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MILAN (AP) — Elly Schlein, a 37-year-old U.S.-Italian national and longtime left-wing political operative who worked on two presidential campaigns for former U.S. President Barack Obama, defied polls to become the first woman to head Italy’s opposition Democratic Party. Schlein’s surprise victory Sunday over the popular governor of Emilia-Romagna, a traditional left-wing stronghold, is attributed to support from women and youth in the rank-and-file, while the party apparatus largely supported […]

BEIJING (AP) — China on Monday accused the U.S. of “outright bullying and double standards” in leveling what it called “illegal” sanctions on Chinese companies as part of U.S. actions against Russia’s Wagner Group and related companies and individuals. The entities were targeted for their role in the war in Ukraine and mercenary activities, including human rights abuses, in Africa. The sanctions “have no basis in international law or authorization […]

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Hundreds of people in Croatia have spent the night in their cars or at gas stations and reception centers after a snowstorm over the weekend caused traffic to collapse and left parts of the country cut off. The sudden change of weather after a period of warm and balmy days also has snarled traffic in neighboring Serbia and Bosnia, leaving areas in western Serbia without power […]

BAGHDAD (AP) — Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Baghdad on Monday to denounce a draft elections law that would increase the size of the country’s electoral districts, potentially undermining independent candidates. The current legislation, under which the 2021 election was held, breaks up each of the country’s 18 provinces into several electoral districts. The law, which was a key demand of mass anti-government protests that kicked off […]

HAWARA, West Bank (AP) — Israel sent hundreds more troops to the occupied West Bank on Monday, a day after a Palestinian gunman killed two Israelis and settlers rampaged through a Palestinian town, torching homes and vehicles in the worst such violence in decades. The responses to the rampage laid bare some rifts in Israel’s new right-wing government, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealing for calm while a member of […]

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican army soldiers apparently clashed with residents of the rough border city of Nuevo Laredo, according to a rights activist. Raymundo Ramos said Sunday that residents were angry because soldiers had fired into a pickup truck earlier in the day. Ramos said at least three people were killed. The Mexican army did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Videos of the incident posted on […]

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Two experts appointed by the World Health Organization to investigate allegations that some of its staffers sexually abused women during an Ebola outbreak in Congo have dismissed the U.N. agency’s own efforts to excuse its handling of such misconduct as “an absurdity.” Some of the victimized women say — nearly four years later — they are still waiting for WHO to fire those responsible or be […]

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Egypt’s foreign minister Monday met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus and promised to deliver more aid to the quake-hit country. Sameh Shoukry is Egypt’s most senior official to visit Syria since 2011, a day after Cairo’s parliament speaker, Hanafy el-Gebaly, and a delegation of top Arab lawmakers visited Assad in a push to end Syria’s political isolation. Syria was suspended from the Arab League […]

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un opened a major political conference dedicated to agriculture, state media reported Monday, as outside assessments suggest the country is facing a serious shortfall of food. South Korean experts estimate that North Korea is short around 1 million tons of grain, nearly 20 percent of its annual demand, after the pandemic likely disrupted unofficial grain imports from China and the […]