World News - The Morning Sun

A repurposed Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 aircraft, named Cosmic Girl, carrying Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket, takes off from Spaceport Cornwall at Cornwall Airport, Newquay, England, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. The plane will carry the rocket to 35,000 feet where it will be released over the Atlantic Ocean to the south of Ireland, as part of the Start Me Up mission and the first rocket launch from U.K. The rocket will take multiple small satellites, with a variety of civil and defence applications, into orbit. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP)

UK space industry mulls setback after satellite launch fails

British officials and space scientists say they are disappointed but not deterred after the first attempt to launch satellites into orbit from the U.K. ended in failure. U.S.-based Virgin Orbit … more

1/10/23

Ukrainian military medics carry an injured Ukrainian serviceman evacuated from the battlefield into a hospital in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. The serviceman did not survive. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

‘What madness looks like’: Russia intensifies Bakhmut attack

Ukrainian officials say Russian forces are escalating their onslaught against Ukrainian positions around the wrecked eastern city of Bakhmut. The officials say the intense attack is bringing new … more

By ANDREW MELDRUM | 1/10/23

Andrew Tate, right, and his brother Tristan, left, are brought by police officers to the Court of Appeal, in Bucharest, Romania, Tuesday, Jan.10, 2023. Andrew Tate, a divisive social media personality and former professional kickboxer, was detained last month in Romania on charges of human trafficking and rape, and later arrested for 30 days after a court decision. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Andrew Tate due in Romanian court to appeal detention

The divisive social media personality Andrew Tate is expected at a court in Romania to appeal against a judge’s earlier decision to extend his arrest period to 30 days on charges of being part of … more

1/10/23

UN extends critical aid from Turkey to Syria's rebel north

The U.N. Security Council has voted unanimously to keep key a border crossing from Turkey to Syria’s rebel-held northwest open for critical aid deliveries for another six months. In a surprise, … more

By EDITH M. LEDERER | 1/9/23

FILE- President Joe Biden looks to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a meeting of G7 and NATO leaders in Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 16, 2022. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Biden and Trudeau, will gather in Mexico City on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, and Tuesday, Jan. 10, for a North American leaders summit. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool, File)

Canada finalizes agreement to buy 88 US F-35 fighter jets

Canada has finalized an agreement with Lockheed Martin Corp. and the United States government to purchase 88 F-35 fighter jets. The first four aircraft are anticipated to be delivered in 2026 with … more

By ROB GILLIES | 1/9/23

In this image released on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, by the Vatican Media news service, Bishops Georg Gaenswein signs the "rogito" or deed, a short document in Latin that was placed in a metal cylinder in Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's coffin before it was sealed, along with the coins and medallions minted during his papacy and his pallium stoles, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, a day before his funeral mass presided over by Pope Francis at The Vatican. Benedict died at 95 on Dec. 31 in the monastery on the Vatican grounds where he had spent nearly all of his decade in retirement. He was 95. (Vatican Media via AP)

Pope meets with Benedict's aide amid funeral, book fallout

Pope Francis has met with Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, the longtime secretary of Pope Benedict XVI. Gaenswein was a key figure in his recent funeral but has raised eyebrows with an extraordinary … more

By NICOLE WINFIELD | 1/9/23

FILE - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks during the annual Society and Defence Conference in Salen, Sweden, on Jan. 8, 2023. Stoltenberg said Monday Jan. 9, 2023 that Sweden has done what was needed for the Scandinavian country to get Turkish approval to join the 30-member alliance. (Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency via AP, File)

NATO chief: Sweden has done what's needed to join alliance

NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg says it's time for Sweden to join the military alliance because it has done what's necessary to secure Turkey's approval for membership. In an interview with … more

1/9/23

Men in protective suits carry a cardboard box out of a house in Castrop-Rauxel during an anti-terror operation on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. German investigators are searching two garages used by an Iranian man arrested on suspicion that he could be planning an attack with deadly chemicals. The 32-year-old and his 25-year-old brother were detained on Saturday night in Castrop-Rauxel, in western Germany, following a tip from U.S. security officials. (7aktuell.de, Marc Gruber/dpa via AP)

Germany garages searched in suspected chemical attack plot

German investigators are searching two garages used by an Iranian man arrested on suspicion that he could be planning an attack with deadly chemicals. The search happened on Monday. The 32-year-old … more

1/9/23

The head of Cyprus' Orthodox Church Archbishop Georgios, left, looks on during his enthronement ceremony at Saint Barnabas Cathedral in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. Archbishop Georgios formally assumed his new duties following an enthronement ceremony evoking the splendor of centuries of Byzantine tradition before an audience of Orthodox clergy from around the world with the notable exception of the Russian church. The Cyprus Church has recognized the independence of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Cyprus' new archbishop enthroned, no Russian clerics attend

The head of Cyprus’ Orthodox Church Archbishop Georgios formally has assumed his new duties following an enthronement ceremony. The event evoked the splendor of centuries of Byzantine tradition … more

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS | 1/8/23

Iranian demonstrators set fire to French flags during their gathering to protest against the publication of offensive caricatures of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, in front of the French Embassy in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Amid unrest, Iran's hardliners turn their anger to France

Iranian hardliners have burnt France’s flag outside of its embassy in Tehran where they were protesting cartoons published by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo that lampoon Iran’s … more

1/8/23

Map locates Gniby village in the Kaffrine region.

