King Charles to resume public duties after cancer diagnosis

LONDON — Britain’s King Charles III will return to public duties next week for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer as he makes good progress following treatment and a period of recuperation, Buckingham Palace said on Friday. In February, the palace revealed that the 75-year-old king had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of …

British officials charge 2 with spying for China

Washington — British officials formally charged two men Friday with spying on behalf of China in the latest in a series of European arrests of suspected Chinese intelligence agents. The two men, Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry, were charged with violations of the Official Secrets Act by “providing prejudicial information to a foreign state, China” between …

Planned Biden-Erdogan meeting at White House postponed, Turkish official says

ANKARA — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s planned meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, set for May 9 at the White House, has been postponed because of changes in the Turkish leader’s schedule, a Turkish official said on Friday.  A new date will soon be set, the official said, requesting anonymity.  The White House had not formally …

Ukraine pulls US-provided Abrams tanks from front lines over Russian drone threats

WASHINGTON — Ukraine has sidelined U.S.-provided Abrams M1A1 battle tanks for now in its fight against Russia, in part because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two U.S. military officials told The Associated Press. The U.S. agreed to send 31 Abrams to Ukraine in …

Zelenskyy blasts Russian nuclear risks on Chernobyl anniversary

Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Friday that Russia’s capture of a major nuclear power plant threatened a radiation catastrophe, as the country marked the anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Russian forces seized the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine in the first days of its 2022 invasion. Both …

China’s Nuctech raided in EU over foreign subsidies concerns

BRUSSELS — Chinese security equipment company Nuctech’s Dutch and Polish offices were raided by EU competition regulators, the company said on Wednesday, as the European Commission cracks down on companies receiving unfair state subsidies which put EU peers at a disadvantage. The European Commission has launched four investigations against Chinese companies since its foreign subsidies regulation …

Russia blocks UN resolution on peaceful use of outer space

new york — Russia blocked a U.N. Security Council resolution Wednesday reaffirming the need to prevent a nuclear arms race in outer space. The measure was proposed jointly by the United States, a nuclear power, and Japan, the only nation ever to be attacked with nuclear bombs. “We have only begun to understand the catastrophic ramifications …

Spain’s prime minister says he will consider resigning after wife is targeted by judicial probe

BARCELONA, Spain — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez denied corruption allegations against his wife but said he will consider resigning after the launch Wednesday of a judicial investigation into accusations by a right-wing legal platform that she used her position to influence business deals. Sánchez said in a letter posted on his X account that while …

Amnesty: Global rule of law on brink of collapse, fueled by AI

London — A breakdown in the international rule of law is being accelerated through rapid advancement in technology and artificial intelligence, which risks a “supercharging” of human rights violations, according to an annual report, by Amnesty International, published April 24.  “The international rules-based order is on the brink of collapse. The violations of international law have …

Turkey arrests pro-Kurdish reporters in ‘terrorism’ probe, relative says

Istanbul — Nine Turks working for pro-Kurdish media outlets were arrested Tuesday in Turkey, their employers and lawyers said, with a relative of one saying they were accused of “terrorist activities.” Four women and five men were arrested at dawn in Istanbul, the capital Ankara, and the southeastern city of Urfa, lawyers from the Media and …

Channel tragedy spotlights Britain’s Rwanda migrant law

London — French authorities say a 7-year-old girl was among five migrants who drowned in the English Channel on Tuesday just hours after British lawmakers voted through legislation aimed at deterring asylum-seekers from making the crossing. Local officials said the inflatable dinghy carrying some 112 people hit a sandbank after leaving a beach near the village …