World News - The Morning Sun

This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows Siniyah Island in Umm al-Quwain, United Arab Emirates, Thursday, March 16, 2023. Archaeologists said Monday, March 20, 2023, that they have found the oldest pearling town in the Persian Gulf on an island off one of its northern sheikhdoms of the United Arab Emirates, further expanding this young nation's understanding of its pre-Islamic history. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Their world was the oyster: Oldest pearl town found in UAE

Archaeologists say they have found the oldest pearling town in the Persian Gulf on an island off one of the northern sheikhdoms of the United Arab Emirates. The discovery further expands this young … more

By JON GAMBRELL | 3/20/23

FILE - Chief of the Australian Defence Force Gen. Angus Campbell delivers the findings from the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Afghanistan Inquiry, in Canberra, on Nov. 19, 2020. Police on Monday, March 20, 2022, arrested the first Australian veteran for an alleged murder in Afghanistan three years after a war crime investigation found that 19 Australian special forces soldiers could face charges for illegal conduct during the conflict.(Mick Tsikas/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Former Australian soldier to be charged with Afghan's murder

Police have arrested the first Australian veteran for an alleged murder in Afghanistan three years after a war crime investigation found that 19 Australian special forces soldiers could face charges … more

By ROD McGUIRK | 3/20/23

FILE - Then Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou, left, and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands at the Shangri-la Hotel on Nov. 7, 2015, in Singapore. Former Taiwan President Ma will visit China next week, in what a spokesman called an independent bid to ease tensions between the self-ruled island and the mainland. Ma, who's a member of the opposition Nationalist Party (Kuomingtang), will lead a delegation of academics and students as well as his former presidential staffers from March 27 to April 7, his office said Sunday.(AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

Former Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou will visit China

Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou will visit China next week, in what a spokesman called a bid to ease tensions between the self-ruled island and the mainland.Ma presided over a period of warm … more

By HUIZHONG WU | 3/20/23

FILE - In this image made from video, Dennis Miralis, lawyer for former U.S. military pilot Daniel Duggan, speaks to the media outside the court in Sydney, on Jan. 10, 2023. A former United States military pilot accused of training Chinese aviators could have been lured from China to Australia as part of a U.S. plan to extradite him to his homeland, his lawyer said Monday, March 20, 2023, (Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP, File)

Lawyer: Former US pilot could have been lured to Australia

A lawyer says a former United States military pilot could have been lured from China to Australia as part of a U.S. plan to extradite him. Daniel Duggan has been in custody in Australia since … more

3/19/23

FILE - Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin enter a hall for talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, June 5, 2019. The Chinese government said Xi would visit Moscow from March 20, to March 22, 2023, but gave no indication when he departed. The Russian government said Xi was due to arrive at midday and meet later with Putin.(AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, Pool, File)

China's Xi meeting Putin in boost for isolated Russia leader

Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet Vladimir Putin in Moscow in a political boost for the isolated Russian president after the International Criminal Court charged him with war crimes in … more

By EMILY WANG FUJIYAMA and JOE McDONALD | 3/19/23

U.S. Army soldiers work on a M777 howitzer during a joint military drill between South Korea and the United States at Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Pocheon, South Korea, Sunday, March 19, 2023. North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile toward the sea on Sunday, its neighbors said, ramping up testing activities in response to U.S.-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

North Korea: Latest missile simulated nuclear counterattack

North Korea has described its weekend ballistic missile launch as a simulated nuclear attack on South Korea. The North's leader, Kim Jong Un, called Monday for his nuclear forces to sharpen their war … more

By KIM TONG-HYUNG | 3/19/23

Rescue workers stand next to a car crushed by debris after an earthquake in Cuenca, Ecuador, Saturday, March 18, 2023.. The U.S. Geological Survey reported an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 about 50 miles south of Guayaquil. (AP Photo/Xavier Caivinagua)

Fear, grief follow deadly quake on Ecuador's southwest coast

The toll from an earthquake that rocked Ecuador and Peru this weekend stands at 15 dead. And a day after Saturday's tragedy, residents of the hardest-hit coastal regions of southwest Ecuador are … more

By GONZALO SOLANO and REGINA GARCIA CANO | 3/19/23

FILE - Pope Francis talks with Papal Household Archbishop Georg Gaenswein during his weekly general audience, in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, on Jan. 15, 2020. The longtime secretary to Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged Sunday that his tell-all memoir, published soon after Benedict’s Dec. 31 death, had been criticized for casting Pope Francis in a deeply unfavorable light, but insisted that some of the polemics were more about prejudice than anything else. In some of his first public comments since Benedict’s death, Archbishop Georg Gaenswin said he remained loyal to Francis and that he was still waiting for the pontiff to give him a new job. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

Pope Benedict XVI's aide acknowledges criticism over memoir

The longtime secretary to Pope Benedict XVI has acknowledged that his tell-all memoir has been criticized for casting Pope Francis in an unfavorable light. But Archbishop Georg Gaenswein insisted … more

3/19/23

Protesters hold a banner with Emmanuel Macron's face during a protest in Paris, Saturday, March 18, 2023. A smattering of protests against President Macron’s plan to raise France's retirement age from 62 to 64 took place Saturday in Paris and beyond, as uncollected garbage reeked in the streets of the French capital amid a strike by sanitation workers. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

