World News - The Morning Sun

FILE - Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, shining over the Sycamore Gap tree, on Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland, England, July 3, 2016. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP, File)

UK trial told Sycamore Gap tree felling was a 'deliberate and mindless' act

A court has been told that the famous Sycamore Gap tree was cut down in an “act of deliberate and mindless criminal damage.” The tree that once sat symmetrically between two hills along … more

By BRIAN MELLEY | 4/29/25

FILE- Chinese astronauts Wang Haoze, from left, Cai Xuzhe and Song Lingdong wave as they attend the see-off ceremony for the Shenzhou-19 mission at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwestern China, in the early hours of Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Chinese astronauts' return to earth delayed owing to weather

Three Chinese astronauts’ return to Earth has been postponed owing to weather conditions. The astronauts, Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, were originally due to land Tuesday in Dongfeng, … more

4/29/25

People wait outside a closed train station, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Spain and Portugal scramble to restore electricity after a still-unexplained power outage

Officials in Spain and Portugal are racing to restore electricity after a huge power outage that grounded flights, paralyzed metro systems, disrupted mobile communications and shut down ATMs, … more

By JOSEPH WILSON | 4/29/25

An Indian paramilitary soldier stands guard inside a Mughal garden on the outskirts of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Sunday, April. 27, 2025.(AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Authorities shut dozens of tourist resorts in Indian-controlled Kashmir following a deadly attack

Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir have temporarily shut more than half of tourist resorts in the scenic Himalayan region following a deadly attack on tourists. Officials say the decision to … more

By AIJAZ HUSSAIN and SHEIKH SAALIQ | 4/29/25

The exterior view of Shek Pik Prison in Hong Kong, Tuesday, April 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)

4 former Hong Kong lawmakers freed after years in prison under a Beijing-imposed security law

Four former Hong Kong lawmakers have been released after spending more than four years in prison for their conviction under a Beijing-imposed law that crushed a once-thriving pro-democracy movement. … more

By KANIS LEUNG | 4/29/25

Cardinals attend a mass on the third of nine days of mourning for late Pope Francis, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

What is a conclave? What to know about the secretive process to elect the next pope

Cardinals have decided the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis will begin May 7. The conclave is a closed-door meeting of the cardinal electors to choose the new pope in the Sistine Chapel. … more

By NICOLE WINFIELD | 4/29/25

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, a soldier looks out of a shelter on the anti-drone firing position in Kostyantynivka, the site of the heavy battles with the Russian troops in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Thursday, April 24, 2025. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP).

If Trump abandons Ukraine, can Europe help Kyiv fight on? The clock is ticking to answer that

President Donald Trump is pushing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to cede territory occupied by Russia to Moscow to bring about an end to the fighting in Ukraine. Zelenskyy has pushed back, … more

By EMMA BURROWS | 4/29/25

Christian Amaya, a drug user, looks out the window of the Cambie supervised consumption room in Bogotá, Colombia, Sunday, April 27, 2025, where people who use substances receive injection kits or bring their own drugs while learning safe practices. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

Bogota fights heroin overdoses with South America's only supervised drug consumption room

Colombia's capital has South America’s only supervised room for drug use, aimed at reducing harm and preventing overdoses and now a topic of the International Conference on Harm Reduction, which … more

By ASTRID SUÁREZ | 4/28/25

The last three staffers in The Associated Press' Saigon bureau, reporters Matt Franjola, left, Peter Arnett, rear, and George Esper, second from right, are joined by two North Vietnamese soldiers and a member of the Viet Cong on the day the government of South Vietnam surrendered, April 30, 1975. One of the soldiers is showing Esper the route of his final advance into the city. (AP Photo/Sarah Errington)

As communist troops streamed into Saigon, a few remaining reporters kept photos and stories flowing

They’d watched overnight as the bombardments grew closer, and observed through binoculars as the final U.S. Marines piled into a helicopter from the roof of the embassy to be whisked away. So when … more

By DAVID RISING and VALERIE KOMOR | 4/28/25

FILE - A wildfire consumes an area next to the Transpantaneira road in the Pantanal wetlands near Pocone, Mato Grosso state, Brazil, Nov. 15, 2023. (AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)

Brazilian justice orders government to seize lands with proven illegal deforestation

