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Tens of thousands protest on anniversay of deadly Spain flood
VALENCIA, Spain (AFP) -- Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Spain's eastern city of Valencia on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of floods that killed 229 people, and to denounce the handling of the disaster. Demonstrators, many carrying photos of the victims, called on regional leader Carlos Mazon to resign over what they say was the slow response to one of Europe's deadliest natural disasters in decades. "People are still really angry," said Rosa Cerros, a 42-year-old gov
Oct. 26, 2025 -
FBI indicts dozens of people in Philadelphia on drug charges
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — More than two dozen people have been indicted on drug-related charges as part of a yearslong investigation into a gang in Philadelphia, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced Friday. Cocaine, fentanyl and heroin were sold in the Kensington area in “one of the most prolific drug blocks in the city" from Jan. 2016 to Oct. 2025, according to the indictment. The charges come as President Donald Trump scales up federal law enforcement operations around the US to crack down
Oct. 26, 2025 -
Picasso portrait of muse Dora Maar in vivid hat, long hidden from view, sells for $37 million
PARIS (AP) -- A vividly hued Picasso portrait of longtime muse and partner Dora Maar that had remained hidden from public view for more than eight decades sold Friday at auction for 32 million euros (about $37 million), including fees -- surpassing expectations but far from the artist's most expensive work ever auctioned. Painted in July 1943, "Bust of a Woman with a Flowered Hat (Dora Maar)" depicts Maar in a brightly colored floral hat. Maar, an artist and photographer herself, had been Picass
Oct. 26, 2025 -
Trump not 'wasting time' with Putin as Kremlin envoy visits US
US President Donald Trump on Saturday played down prospects of a summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin anytime soon, even as a top Kremlin negotiator huddled for talks with US officials on ending the war in Ukraine. "I'm going to have to know that we're going to make a deal. I'm not going to be wasting my time," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he headed to Asia, days after plans for a summit with Putin in Budapest collapsed. "I've always had a great relationship with Vladimir Pu
Oct. 26, 2025 -
Independent left-wing politician Connolly wins Irish presidency in landslide
DUBLIN (Reuters) -- Catherine Connolly, a veteran lawmaker on the far left of the Irish political spectrum, was elected president by a landslide margin on Saturday in a stinging rebuke to the recently reelected center-right coalition. Connolly, 68, a long-time critic of the European Union in overwhelmingly pro-EU Ireland backed by the left-dominated opposition, was not a household name and was underestimated by many at the start of the contest for the largely ceremonial role. Connolly, an indepe
Oct. 26, 2025 -
Thailand's Queen Mother Sirikit has died at age 93
Thailand’s Queen Mother Sirikit, who supervised royal projects to help the rural poor, preserve traditional craft-making and protect the environment, died on Friday. She was 93. The Royal Household Bureau said she died in a hospital in Bangkok, adding that she began suffering from a blood infection on Oct. 17 and despite her medical team’s efforts, her condition did not improve. She suffered a stroke in 2012 and was afterwards largely absent from public life due to declining health. Her husband,
Oct. 25, 2025 -
Immigrant rights group calls for removing pregnant women from detention
Women taken into custody by US immigration agents while pregnant say they received inadequate care in a letter Wednesday that calls on the Trump administration to stop holding expectant mothers in federal detention facilities. The letter to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is part of a broader campaign in recent months by Democrats and immigrant rights groups to draw attention to what they say is the mistreatment of pregnant detainees. The Department of Homeland Security has defended its c
Oct. 23, 2025 -
COVID-19 vaccines may help some cancer patients fight tumors
WASHINGTON (AP) — The most widely used COVID-19 vaccines may offer a surprise benefit for some cancer patients -- revving up their immune systems to help fight tumors. People with advanced lung or skin cancer who were taking certain immunotherapy drugs lived substantially longer if they also got a Pfizer or Moderna shot within 100 days of starting treatment, according to preliminary research being reported Wednesday in the journal Nature. And it had nothing to do with virus infections. Instead,
Oct. 23, 2025 -
Taiwan plans deeper military ties with US to bolster security
Taiwan's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday it intends to deepen collaboration with the US, including reciprocal visits and observation of military exercises, to help maintain peace and stability in the region. The US, like most countries, has no formal diplomatic ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, but is the island's most important international backer and is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. In a report to parliament, the ministry said the US is an important strate
Oct. 23, 2025 -
UN court says Israel must ease aid into Gaza, provide 'basic needs'
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) -- The International Court of Justice said Wednesday that Israel was obliged to ease the passage of aid into Gaza, stressing it had to provide Palestinians with the "basic needs" to survive. The wide-ranging ICJ ruling, quickly rejected by Israel, came as aid groups scrambled to scale up much-needed humanitarian assistance into Gaza, seizing upon a fragile ceasefire agreed earlier this month. While the UN's top court's "Advisory Opinion" is not legally binding, the I
Oct. 23, 2025 -
US military strikes suspected drug vessel in Pacific
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The US military killed two alleged drug smugglers in a strike against a vessel in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday, an attack that expands the Trump administration's use of the military in its counternarcotics campaign. The strike is the first known US military operation in the Pacific since US President Donald Trump started a new military offensive against the drug trade that has led to at least seven strikes in the Caribbean
Oct. 23, 2025 -
Overshooting 1.5 C climate target 'inevitable': UN chief
GENEVA (AFP) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday it was now clear that efforts to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels would fail in the short term. Ahead of next month's COP30 climate summit in Brazil, Guterres said going beyond 1.5 C would result in "devastating" yet predictable impacts. "One thing is already clear. We will not be able to contain the global warming below 1.5 degrees in the next few years," Guterres said at the UN's World Met
Oct. 23, 2025 -
Charles to be first UK king to pray with pope in 500 years
ROME (AFP) -- King Charles III landed in Rome Wednesday for a state visit to the Vatican, where he will meet Pope Leo XIV and make history as the first British monarch to pray publicly with the pontiff since the Church of England broke away from Catholicism 500 years ago. The visit comes at a delicate time for the British king following new revelations about his brother, Prince Andrew, who is mired in a scandal surrounding late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. After landing at Rome's Ciampino mi
Oct. 23, 2025 -
US levies new sanctions on Russia in push to end Ukraine war
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration announced Wednesday new “massive sanctions” against Russia's oil industry that are aimed at moving Russian President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table and bringing an end to Moscow's brutal war on Ukraine. The sanctions against oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil followed months of calls from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as bipartisan pressure on Trump to hit Russia with harder sanctions on its oil industry, the economi
Oct. 23, 2025 -
Google develops landmark quantum computing algorithm
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -- Google said it has developed a computer algorithm that points the way to practical applications for quantum computing and will be able to generate unique data for use with artificial intelligence. The new algorithm called Quantum Echoes, which runs on the company's quantum chip, is 13,000 times faster than the most sophisticated classical computing algorithm on supercomputers, Google said. In the future, the Quantum Echoes algorithm may be able to help measure molecula
Oct. 23, 2025