World News - The Morning Sun

A supporter of VOX far right party wrapped in a Spanish flag attends an election campaign event in Guadalajara, Spain, Saturday, July 15, 2023. Spain's general election Sunday, July 23 could make the country the latest European Union member to shift to the political right. Most polls put the right-wing Popular Party ahead of the Socialists but likely needing the support of the extreme right Vox party to form a government. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Spanish general election tipped to put the far right back in office for the first time since Franco

Spain's general election Sunday could make the country the latest European Union member to shift to the political right. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the early election after his … more

7/22/23

Patrick George Zaki, an activist and postgraduate student in Italy, poses during an interview with The Associated Press at his home in Cairo, Egypt, Friday July 21, 2023, following his release from prison. Zaki, who received a presidential pardon on Wednesday, said he hopes that other prominent jailed dissidents would be let go soon, including one of the most famous, Alaa Abdel Fattah. (AP Photo/Tarek Wajeh)

Pardoned Egypt activist says he plans to travel to Italy, continue human rights work

A high-profile Egyptian activist who was recently released from prison has said he plans to travel to Italy, where his case garnered significant attention, in the coming days. He also said he plans … more

7/21/23

The UN Security Council meets to discuss the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine, Friday, July 21, 2023, at United Nations headquarters. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

Russia comes under pressure at UN to avoid global food crisis and revive Ukrainian grain shipments

Russia came under pressure at the U.N. Security Council from its ally China and developing countries as well as Western nations to avert a global food crisis and quickly revive Ukrainian grain … more

By EDITH M. LEDERER | 7/21/23

Solar panels are mounted on poles above a hops field near Au in der Hallertau, Germany, Wednesday, July 19, 2023. Solar panels atop crops has been gaining traction in recent years as incentives and demand for clean energy skyrocket. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

Hops for beer flourish under solar panels. They're not the only crop thriving in the shade.

A farm in Bavaria is covering its hops with solar panels, providing electricity to 250 households and shading the plants from the increasingly scorching summer heat in the process. Solar panels atop … more

By MATTHIAS SCHRADER and DANA BELTAJI | 7/21/23

Laborers work while visitors stand below the sitting Maravijaya Buddha marble statue, Friday, July 21, 2023, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. The Maravijaya Buddha statue is said to be the world’s highest sitting marble Buddha image according to local media. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Myanmar's generals unveil giant Buddha statue as they seek to win hearts and minds during civil war

The military-controlled government of strife-torn Myanmar has unveiled a new giant statue of a sitting Buddha that is scheduled to be consecrated on Aug. 1. It's a powerful symbol of nationalism in a … more

By GRANT PECK | 7/21/23

FILE - Women walk in the al-Hol camp that houses some 60,000 refugees, including families and supporters of the Islamic State group, many of them foreign nationals, in Hasakeh province, Syria, on May 1, 2021. A U.N.-backed human rights advocate said Friday July 21, 2023 that hundreds of boys — some as young as 11 — held in detention camps run by U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led forces in northeastern Syria have been wrongly separated from their mothers on the “unproven" belief that they pose a security risk. (AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad, File)

UN expert decries the practice of taking boys from their mothers at detention camps in Syria

A U.N.-backed human rights advocate says hundreds of boys held in detention camps run by U.S.-backed forces in opposition-controlled northeastern Syria have been wrongly separated from their mothers … more

By JAMEY KEATEN | 7/21/23

Bobby Makaza celebrates after he was released from Harare Central Prison in Harare, Zimbabwe, Friday, May 19 2023. The mother of a Zimbabwean 15-year-old rape victim has approached the country’s High Court challenging the release of the sex offender under a presidential amnesty in May. 59-year-old Makaza became a social media sensation after his boisterous celebrations at being freed were captured on video and went viral. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

A sex offender freed in Zimbabwe's amnesty gains social media fame. His victim's family is dismayed

