Tag Archives: associated press

Weeds have punctured through the vacant parking lot of Martin General Hospital’s emergency room. A makeshift blue tarp covering the hospital’s sign is worn down from flapping in the wind. The hospital doors are locked, many in this county of 22,000 fear permanently. Some residents worry the hospital’s sudden closure last August could cost them their lives. “I know we …

Saudi Arabia’s national airline ordered more than 100 new Airbus jets, a reflection of the kingdom’s ambitious drive to lure more tourists. Saudia Group, which represents the Saudia airline and its budget carrier Flyadeal, said Monday that it ordered 105 aircraft from the French aerospace company’s A320neo family of jets, including 12 A320neos and 93 A321neos. That brings Saudia Group’s …

Cyberattacks against water utilities across the country are becoming more frequent and more severe, the Environmental Protection Agency warned Monday as it issued an enforcement alert urging water systems to take immediate actions to protect the nation’s drinking water. About 70% of utilities inspected by federal officials over the last year violated standards meant to prevent breaches or other intrusions, …

Those who want to climb one of the most popular trails of the iconic Japanese Mount Fuji will now have to reserve ahead and pay a fee as the picturesque stratovolcano struggles with overtourism, littering and those who attempt rushed “bullet climbing,” putting lives at risk. The Yamanashi prefecture said in a statement via the Foreign Press Center of Japan …

Turkey’s president took a swipe at the Eurovision Song Contest on Monday, accusing the annual event of allegedly encouraging “gender neutralization” and threatening the traditional family. In a speech following a Cabinet meeting, Recep Tayyip Erdogan described participants at the contest as the “Trojan horses of social corruption” and said his government was right to keep Turkey out of the …

A Russian court on Monday opened the trial of a theater director and a playwright accused of advocating terrorism in a play, the latest step in an unrelenting crackdown on dissent in Russia that has reached new heights since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine. Zhenya Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have been jailed for over …

Two Democratic primaries for U.S. House seats in Oregon could help reveal whether the party’s voters are leaning more toward progressive or establishment factions in a critical presidential election year. The state’s 3rd Congressional District, which includes much of liberal Portland, will have its first open Democratic primary since 1996 with the retirement of U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer. Two candidates …

Three Americans involved in a brazen weekend attack on Congo’s presidential palace formed an unlikely band under the leadership of eccentric opposition figure Christian Malanga, who dabbled in gold mining and used cars before persuading his Utah-born son to join in the foiled coup, according to officials’ description of events. Six people, including Malanga, were dead and dozens arrested, including …

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on foreigners in central Afghanistan last week in which three Spanish citizens and three Afghans were killed. Seven people were wounded in the attack on Friday in on Bamiyan province, a major tourist area, according to Abdul Mateen Qani, a spokesman for the interior minister. He said seven suspects were …

China’s Foreign Ministry warned that Taiwan independence was a “dead-end” on the day of the presidential inauguration of the self-ruled island on Monday. “No matter under what name or excuse, pushing for Taiwan independence is doomed to fail,” the ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin reiterated at a daily news briefing when asked about the inaugural speech by President Lai Ching-te. In …