World News - The Morning Sun

A classroom that previously was used for girls sits empty in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. The country's Taliban rulers earlier this week ordered women nationwide to stop attending private and public universities effective immediately and until further notice. They have banned girls from middle school and high school, barred women from most fields of employment and ordered them to wear head-to-toe clothing in public. Women are also banned from parks and gyms.(AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Taliban use water cannon on women protesting university ban

Eyewitnesses in the western Afghan city of Herat say Taliban forces used a water cannon to disperse a protest over their university ban for women. The decision to bar women from private and public … more

By RIAZAT BUTT | 12/24/22

A Ukrainian soldier decorates a frontline position during fights with Russian forces near Maryinka, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Libkos)

Shells pummel Ukraine's Kherson; 7 dead, 58 wounded

Russian shells have killed five people in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted photos of the wreckage, showing cars on fire, bodies on the street and … more

12/24/22

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, stands next to Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee before a meeting in Beijing, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Xi reaffirmed Beijing's commitment to follow the "one country, two systems" governing principle for Hong Kong on Friday, saying it is the "best arrangement" to maintain the city's prosperity and stability. (Li Tao/Xinhua via AP)

Hong Kong leader aims to reopen border with China next month

Hong Kong’s leader says China has agreed to a reopening of the city’s border with the mainland, which has been largely closed by pandemic restrictions. Chief Executive John Lee told reporters at … more

12/24/22

Members of the Kurdish community gather near the crime scene where the shooting took place in Paris, Friday, Dec. 24, 2022. A shooting targeting a Kurdish cultural center in Paris Friday left three people dead and three others wounded, authorities said. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)

Kurds, antiracism groups gather after deadly Paris shooting

Kurdish activists, left-wing politicians and anti-racism groups are holding a protest in Paris after three people were killed at a Kurdish cultural center a day earlier. Authorities say the attack … more

12/24/22

People gather around a Christmas tree decorated with the colors of the Ukrainian national flag at Sophia square in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Ukrainians can enjoy only some blue and yellow gleam barely lighting up a more modest Christmas tree at a traditional square as authorities have imposed some restrictions and schedule power cuts, meaning that there's no traditional gleaming city during the Christmas season. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A Christmas season without its traditional glow in Ukraine

Just a year ago, Sophia Square in Kyiv was all about the big Christmas tree and thousands of lights spreading over the plaza. These final days of 2022, in the middle of a war that has ravaged the … more

By HANNA ARHIROVA | 12/24/22

Nepalese police escort Charles Sobhraj, in brown cap, to the immigration office, in Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Confessed French serial killer Charles Sobhraj has been released from prison in Nepal after serving most of his sentence. Sobhraj was driven out of Central Jail in Kathmandu to the Department of Immigration under heavy guard Friday after the Supreme Court ordered him to be released because of poor health and good behavior. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Killer dubbed 'The Serpent' arrives in France from Nepal

Confessed serial killer Charles Sobhraj has arrived in France after being released from a life sentence in a Nepal prison. Sobhraj is a 78-year-old French citizen. He had been serving time for the … more

12/24/22

M23 rebels prepare to leave after a ceremony to mark the withdrawal from their positions in the town of Kibumba, in the eastern of Democratic Republic of Congo, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. M23 rebels retreated from a village in eastern Congo Friday in the group's first withdrawal from an occupied village since it seized swaths of land months ago. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Eastern Congo's M23 rebels retreat from occupied territory

Eastern Congo’s M23 rebels retreated Friday from some of the territory it held, the group’s first withdrawal since it began seizing swaths of land more than a year ago. The rebels left the … more

By AL-HADJI KUDRA MALIRO | 12/23/22

The defendant, front, stands together with his lawyers Martin Gelbricht, rear left, and Maximilian Baer, rear second left, in the courtroom in Munich, Germany, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. The German court convicted the man of attempted murder and bodily harm and sentenced him to 14 years in prison on Friday over a knife attack on a train last year that left four people wounded. (Sven Hoppe/dpa via AP)

Man convicted over German train knife attack that wounded 4

A German court has convicted a man of attempted murder and bodily harm and sentenced him to 14 years in prison over a knife attack on a train last year that left four people wounded. Judges found … more

12/23/22

Trees lie in an area of recent deforestation identified by agents of the Chico Mendes Institute in the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve, Acre state, Brazil, Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022. Brazil's incoming president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has promised to eliminate all deforestation by 2030, which would be a complete change of course for Brazil compared to the last four years. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Brazil's Lula promises no deforestation but challenges loom

Brazil's incoming president has promised to eliminate all deforestation by 2030, which would be a complete change of course for Brazil compared to the last four years. President-elect Luiz Inácio … more

By FABIANO MAISONNAVE, TATIANA POLLASTRI AND ERALDO PERES | 12/23/22

Israeli policemen walk towards the house of an Arab assailant in the Arab Israeli town of Kfar Qassem, Israel, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. Israeli police on Friday shot dead 22-year-old Naim Badir who they said lured officers into an ambush in which he rammed them with his car after trying to shoot them, an attack that left three policemen wounded in central Israel. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Armed Arab assailant rams car into Israeli police, shot dead

