World News - The Morning Sun

FILE - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks at the National Palace in Mexico City, Jan. 10, 2023. Lopez Obrador said on Dec. 22, 2023 that he is willing to help out with a surge of migrants that led to the closure of border crossings with the U.S., but he wants the U.S. government to open talks with Cuba and send more development aid to migrants' home countries. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)

Mexico's president is willing to help with border migrant crush but wants US to open talks with Cuba

Mexico's president says he is willing to help with a crush of migrants that led to the closure of border crossings with the United States. But in exchange he wants the U.S. government to open talks … more

12/22/23

People gather during the Security Council meeting at United Nations headquarters, Friday, Dec. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

UN to vote on watered-down resolution on aid to Gaza without call for suspension of hostilities

The U.N. Security Council has scheduled a vote after many delays on a watered-down resolution to deliver desperately needed aid to Gaza. The revised text is backed by the United States, while Russia … more

By EDITH M. LEDERER | 12/22/23

Andrew Tate checks his mobile phone inside the Court of Appeal building in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Dec. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

A court in Romania rejects Andrew Tate's request to visit his ailing mother in the UK

A spokesperson for Andrew Tate says a court in Romania has rejected the divisive influencer's request to leave the country to visit his mother in the U.K. after she had suffered a heart attack. … more

12/22/23

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)

Police launch probe into alleged abduction of British teen Alex Batty who went missing 6 years ago

Police say they've launched a criminal investigation into the alleged abduction of British teenager Alex Batty who was missing for six years. Batty was found last week in France after telling police … more

12/22/23

FILE - A health worker fumigates a home for mosquitos to help mitigate the spread of dengue in Caranavi, Bolivia, on March 2, 2023. The U.N. health agency on Friday Dec. 22, 2023 said it has tallied a tenfold increase in the global count of reported cases of dengue over the last generation, with climate change and the growing spread of virus-carrying mosquitos in part to blame for transmission that remains mostly prevalent in the Americas. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)

UN health agency cites tenfold increase in reported cases of dengue over the last generation

The U.N. health agency says it has tallied a tenfold increase in the global count of reported cases of dengue over the last generation, with climate change and the growing spread of virus-carrying … more

12/22/23

FILE - French soldiers disembark from a U.S. Air Force C130 cargo plane at Niamey, Niger base, on June 9, 2021. France on Friday Dec. 22, 2023 completed the withdrawal of its troops who were asked to leave Niger by the country’s new junta, ending years of on-the-ground military support and raising concerns from analysts about a gap in the fight against jihadi violence across Africa’s Sahel. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)

France completes military withdrawal from Niger, leaving a gap in the terror fight in the Sahel

France has completed the withdrawal of its troops from Niger after they were asked to leave by the country’s new military rulers, ending years of on-the-ground support. The withdrawal completed on … more

By CHINEDU ASADU | 12/22/23

A TV screen shows a file image of South Korean religious sect leader Jung Myung-seok during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 22, 2023. Jung whose sex crimes were featured in the popular Netflix series "In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal" earlier this year was sentenced to 23 years in prison on Friday, court officials said. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A South Korean religious sect leader has been sentenced to 23 years in prison over sex crimes

A South Korean religious sect leader whose sex crimes were featured in the popular Netflix series “In the Name of God: A Holy Betrayal” has been sentenced to 23 years in prison. The Daejeon … more

By JIWON SONG | 12/22/23

Destroyed farms and buildings in the Gaza Strip as seen from Southern Israel, Friday, Dec. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

These numbers show the staggering losses in the Israel-Hamas war as Gaza deaths surpass 20,000

The current Israel-Hamas war is by far the deadliest and most destructive of the five wars between Israel and Hamas since the militant group seized the Gaza Strip in 2007. The fighting erupted on … more

By MELANIE LIDMAN | 12/22/23

FILE - A Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) launches from the guided missile cruiser USS Cape St. George (CG 71), in operation in the Mediterranean Sea, on March 23, 2003. Japan’s defense spending will surge more than 16% for 2024 under a record military budget approved Friday, Dec. 22, 2023, by the Cabinet that will accelerate deployment of long-range cruise missiles that can hit targets in China or North Korea.(Intelligence Specialist 1st Kenneth Moll/U.S. Navy via AP, File)

Japan's Cabinet approves a record $56 billion military budget to speed up strike capability

Japan’s defense spending would increase more than 16% next year under a record military budget that is intended to accelerate the deployment of long-range cruise missiles that can hit targets in … more

By MARI YAMAGUCHI | 12/22/23

FILE - The cooling tower of the Yongbyon nuclear complex is demolished in Yongbyon, North Korea on June 27, 2008. North Korea may have started operating a light-water reactor at its main nuclear complex in a possible attempt to establish a new facility to produce bomb fuels, the U.N. atomic agency and outside experts said Thursday Dec. 21, 2023. (Gao Haorong/Xinhua via AP, File)

North Korea's reported use of a nuclear complex reactor might be an attempt to make bomb fuels

