Cancun’s boycott of taxis in Uber dispute gets rained out
January 27, 2023 GMTMEXICO CITY (AP) — Residents of the Mexican resort of Cancun hoped people would boycott medallion taxis Friday, after a week of blockades and violent incidents by drivers protesting the ride-hailing app Uber.
Burkina Faso says 66 women, children freed from extremists
January 21, 2023 GMTOUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) — Burkina Faso's army has freed 66 women and children who were abducted earlier this month by Islamic extremists while gathering food in the country's northern Sahel region, according to a state television report Friday.
Protesters lift blockades in Bolivia’s Santa Cruz region
January 18, 2023 GMTLA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Protesters ended blockades Wednesday that had largely isolated the rich Santa Cruz region from the rest of Bolivia for more than 15 days, but leaders said the roadblocks could resume to press demands that the goverment free the region’s governor.
Bolivia: Opposition blockades push for leader’s release
January 13, 2023 GMTSAN CARLOS, Bolivia (AP) — Outside Santa Cruz, Bolivia's most populous city, the highway starts to resemble a parking lot with dozens of cargo-laden trucks stopped in a long line as exhausted-looking drivers wait by the side of the road.
Saturday’s Scores
January 8, 2023 GMTBOYS PREP BASKETBALL=
Thursday’s Scores
January 6, 2023 GMTGIRLS PREP BASKETBALL=
Huge crowds of Palestinians mark Fatah anniversary in Gaza
December 31, 2022 GMTGAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians thronged a Gaza City park Saturday to mark the 58th anniversary of the founding of the Fatah party, a rare show of popularity in the heartland of the militant Hamas group, Fatah’s main rival.
Thursday’s Scores
December 30, 2022 GMTGIRLS PREP BASKETBALL=
Thursday’s Scores
December 30, 2022 GMTBOYS PREP BASKETBALL=
Academy for Technology and The Classics 50, Santa Rosa 46
In blockaded Gaza, World Cup fans watch from the sidelines
November 20, 2022 GMTGAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hundreds of fans gathered at a sports hall in Gaza City on Sunday, which Qatar prepared for the Palestinian residents of the impoverished territory to watch the World Cup matches for free.
Haiti fears spike in cholera cases as fuel blockade lifts
November 16, 2022 GMTPORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Cholera cases are overwhelming Haiti as experts warn the situation could worsen now that the country is bustling once again after a paralyzing fuel blockade that lasted two months.
Gas stations in Haiti reopen for 1st time in 2 months
November 12, 2022 GMTPORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Whoops of excitement echoed through the streets of Port-au-Prince early Saturday as gas stations opened across Haiti for the first time in two months after a powerful gang lifted a crippling fuel blockade.
Israelis, Palestinians can fly on same flights to World Cup
November 10, 2022 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — Soccer fans from Israel and the Palestinian territories will be able to fly directly to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar from Tel Aviv for the first time, soccer’s global governing body announced Thursday.
Palestinians join huge Fatah rally in Gaza Strip amid rift
November 10, 2022 GMTGAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Turning a huge park in Gaza City into a sea of yellow flags, tens of thousands of Palestinians on Thursday commemorated the anniversary of the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat — a rare public show of support for the Fatah faction in the heartland of its Islamist rival Hamas.
Haiti gang leader to lift fuel blockade amid shortages
November 6, 2022 GMTPORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A powerful gang leader announced Sunday that he was lifting a blockade at a key fuel terminal that has strangled Haiti's capital for nearly two months.
The announcement by Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer nicknamed “Barbecue,” followed government claims of at least some success in efforts to reclaim the terminal, as well as a United Nations resolution targeting Cherizier with sanctions.
Haiti police try to break blockade of crucial fuel terminal
November 4, 2022 GMTPORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s National Police was fighting to remove a powerful gang that has surrounded a key fuel terminal in Port-au-Prince for almost two months, though it was not immediately clear Friday if the economically devastating blockade was fully lifted.
Climate protests criticized; but Germany missing 2030 goal
November 4, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — German officials urged environmental activists to engage in “constructive” protests and avoid endangering lives Friday as government-appointed experts warned that the key European Union country risks missing its climate targets for 2030.
German leader urges climate activists not to endanger others
October 31, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged climate activists Monday to show “creativity” and avoid endangering others after attacking art works and setting up road blockades that allegedly delayed the arrival of a specialist rescue crew at an accident scene.
