Associated Press

Produced by Associated Press

• December 20, 2023

  At Least 100 Elephants Die in Zimbabwe Park Amid Drought

  HARARE — At least 100 elephants have died in Zimbabwe's largest national park in recent weeks because of drought, their carcasses a grisly sign of what wildlife authorities and conservation groups say is the impact of climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon.

• December 20, 2023

  Meta's Initial Decisions to Remove 2 Israel-Hamas War Videos Reversed

  MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA — A semi-independent review board has recommended that Facebook's parent company Meta overturn two decisions it made this fall to remove posts “informing the world about human suffering on both sides” of the Israel-Hamas war.

• December 19, 2023

  US Actor, Rising Hollywood Star, Jonathan Majors Convicted of Assaulting, Harassing Ex-Girlfriend

  U.S. Actor Jonathan Majors was convicted Monday of assaulting his former girlfriend after a trial that he hoped would vindicate him and restore his status as an emerging Hollywood star. It did just the opposite as Marvel Studios and the Walt Disney Co. dropped him hours after the verdict.

• December 19, 2023

  Israel Continues Gaza Strikes as US Renews Support

  RAFAH — Israeli forces raided one of the last functioning hospitals in Gaza's north and bombarded the south with airstrikes that killed at least 28 Palestinians, pressing ahead with their offensive Tuesday with renewed backing from the United States, despite rising international alarm.

• December 19, 2023

  Earthquake in Northwestern China Kills at Least 126

  BEIJING — A strong overnight earthquake rattled a mountainous region of northwestern China, authorities said Tuesday, destroying homes, leaving residents out in a below-freezing winter night and killing 126 people in the nation’s deadliest quake in nine years.

• December 19, 2023

  International Curators Express Growing Interest in African Art

  KAMPALA — Lilian Nabulime hasn’t forgotten the time in the 1990s when the Ugandan capital had just one commercial art gallery, a small space that emerging artists struggled to get into. Now, there are at least six in Kampala, including one whose curator recently exhibited the sculptor’s contrarian work.

• December 18, 2023

  US Announces New Multinational Security Force in the Red Sea

  MANAMA, Bahrain — The U.S. and a host of other nations are creating a new force to protect ships transiting the Red Sea that have come under attack by drones and ballistic missiles fired from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

• December 18, 2023

  Pope Approves Blessings for Same-Sex Couples With Limits

  ROME — Pope Francis has formally approved allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, with a new document explaining a radical change in Vatican policy by insisting that people seeking God’s love and mercy shouldn’t be subject to “an exhaustive moral analysis,” while maintaining restrictions related to marriage.

• December 18, 2023

  Logistical Problems May Complicate Congo Vote, Say Observers

  DAKAR, Senegal —Some 44 million people are expected to vote for Congo’s next president on Wednesday, in the country’s fourth elections since civil and regional wars ended in the early 2000s. Yet the election’s facing enormous logistical problems sparking concern it could impact its credibility.

• December 17, 2023

  Mexican Monastic Communities Create Christmas Delicacies

  MEXICO CITY — As Christmas approaches, Catholic nuns and monks are busy preparing the traditional delicacies they sell to a loyal fan base even in rapidly secularizing countries. For many monastic communities, producing cookies, fruitcakes, even beer for sale is the only means to keep the lights on. But it’s also an enticing way to strengthen their ties with lay people.

• December 17, 2023

  Israel Excavates Hamas Tunnel Near Gaza Border

  BEIT HANOUN, Gaza Strip — The Israeli military says it has excavated a large tunnel shaft in Gaza close to a major crossing with Israel. The discovery of the tunnel near the Erez crossing raises more questions about how Israeli surveillance could have missed such conspicuous preparations by Hamas for a deadly October 7 assault that triggered a war that has raged over 10 weeks.

• December 17, 2023

  South Africa's Zuma Says He Won't Vote ANC in Next Election

  JOHANNESBURG — Former President Jacob Zuma on Saturday denounced the governing African National Congress party and announced that he would vote for a newly-formed political formation in South Africa's general election next year.

• December 17, 2023

  Israel Faces New Truce Calls After 3 Hostages Mistakenly Killed

  DEIR AL-BALAH, GAZA — Israel's government faced local protests and calls for a cease-fire from some of its closest European allies on Sunday after a series of shootings, including of three Israeli hostages who were waving a white flag, added to mounting concerns in the 10-week-old war in Gaza.

• December 17, 2023

  UN: Over 60 People Drowned in Migrant Vessel Off Libya

  CAIRO — A boat carrying dozens of migrants trying to reach Europe capsized off the coast of Libya, leaving more than 60 people dead, including women and children, the U.N. migration agency said.

• December 16, 2023

  Preparations to Deploy Kenyan Police to Haiti Continue, Despite Legal Hurdles

  NAIROBI — The head of Haiti's national police visited Kenya this week, as local authorities prepare for the deployment of Kenyan police to the Caribbean nation plagued by gang violence.

• December 16, 2023

  How the US Keeps Funding Ukraine's Military as It Says It's out of Money

  WASHINGTON — The White House has been increasingly pressuring the U.S. Congress to pass stalled legislation to support Ukraine's war against Russia, saying that funding has run out. But on Tuesday, President Joe Biden touted a new military aid package worth $200 million for Ukraine.

• December 16, 2023

  Debate Continues Over Development of 'Carbon Capture' Technologies

  An agreement at the United Nations-led climate conference to transition away from fossil fuels brought a measure of relief for climate activists, even as many said it doesn't go far enough. They also saw something to like in what the agreement said about carbon capture.

• December 16, 2023

  Republicans Tap Israeli Military War Veteran for New York Special Election

  ALBANY, N.Y. — Republicans have picked a little-known county lawmaker who once served in the Israeli military as their candidate in a special election to replace ousted congressman George Santos. Party officials named Nassau County legislator and former Israeli paratrooper Mazi Pilip as their nominee on Thursday.

• December 16, 2023

  New Gene Therapies for Sickle Cell Out of Reach for Africans, Indians

  New gene therapies promise a cure for sickle cell disease but experts say they are out of reach in places that need them the most. Vast inequities cut much of the world off from gene therapy in general, a whole new class of treatments that aims to eradicate inherited diseases by changing DNA. Such therapies are among the most expensive in the world.

• December 16, 2023

  The Media Debates the Agenda of a Second Trump Term

  NEW YORK — There has been a flurry of stories recently about what might happen if Donald Trump is elected to a second term as president, based on reporting about planning that is going on behind the scenes and taking the former president's words seriously. The stories are a turn away from the “horse race” style that many critics say plagues political journalism.

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