President Vladimir Putin on Thursday thanked Russians for casting ballots in a presidential vote in which he cemented his grip on the country for another six years after the harshest crackdown on dissent since Soviet times. Any public criticism of Putin or his war in Ukraine has been stifled, independent media have been crippled, Putin’s … Read more
TOBISHIMA, Japan — Japan’s space agency and its prime contractor said Thursday they hope to be able to forge a profitable launch business with their new H3 rocket after its first successful flight last month in an increasingly competitive market dominated by Space X. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have been developing … Read more
STOCKHOLM — A Swedish land owner won a legal battle Thursday to keep a 14-kilogram (31-pound) meteorite when an appeals court ruled that such rocks should be considered “immovable property” and part of the land where they are found. The property on which the meteorite landed contains iron and the meteorite is made of iron. … Read more
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s central bank raised its key interest rate by 5 percentage points on Thursday, resuming a policy of rate hikes aimed at combating soaring inflation that is causing households severe economic pain. In a surprise decision, the central bank said it was raising the benchmark one-week repo rate to 50%. The bank … Read more
BRUSSELS — European Union leaders gathered Thursday to consider new ways to help boost arms and ammunition production for Ukraine and to discuss the war in Gaza amid deep concern about Israeli plans to launch a ground offensive in the city of Rafah. Ukraine’s munition stocks are desperately low, and Russia has more and better-armed … Read more
LISBON, Portugal — A center-right alliance led by the Social Democratic Party has won Portugal’s general election by a slender margin and is set to form a minority government that could have a difficult term in office as a radical-right populist party that came third in the voting tries to get a hand on the … Read more
MEULABOH, Indonesia — An Indonesian search and rescue ship on Thursday located a capsized wooden boat that had been carrying dozens of Rohingya Muslim refugees, and began pulling survivors who had been standing on its hull to safety. An AP photographer aboard the rescue ship said 10 people had been taken aboard local fishing boats … Read more
DAKAR, Senegal — Senegal will head to the polls Sunday to vote in a tightly contested presidential race that has fired up political tensions and tested one of West Africa’s most stable democracies. The presidential election will take place after much uncertainty following President Macky Sall’s unsuccessful effort to delay the Feb. 25 vote until … Read more
FILE – Doctors stage a rally against the government’s medical policy in Seoul, South Korea, on March 3, 2024. South Korean authorities have suspended the licenses of two senior doctors for allegedly inciting the weekslong walkouts by medical interns and residents that disrupted hospital operations across the country. That’s according to one of the doctors … Read more
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s top prosecutor on Wednesday announced arrest warrants for the presidential campaign manager of opposition powerhouse María Corina Machado and eight other staffers, accusing them involvement in a violent anti-government conspiracy. Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a nationally televised news conference that campaign manager Magalli Meda and the other Machado … Read more