Concerns rise as Russia resumes grain blockade of Ukraine
October 30, 2022 GMTKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia resumed its blockade of Ukrainian ports on Sunday, cutting off urgently needed grain exports to hungry parts of the world in what U.S. President Joe Biden called a “really outrageous” act.
Dominican Republic: Fuel smugglers cash in on Haiti chaos
October 14, 2022 GMTHAVANA (AP) — As gangs in Haiti blockade and loot key fuel supplies, the fuel crisis is now trickling over to the neighboring Dominican Republic.
An illicit petroleum contraband industry on the countries’ 240-mile shared border has flourished in the wake of soaring gasoline prices in Haiti.
Calls for help, humanitarian corridor as gangs siege Haiti
October 6, 2022 GMTPORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The United Nations is proposing a “humanitarian corridor” in Haiti's capital to help people get gasoline and aid amid a mounting crisis as gangs keep blockading roads and access to some areas, including to one key fuel terminal in Port-au-Prince.
Minnesota judge: Blocking pipeline protest camp was wrong
September 14, 2022 GMTPARK RAPIDS, Minn. (AP) — A judge in Minnesota has ruled that sheriff's officials had no right to block access to a camp set up in opposition to the Enbridge Line 3 oil pipeline.
In an order issued Tuesday, Hubbard County District Judge Jana Austad ruled the pipeline protesters were using a private driveway, not a county trail, to access Camp Namewag near Menahga.
Rights groups urge Yemen’s Houthis to end Taiz blockade
August 29, 2022 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Sixteen rights groups Monday urged Yemen’s Houthi rebels to end their siege of the country’s third-largest city, as the internationally recognized government said an overnight rebel attack killed at least 10 troops.
Work permits are a lifeline for Gaza, and a lever for Israel
August 26, 2022 GMTKHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Ibrahim Slaieh can point to three great moments of joy in his life in the Gaza Strip: his graduation from university, his wedding, and the day last year when he got a six-month permit to work inside Israel.
An exotic bird lures trappers to Gaza’s tense frontier
August 24, 2022 GMTKHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — They fan out along the tense frontier with Israel in the pre-dawn darkness, setting traps and training their eyes on the other side of the separation fence — where the parakeets are.
Mexican border cities hit by burning vehicles, blockades
August 13, 2022 GMTTIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — The Mexican border cities of Tijuana and Mexicali along with Rosarito and Ensenada were hit by gang violence that included vehicles being set ablaze and road blockades.
Seeking new funds, Hamas raises taxes in impoverished Gaza
July 28, 2022 GMTGAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Gaza’s Hamas rulers have imposed a slew of new taxes on imported clothes and office supplies just ahead of the new school year, sparking limited but rare protests in the impoverished coastal strip.
Protesting Dutch farmers dump manure, garbage on roads
July 27, 2022 GMTTHE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch farmers protested government plans to reduce nitrogen emissions by dumping manure and garbage Wednesday on highways and setting fires alongside roads — the latest actions in a summer of discontent.
3 weeks of protests in Panama cause food, fuel shortages
July 20, 2022 GMTPANAMA CITY (AP) — Three weeks of continuous demonstrations and road blockades to protest high fuel and food costs in Panama have begun to cause shortages of some food products, fuel and medicine.
The closures, including of the Pan-American Highway, have forced the national electric company to ration electricity in Darien province, which borders Colombia.
German climate activists aim to stir friction with blockades
July 15, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — “It’s absolutely crazy to stick yourself to the road with superglue,” admits Lina Schinkoethe.
And yet, the 19-year-old recently landed in jail for doing just that, in protest at what she believes is the German government's failure to act against climate change.
Dutch farmers block entrances to supermarket warehouses
July 4, 2022 GMTZAANDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch farmers angry at government plans to slash emissions used tractors and trucks Monday to block roads and supermarket distribution centers, sparking fears of store food shortages in the latest actions through a summer of discontent in the country's lucrative agricultural sector.
Germany sees possible Russian ‘blockade’ of key gas pipeline
June 30, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Germany's vice chancellor said Thursday he suspects that Russia may not resume natural gas deliveries to Europe through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline after planned maintenance work in July, complicating the outlook for this winter.
