World News - The Morning Sun

Theatre actors perform to children at the Dzherelo rehabilitation center during celebrations for Saint Nicholas Day, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Dec. 19, 2022. In a country where children have seen the horrors of a 10-month war, there are people trying to bring some peace and happiness to kids, at least for a moment during this holiday season in Ukraine. That has been happening this week in the outskirts of Kyiv at what used to be the upscale Venice hotel. Now it’s a rehabilitation center housing children who have experienced the horrors of the Russian invasion. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

On the holidays, efforts to distract Ukrainian kids from war

In a country where children have seen the horrors of a 10-month war, there are people trying to bring some peace and happiness to kids, at least for a moment during this holiday season in Ukraine. … more

By HANNA ARHIROVA | 12/21/22

FILE - Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), gestures as he speaks to journalists during a press conference organized by the Geneva Association of United Nations Correspondents (ACANU) at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022. In recent days, social media has been flooded by posts from Tigrayans who say they have learned of the deaths of loved ones. The most prominent was World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP, File)

Long-cut phones ring again in Ethiopia's Tigray, bring grief

For a year and a half, phone calls to people trying to survive one of the world’s worst conflicts didn’t go through. Now, as phone lines start to be restored to parts of Ethiopia’s Tigray … more

By CARA ANNA | 12/21/22

Whirling dervishes of the Mevlevi order perform during a Sheb-i Arus ceremony in Konya, Turkey, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

AP PHOTOS: Dervishes on mystic Rumi's path whirl for God

The robes of Turkey's whirling dervishes symbolize funeral shrouds, the cloaks a tomb and the hats a tombstone. The dervishes, a Sufi order of Islam that is rooted in mysticism, are chiefly known for … more

By EMRAH GUREL | 12/21/22

Policy, climate, war make 2022 'pivot year' for clean energy

The past year saw major governments around the world green lighting ambitious renewable energy policies. The United States signed into law its Inflation Reduction Act while the European parliament … more

By SIBI ARASU | 12/20/22

FILE - Afghan students queue at one of Kabul University's gates in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Feb. 26, 2022. Women are banned from private and public universities in Afghanistan with immediate effect and until further notice, a Taliban government spokesman said Tuesday, Dec. 20, the latest edict cracking down on their rights and freedoms. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

Taliban say women banned from universities in Afghanistan

The Taliban have banned women from private and public universities in Afghanistan with immediate effect and until further notice, the latest edict cracking down on their rights and freedoms. The … more

12/20/22

In this image made from video provided by the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry press service on Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022, firefighters work at the site of gas explosion, near the village of Yambakhtino, some 50km (31miles) south of Cheboksary, Chuvashia region, Russia. An explosion on a section of Europe-bound natural gas pipeline in western Russia has killed three people but hasn't affected export supplies, officials said. The explosion ripped through a section of the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhhorod pipeline in the Chuvashia region during repair works on Tuesday. (Ministry of Emergency Situations press service via AP)

Explosion tears through Russian gas pipeline during repairs

Officials say an explosion during repairs on a section of Europe-bound natural gas pipeline in western Russia has killed three people but hasn't affected export supplies. The explosion ripped through … more

12/20/22

York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween speaks to the media during a press conference in Aurora, Ontario, on Monday Dec, 19, 2022. Canadian authorities say the man who killed five people and wounded a sixth at a condominium building near Toronto before an officer killed him was a 73-year-old resident, Francesco Velli. (Arlyn McAdorey/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada condo killer faced possible eviction before shooting

A suburban Toronto man who was killed by police after authorities say he fatally shot five people in his condominium building, including three members of the condo board, had a court hearing … more

By ROB GILLIES | 12/20/22

President of the African National Congress Cyril Ramaphosa gives a black power salute at the end of the 55th National Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. (AP Photo/Denis Farrell)

South African leader urges his ANC party to fight corruption

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged his party, the ruling African National Congress, to fight corruption. Ramaphosa said the ANC has “no choice" but to deal with corruption or … more

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME | 12/20/22

Benin bronzes looted in the past and returned to Nigeria are examined during a handing over ceremony in Abuja, Nigeria, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. Germany returned 20 historic bronze sculptures to Nigeria as part of efforts to address what its foreign minister called its “dark colonial past.” Nigeria officials said that more than 5,000 ancient artifacts are estimated to have been stolen from Nigeria, the majority by England, the country’s former colonizer and some by Germany. (AP Photo/Olamikan Gbemiga)

Germany returns Nigerian bronzes, notes its 'dark past'

Germany returned 20 historic bronze sculptures to Nigeria as part of efforts to address what its foreign minister called its “dark colonial past.” Nigeria officials said that more than 5,000 … more

By CHINEDU ASADU | 12/20/22

Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein and French President Emmanuel Macron attend a welcome ceremony at the airport in Amman, Jordan, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. Leaders from the Middle East and Europe gathered in Jordan Tuesday in a conference focused on bolstering security and stability in Iraq. (The Royal Hashemite Court via AP)

Mideast, Europe leaders meet in Jordan on security in Iraq

Leaders from the Middle East and Europe have gathered in Jordan on bolstering security and stability in Iraq. Participants convening Tuesday included regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, along with … more

OMAR AKOUR | 12/20/22

FILE - A US military vehicle on a patrol in the countryside near the town of Qamishli, Syria, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022. U.S. and Kurdish-led forces had arrested an Islamic State group militant in eastern Syria. The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said in a statement Monday, Dec. 19, 2022 that they raided the home of an unnamed IS militant leader in the western countryside of Deir el-Zour and arrested him. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad, File)