Israeli police have killed an Arab assailant who rammed into them with his car after attempting to shoot an officer in central Israel on Friday, leaving three policemen wounded. The incident took … more

By MAHMOUD ILEAN | 12/23/22

A war prosecutor observes collected parts of Russian rockets which were used to attack the city of Kharkiv, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

The peculiar Russian missile 'cemetery' in eastern Ukraine

The eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has a peculiar “cemetery,” one that recalls some of the worst damage done since the Russian invasion: the debris of rockets used against this town and its … more

By VASILISA STEPANENKO | 12/23/22

Notorious French serial killer freed from Nepal prison

Confessed French serial killer Charles Sobhraj has been released from prison in Nepal after serving most of his sentence. Sobhraj was driven out of Central Jail in Kathmandu to the Department of … more

By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA | 12/23/22

Security officials and rescue workers gather at the site of a bomb explosion, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Dec. 23, 2022. A powerful car bomb detonated near a residential area in the capital Islamabad on Friday, killing some people, police said, raising fears that militants have a presence in one of the country's safest cities. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Car bombing in Islamabad kills 2 suspects and policeman

Police say a powerful car bomb has exploded near a residential area in the capital Islamabad, killing two suspected militants and an officer. At least three police officers and seven civilians were … more

By MUNIR AHMED | 12/23/22

A woman prepares a meal by candle light at her home in Harare, Zimbabwe, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022. A buoyant holiday mood is not lifting the country which is coping with widespread power outages and the world's highest food inflation. (AP Photo)

Zimbabwe to have dark Christmas amid power cuts, high prices

Zimbabwe has loosened restrictions on travel and gatherings with the threat from COVID-19 receding. But a buoyant holiday mood is not lifting the country which is coping with widespread power outages … more

By FARAI MUTSAKA | 12/23/22

A nurse gives a shot of COVID vaccine to an old woman at a community health center in Nantong in eastern China's Jiangsu province Friday, Dec. 09, 2022. Nearly three years after it was first identified in China, the coronavirus is now spreading through the vast country. Experts predict difficult months ahead for its 1.4 billion people. (Chinatopix Via AP)

'A very hard road ahead' for China as COVID-19 cases spiral

Nearly three years after the coronavirus was first identified in China, it is now spreading through the country and experts predict difficult months ahead for its 1.4 billion people. China’s … more

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL, HUIZHONG WU and DAKE KANG | 12/23/22

A boy fishes as police border guards on a boat patrol along the Evros River that forms a natural border between Greece and Turkey, on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. Greece is planning a major extension of a steel wall along its border with Turkey in 2023, a move that is being applauded by residents in the border area as well as voters more broadly.(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Greece: EU’s external border is hardening, attitudes are too

Greece is planning a major extension of a steel wall along its border with Turkey in 2023, a move that is being applauded by residents in the border area as well as voters more broadly. Authorities … more

By DEREK GATOPOULOS | 12/23/22

People celebrate the new Transgender Law on the steps of the parliament in Madrid, Spain, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. Spain's lower house of Parliament has passed a transgender law that allows citizens over 16 to change their registered gender without medical supervision. Under the law, drawn up by the center-left coalition government, minors between 12 and 13 will need a judge's authorization to undergo the change and those between 14 and 16 will need to be accompanied by their parents or legal tutors. (AP Photo/Paul White)

Gender self-determination to be granted in Spain, Scotland

Lawmakers in Spain and Scotland have passed gender self-determination bills allowing citizens over 16 to change their registered gender without medical supervision. Spain’s lower house of … more

By RAQUEL REDONDO and ELISE MORTON | 12/22/22

In this handout photo taken from video released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, Chinese warships take part in joint naval drills with Russia in the East China Sea on Thursday. The exercise showcases increasingly close defense ties between the two countries as they both face tensions with the United States. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Russia and China hold joint naval drills

Russian and Chinese warships have practiced joint action in the East China Sea, continuing a series of drills that reflect a growing defense cooperation between the two countries. The Russian Defense … more

12/22/22

FILE - Palestinians carry the body of Jana Zakaran, 16, during her funeral in the West Bank city of Jenin, Monday, Dec. 12, 2022. Palestinian health officials said Zakaran was killed by Israeli fire during a military operation in the occupied West Bank. Israeli soldiers accused of harming Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip over the last five years have been indicted in less than 1% of the hundreds of complaints against them, an Israeli rights group reported on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, arguing Israel's military systematically fails to conduct a credible prosecution of itself. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed, File)

Watchdog: Under 1% of Israel army probes yield prosecution

An Israeli rights group says that Israeli soldiers accused of harming Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza over the last five years have been indicted in less than 1% of the hundreds of … more

By ISABEL DEBRE | 12/22/22

People walk past a girl wearing a face mask in a shopping district of Mumbai, India, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. India has begun randomly testing international passengers arriving at its airports for COVID-19, the country’s health minister said Thursday, citing an increase in cases in neighboring China and also asked the public to wear masks and maintain social distancing, even though there are no official mandates for either. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

India to randomly test international visitors for COVID-19

India has begun randomly testing international passengers arriving at its airports for COVID-19 after an increase in cases in neighboring China. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced the new … more

By SHEIKH SAALIQ | 12/22/22