World News - The Morning Sun

A black bear named Yampil arriving at the attraction in West Calder, West Lothian, Scotland, on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024 after it was rescued from the village of Yampil in Ukraine. An unlikely refugee from the war in Ukraine arrived Friday at his new home in Scotland and quickly took to a meal of cucumbers and watermelon. Yampil, an Asiatic black bear, was one of the few survivors in a zoo that was largely destroyed as Ukrainian troops retook an area of the Donetsk region in 2022. (Five Sisters Zoo via AP)

A refugee bear from a bombed-out Ukraine zoo finds a new home in Scotland

A bear rescued from a bombed-out zoo in Ukraine has arrived at his new home in Scotland. Yampil, a 12-year-old Asiatic black bear, quickly took to a meal of cucumbers and watermelon when he arrived … more

By BRIAN MELLEY | 1/12/24

FILE - Czech nuclear physicist Frantisek Janouch attends a conference on the 40th anniversary of Charter 77, entitled "The Charter Through Its Own Eyes", in Prague, Czech Republic, on Jan. 7, 2017. Janouch, whose foundation in Sweden's exile supported the dissident movement in his communist homeland has died. The Charter 77 Foundation said Janouch died on Friday morning Jan. 12, 2024 in the Swedish capital of Stockholm where he lived since the 1970s. He was 92. (Ondrej Deml/CTK via AP, File)

František Janouch, a Czech nuclear physicist who supported dissidents from Sweden, dies at age 92

Czech nuclear physicist František Janouch has died at age 92. Janouch was known for setting up a foundation in Sweden while in exile to support the dissident movement in his communist homeland at … more

1/12/24

FILE - A man looks on at homes destroyed after air and artillery strikes in Mung Lai Hkyet displacement camp, in Laiza, Myanmar, Tuesday Oct. 10, 2023. China says on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, that Myanmar’s military has reached a cease-fire agreement with an alliance of three ethnic minority guerrilla groups that it has been battling in the north. (AP Photo, File)

The Myanmar military says it and ethnic guerrilla groups have agreed to an immediate cease-fire

Myanmar’s military said it has reached a cease-fire agreement with an alliance of three ethnic minority guerrilla groups that it has been battling in the north. A Chinese Foreign Ministry … more

1/12/24

FILE - Taiwan Vice President and Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Lai Ching-te, who also goes by William, left, and his running mate Hsiao Bi-khim wave to the press during an international press conference in Taipei, Taiwan, on Jan. 9, 2024. Lai is currently Taiwan's vice president from the Democratic Progressive Party, which rejects China's sovereignty claims over the island. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying, File)

In Taiwan's election Saturday, who are the 3 candidates trying to become president?

Three candidates are vying for Taiwan’s presidency in elections Saturday that are closely watched internationally. The winner will have to navigate testy relations with Beijing as well as popular … more

By SIMINA MISTREANU | 1/12/24

Staff prepare materials for polling booth in New Taipei, Taiwan on Friday, Jan. 12, 2024 ahead of the presidential election on Saturday. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Taiwan prepares to elect a president and legislature in what's seen as a test of control with China

Taiwan is preparing to elect a new president and legislature Saturday in what many see as a test of control with China, which claims the self-governing island republic as its own. The presidential … more

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN and SIMINA MISTREANU | 1/12/24

Soldiers stop a pedestrian to search for weapons as the man's dog jumps around, during military patrols in residential areas of northern Quito, Ecuador, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. President Daniel Noboa decreed Monday a national state of emergency due to a wave in crime, a measure that lets authorities suspend people's rights and mobilize the military. The government also imposed a curfew. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

Violence rattles Ecuador as a nightclub arson kills 2 and a bomb scare sparks an evacuation

A bomb threat has sent an anti-explosives unit into a bustling area of Ecuador's tense capital as the South American nation staggers under a spike of violence blamed on drug gangs. Police say they … more

1/11/24

France's new government announced with only one major change at the foreign ministry

The new government of French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has been announced with only one major change at the foreign ministry while most high-profile Cabinet members remained unchanged. The French … more

1/11/24

Boris Nadezhdin, a liberal Russian politician who aspires to run for president in March's presidential election, attends a meeting with soldiers' wives in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. Wives of some of Russian soldiers who were called up for military service during a partial mobilization in 2022, have pushed for them to be discharged from the ranks. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian presidential hopeful calling for peace in Ukraine meets with soldiers' wives

A Russian presidential hopeful opposing Moscow’s military action in Ukraine has met with a group of soldiers’ wives who are demanding that their husbands be discharged from military service. … more

1/11/24

Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico during a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023. European Union leaders, in a two-day summit will discuss the latest developments in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and continued EU support for Ukraine and its people. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Thousands protest in Slovakia against a government plan to amend the penal code

Thousands of people have taken to the streets of major cities in Slovakia to renew their protests against plans by the new government of populist Prime Minister Robert Fico to amend the country’s … more

1/11/24

Former Interior Minister Napoleon Barrientos is escorted by police as he waits for his hearing at court in Guatemala City, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. Barrientos was arrested Thursday for allegedly not carrying out his duties when he opted for dialogue with protesters rather than using force to remove them as a court had ordered. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)

Guatemala arrests ex-minister who resigned rather than use force against protesters

Guatemala has arrested its former interior minister for allegedly not carrying out his duties when he opted for dialogue with protesters rather than using force to remove them as a court had ordered. … more