Vandals attack French politician's office over pensions row

Protesters have vandalized the Nice office of the president of the Republicans party in an apparent threat to get his right-wing party to vote to block President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform. … more

3/19/23

FILE - People walk through floodwaters after heavy rainfall in Hadeja, Nigeria, Sept 19, 2022. Publication of a major new United Nations report on climate change is being held up by a battle between rich and developing countries over emissions targets and financial aid to vulnerable nations. (AP Photo, File)

Fight over science holds up key UN climate report

Publication of a major new United Nations report on climate change is being held up by a battle between powerful rich and developing countries over emissions targets and financial aid to vulnerable … more

By FRANK JORDANS | 3/19/23

Pope Francis delivers the Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, March 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope offers prayer for earthquake victims in Ecuador, Peru

Pope Francis has offered prayers for the victims of the earthquake that shook vast swaths of territory in Ecuador and parts of Peru. During his weekly Sunday noon blessing, Francis recalled that the … more

3/19/23

In this image from video, dead fish float on the surface of the lower Darling-Baaka River near the New South Wales state far west town of Menindee, Australia, on Saturday, March 18, 2023. The Department of Primary Industries in New South Wales state said the fish deaths coincided with a heat wave that put stress on a system that has experienced extreme conditions from wide-scale flooding. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation via AP)

Millions of dead fish wash up amid heat wave in Australia

Millions of fish have washed up dead in southeastern Australia in a die-off that authorities and scientists say is caused by depleted oxygen levels in the river after recent floods and hot weather. … more

3/19/23

People pick wild mushrooms in a forest on the outskirts of Harare, Friday, Feb, 24, 2023. Zimbabwe’s rainy season brings a bonanza of wild mushrooms, which many rural families feast upon and sell to boost their incomes. Rich in protein, antioxidants and fiber, wild mushrooms are a revered delicacy and income earner in Zimbabwe, where food and formal jobs are scarce for many. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

In Zimbabwe's rainy season, women forage for wild mushrooms

Zimbabwe’s rainy season brings a bonanza of wild mushrooms, which many rural families feast upon and sell to boost their incomes. Rich in protein, antioxidants and fiber, wild mushrooms are a … more

By FARAI MUTSAKA | 3/19/23

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev visit the Children's Art and Aesthetic center, part of Chersonesos Taurica historical and archeological park in Sevastopol, Crimea, Saturday, March 18, 2023. Putin has traveled to Crimea to mark the ninth anniversary of the Black Sea peninsula's annexation from Ukraine. (Sputnik, Kremlin Press Service Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Putin visits occupied city of Mariupol

Russian news agencies say Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited the occupied port city of Mariupol, his first trip to Ukrainian territory that Moscow illegally annexed in September. Mariupol … more

3/19/23

Israel, Palestinians meet in Egypt to ease tensions

Israeli and Palestinian officials are meeting in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh in a bid to ease tensions between the sides and rein in a spiral of violence ahead of a sensitive holiday … more

By SAMY MAGDY and TIA GOLDENBERG | 3/19/23

A woman holds a placard depicting French President Emmanuel Macron sitting on garbage cans that reads, "king of trash" during a protest in Paris, Friday, March 17, 2023. Protests against French President Emmanuel Macron's decision to force a bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 through parliament without a vote disrupted traffic, garbage collection and university campuses in Paris as opponents of the change maintained their resolve to get the government to back down. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

Macron's leadership at risk amid tensions over pension plan

A parody photo appearing on protest signs and online in France shows President Emmanuel Macron sitting on piles of garbage. The image references the trash going uncollected with sanitation workers on … more

By SYLVIE CORBET | 3/19/23

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, right, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend an honor guard welcoming ceremony at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo Saturday, March 18, 2023. (David Mareuil/Pool Photo via AP)

Japan, German leaders agree to strengthen ties, supply chain

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have agreed to strengthen economic and defense ties. Scholz traveled to Tokyo for the first round of government consultations … more

By MARI YAMAGUCHI | 3/18/23

Britain's Home Secretary Suella Braverman listens as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during a press conference following the launch of new legislation on migrant channel crossings at Downing Street, London, Tuesday, March 7, 2023. The U.K. government says it's ready for legal challenges to a tough new law intended to stop tens of thousands of migrants a year reaching the country in small boats across the English Channel. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP)

UK minister in Rwanda to reinforce migrant deportation plan

Britain’s Home Secretary has arrived in Rwanda for a visit aimed at reinforcing the U.K. government's commitment to a controversial plan to deport some asylum-seekers to the African country. Ahead … more

3/18/23

A damaged restaurant is seen after Russian shelling hit in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Saturday, March 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)

Russian attacks continue in wake of Putin arrest warrant

Widespread Russian attacks have continued in Ukraine following the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s … more

3/18/23

FILE - In this file photo dated Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021, security personnel clear the way for a convoy of the World Health Organization team to enter the Huanan Seafood Market on the third day of field visit in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province. International scientists have examined previously unavailable genetic data from samples collected at a market in China close to where the first human cases of COVID-19 were detected and said they have found suggestions the pandemic originated from animals, not a lab. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

New COVID origins data point to raccoon dogs in China market

The mystery to the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic now has some new clues. International scientists have found raccoon dog DNA comingled with the virus in previously unavailable genetic data. It … more

By DAKE KANG and MARIA CHENG | 3/17/23