COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s acting president on Monday declared a state of emergency that gives him broad authority amid growing protests demanding his resignation — just two days before the country’s lawmakers are set to elect a new president. Ranil Wickremesinghe became acting president on Friday after his predecessor, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, fled … Read more
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Jan. 6 committee is set to highlight the way violent far-right extremists answered Donald Trump’s “siren call” to come to Washington for a big rally, as some now face rare sedition charges over the deadly US Capitol attack and effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The panel investigating the Jan. … Read more
The prestigious Brookings Institution placed its president, retired four-star Marine Gen. John Allen, on administrative leave Wednesday amid a federal investigation into his role in an illegal lobbying campaign on behalf of the wealthy Persian Gulf nation of Qatar. Brookings’ announcement came a day after The Associated Press reported on new court filings that show … Read more
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden ordered emergency measures Monday to boost crucial supplies to US solar manufacturers and declared a two-year tariff exemption on solar panels from Southeast Asia as he attempted to jumpstart progress towards his climate change-fighting goals. His invoking of the Defense Production Act and his other executive actions come amid … Read more
LONDON (AP) – Queen Elizabeth II stepped gingerly onto the Buckingham Palace balcony Thursday, drawing wild cheers from the tens of thousands who came to join her at the start of four days of celebrations of her 70 years on the throne. Her fans sported Union Jack flags, party hats or plastic tiaras. Some had … Read more
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – Australia’s Prime Minister-elect Anthony Albanese is a politician molded by his humble start to life as the only child of a single mother who raised him on a pension in gritty inner-Sydney suburbia. He is also a hero of multicultural Australia, describing himself as the only candidate with a “non-Anglo Celtic … Read more
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) – Australia’s prime minister conceded defeat after an election Saturday that could deliver a minority government. Scott Morrison acted quickly despite millions of votes yet to be counted because an Australian prime minister must attend a Tokyo summit on Tuesday with US, Japanese and Indian leaders. “I believe it’s very important that … Read more
PYEONGTAEK, South Korea (AP) – President Joe Biden opened a trip to Asia on Friday by touring a South Korean computer chip factory that will be the model for another plant in Texas, offering it as a way to deepen ties with the Indo Pacific and fuel technological innovation and foster vibrant democracies. “So much … Read more
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) – A ransomware gang that infiltrated some Costa Rican government computer systems has upped its threat, saying its goal is now to overthrow the government. Perhaps seizing on the fact that President Rodrigo Chaves had only been in office for a week, the Russian-speaking Conti gang tried to increase the … Read more
PARIS (AP) – Centrist politician Elisabeth Borne was appointed France’s new prime minister on Monday, becoming only the second woman in history to hold the post. Borne, 61, the labor minister in French President Emmanuel Macron’s previous government, succeeds Jean Castex, whose resignation on Monday was expected after Macron’s reelection last month to a second … Read more