A justice on Brazil’s Supreme Court has ordered the federal government to seize private properties when owners are found responsible for illegal wildfires or deforestation. The ruling also directed … more

By FABIANO MAISONNAVE | 4/28/25

Civil defence workers and Lebanese soldiers gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Hezbollah leader calls on government to work harder to end Israel's attacks on Lebanon

The leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah group is calling on the government to work harder on ending Israel’s attacks in the country a day after an Israeli airstrike hit a suburb of Beirut. Naim Kassem … more

By BASSEM MROUE | 4/28/25

Vendors use their phone light to select and save some food, during a major power outage in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

AP PHOTOS: A power outage in Spain and Portugal knocks out ATMs, subways and traffic signals

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — A major power outage in Spain and Portugal has knocked out subway networks, traffic signals and ATMs. Spanish power distributor Red Eléctrica said restoring power to … more

4/28/25

FILE - Mount Fuji is viewed, Jan. 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, file)

A man airlifted from Japan's Mount Fuji returns to the slope days later and is rescued again

Police in Japan say that climber who was airlifted with altitude sickness from near the peak of Japan’s Mount Fuji last week returned to the slope and was rescued for a second time just four days … more

By MARI YAMAGUCHI | 4/28/25

People try to board a crowded bus after the subway stopped running following a power outage in Lisbon, Portugal, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

A major power outage is reported in Spain and Portugal, including their capitals

A major power outage has been reported in Spain and Portugal that knocked out subway networks, phone lines, traffic lights and ATM machines. Authorities say the cause is not immediately known, though … more

By RENATA BRITO and BARRY HATTON | 4/28/25

FILE - A general view of the stars above Sycamore Gap prior to the Perseid Meteor Shower above Hadrian's Wall near Bardon Mill, England, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2015. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell, File)

2 men charged with cutting down the beloved Sycamore Gap tree are going on trial in northern England

There is a hole in the heart of the rolling hills of northern England. A majestic sycamore tree that once sat symmetrically between two hills along Hadrian’s Wall was mysteriously felled in 2023. … more

By BRIAN MELLEY | 4/28/25

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, a firefighter puts out a fire at ruined private houses following Russia's air raid in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Monday, April 28, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

Russia and Ukraine trade long-range strikes as peace talks enter 'very critical' week

Officials say Ukraine and Russia have targeted each other with long-range strikes amid continuing uncertainty about whether an agreement to stop their more than three-year war is within reach. … more

By ILLIA NOVIKOV | 4/28/25

British Cardinal Vincent Nichols is approached by reporters as he arrives for a college of cardinals' meeting, at the Vatican, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Journalists swarm cardinals at the Vatican gates as they meet to plan a conclave

Cardinals arriving for the first day of meetings after Pope Francis’ funeral were swarmed at the city-state’s gates by journalists eager for hints of whether any consensus is building around the … more

By NICOLE WINFIELD and COLLEEN BARRY | 4/28/25

FILE - A lone demonstrator waves the Palestinian flag outside the Peace Palace, rear, housing the International Court of Justice, or World Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, on May 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

Top UN court to hold hearings on Israeli obligations to ensure humanitarian aid to Palestinians

The United Nations’ highest court is opening hearings into Israel’s obligation to provide urgently needed humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians. Last year, the U.N. General Assembly … more

By MOLLY QUELL and MIKE CORDER | 4/28/25

Turkish navy soldiers descend from a Sikorsky helicopter as part of the NATO Dynamic Mariner/Flotex-25 naval exercise in Barbate, southern Spain, on March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Trump's threats gave Europe the political will to spend more on defense. But challenges are ahead

Europe’s plan for spending more on defense is finding previously unimaginable political backing. U.S. President Donald Trump gave it a jolt by threatening to not protect NATO allies in the context … more

By SUMAN NAISHADHAM and JOSEPH WILSON | 4/28/25

A Yemeni soldier inspects the damage reportedly caused by U.S. airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

US strikes kill 8 in Yemen's capital, Houthi rebels say, as America says over 800 strikes conducted

U.S. airstrikes targeting Yemen’s capital killed at least eight people overnight. That's what the Houthi rebels said Monday as the American military acknowledged carrying out over 800 individual … more

By JON GAMBRELL | 4/28/25