Russian lawmaker: Baltic exclave blockade may fuel conflict
June 29, 2022 GMTMOSCOW (AP) — Lithuania’s refusal to allow some goods targeted by European Union sanctions through to Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad could trigger a military confrontation, a senior Russian lawmaker warned Wednesday.
Romanian port struggles to handle flow of Ukrainian grain
June 24, 2022 GMTCONSTANTA, Romania (AP) — With Ukraine's seaports blockaded or captured by Russian forces, neighboring Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta has emerged as a main conduit for the war-torn country’s grain exports amid a growing world food crisis.
EU calls on Ethiopia to reconnect Tigray region to the world
June 21, 2022 GMTADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — The European Union says Ethiopia’s government must reconnect its northern Tigray region to the world as a yearlong partial blockade has left food aid for almost 1 million hungry people stuck in warehouses without the fuel to deliver it.
More bodies found in Mariupol as global food crisis looms
June 9, 2022 GMTBAKHMUT, Ukraine (AP) — Workers pulled scores of bodies from smashed buildings in an “endless caravan of death” inside the devastated city of Mariupol, authorities said Wednesday, while fears of a global food crisis escalated over Ukraine’s inability to export millions of tons of grain through its blockaded ports.
Live updates | Zelenskyy says Russia hopes for famine crisis
May 31, 2022 GMTKYIV, Ukraine -- Ukraineian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the Russian blockade of Ukrainian sea ports prevents Kyiv from exporting 22 million tons of grain.
In his nightly address Monday, Zelenskyy said the result is the threat of famine in countries dependent on the grain and could create a new migration crisis.
Yemen: UN talks to open roads to blockaded city inconclusive
May 28, 2022 GMTCAIRO (AP) — Yemen’s warring parties did not reach an agreement Saturday to lift a blockade by Houthi rebels of the country's third largest city, the United Nations said, after three days of talks in the Jordanian capital.
EU plan aims to help get wheat from Ukraine to the world
May 12, 2022 GMTBRUSSELS (AP) — The European Commission proposed helping Ukraine export its wheat and other grains by rail, road and river to get around a Russian blockade of Black Sea ports, which is preventing those critical supplies from reaching parts of the world at risk of food insecurity.
With Ukraine’s ports blocked, trains in Europe haul grain
May 6, 2022 GMTVIENNA (AP) — A train carrying 2,000 metric tons of Ukrainian corn arrived in Austria on Friday, part of European efforts to elude a Russian blockade of Ukraine’s ports that has prevented critical supplies of wheat, corn and other grains from getting to countries in Africa, Middle East and parts of Asia.
New Maine law aims to stop harassment at abortion clinics
April 25, 2022 GMTPORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A new law in Maine is designed to prevent harassment and blockades outside abortion providers in the state.
Supporters said the new law gives health service facilities the ability to establish and mark a “medical safety zone” that extends 8 feet (2 1/2 meters) from the center of an entryway.
“My golden sunshine”: Teen killed by shelling deeply mourned
April 16, 2022 GMTKHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — The mother and grandmother of a 15-year-old Ukrainian boy could not hold back their tears. Their anguish filled the cramped hallway as they knelt over the teen's body.
Artem Shevchenko was killed by shelling in Kharkiv, a partially blockaded northeastern city where Russian shelling has increased in recent days.
Ukraine’s port of Mariupol holding out against all odds
April 15, 2022 GMTLVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Under relentless bombardment and a Russian blockade, the key port of Mariupol is holding out, but weapons and supplies shortages could weaken the resistance that has thwarted the Kremlin's invasion plans.
In Gaza, an application languishes, and a toddler dies
April 15, 2022 GMTJERUSALEM (AP) — Jalal al-Masri and his wife spent eight years and their life savings on fertility treatments in order to have their daughter, Fatma. When she was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect in December, they waited another three months for an Israeli permit to take her for treatment outside the Gaza Strip.
First fuel ship allowed in Yemen’s Hodeida as part of truce
April 3, 2022 GMTCAIRO (AP) — A tanker carrying badly needed fuel arrived in Yemen’s blockaded port of Hodeida on Sunday, as a cease-fire meant to stop the fighting in the war-torn country for two months entered its first full day.
More protesters expected at thinning New Zealand blockade
February 25, 2022 GMTWELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The number of cars and trucks blocking the streets outside New Zealand's Parliament was thinning Friday, although more protesters were expected to arrive for the weekend, including some by boat.
