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BEIJING (AP) — The presidents of China and Belarus joined Wednesday in urging a cease-fire and negotiations to bring about a political settlement to the Ukraine conflict. The joint call came in a meeting in Beijing between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia, and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. That amounted to an endorsement of a Chinese 12-point peace proposal issued Friday that calls for the territorial […]

American skier Mikaela Shiffrin dominated downhill training in Norway on Wednesday ahead of what could become another record-breaking weekend. Shiffrin is aiming for her 86th career World Cup victory to match the all-time mark set by Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark in the 1970s and 80s. Shiffrin is expected to have three chances this weekend, starting with a super-G on Friday, followed by a downhill the next day and another super-G […]

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Wednesday that more than 200,000 refugees have fled Myanmar to his country and urgently called for new ways to persuade Myanmar’s ruling generals to resolve the civil conflict. Anwar and his host, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., also discussed the simmering South China Sea territorial disputes, which have embroiled their countries along with China and other coastal states, and ways […]

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A critical report into the protection of three murder victims, including a celebrated Dutch journalist gunned down in central Amsterdam, said Wednesday that security services in a “fragmented” protection system didn’t always act on tips about possible threats. The conclusions highlighted flaws in a network involving police and prosecutors that is intended to offer protection to people facing threats ranging from stalkers to possible attacks […]

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — I climbed into the front seat of the air taxi, buckled the seat belt and braced as the aircraft lifted off. The futuristic cityscape of Busan, South Korea, dropped away, and a digital avatar popped up on the windscreen with a message. I couldn’t answer as a wave of motion sickness hit me. The virtual reality goggles combined with motion-simulating seats pitching back and forth and […]

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s foreign and development ministers on Wednesday presented their government’s new feminist foreign policy guidelines that are supposed to ensure that all people “have the same right to representation and access to resources.” The policy will consider and support especially the needs of women and girls in order to erase discrimination, which they say will lead to more stability in societies in general. “We are not calling […]

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Even for the Thunder Bay area, a perilous swath of northern Lake Huron off the Michigan coast that has devoured many a ship, the Ironton’s fate seems particularly cruel. The 191-foot (58-meter) cargo vessel collided with a grain hauler on a blustery night in September 1894, sinking both. The Ironton’s captain and six sailors clambered into a lifeboat but it was dragged to the bottom […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday is hearing a dispute between New York and New Jersey over New Jersey’s desire to withdraw from a commission the states formed decades ago to combat the mob’s influence at their joint port. The Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor was created in 1953 when the mob had infiltrated the port and was demanding payments from workers and shippers through extortion and […]

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan launched its first-ever digital population and housing census on Wednesday in an effort to securely gather demographic data on every individual ahead of this year’s parliamentary elections, officials said. The digital count will provide data for policy decisions, which now are based on the 2017 census that counted the population at 207 million people. It’s also meant to beef up security and avoid another morass […]