The Latest: COVID cases soar to record levels in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey saw a record number of people diagnosed with COVID-19 for the second day running on Sunday as 6,017 new symptomatic patients were documented, the health ministry said.

PM says Greece will ramp up speed of COVID-19 vaccinations

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece will ramp up the speed of its coronavirus vaccination drive, aiming to vaccinate about 8,000 people or more per day compared to the current 5,000 per day, the country's prime minister said Friday.

Vacuum machine is a money saver

This is a multi-part report about the many uses of the FoodSaver vacuum seal machine.

UN chief urges end to domestic violence, citing global surge

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Sunday night that there has been “a horrifying global surge in domestic violence” as fear of the coronavirus has grown along with its social and economic consequences.

UN chief urges end to domestic violence, citing global surge

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Sunday night that there has been “a horrifying global surge in domestic violence” as fear of the coronavirus has grown along with its social and economic consequences.

Cyprus says common EU migration deal 'imperative'

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The European Union must forge a common migration policy that obligates member states to take in a proportional number of asylum-seekers and restricts EU funding access to any country that refuses, Cyprus' interior minister said Thursday.

Armenia ready to talk cease-fire amid Azerbaijan clashes

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia said Friday it is ready to discuss a cease-fire in the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where heavy fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces this week has killed dozens and left scores wounded.

Turkish Cypriot official: No tensions if waters divvied up

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Tensions over the search for oil and gas off ethnically divided Cyprus would fade if Greek Cypriots agreed to divvy up the country’s territorial waters and drilling rights with Turkish Cypriots, according to the man who hopes to be the next leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state.

Syrian war pulls in major foreign actors, increasing tension

BEIRUT (AP) — In northern Syria, heavy exchanges between Syrian and Turkish troops are erupting with more frequency, threatening to escalate into full-blown conflict. Russian and U.S. convoys crisscross each other on remote dirt roads, the tension between them on full display. U.S. troops even have had a deadly clash with Syrian gunmen at a checkpoint.

Armenia, Azerbaijan keep up deadly fight for disputed region

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Armenia and Azerbaijani forces kept fighting Monday over the disputed separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh after hostilities broke out the day before, with both sides blaming each other for resuming the deadly attacks that reportedly also wounded scores of people.

Special hunt permit application deadline next week

The deadline for special hunting permits for deer, elk, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, moose and turkey seasons. The deadline is midnight, May 26, next Wednesday.

Quail hunts exhilarating

This has been a fine and productive hunting season. Time spent with new and old hunting buddies is always precious. Notching a tag or dropping a bird is not necessary for a successful hunt, but taking game animals and birds is a valuable addition to any hunting season.

Libya's Turkey-backed Tripoli forces take back another town

CAIRO (AP) — Forces allied with the U.N.-supported government in Libya’s capital said Friday they have retaken another key western town from rivals behind a year-long offensive on Tripoli. The development is yet another illustration of how Turkey’s support for the Tripoli government has turned the tide of war in the oil-rich country.

Making a community meal

Business people, volunteers serve holiday cheer on Thanksgiving

MOSES LAKE — Business owner Paul Carney knows a thing or two about being down and out. The owner of EDUBS C/S, which creates custom low-rider cars as well as sells clothing and low-rider lifestyle accessories, said there was a time in his life some years ago when the closest thing he had to home was the streets of Las Vegas. “As a former homeless addict, I remember those lonely, depressing, hopeless feelings and thoughts that came with the holidays when I was alone on the streets. A significant amount of my homeless friends back then were vets,” he said...

Turkish court to issue verdict in rights activists' trial

ISTANBUL (AP) — A group of human rights activists delivered their final statements in their own defense on Wednesday before a court in Istanbul hands down a verdict in their closely-watched trial on charges of belonging to or aiding terror groups.

Syria: US troops open fire on locals in northeast, killing 1

DAMASCUS (AP) — A Syrian was killed and another was wounded in a rare clash Wednesday between American troops and a group of government supporters who tried to block a U.S. convoy driving through a village in northeastern Syria, state media and activists reported.

Turkish diplomat denounces Armenia on trip to Azerbaijan

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Turkey's top diplomat traveled to Baku on Tuesday in a show of solidarity with Azerbaijan amid a flare-up in fighting over the separatist territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

UN council voting on Syria aid delivery through 1 crossing

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council is voting on a Russian resolution that would limit the delivery of humanitarian aid to Syria’s mainly rebel-held northwest to one crossing point from Turkey for six months, and diplomats say it is virtually certain to be defeated.

Syria reopens highway linking largest cities after 8 years

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — The highway that links the Syrian capital with the northern city of Aleppo is open for public use for the first time in nearly eight years after government forces recently captured parts of it that had been held by insurgents, the transportation minister said Saturday.

Nine dead in Turkey as 5.7 earthquake strikes western Iran

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Nine people were killed in eastern Turkey by a magnitude 5.7 earthquake early Sunday morning, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.