The U.N. atomic agency and outside experts say North Korea may have started operating a light-water reactor at its main nuclear complex in a possible attempt to establish a new facility to produce … more

By HYUNG-JIN KIM | 12/22/23

People lay candles light outside the building of Philosophical Faculty of Charles University for victims of mass shooting in Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, Dec. 22, 2023. A lone gunman opened fire at a university on Thursday, killing more than a dozen people and injuring scores of people. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Foreign nationals among 14 killed after gunman opens fire in a Prague university. Over 20 wounded

Authorities say foreign nationals were among at least 14 killed after a student opened fire at a university in Prague. Twenty-five others were also wounded in one of the Czech Republic’s worst mass … more

By KAREL JANICEK | 12/22/23

FILE - Mons. Giovanni Angelo Becciu presides over an eucharistic liturgy, at the St. John in Latheran Basilica, in Rome, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017. The Vatican's chief prosecutor has appealed a court verdict that, while finding a cardinal guilty of embezzlement, largely dismantled his theory of a grand conspiracy to defraud the Holy See of millions of euros.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia, File )

Vatican prosecutor appeals verdict that largely dismantled his fraud case but convicted cardinal

The Vatican’s chief prosecutor has appealed a court verdict that largely dismantled his theory of a grand conspiracy to defraud the Holy See of millions of euros. Prosecutor Alessandro Diddi filed … more

By NICOLE WINFIELD | 12/22/23

FILE - Palestinians look at the destruction of the Al-Gatshan family building after an Israeli strike in Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on Dec. 18, 2023. After 11 weeks of war in Gaza, the Israeli military campaign against Hamas now sits among the deadliest and most destructive in history. The Palestinian death toll is approaching 20,000 and satellite data shows that one-third of structures across the tiny enclave have been destroyed. (AP Photo/Adel Hana, File)

Israel's military campaign in Gaza seen as among the most destructive in history, experts say

After 11 weeks of war in Gaza, the Israeli military campaign against Hamas now sits among the deadliest and most destructive in history. The Palestinian death toll is approaching 20,000 and satellite … more

By JULIA FRANKEL | 12/21/23

Police officers secure an area after a shooting in downtown Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. Czech police say a shooting in downtown Prague has killed an unspecified number of people and wounded others. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Czech police say people have been killed in a shooting in downtown Prague

Czech police say a shooting in downtown Prague has killed an unspecified number of people and wounded dozens of others. Police gave no details about the victims or the circumstances of Thursday’s … more

12/21/23

Cadets practice putting on gas masks during a lesson in a bomb shelter in a cadet lyceum in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. Writing on the wall reads: "Glory to Ukraine". (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Ukraine lawmakers vote to legalize medical marijuana and help ease stress from the war with Russia

Ukraine’s parliament has voted to legalize medical marijuana after the war with Russia left thousands of people with post-traumatic stress disorder that many believe could be eased by the drug. The … more

12/21/23

Pakistan arrests activists to stop them from protesting in Islamabad against extrajudicial killings

Human rights activists say Pakistan’s police used water cannons, swung batons, and arrested dozens of activists overnight when they tried to enter Islamabad for a protest. The police action started … more

By MUNIR AHMED | 12/21/23

Israeli police are investigating 19 prison guards in the death of a 38-year-old Palestinian prisoner

Israeli police say 19 Israeli prison guards are under investigation in the death of a 38-year-old Palestinian security prisoner. The Palestinian Prisoners' Club, an advocacy group, says the prisoner … more

12/21/23

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, movable plank houses for earthquake victims are set up in Meipo Village, Jishishan County in northwest China's Gansu Province, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. Hundreds of temporary one-room housing units were being set up Thursday in northwest China for survivors of an earthquake that destroyed more than 14,000 homes and killed at least 135 people, according to state media reports. (Fan Peishen/Xinhua via AP)

China has started erecting temporary housing units after an earthquake destroyed 14,000 homes

Hundreds of temporary housing units are being set up in northwest China for survivors of an earthquake that destroyed more than 14,000 homes and killed at least 135 people. State broadcaster CCTV … more

12/21/23

This image made from video shows home engulfed in flames outside Perth, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023. A wildfire burning out of control on the outskirts of the Australian west coast city of Perth on Thursday appeared to have destroyed or damaged a number of homes. (Australian Broadcasting Corp/Channel 7/Channel 9 via AP)

A wildfire in Australia on the outskirts of Perth destroys at least 2 homes and injures 2 people

Officials say a wildfire burning out of control on the outskirts of the Australian west coast city of Perth has destroyed at least two homes and injured two men. An emergency warning was issued for … more

12/21/23

Pope Francis delivers his blessing during his weekly general audience in the Pope Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

After approving blessings for same-sex couples, Pope asks Vatican staff to avoid 'rigid ideologies'

Pope Francis has urged Vatican bureaucrats to avoid “rigid ideological positions” that prevent them from understanding today’s reality. Francis gave his annual Christmas greeting on Thursday … more

By NICOLE WINFIELD | 12/21/23