PARIS (AP) — French court sentences Nicolas Sarkozy to one year in prison in campaign financing case, pending a potential appeal. The post French court sentences Nicolas Sarkozy to one year in prison in campaign financing case, pending a potential appeal appeared first on WAOW ..read more

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s legislature descended into a rowdy brawl after opposition lawmakers interrupted an important policy address and rushed the podium. The melee started as the head of the Cabinet was opening his annual address on the government’s performance. A few lawmakers were shoved to the ground and others poured out bottles of water onto their opponents. The Nationalist party, or Kuomintang, has criticized the ruling administration over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Legislators waved signs which called shorter quarantine requirements for pilots a “big breach.” More ..read more

BEIJING (AP) — Defense officials from China and the U.S. have held two days of talks in a small sign of progress amid a continuing sharp downturn in relations. The video conference held Tuesday and Wednesday was led by Maj. Gen. Huang Xueping, deputy direct of the People’s Liberation Army’s Office for International Military Cooperation, and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China Michael Chase. The Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson says they exchanged in-depth views on relations and issues of common concern. However, he blamed continuous provocation and containment of China by ..read more

BERLIN (AP) — Officials say a 96-year-old former secretary for the SS commander of the Stutthof concentration camp is being sought on an arrest warrant in Germany after skipping the planned start of her trial. The woman is being tried on more than 11,000 counts of accessory to murder. A court spokesperson told German news agency dpa on Thursday that the defendant left a home in a taxi and headed for a subway station on the outskirts of Hamburg. Her destination wasn’t known. Prosecutors argue that the woman was part of the apparatus that helped the Nazi camp function more than 75 years ago. The ..read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is moving to avert one crisis while putting off another. The Senate is poised to approve legislation Thursday that would keep the federal government running into early December. The House is also expected to approve the measure following the Senate vote, preventing a partial government shutdown when the new fiscal year begins Friday. Democrats were forced to remove a suspension of the federal government’s borrowing limit from the bill at the insistence of Republicans. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warns that if the debt limit isn’t raised by Oct. 18, the country wo ..read more

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Girls from the Afghanistan national soccer team who were recently granted asylum in Portugal have had a surprise visit from the captain of the senior team. Farkhunda Muhtaj flew into the Portuguese capital Lisbon for an emotional reunion with the girls’ team late Wednesday. She is a professional player who from her home in Canada spent weeks helping arrange their recent rescue from Afghanistan. As the sun set over the River Tagus, the girls aged 14-16 and their families gathered on the riverbank and hugged and kissed Muhtaj amid smiles and tears. The rescue mission was ..read more

This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images made or published by Associated Press photographers in the Middle East, Afghanistan & Pakistan Region between Sept. 23-29, 2021. This week’s selection includes scenes from across the region, including Shiite pilgrims descending on the holy shrines of Imam Hussein and Imam Abbas for the Arbaeen Shiite festival in Karbala, Iraq. The holiday marks the end of the forty-day mourning period after the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, in the 7th century. In Beirut, mourners buried Ibrahim ..read more

PARIS (AP) — French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy found guilty of illegal campaign financing of his unsuccessful 2012 reelection bid. The post French ex-President Nicolas Sarkozy found guilty of illegal campaign financing of his unsuccessful 2012 reelection bid appeared first on WAOW ..read more

FORT MCCOY (WKOW) -- The mission involving thousands of Afghan evacuees at Wisconsin's only active military base is slowly transitioning from sheltering to resettling, a State Department official said Wednesday. Holly Kirking Loomis, a deputy team lead for the State Department's efforts at Fort McCoy, did not directly answer how many Afghans evacuated to the base from Kabul had since been resettled in the U.S. She said the process varied as some evacuees who already had citizenship status or green cards were already sent to live with families or sponsors in the U.S. while others applying for ..read more

MITO, Japan (AP) — Japan’s next prime minister says he believes raising incomes is the only way to get the world’s third-largest economy growing again. Growth had stalled even before the pandemic hit, stymied by longstanding problems including a shrinking population, growing inequality and stagnant incomes. Fumio Kishida won a party vote Wednesday and is due to be named prime minister on Monday. Analysts say he is viewed as an establishment choice, not a reformer, and is unlikely to stray far from the playbook of his predecessors. First on his list is another big dose of government spending to ..read more