1/11/24

A priest pays his respects at a coffin of Ukrainian serviceman and famous Ukrainian poet Maksym Kryvtsov, who was killed in a battle with the Russian troops, during the funeral ceremony in St. Michael Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Hundreds gather in Ukraine's capital to honor renowned poet who was also a soldier killed in action

Hundreds of people have attended a ceremony honoring the memory of renowned Ukrainian poet Maksym Kryvtsov, who was killed in action while serving as a soldier in the war Russia started in Ukraine … more

By HANNA ARHIROVA | 1/11/24

FILE - Cardinal Fridolin Among Besungu leaves after receiving the red three-cornered biretta hat from Pope Francis during a consistory inside St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Oct. 5, 2019. In the greatest rebuke of Pope Francis yet, the Catholic hierarchy of Africa and Madagascar issued a unified statement Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, refusing to offer blessings to same-sex couples and reaffirming that such unions are “contrary to the will of God.” The statement, signed by Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo on behalf of the symposium of African national bishops conferences, marked the closest thing to a continent-wide dissent from a declaration Francis approved Dec. 18 allowing priests to offer such blessings. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Africa's Catholic hierarchy refuses same-sex blessings, says such unions are contrary to God's will

In the greatest rebuke yet to Pope Francis, the Catholic bishops of Africa and Madagascar have issued a unified statement refusing to follow his declaration allowing priests to offer blessings to … more

By NICOLE WINFIELD | 1/11/24

Poland's President Andrzej Duda gives a statement to the media in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday Jan. 10, 2024, after the arrest of two politicians convicted of abuse of power who had taken refuge for hours in the presidential palace. Two convicted politicians who took refuge for hours in Poland's presidential palace have been arrested by police. Their arrests Tuesday were a dramatic escalation of a standoff between the new and previous governments. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Poland's president announces plan to pardon 2 convicted politicians before the start of a protest

Poland’s president says he plans to once again pardon two senior politicians who were arrested in his presidential palace earlier this week. The case is at the center of a standoff between … more

1/11/24

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to members of the media before boarding his plane to return to Washington, following his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East, in Cairo, Egypt, Thursday Jan. 11, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool via AP)

Blinken sees a path to Gaza peace, reconstruction and regional security after his Mideast tour

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has wrapped up his latest urgent Mideast tour in talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. American officials claim modest success in getting … more

By MATTHEW LEE | 1/11/24

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock answers questions from reporters at a hotel in Makati, Philippines on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. Germany's top diplomat said Thursday that China's aggressive actions in the South China Sea violate the rights of Asian coastal states like the Philippines and threaten freedom of navigation but added that the territorial disputes have to be resolved peacefully because "the world doesn't need another crisis." (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Germany ready to help de-escalate tensions in disputed South China Sea, its foreign minister says

Germany’s top diplomat says China’s actions in the South China Sea violate the rights of Asian coastal states like the Philippines and threaten freedom of navigation, but adds that the … more

BY JIM GOMEZ | 1/11/24

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters and paramedics give the first aid to a man wounded in Russia's missile attack that hit a hotel in Kharkiv, Ukraine, late Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Ukraine's president in Estonia on swing through Russia's Baltic neighbors

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Estonia for meetings with the country’s leaders on the second day of trip through the small Baltic states, where concern is high about aggression from … more

By JIM HEINTZ | 1/11/24

FILE - In this image made from video supplied by South Africa's Presidency, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses BRICS leaders for a virtual meeting of leaders of developing countries Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. Ramaphosa accused Israel of war crimes, condemned Hamas for its attack on Israeli civilians that sparked the conflict and said both sides were guilty of violating international law. (South Africa Presidency via AP Photo, File)

Nelson Mandela's support for Palestinians endures with South Africa's genocide case against Israel

South Africa's long-held support for the Palestinian people can be traced back to the time of Nelson Mandela and Yasser Arafat. The two leaders believed that the struggle for freedom by Blacks in … more

By GERALD IMRAY | 1/11/24

Top UN court opens hearings on South Africa's allegation that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza

The United Nations’ top court is opening hearings into South Africa’s allegation that Israel’s war with Hamas amounts to genocide against Palestinians, a claim that Israel strongly denies. In … more

By MIKE CORDER | 1/11/24

This wanted poster posted on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024 on X formerly known as Twitter, by Ecuador's Ministry of Interior, shows José Adolfo Macías Villamar, leader of Los Choneros gang. Macías was discovered missing on Sunday from a Guayaquil prison cell where he was serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking. Also known by the alias “Fito,” Macías is on the country's most wanted list and a reward is being offered for information that helps find his whereabouts. (Ecuador's Ministry of Interior via AP)

What we know about 'Fito,' Ecuador’s notorious gang leader who went missing from prison

José Adolfo Macías Villamar, leader of one of Ecuador's most dangerous gangs, was discovered missing from his cell in a prison where he was serving a sentence for drug trafficking. Since his … more

By GABRIELA MOLINA | 1/11/24

Ko Wen-je, Taiwan People's Party (TPP) presidential candidate, take photos with young supporters outside a temple in New Taipei City, Taiwan on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. With Taiwan's high-stakes presidential election just days away, the nonconformist candidate has been resonating with the island's youth, seemingly more concerned with the dearth of good jobs and affordable housing than the looming threat from China. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

A non-traditional candidate resonates with Taiwan’s youth ahead of Saturday's presidential election

A nonconformist candidate is resonating with Taiwan's youth ahead of Saturday's presidential election, with young and first-time voters apparently more concerned with the dearth of good jobs and … more

By SIMINA MISTREANU and JOHNSON LAI | 1/11/24