The mother of a 15-year-old Zimbabwean rape victim has gone to the country's High Court to challenge the early release of the man convicted of attacking her daughter when she was a preteen. The man … more

By FARAI MUTSAKA | 7/21/23

FILE - Police officers escort Briton David Hunter, right, as he leaves the grounds of the courthouse complex after a trial on a premeditated murder charge in the death of his ill wife, in the south west coastal city of Paphos, Cyprus, Tuesday, March 21, 2023. A Cyprus court has found a British man who killed his ailing wife in their home guilty of manslaughter. In a unanimous decision, the three-judge bench said Friday, July 21, 2023 that David Hunter's decision to suffocate his 74-year-old wife Janice was a spur-of-the-moment decision because he snapped as he could no longer stand her weeping in pain. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias, File)

He killed his ailing wife. A Cyprus court ruled it was manslaughter, not murder

A Cyprus court has found a British man who killed his ailing wife in their home guilty of manslaughter, saying that the prosecution didn't prove beyond reasonable doubt that the 76-year-old man … more

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS | 7/21/23

The USS Canberra (LCS-30) sails past the Sydney Opera House as it arrives at the Royal Australian Navy's Fleet Base East, in Sydney, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. The USS Canberra will be commissioned into service in Sydney on Saturday. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP Image via AP)

US navy secretary says Australian multination military exercise demonstrates unity to China

U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro says the major multination military training exercise Talisman Sabre in Australia sends a message to China that America’s allies are cooperating to defend their … more

By ROD McGUIRK | 7/21/23

Members of anti-animal cruelty group Humane Society International, (HSI) transport a cage containing dogs from a slaughter house in Tomohon, North Sulawesi, Indonesia, Friday, July 21, 2023. Authorities on Friday announced the end of the "brutally cruel" dog and cat meat slaughter at a notorious animal market on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi following a years-long campaign by local activists and world celebrities. (AP Photo/Mohammad Taufan)

A notorious Indonesian animal market has ended its brutal dog and cat meat trade, campaigners say

Years after groups call for shutdown of brutal Indonesian animal markets where dogs and cats are bludgeoned by thousands and blow-torched alive, their campaigns are beginning to pay off. The mayor of … more

By MOHAMMAD TAUFAN | 7/21/23

Police officers stand guard outside the High Court ahead of the hearing for an injunction to ban the 2019 protest song "Glory to Hong Kong" in Hong Kong, Friday, July 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)

Hong Kong court to decide whether to ban broadcast and distribution of protest song

A Hong Kong court will hand down a closely-watched decision over whether to ban the broadcast and distribution of a protest song after the government asked it to do so in the name of national … more

By KANIS LEUNG | 7/21/23

In this photo released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, Jan. 1, 1970, a warship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet fires while taking part in naval drills in the Black Sea. The Russian Defense Ministry said the navy conducted drills that simulated action to seal a section of the Black Sea. The maneuvers come after Moscow declared large areas of the Black Sea dangerous for navigation following its withdrawal from a deal allowing exports of the Ukrainian grain. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Russia aims missiles at Ukraine's farm storage after days of hitting port facilities

Russian cruise missiles, flying low and hugging the terrain to dodge Ukrainian air defenses, have destroyed farm storage buildings in the Odesa region. Ukrainian officials said the Kremlin’s forces … more

By FELIPE DANA | 7/21/23

Police patrol during a search operation for a dangerous wild animal near the village of Kleinmachnow in the southern suburbs of Berlin, Germany, Thursday, July 20, 2023. German authorities warned people in Berlin's southern suburbs on Thursday to watch out for a potentially dangerous animal, suspected to be a lioness, that was on the loose. (Sven Kaeuler/TNN/dpa via AP)

'Lioness' on the loose? More experts join police in second-day search for elusive animal

The search for an elusive and potentially dangerous animal sighted on the edge of Berlin and suspected to be a lioness has stretched into a second day. Authorities said Friday that experts on animal … more

