World News - The Morning Sun

Patsaravalee Tanakitvibulpon receives a garland from her supporter on her arrival at Southern Criminal Court in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. A Thai court on Wednesday convicted a prominent political activist of defaming the country’s monarchy and sentenced her to a two-year suspended jail term under a controversial law that criminalizes any perceived criticism of the royal institution. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

Thai activist gets two-year suspended prison sentence for 2021 remarks about monarchy

A Thai court has convicted a prominent political activist of defaming the country’s monarchy and sentenced her to a two-year suspended jail term under a controversial law that criminalizes any … more

1/31/24

An ethnic Hungarian woman leaves the market in downtown Berehevo, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. Ukraine amended its laws to comply with EU membership requirements, and restored many of the language rights for minorities demanded by Budapest but Hungary's government has indicated it is not fully satisfied — a potentially explosive sticking point as EU leaders meet Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024 to try and break Orban's veto of a major aid package earmarked for Kyiv. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Ukraine has improved conditions for its Hungarian minority. It might not be enough for Viktor Orbán

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has long accused Ukraine's government of violating the rights of an ethnic Hungarian community in western Ukraine. Orbán insists that the Hungarian minority … more

By JUSTIN SPIKE | 1/31/24

FILE - Opposition coalition presidential hopeful Maria Corina Machado speaks to supporters at a campaign event in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Condemnation against the government of Venezuela for its decision to block the presidential candidacy of opposition leader María Corina Machado continues to strengthen. On Sunday, Jan. 28, the Organization of American States declared that the move eliminates any possibility of a free election this year. (AP Photo/Jesus Vargas, File)

Déjà vu? Electoral bans, arrests, attacks, threats again part of Venezuelan presidential race

Assassination plots, arrest warrants, numerous detentions all sorts of verbal attacks against adversaries and other government actions have marked the start of 2024 for Venezuelan President Nicolás … more

By REGINA GARCIA CANO | 1/31/24

Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, left, receives documents from Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during the oath taking ceremony as the 17th King of Malaysia at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024. Sultan Ibrahim, the powerful billionaire ruler of southern Johor state, was sworn-in Wednesday as Malaysia’s new king. (Mohd Rasfan/Pool Photo via AP)

Billionaire Sultan Ibrahim sworn in as Malaysia's 17th king under rotating monarchy system

The billionaire sultan who rules Malaysia's Johor state has been sworn in as the nation's new king under a unique rotating monarchy system. Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar took his oath of office Wednesday … more

By EILEEN NG | 1/30/24

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles into waters off its western coast Tuesday in its third launch of such weapons this month, South Korea's military said, as the North continues to flaunt its expanding arsenal of weapons designed to overwhelm its rivals defenses. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

North Korea says it tested long-range cruise missiles to sharpen attack capabilities

North Korea says it has conducted a test-firing of long-range cruise missiles with an aim to sharpen its counterattack and strategic strike capabilities. It is the country's latest display of weapons … more

By KIM TONG-HYUNG | 1/30/24

Poland Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, left, speaks during a joint press conference with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock at the Foreign Ministry in Berlin, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Poland's new government asks Germany to think creatively about compensation for World War II losses

The foreign minister in Poland’s new pro-European Union government says he would like Germany’s leaders to think in a “creative” way about compensating Poland for the huge losses it suffered … more

1/30/24

FILE - Demonstrators protest against Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and a potential amnesty law outside the European Parliament, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023 in Strasbourg, eastern France. Spain's lower house of Parliament is Tuesday to debate and likely approve an enormously controversial amnesty law that aims to sweep away the legal troubles of hundreds of people, involved in Catalonia's unsuccessful 2017 independence bid. A key question is whether a Catalan separatist party manages to include clauses that cover terrorism that will guarantee protection for fugitive leader Carles Puigdemont. (AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias, File)

Catalan separatists reject amnesty bill, highlighting the fragility of Spain's minority government

Catalan separatist lawmakers have dealt Spain’s government a blow by voting against a hugely divisive amnesty law that was aimed at helping hundreds of their supporters involved in Catalonia’s … more

By CIARÁN GILES | 1/30/24

FILE - Former South African President Nelson Mandela, centre, wears a printed shirt in Johannesburg, on July 18, 2003 as part of his 85th birthday celebrations. The planned auction of dozens of artifacts belonging to Nelson Mandela has been suspended pending a court application to completely halt it, the body that protects South Africa's cultural heritage said Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)

An auction of Nelson Mandela's possessions is suspended as South Africa fights to keep them

The planned auction of dozens of items that belonged to Nelson Mandela has been suspended pending a court application to completely halt it. The online auction, by New York-based Guernsey’s auction … more

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME | 1/30/24

FILE - Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza stands in a glass cage in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court in Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 31, 2023. Supporters of prominent Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. say on Monday, Jan. 29, 2024 he has disappeared from the Siberian prison where he was behind bars. The 42-year-old Kara-Murza is serving a 25-year sentence for treason. (AP Photo/Dmitry Serebryakov, file)

Russian opposition figure Kara-Murza is moved to another prison and back in solitary confinement

Lawyers for Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., who is serving a 25-year sentence for treason, say he has been transferred to another prison in Siberia and placed in solitary … more

By DASHA LITVINOVA | 1/30/24

$FILE - A worker walks next to a pile of sacks of food earmarked for the Tigray and Afar regions in a warehouse of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Semera, the regional capital for the Afar region, in Semera, Ethiopia, Feb. 21, 2022. Only a small fraction of needy people in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region are receiving food aid, according to an aid memo seen by The Associated Press, more than one month after aid agencies resumed deliveries of grain following a lengthy pause over theft. (AP Photo, File)$