40 people killed, dozens injured in bus crash in Senegal

Senegal's president says two buses have collided head-on in the center of the country and that at least 40 people were killed and dozens of others were injured. President Macky Sall tweeted that the … more

By BABACAR DIONE | 1/8/23

Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, NRC, Jan Egeland, listens to a question during an interview with The Associated Press in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. The Taliban's "internal debates and extreme decrees" are paralyzing humanitarian work in Afghanistan, the head of a major aid agency told The Associated Press on Sunday, after he arrived on a week-long trip to talk to Taliban leaders about reversing a ban on women working for national and international nongovernmental groups. Jan Egeland, who is the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, is the first NGO chief to have visited Afghanistan to talk to the Taliban since the ban came into effect more than two weeks. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Aid chief: Taliban decrees against women paralyzing NGO work

An aid agency chief has told The Associated Press that the Taliban's “internal debates and extreme decrees” are paralyzing humanitarian work in Afghanistan. The head of the Norwegian Refugee … more

By RIAZAT BUTT | 1/8/23

In this image taken from video Hoda Muthana talks during an interview in Roj detention camp in Syria where she is being held by U.S.-allied Kurdish forces, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022. Muthana, who ran away from home in Alabama at the age of 20, joined the Islamic State group and had a child with one of its fighters says she still hopes to return to the United States, serve prison time if necessary, and advocate against the extremists. (AP Photo/The News Movement)

Alabama woman who joined IS hopes to return from Syria camp

A woman who ran away from home in Alabama at the age of 20 to join the Islamic State group in Syria says she is a victim of the militant organization and hopes to return to the U.S. even if it means … more

1/8/23

Ethnic Rohingya people sit on a beach after they landed in Aceh Besar, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. A group of Rohingya Muslims who sailed on a wooden boat landed in Indonesia's northernmost province of Aceh on Sunday. (AP Photo/Irwandi)

Over 150 Rohingya refugees reach ashore in Indonesia

More than 100 weak and hungry Rohingya Muslim refugees are among the latest group to reach ashore in Indonesia after a long and dangerous journey aboard a wooden boat. The group of 184 people, … more

By YAYAN ZAMZAMI | 1/8/23

African National Congress (ANC) Party President, President Cyril Ramaphosa, centre right, greets supporters as he arrives at the Dr Molemela stadium, to deliver a statement, in Mangaung, South Africa, Sunday, Jan 8 2023. South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party on Sunday marked its 111th anniversary with celebratory events in Mangaung, Free State province, where the organization was founded in 1912. (AP Photo)

South Africa's ruling ANC party fetes 111th anniversary

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party on Sunday marks its 111th anniversary with celebratory events in Mangaung, Free State province, where the organization was founded in 1912. … more

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME | 1/8/23

Iraqi security forces stand guard as they check motorists entering the Green Zone, in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

Iraq reopens Baghdad's Green Zone to ease traffic jams

Iraqi authorities have reopened Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone in an attempt to ease traffic jams in the capital. The heavily fortified area was closed and opened several times over the … more

1/8/23

Faithful visit the tomb of late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI inside the grottos of St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. Benedict died at 95 on Dec. 31 in the monastery on the Vatican grounds where he had spent nearly all of his decade in retirement, his days mainly devoted to prayer and reflection. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Public now can see Benedict's tomb at St. Peter's Basilica

The Vatican is allowing the public to visit the new tomb of Pope Benedict XVI under St. Peter's Basilica. The pontiff was buried on Jan. 5 immediately after a funeral in St. Peter's Square. … more

1/8/23

Substances found during the search are examined on the premises of the fire department in Castrop-Rauxel, Sunday, Jan.8, 2023. In Castrop-Rauxel, there was a large-scale operation by the police and fire department on Saturday evening. A special task force (SEK) was also on the scene, a police spokeswoman told the German Press Agency on Saturday evening. (Christoph Reichwein/dpa via AP)

Germany: Iranian arrested, suspected of chemical attack plot

German officials said Sunday that a 32-year-old Iranian man has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of planning an attack with deadly chemicals. Police and prosecutors said the man and another … more

1/8/23

People wearing bear fur costumes prepare to take part in a parade showcasing regional winter traditions in Comanesti, northeastern Romania, Friday, Dec. 30, 2022. Centuries ago, people in what is now northeast Romania would don bear fur and dance to fend off evil spirits. Nowadays, the custom lives on as a popular festival that has been drawing crowds of tourists. The so-called 'dancing bears festival' takes place every December, starting in the days before Christmas and ending with the New Year's Eve.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

AP PHOTOS: Bear costumes, dance at popular Romanian festival

COMANESTI, Romania (AP) — Centuries ago, people in what is now northeastern Romania would don bear fur and dance to fend off evil spirits. Nowadays, the custom lives on as a popular festival that … more

By VADIM GHIRDA and ANDREEA ALEXANDRU | 1/8/23

FILE - Attorney Alan Dershowitz arrives for the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 29, 2020. Prominent U.S. lawyer Dershowitz, long a staunch defender of Israel's policies on the international stage, said Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, he cannot defend sweeping judicial reforms planned by Israel's new government. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Famed US lawyer, defender of Israel, opposes legal overhaul

A Prominent U.S. lawyer says he cannot defend sweeping judicial reforms planned by Israel’s new government. Alan Dershowitz, long a staunch defender of Israel’s policies on the international … more

By TIA GOLDENBERG | 1/8/23