that has rocked Bolivia remains a mystery to much of the country. Little known before bursting into Bolivia’s presidential palace tailed by tanks and armored … more

By PAOLA FLORES and ISABEL DEBRE | 6/27/24

A man pushes a trolley of containers past murals outside a home in the Ger District on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Thursday, June 27, 2024. A parliamentary election will be held in Mongolia on Friday for the first time since the body was expanded to 126 seats, adding some uncertainty to a system that has been monopolized by two political parties and plagued by corruption. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Voting is underway in an election in Mongolia for an expanded 126-seat parliament

Voters in Mongolia are electing a new parliament on Friday in the landlocked democracy that is squeezed between China and Russia, two much larger authoritarian states. At stake are 126 seats in an … more

By KEN MORITSUGU | 6/27/24

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk, front right, speaks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, second right, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, center, and French President Emmanuel Macron, second left, during a group photo at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, June 27, 2024. European Union leaders are expected on Thursday to discuss the next EU top jobs, as well as the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine, security and defence and EU competitiveness. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Von der Leyen, Costa and Kallas have been approved for EU top jobs. Who are they? What do they do?

European Union leaders have agreed on the officials who will be holding key positions at the European Commission, Council, and foreign policy service in the wake of the EU Parliament elections. The … more

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN | 6/27/24

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men block a highway during a protest against army recruitment in Bnei Brak, Israel, Thursday, June 27, 2024. Israel's Supreme Court unanimously ordered the government to begin drafting ultra-Orthodox Jewish men into the army — a landmark ruling seeking to end a system that has allowed them to avoid enlistment into compulsory military service. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Ultra-Orthodox Jews block highway to protest Israel's new mandatory military service ruling

Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men have blocked a major highway in central Israel for two hours. They're protesting a recent decision by the country's high court ordering young religious men to … more

By AMI BENTOV | 6/27/24

Firefighters vehicles and emergency vehicles on the site of the collision of a bus with a train near the town of Nove Zamky, Slovakia, Thursday, June 27, 2024. Officials in Slovakia says that a train traveling from the Czech capital of Prague to the Hungarian capital of Budapest collided with a bus in southern Slovakia, leaving at least five people dead and five injured. Police and railway officials say that more than 100 people were aboard the Eurocity train when the accident took place shortly after 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) in the town of Nove Zamky. (Henrich Misovic/TASR via AP)

Prague-to-Budapest train collides with a bus in Slovakia, killing 6 people and injuring 5

Officials in Slovakia says that a train traveling from the Czech capital of Prague to the Hungarian capital of Budapest collided with a bus in southern Slovakia, leaving at least six people dead and … more

6/27/24

Shannon Seban, a legislative election candidate for the camp of President Emmanuel Macron, campaigns, in the Paris suburb of Ivry-sur-Seine, Tuesday June 25, 2024. Antisemitism has surged as a hot-button issue in France's high-stakes legislative election campaign. On the outskirts of Paris, a candidate who is Jewish is feeling the heat of hatred. Campaigning for the camp of President Emmanuel Macron, Shannon Seban is accompanied by bodyguards as she canvasses for votes, because her party is concerned for her safety. (AP Photo/John Leicester)

In France's high-stakes legislative election, a Jewish candidate faces and fights hate and division

Antisemitism has surged as a hot-button issue in France's high-stakes legislative election campaign. On the outskirts of Paris, a candidate who is Jewish is feeling the heat of hatred. Campaigning … more

By JOHN LEICESTER and ALEX TURNBULL | 6/27/24

Opposition supporters protest outside a court, in Harare, Zimbabwe, Thursday, June 27, 2024. The protesters were angered by a magistrate's decision to deny bail to close to 80 activists arrested mid-June for allegedly meeting without official clearance. (AP Photo/Aaron Ufumeli)

Zimbabwe police quash opposition courthouse protest over prolonged detention of activists

Zimbabwe police have used batons to break up a protest by opposition supporters outside a courthouse in the capital Harare. Dozens of opposition supporters were angered Thursday by a magistrate’s … more

By FARAI MUTSAKA | 6/27/24

FILE - The defense chiefs from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) countries excluding Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea and Niger, pose for a group photo during their extraordinary meeting in Accra, Ghana, Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023. Defense chiefs of West Africa on Thursday, June 27, 2024, proposed a $2.6 billion plan to fight the region’s worsening security crises, a measure that analysts say though ambitious might not work due to challenges of funding and division within the regional bloc. (AP Photo/Richard Eshun Nanaresh), File)

West African defense chiefs propose a $2.6 billion security plan that analysts say might not work

Defense chiefs of West Africa on Thursday proposed an ambitious plan to deploy a 5,000-strong “standby force” to fight the region’s worsening security crises, a measure that analysts say might … more

By CHINEDU ASADU | 6/27/24

French far-right leader Le Pen questions president's role as army chief ahead of parliament election

With just three days to go until France’s landmark legislative election, the country’s far-right leader has raised the question of who would be in charge of the military if her party takes over … more

