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International News

Saudi Arabia stops 269,678 Muslims without Hajj permits from entering Mecca

By BARAA ANWER Associated Press MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia stopped more than 269,000 people without permits for the annual Hajj pilgrimage from entering Mecca, officials said Sunday, as authorities crack down on illegal journeys into the city. The government blames ...

China forms new global mediation group with dozens of countries

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Dozens of countries joined China on Friday in establishing an international mediation-based dispute resolution group. Representatives of more than 30 other countries, from Pakistan and Indonesia to Belarus and Cuba, signed the Convention on ...

Russia accuses ally Serbia of betrayal for supplying arms to Ukraine

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Russia on Thursday accused Serbia of exporting arms to Ukraine, saying it's a stab in the back by its longtime Slavic Balkan ally. "Serbian defense enterprises, contrary to the 'neutrality' declared by official Belgrade, ...

Turkey will fine airline passengers who unbuckle before the plane stops

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Passengers on flights to Turkey who unbuckle their seat belts, enter an aisle or open overhead compartments before their plane has stopped taxiing upon arrival are eligible for fines under new regulations issued by the country's civil aviation authority. Under the ...

Why an Israeli scholar kidnapped in Iraq still isn’t free 800 days later

By MELANIE LIDMAN and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — With the world's attention fixed on efforts to free Israeli hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, talks are quietly continuing to liberate an Israeli hostage held in Iraq by a different Iranian-backed ...

Ursula von der Leyen honored with award for contributions to European unity

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen received the International Charlemagne Prize, an annual award for contributions to European unity, on Thursday as the 27-nation bloc confronts Russia's war against Ukraine, the Trump ...