North Korea's trash rains down onto South Korea, balloon by balloon (2024)

2 soldiers killed in West Bank car-ramming attack, Israeli military says

The Israeli military says two soldiers have been killed in a car-ramming attack in the occupied West Bank. Violence in the West Bank has surged throughout the war in Gaza as Israel raids Palestinian towns in the territory to crack down on militancy. Israeli incursions have killed more than 500 Palestinians. Slovenia’s government on Thursday endorsed a motion to recognize a Palestinian state and asked the parliament to do the same. The move comes just two days after Spain, Norway and Ireland formally recognized a Palestinian state, which was condemned by Israel.

Boeing reaches deadline for reporting how it will fix safety, quality problems

Boeing is due to tell federal regulators how it plans to fix the safety and quality problems that have plagued its aircraft-manufacturing work in recent years. The Federal Aviation Administration gave the company 90 days to produce a turnaround plan after one of its jetliners suffered a blowout of a fuselage panel during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. The deadline for submitting the plan is Thursday. Boeing also is the subject of multiple civil and criminal investigations from the panel blowout. Whistleblowers accuse the company of taking shortcuts that endanger passengers, a claim Boeing disputes. A panel convened by the FAA found shortcomings in Boeing’s safety culture.

North Korea's trash rains down onto South Korea, balloon by balloon

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea floated huge balloons to dump trashes like manures, cigarette butts, scrap cloth pieces and waste batteries across rival South Korea. It's an old-fashioned, Cold War-style provocation that the country has rarely used in recent years. Many experts say the balloon campaigning is meant to stoke a division in South Korea over its conservative government’s hardline policy on North Korea. They also say North Korea will also likely launch new types of provocations in coming months to meddle in November’s U.S. presidential election.

2 climbers suffering from hypothermia await rescue off Denali

JUNEAU, Alaska — The National Park Services says two climbers are awaiting rescue near the peak of North America’s tallest mountain a day after they and a third climber in their team requested help. That request came early Tuesday morning after they summited the 20,310-foot Denali. Their condition was not immediately known. The third climber was rescued late Tuesday. They indicated they were hypothermic and unable to descend. One climber was eventually able to descend to the mountain's high camp and was flown off Denali late Tuesday. But park personnel said Wednesday clouds and high winds are preventing them from reaching the other climbers. They are waiting for conditions to improve before making an attempt.

U.S. military defends Africa strategy in light of coups, drift toward Russia

AGADIR, Morocco — The head of the United States military’s Africa Command is pushing back against Russia's efforts to broaden its influence in Africa, blaming the country's disinformation efforts for the spate of military coups that has swept the region in recent years. In an interview with The Associated Press, Gen. Michael Langley defended his counterterrorism strategy and promised to double down on its message encouraging good governance in regions seeking security help from Russia instead. The United States' longstanding strategy differs from that of other global powers that attach few stipulations to countries where they offer military or economic assistance.

Sheriff denies that officers responding to mass shooting had been drinking

PORTLAND, Maine — A Maine sheriff is rejecting an allegation that some of his officers arrived at a mass shooting scene reeking of alcohol. Cumberland County Sheriff Kevin Joyce said in a statement Wednesday that all of those officers were on duty or had just attended training before Lewiston police requested their assistance. Joyce says he denies all allegations in a Portland police report that suggested his officers had been drinking, had come from a funeral and dispatched themselves without orders. Joyce says that his officers responded in a sober and professional manner and that he is proud of them.

Michigan willing to restore Flint properties damaged by pipe replacement

DETROIT — The state of Michigan says it’s willing to step in and oversee property repairs at 1,900 homes in Flint. Water pipes have been inspected or replaced at those homes but the grounds remain a mess. In March, a judge found Flint in civil contempt after missing deadlines to get the work done. A water switch in the city in 2014 caused lead to leach off old pipes, spoiling the drinking water system. More than 10,000 lead or steel pipes have been replaced. Flint returned to a Detroit-area water supplier in fall 2015.

In South Africa, first time voters want their choice to count

NKANDLA, South Africa (AP) — Some young South Africans in a poor, rural area of rolling hills were determined to vote in Wednesday’s national election. Turning peer pressure on its head, they encouraged each other to register as voters, before flocking to polling stations on election day. They say they desperately hope their votes count and their dreams are not deferred in what they saw happen to their parents and other older relatives after South Africa’s defining 1994 election brought down apartheid but didn’t solve the poverty for so many. Many youths have seen this election as the most important since that historic moment three decades ago.