Trudeau revokes emergency powers after Canada blockades end
February 24, 2022 GMTTORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday he is removing emergency powers police can use after authorities ended the blockades at the borders and the occupation in Ottawa by truckers and others opposed to COVID-19 restrictions.
Climate activists try to block access to 3 German airports
February 23, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — Climate activists on Wednesday blocked roads leading to Germany's three biggest airports, gluing themselves to the ground before police arrived.
Members of the group Uprising of the Last Generation said they wanted to disrupt cargo and passenger traffic at the airports in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin.
Canada lawmakers extend emergency powers for truck protests
February 22, 2022 GMTTORONTO (AP) — Canadian lawmakers voted Monday night to extend the emergency powers that police can invoke to quell any potential restart of blockades by those opposed to COVID-19 restrictions.
Lawmakers in the House of Commons voted 185 to 151 to affirm the powers.
German officials condemn climate protests at roads, port
February 21, 2022 GMTBERLIN (AP) — German officials condemned protests Monday by climate activists who blocked roads including near the country's biggest port.
Members of the group Uprising of the Last Generation glued themselves to roads in Stuttgart, Freiburg and near the port of Hamburg to demand an end to food waste.
‘Candy Bomber’ who dropped sweets during Berlin airlift dies
February 17, 2022 GMTDENVER (AP) — U.S. military pilot Gail S. Halvorsen — known as the “Candy Bomber” for his candy airdrops during the Berlin airlift after World War II ended — has died at age 101.
Halvorsen died Wednesday following a brief illness in his home state of Utah, surrounded by most of his children, James Stewart, the director of the Gail S.
Tensions mount in Ottawa as police warn truckers to leave
February 16, 2022 GMTOTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — A showdown appeared to be shaping up in Ottawa’s nearly three-week siege by truckers protesting the country's COVID-19 restrictions as police in the capital warned drivers Wednesday to leave immediately or risk arrest.
No ‘Fauda’: Hamas TV series glorifies fight against Israel
February 16, 2022 GMTBEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Palestinian militants scrambled out of the tunnel and attacked an Israeli tank in broad daylight as gunfire and explosions echoed across the Gaza frontier.
This time it wasn't the start of another war, but an action scene filmed for a TV series produced by the territory's militant Hamas rulers.
Ottawa’s police chief ousted amid truck protest in Canada
February 16, 2022 GMTOTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Ottawa’s police chief was ousted Tuesday amid criticism of his inaction against the trucker protests that have paralyzed Canada's capital for over two weeks, while the number of blockades maintained by demonstrators at the U.S.
As Canada protests persist, so do challenges for Trudeau
February 15, 2022 GMTTORONTO (AP) — Canada has endured bitter divisions in the past, but the current wave of disruptive protests over COVID-19 restrictions is unprecedented in the extent it has undermined public trust in government leadership, starting at the top with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Canada’s Trudeau invokes emergency powers to quell protests
February 14, 2022 GMTOTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked emergency powers Monday to quell the paralyzing protests by truckers and others angry over Canada's COVID-19 restrictions, outlining plans not only to tow away their rigs but to strike at their bank accounts and their livelihoods.
North Dakota’s busiest border crossing slowed by protest
February 14, 2022 GMTBISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing in North Dakota remained open Monday but continued to be blocked on the Canadian side by demonstrators angry over the country’s COVID-19 restrictions.
ICC denies Bolivia request to investigate ex-leader Morales
February 14, 2022 GMTTHE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor said Monday he will not launch a full investigation into allegations that former Bolivian President Evo Morales and his supporters committed crimes against humanity by establishing roadblocks that prevented people in one of Latin America’s poorest nations from accessing vital health care during the coronavirus pandemic.
Key US-Canada bridge reopens after police clear protesters
February 14, 2022 GMTWINDSOR, Ontario (AP) — The busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing reopened late Sunday after protests against COVID-19 restrictions closed it for almost a week, while Canadian officials held back from a crackdown on a larger protest in the capital, Ottawa.
Blockades on Canada-US border continue as protests swell
February 13, 2022 GMTWINDSOR, Ontario (AP) — Protesters opposed to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other restrictions withdrew their vehicles from a key U.S.-Canadian border bridge Saturday though access remained blocked while other demonstrations ramped up in cities across Canada, including the capital, where police said they were awaiting more officers before ending what they described as an illegal occupation.