By BARBARA SURK | 6/27/24

FILE - Pakistan's former Prime Minister Imran Khan, right, and Bushra Bibi, his wife, speak to the media before signing documents to submit surety bond over his bails in different cases, at an office of Lahore High Court in Lahore, Pakistan, on July 17, 2023. An appeals court in Pakistan Thursday, June 27, 2024 upheld the conviction and seven-year prison sentence of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife for their 2018 marriage which was found to be unlawful, officials said. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary, File)

An appeals court in Pakistan upholds conviction of Imran Khan and his wife for unlawful marriage

Officials in Pakistan say an appeals court has upheld the conviction and seven-year prison sentence of former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife for their 2018 marriage which was found to be … more

By MUNIR AHMED | 6/27/24

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gestures after landing at RAAF air base Fairbairn in Canberra, Australia, Wednesday, June 26 2024. Assange has returned to his homeland Australia aboard a charter jet hours after pleading guilty to obtaining and publishing U.S. military secrets in a deal with Justice Department prosecutors that concludes a drawn-out legal saga.(AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Julian Assange is now free to do or say whatever he likes. What does his future hold?

One of the most polarizing and influential figures of the information age, Julian Assange is now free after five years in a British prison and seven years in self-imposed exile in a London embassy. … more

By CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY | 6/27/24

FILE - Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico arrives to a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, on Feb. 1, 2024. Slovakia’s Parliament has approved a package of measures meant to boost security for leading politicians and others following an assassination attempt on populist Prime Minister Robert Fico. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)

Slovakia to boost protections for politicians after assassination attempt on populist premier Fico

Slovakia’s Parliament has approved a package of legislation meant to boost security for leading politicians and others following an assassination attempt on populist Prime Minister Robert Fico. … more

6/27/24

FILE - A man sits in the empty 'Church of our Lady' in Munich, Germany, Thursday, March 19, 2020. Another 400,000 people formally left the Catholic Church in Germany last year, though the number was down from a record set in 2022 as church leaders struggle to put a long-running scandal over abuse by clergy behind them and tackle calls for reform, official figures showed Thursday, June 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)

Another 400,000 people left Germany's Catholic Church last year, but the pace slowed from 2022

Another 400,000 people formally have left the Catholic Church in Germany last year. But the number was down from a record set in 2022 as church leaders struggle to put a long-running scandal over … more

6/27/24

Bolivia reels from short-lived coup attempt as apparent calm returns

Calm returned to Bolivia’s capital after troops led by a top general stormed the presidential palace, then quickly retreated, tumultuous scenes that threatened to pitch the long-troubled South … more

By PAOLA FLORES and ISABEL DEBRE | 6/27/24

Australian Troy Smith, who is accused of drug possession, sits in a courtroom for his trial at Denpasar district court, Bali, Indonesia on Thursday, June 27, 2024. Indonesian police arrested Smith on April 30 after he was allegedly caught with methamphetamine in his hotel. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)

Prosecutors seek 8-month rehabilitation for Australian man charged with drug possession in Bali

Prosecutors in Indonesia have demanded an eight-month medical rehabilitation for an Australian man charged with possessing methamphetamine on the tourist island of Bali, after his earlier charge of … more

By FIRDIA LISNAWATI | 6/27/24

FILE - Newly elected Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu takes his oath during a session of China's National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 12, 2023. Former Chinese defense minister Li was expelled from the ruling Communist Party and is being investigated for corruption and bribery, the official Xinhua news agency reported Thursday, June 27, 2024. He was removed from office in October 2023 after disappearing from public view for almost two months. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

Former Chinese defense minister expelled from ruling Communist Party over graft allegations

China’s former defense minister Li Shangfu has been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and accused of corruption, likely setting up a trial that could lead to his getting life in prison. The … more

6/27/24

FILE - Sudanese Children suffering from malnutrition are treated at an MSF clinic in Metche Camp, Chad, near the Sudanese border, on April 6, 2024. Families in Sudan’s embattled western region of Darfur finally received an emergency scale-up of food aid and nutrition supplies that are much needed to help avert looming famine, the U.N. food agency said Thursday June 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Patricia Simon, File)

Experts warns that 755,000 people at risk of famine in the coming months in war-torn Sudan

International experts have portrayed a grim picture for war-torn Sudan by warning in a report that 755,000 are facing famine in the coming months, amid relentless clashes between rival generals. The … more

By SAMY MAGDY | 6/27/24

Kenya army soldiers patrol around Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, June 27, 2024. Heavy security was deployed Thursday in Kenya's capital Nairobi ahead of planned protests against a controversial finance bill, despite the president's decision not to sign it after the plans sparked deadly chaos in the capital Tuesday and saw protesters storming and burning part of the parliament building. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

Heavy police presence in Nairobi ahead of planned protests despite Kenyan president's U-turn

Heavy security has been deployed in Kenya’s capital Nairobi ahead of planned protests against a controversial finance bill, despite the president’s decision not to sign it after the plans sparked … more

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI | 6/27/24