U.S. forces detain 6 Islamic State group militants in Syria

American forces have conducted three raids in eastern Syria and arrested six Islamic State groups militants. U.S. Central Command in a statement on Tuesday said the raids took place over the … more

Associated Press | 12/20/22

A view shows the interior of a 2000-year-old Second Temple-Period burial cave designated the Salome Cave that was recently uncovered in the Lachish Forest in Israel, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. Archaeologists say that the cave continued to be used in the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods, becoming known as the Salome Cave, due to a popular tradition that identified it as the burial place of Salome, the midwife of Jesus. (AP Photo/ Maya Alleruzzo)

Israeli archaeologists excavating 'Jesus midwife' tomb

The Israeli antiquities authority says archaeologists are excavating an ancient tomb traditionally associated with Jesus’s midwife in the hills southwest of Jerusalem. The intricately decorated … more

12/20/22

A man walks in front of the Constitutional Court in Madrid, Spain, on Monday Dec. 19, 2022. Spain's top court has handed down a ruling preventing the Senate from voting on three controversial law amendments in an unprecedented interference in the legislature that poses potential political turmoil for the leftist coalition government heading into election year. The decision is the first of its type in Spain's democracy could have untold effects on future legislative procedures.(Fernando Sanchez/Europa Press via AP) **SPAIN OUT**

Spain: Top court puts brakes on govt in unprecedented move

Spain’s top court has handed down a ruling preventing the upper house of Parliament from voting on a controversial amendment to the country's penal code. That represents unprecedented interference … more

By CIARÁN GILES | 12/20/22

FILE - Stephan Balliet, center, is accompanied by court personnel into the courtroom of the Regional Court in Magdeburg, Germany, on Dec. 21, 2020. The far-right extremist who killed two people in an attack on a synagogue in the German city of Halle three years ago has been moved to a new prison after an apparent jailbreak attempt last week. Stephan Balliet was taken to the Augsburg-Gablingen prison in Bavaria under heavy guard early Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. (Hendrik Schmidt/Pool via AP)

Synagogue attacker moved to new prison after taking hostages

A far-right extremist who killed two people in the German city of Halle three years ago after trying to attack a synagogue has been moved to a new prison following an apparent jailbreak attempt. … more

12/20/22

Aviator and adventurer Garrett Fisher flies his plane above the Folgefonna glacier in Norway, on Aug. 10, 2022. Fisher is on a mission to photograph all the remaining glaciers that are not in the polar regions before they disappear. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

As climate clock ticks, aviator races to photograph glaciers

Earth’s glaciers are melting at an alarming rate and aviator Garrett Fisher is on a mission to photograph them all before they disappear. He is traveling the world in the seat of his tiny … more

By NAT CASTAÑEDA | 12/20/22

FILE - The at this time 96-year-old defendant Irmgard F. sits in the courtroom at the beginning of the trial day in Itzehoe, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 9, 2021. The now 97-year-old woman charged with being an accessory to murder for her role as secretary to the SS commander of the Stutthof concentration camp during World War II. (Christian Charisius/Pool via AP, File)

German court to deliver verdict on ex-secretary at Nazi camp

A German court is expected to deliver its verdict on a 97-year-old woman charged with being an accessory to murder for her role as a secretary to the SS commander of the Stutthof concentration camp … more

12/20/22

In this photo released by the Dnipro Region Administration, Municipal workers dismantle a monument of Russian writer Alexander Pushkin in the city centre of Dnipro, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 16, 2022. Ukraine is accelerating efforts to erase the vestiges of centuries of Soviet and Russian influence from the public space by pulling down monuments and renaming hundreds of streets to honor home-grown artists, poets, military chiefs, and independence leaders, even heroes of this year's war. (Dnipro Region Administration via AP)

Wartime Ukraine erasing Russian past from public spaces

Ukraine is accelerating efforts to erase Soviet and Russian influence from its public spaces by pulling down monuments and renaming hundreds of streets to honor its own artists, poets, soldiers and … more

By JAMEY KEATEN | 12/20/22

A couple seek information about the vaccine with a security guard at an entrance gate to a vaccination site in Beijing, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. China continues to adapt to an easing of strict virus containment regulations. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

Virus death toll in China's capital shows further rise

The death toll in the latest COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing has risen by five as China continues to adapt to an easing of strict virus containment regulations. The National Health Commission on Tuesday … more

By DAKE KANG | 12/20/22

FILE - United Nations Security Council meet for the presentation of a humanitarian report on the Russian war in Ukraine, Tuesday Dec. 6, 2022 at U.N. headquarters. The United States and its allies on Monday, Dec. 20, 2022, clashed with Iran and its ally Russia over Western claims that Tehran is supplying Moscow with drones that have been attacking Ukraine _ and the U.S. accused the U.N. secretary-general of “yielding to Russian threats” and failing to launch an investigation. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)

US and Iran clash over Russia using Iran drones in Ukraine

The United States and its allies have clashed with Iran and its ally Russia over Western claims that Tehran is supplying Moscow with drones that have been attacking Ukraine. And the U.S. accused the … more

By EDITH M. LEDERER | 12/20/22

Lawyers for Maria Dolores Colleoni, wife of former MEP Antonio Panzieri, Angelo De Riso, left, and Nicola Colli arrive at the Brescia's lawcourt, northern Italy, where Colleoni will be heard in connection with an EU lobby scandal investigation involving her husband. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Italy court weighs handover in EU Parliament corruption case

An Italian court is deciding whether to hand over to Belgium a suspect in a big corruption scandal at the European Parliament. According to arrest warrants, Belgian prosecutors suspect that the wife … more

By COLLEEN BARRY and LORNE COOK | 12/19/22