TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — One of Taiwan’s in Saturday’s presidential election has promised to boost the island’s defense capabilities while restarting dialogue with Beijing, which claims the island as its own.

Hou Yu-ih, the presidential candidate from the opposition Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party, said Thursday he wants to strengthen Taiwan’s ability to protect itself to deter a potential attack from China.

A former Japanese colony, Taiwan split from China amid civil war in 1949, but Beijing

NEW YORK (AP) — As Donald Trump’s slugged it out Wednesday on an Iowa debate stage, appeared across town on a Fox News Channel town hall in a counterprogramming move where few discouraging words were heard.

Trump walked onstage to cheers and chants of “USA,” stayed at the end to sign autographs and heard one audience member blurt out “love you” after he took her question.

He was barely challenged by questioners who left several challenging topics on the table — like Trump’s false claims about

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States, Ukraine and six allies accused Russia on Wednesday of using North Korean ballistic missiles and launchers in a series of devastating aerial attacks against Ukraine, in violation of U.N. sanctions.

Their joint statement, issued ahead of a Security Council meeting on Ukraine, cited the use of North Korean weapons during on Dec. 30, Jan. 2 and Jan. 6 and said the violations increase suffering of the Ukrainian people, “support Russia’s brutal war of aggression

One person has been rushed to a trauma centre in life-threatening condition after they were stabbed on Wednesday night, Toronto police said.

Officers were called to Avenue Road and Davenport Road just before 10:30 p.m. for reports of a stabbing.

Police said one person was located in the area with stab wounds, but responding officers were unsure where the stabbing took place.

The victim was rushed to a trauma centre with critical injuries.

Photos from the scene show multiple police cruisers outside of a housing

There were only two Republicans on the presidential Wednesday, as former South Carolina Gov. and Florida Gov. met for the highest-stake faceoff yet just five days before the nominating process formally starts with Iowa’s caucuses.

Haley and DeSantis’ spirited debate came in the shadow of a live town hall held by the man who is dominating the primary contest, . The former president, of course, has stayed away from all five debates, holding a rival town hall Wednesday on Fox News. The one Republican candidate whose

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin judge suspended charges against defrocked Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, accused of , ruling Wednesday that the former cleric is incompetent for trial because of .

The decision will be reviewed at the end of the year, according to court records.

McCarrick, who did not appear in person for the hearing but listened in by phone, was charged with sexually assaulting an 18-year-old man more than 45 years ago, court records show. A criminal complaint alleges he

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will send an unofficial delegation comprised of former senior officials to Taiwan shortly after the self-governed island this weekend, a move that could upset Beijing in an already-fragile bilateral relationship.

A senior administration official confirmed the plan on Wednesday without offering more details, but said such a face-to-face meeting was the “most effective way” to engage the new Taiwanese government and convey U.S. policy in the region.

The official, briefing reporters on condition of

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — The bodies of two men who died while incarcerated in Alabama’s prison system were missing their hearts or other organs when returned to their families, a federal lawsuit alleges.

The family of Brandon Clay Dotson, who died in a state prison in November, filed a federal lawsuit last month against the Alabama Department of Corrections and others saying his body was decomposing and his heart was missing when his remains were returned to his family.

In a court filing in the case last week,

NEW YORK (AP) — New York building officials have issued emergency work orders to stabilize a historic synagogue and its neighboring structures after an illicit underground at the sanctuary earlier this week.

An investigation by the city’s Department of Buildings uncovered a tunnel that was 60-foot-long (18.3 meter), 8-foot-wide (2.4 meter) and 5-foot-high (1.5 meter) located underneath the global headquarters of the Chabad Lubavitch movement, an important