WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington’s relationship with Beijing will face its biggest test since the leaders of the two countries met in November, as the United States seeks to keep the Taiwan Straits calm after Taiwanese v this weekend.

At stake is the peace and stability of the 110-mile-wide (177-kilometer-wide) strip of water between the Chinese mainland and the self-governed island. Any armed conflict could put Washington head-to-head against Beijing and disrupt the global

BANGKOK (AP) — Eight months ago, Pita Limjaroenrat shook up Thai politics by leading his progressive party to a in the 2023 general election, putting him in a good position to be named the country’s next prime minister.

But he had a change of fortune. Now Pita’s fighting an uphill battle just to retain his seat in Parliament, from which he has already been suspended.

He was when he failed to get the necessary approval from the Senate, whose members were appointed by the

TOKYO (AP) — Japan successfully launched a rocket carrying a government intelligence-gathering satellite Friday on a mission to watch movements at military sites in North Korea and to improve responses to natural disasters.

The H2A rocket, launched by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., lifted off from the Tanegashima Space Center in southwestern Japan, carrying the optical satellite as part of Tokyo’s reconnaissance effort to rapidly build up its military capability.

The government’s Cabinet Satellite Intelligence Center and MHI declared the launch a success, saying

CORONADO, Calif. (AP) — A U.S. Navy helicopter crashed into a Southern California bay during a training exercise Thursday night, a spokesperson said. All six crewmembers survived.

The MH-60R Seahawk crashed in the waters of San Diego Bay shortly after 6:30 p.m., said a statement from Cmdr. Beth Teach of the Naval Air Force Pacific Fleet.

“Due to the nature of the training, a safety boat was on location,” the statement said,

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Accused of committing genocide against Palestinians, Israel insisted at the United Nations’ highest court Friday that its was a legitimate defense of its people and that it was Hamas militants who were guilty of genocide.

Israel described the allegations leveled by South Africa as hypocritical and said ever to come before an international court reflected a world turned upside down. Israeli leaders defend their air and ground offensive in Gaza as a legitimate response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, when militants , killing some 1

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A man in Iowa stood up at a recent town hall and told he had an “easy” question: How would the Florida governor address abortion when it’s sure to be a big issue in the coming 2024 presidential election?

DeSantis said he’d talk about it “the same way I did in Florida. I just articulated kind of, you know, where we were, what we do.”

He continued for nearly four minutes without using the

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Federal prosecutors said Friday that they will seek the death penalty against a white supremacist who killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket.

Payton Gendron, 20, a sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole after he to state charges of murder and hate-motivated domestic terrorism in the 2022 attack.

New York does not have capital punishment, but the Justice Department had the option of seeking the death penalty in a separate federal hate crimes

NEW YORK (AP) — Daniel Day-Lewis took a break from retirement to present the award for best director at the National Board of Review Awards in midtown Manhattan on Thursday night.

Scorsese’s Osage epic, “ ,” was the top honoree at the 95th NBR Awards. In but handed out Thursday, “Killers of the Flower Moon” was the group’s pick for best film, along with best director for Scorsese and best actress for Lily Gladstone.

The night’s biggest surprise guest

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Queen Margrethe II, Denmark’s monarch for more than half a century, stunned her country when she announced on New Year’s Eve that to her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik.

Her abdication on Sunday will be the first time a Danish monarch has stepped down voluntarily in nearly 900 years.

Here are five things to know about the , currently the longest-reigning monarch in Europe:

WHY IS DENMARK’S QUEEN MARGRETHE ABDICATING?

Before Margrethe, 83,