Millions urgently need food in Ethiopia's Tigray region despite the resumption of aid deliveries

Only a small fraction of needy people in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region are receiving food aid, according to an aid memo seen by The Associated Press, more than one month after aid agencies … more

By RODNEY MUHUMUZA | 1/30/24

FILE - People enjoy time at the beach in Aci Trezza, near Catania, Sicily, Italy, Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. The U.N.’s weather agency confirmed a reading of 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 Fahrenheit) in Sicily two years ago as the hottest temperature ever recorded in Europe. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli, File)

UN agency confirms 119.8 degrees reading in Sicily two years ago as Europe's record high temperature

The U.N.’s weather agency has confirmed a reading of 48.8 degrees Celsius (119.8 degrees Fahrenheit) in Sicily two years ago as the hottest temperature ever recorded in Europe. The World … more

1/30/24

A bell tower of the Saint Sophia Cathedral is seen through the destroyed Russian artillery cannon in downtown Kyiv, Ukraine, on Monday, Jan. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

EU moves slowly toward using profits from frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine

European Union nations have decided to approve an outline deal that would keep in reserve the profits from hundreds of billions of dollars in Russian central bank assets that have been frozen in … more

By RAF CASERT | 1/30/24

FILE - A woman demonstrates with a poster reading "Abortion in the Constitution" as part of the International Women's Day, Wednesday, March 8, 2023 in Paris. France’s National Assembly is considering a bill meant to enshrine a woman’s right to an abortion in the French Constitution. The vote scheduled for Tuesday is a key step in a legislative process that also requires a Senate’s vote. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)

France's National Assembly votes on enshrining women’s rights to abortion in French Constitution

France’s National Assembly is considering a bill meant to enshrine a woman’s right to an abortion in the French Constitution. The vote scheduled for Tuesday is a key step in a legislative process … more

1/30/24

This photograph provided by the Indian Navy shows armed naval commandos standing behind 10 captured Somali pirates with their hands tied behind after they thwarted a piracy attempt on the Iranian flagged fishing vessel Al Naeemi off the east coast of Somalia, Monday, Jan.29, 2024. According to a navy statement Tuesday, Indian naval ship Sumitra intercepted the vessel and freed its 19-member Pakistani crew. The navy did not immediately say what had happened to the pirates. (Indian Navy via AP)

India's navy rescues second Iranian-flagged fishing boat hijacked by Somali pirates

India's naval forces have rescued an Iranian-flagged fishing vessel hijacked by Somali pirates and freed its 19 crew members off the east coast of Somalia. A navy statement on Tuesday said the ship … more

1/30/24

FILE - Models wear outfits designed by students from Afro-Brazilian communities at a subway station as part of Black Consciousness Awareness Month, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Nov. 19, 2021. In Brazil, more than half the population self-identifies as Black or biracial. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)

Brazil, facing calls for reparations, wrangles with its painful legacy of slavery

Brazil has finally started hearing very public demands for reparations for its role in slavery. Brazil received more slaves from Africa than any other place did. But the country has struggled to have … more

By ELÉONORE HUGHES | 1/30/24

FILE - In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks at the Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang, North Korea, Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

South Korea says North Korea fired cruise missiles in 3rd launch of such weapons this month

South Korea’s military says it detected North Korea firing multiple cruise missiles into the sea off its western coast in its third round of tests of such weapons this month. South Korea’s Joint … more

By KIM TONG-HYUNG | 1/29/24

FILE - Vladimiro Montesinos, left, listens to his lawyer Estela Valdivia as he testifies at the trial of Peru's former President Alberto Fujimori in Lima, June 30, 2008. Montesinos pleaded guilty, Monday, Jan 29, 2024, to charges in the 1992 massacre of six farmers who were accused of being members of a rebel group, taken from their homes by soldiers and executed in the town of Pativilca. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia, File)

Ex-Peruvian intelligence chief pleads guilty to charges in 1992 massacre of six farmers

The controversial intelligence chief of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori has pleaded guilty to charges in the 1992 massacre of six farmers who were accused of being members of a rebel … more

By FRANKLIN BRICEÑO | 1/29/24

The Bahamas pushes to reduce violence as the US Embassy warns of a spike in killings

Authorities in the Bahamas say they are cracking down on crime after the U.S. Embassy issued a security alert warning that the archipelago has reported at least 18 slayings so far this year. The … more

1/29/24

Police officers carry away an activist of the 'Letzte Generation' (Last Generation) during a climate protest against the government's climate policy in front of the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. A group of climate activists who have infuriated many in Germany by gluing themselves to streets to block traffic said Monday, Jan. 29, 2024 that it will abandon the tactic and move on to holding what it calls “disobedient assemblies.” The Last Generation group has frequently blocked roads in Berlin and other cities over the past two years, among other forms of protest(AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, file)

Climate activists in Germany to abandon gluing themselves to streets, employ new tactics

A group of climate activists who infuriated many in Germany by gluing themselves to streets to block traffic says it will abandon the tactic and move on to holding what it calls “disobedient … more

1/29/24

Footage captured by a camera operator working for British broadcaster ITV News in Gaza apparently showed a man being shot and fatally wounded as he was slowly walking along a road with a group of people, one of whom was carrying a white flag. (Jan. 24)

A Palestinian is killed while with a group waving a white flag. Israel says it will look into it

Israel’s military has announced that it will review the shooting of a Palestinian man who was killed in the Gaza Strip while walking in a group of people waving a white flag. It says footage of the … more

By JULIA FRANKEL | 1/29/24