7/21/23

Iraqis raise copies of the Quran, Muslims' holy book, during a protest in Tahrir Square, Thursday، July 20, 2023 in Baghdad, Iraq. The protest was in response to the burning of Quran in Sweden. (AP Photo/Adil AL-Khazali)

Muslim-majority nations express outrage and plan street protests over Quran desecration in Sweden

Muslim-majority nations are expressing outrage over the desecration of a copy of the Quran in Sweden. Some prepared for street demonstrations following Friday prayers to show their anger. In Iran, … more

7/21/23

FILE - Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff arrive in the East Room of the White House following a dinner reception for the governors and their spouses on Feb. 11, 2023, in Washington. Emhoff met with former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Friday, July 21, to discuss ways to combat online hate and extremism. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

U.S. second gentleman Emhoff meets New Zealand's Ardern to discuss online hate as World Cup begins

Doug Emhoff, the husband of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, met with former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern Friday to discuss ways to combat online hate and extremism. Emhoff is in … more

7/21/23

Members of three families from the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem community facing deportation, pose for a portrait in the Village of Peace in Dimona, Israel, Monday, July 17, 2023. For two years, Toveet Israel, bottom left, and dozens of other residents of the Village of Peace have lived in fear. This city on the edge of Israel's Negev Desert has been her home for 24 years. Her eight children, including two of her daughters Yahlital, standing left, and Ahmeeteeyah standing right, were born here and know no other country. With them are Ben Israel, center, his granddaughters, and Estella Rivers, right. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

After decades of struggle for a place in Israel, dozens of Black Hebrews face threat of deportation

The African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem made their way to Israel from the United States in the 1960s. Now, dozens Black Hebrews of their members are facing the threat of deportation. The Black … more

By ILAN BEN ZION | 7/21/23

Counting begins at Selby Leisure Centre in Selby, North Yorkshire, England, in the Selby and Ainsty by-election, called following the resignation of incumbent MP Nigel Adams, Thursday July 20, 2023. The polls have opened in three by-elections where defeats would heighten Conservative fears that Rishi Sunak will struggle to lead them to another Commons majority. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

Sunak's Conservatives suffer big defeats but avoid a wipeout in trio of UK special elections

Britain’s governing Conservative Party have avoided a drubbing in a trio of special elections, managing to hold onto former premier Boris Johnson’s seat in suburban London. Though the main … more

7/21/23

Rescuers dig graves to bury the bodies of victims at the site of a landslide in Raigad district, western Maharashtra state, India, Thursday, July 20, 2023. While some people are reported dead many others feared trapped under piles of debris. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Rescue efforts have resumed in western India where a landslide killed at least 16 people

Rescue efforts have resumed after an overnight halt in India’s western Maharashtra state where a landslide triggered by torrential rains killed at least 16 people, with many others feared trapped … more

7/21/23

Protestor Salwan Momika appears outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm, Thursday, July 20, 2023, where he plans to burn a copy of the Quran and the Iraqi flag. (Oscar Olsson/TT via AP)

Why does Sweden allow Quran burnings? Like much of West, it has no blasphemy laws

A recent string of public desecrations of the Quran by a handful of anti-Islam activists in Sweden has sparked an angry reaction in Muslim countries and raised questions about why such acts are … more

By KARL RITTER | 7/20/23

From left, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General for Asian and Oceanian Affairs Takehiro Funakoshi, and South Korea's Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Kim Gunn pose prior to their talks on the North Korean situation in Karuizawa, Nagano prefecture, Japan Thursday, July 20, 2023. (Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool Photo via AP)

Japanese, US, and South Korean officials condemn the North's weapons plans but urge dialogue

Japanese, U.S. and South Korean senior officials have condemned North Korea for its recent ICBM-class ballistic missile launches. At a meeting in Japan, they vowed to step up their trilateral … more

By MARI YAMAGUCHI | 7/20/23