Political defections
Boxer Thomas Essomba trains at Steel City Gym in Sheffield, England, Thursday, Aug. 4, 2021. Cameroonian boxer Thomas Essomba, was one of seven people who defected at London 2012. Nine years on, he talks to AP about what it’s been like to live with that decision. (AP Photo/Jon Super)
9 years on, Cameroon Olympic boxer talks of defection to UK

By Sylvia Hui And Tristan Werkmeister Aug. 06, 2021 02:23 AM EDT

FILE In this file photo taken from video, Belarus Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya speaks during a zoom interview with the Associated Press in Japan, Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. A feud between Tsimanouskaya and team officials that prompted her to seek refuge in Poland has again cast a spotlight on the repressive environment in the ex-Soviet nation, where authorities have unleashed a relentless crackdown on dissent. (AP Photo/Daniel Kozin, File)
EXPLAINER: What happens when Olympics and politics collide?

By Graham Dunbar Aug. 04, 2021 04:11 AM EDT

In this image made from video provided by NTV, Belarus Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya enters the Polish embassy in Tokyo, Japan, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. Tsimanouskaya plans to seek asylum in Poland, an activist group said Monday, after the athlete alleged that her team’s officials tried to force her to fly home, where she feared she wouldn’t be safe from an autocratic government that recently was accused of diverting a plane in order to arrest a dissident journalist. (NTV via AP)
Poland grants visa to Belarus Olympian who fears for safety

By Graham Dunbar Aug. 02, 2021 05:08 AM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2012 file photo, engineers test one of the newly acquired Spanish built subway cars slated for the Number 12 Line, the newest section of Mexico City's vast subway system. Just 17 months after it was inaugurated, Line 12 had to be shut down for months for the tracks to be replaced or ground into shape. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills, File)
Mexico City subway collapse was a tragedy foretold

By Mark Stevenson May. 05, 2021 02:16 PM EDT

FILE - This Monday, March 8, 2021, file photo shows New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaking at a vaccination site in New York. A lawyer for Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday that she reported a groping allegation made against him to local police after the woman involved declined to press charges herself. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool, File)
Top Dems call on Cuomo to resign amid harassment allegations

By Marina Villeneuve, Steve Peoples And Michael Balsamo Mar. 12, 2021 04:57 PM EST

North Korean defector Choi Bok-hwa speaks during an interview in Ansan, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2021. For the first time in years, Choi didn’t get her annual birthday call from her mother in North Korea. Choi believes the silence is linked to the pandemic, which led North Korea to shut its borders tighter than ever and impose some of the world’s toughest restrictions on movement. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
N Korean defectors struggle to send money home amid pandemic

By Hyung-Jin Kim Mar. 11, 2021 09:14 PM EST

People protest against new anti-abortion laws, near the ruling Law and Justice party headquarters in Warsaw, Poland Wednesday Jan. 27, 2021, to protest after the country's top court on Wednesday confirmed its highly divisive ruling that will further tighten the predominantly Catholic nation's strict anti-abortion law. The Constitutional Tribunal published the justification of its decision, which will take immediate effect.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Poland: Near-total abortion ban takes effect amid protests

By Vanessa Gera Jan. 28, 2021 07:10 AM EST

People gather in Warsaw, Poland Wednesday Jan. 27, 2021 to protest after the country's top court on Wednesday confirmed its highly divisive ruling that will further tighten the predominantly Catholic nation's strict anti-abortion law. The Constitutional Tribunal published the justification of its decision, which means it can now be officially printed and take immediate effect. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
New protests as Polish court seals divisive abortion ruling

By Monika Scislowska Jan. 27, 2021 01:15 PM EST

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte speaks during his final address at the Senate prior to a confidence vote, in Rome, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte fights for his political life with an address aimed at shoring up support for his government, which has come under fire from former Premier Matteo Renzi's tiny but key Italia Viva (Italy Alive) party over plans to relaunch the pandemic-ravaged economy. (Roberto Monaldo/ Lapresse via AP)
Italian premier to offer resignation as government wobbles

By Frances D'emilio Jan. 25, 2021 02:01 PM EST

Premier Giuseppe Conte, top center, delivers his speech at the Senate, in Rome, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. Conte fights for his political life with an address aimed at shoring up support for his government, which has come under fire from former Premier Matteo Renzi's tiny but key Italia Viva (Italy Alive) party over plans to relaunch the pandemic-ravaged economy. (Andreas Solaro/Pool via AP)
Italian PM wins crucial vote in Senate with very thin margin

By Frances D'emilio And Colleen Barry Jan. 19, 2021 04:15 AM EST

Premier Giuseppe Conte delivers his speech at the lower chamber of Parliament, in Rome, Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. Conte fights for his political life with an address aimed at shoring up support for his government, which has come under fire from former Premier Matteo Renzi's tiny but key Italia Viva (Italy Alive) party over plans to relaunch the pandemic-ravaged economy. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, pool)
Italy: Conte clears hurdle to retain power, bigger one ahead

By Colleen Barry And Nicole Winfield Jan. 18, 2021 05:23 AM EST

Protests keep up against Israeli PM as new election looms

Dec. 26, 2020 03:06 PM EST
JERUSALEM (AP) — Hundreds of Israelis protested against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, calling on the long-serving leader to resign just days...

People demonstrate against police violence and an attempted restriction on abortion rights in Warsaw Poland, Saturday, Nov. 28, 2020. Nationwide protests Saturday were scheduled to coincide with Polish women gaining the right to vote 102 years ago. Weeks of protests against a high court's ruling to further restrict Abortion rights have evolved into the largest protest movement since communism fell 30 years ago.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Police block Warsaw march against abortion ruling, force use

By Vanessa Gera Nov. 28, 2020 04:55 AM EST

An employee assembles leather shoes at the Wonsan Leather Shoes Factory in Wonsan, Kangwon Province, North Korea, on Oct. 28, 2020. North Korea is staging an “80-day battle,” a propaganda-heavy productivity campaign meant to bolster its internal unity and report greater production in various industry sectors ahead of a ruling party congress in January. (AP Photo/Jon Chol Jin)
North Korea waging propaganda-heavy, 80-day labor campaign

By Hyung-Jin Kim Nov. 13, 2020 01:37 AM EST

FILE - In this Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, file photo, Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, center, arrives for the opening session of the 33rd African Union (AU) Summit at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ethiopia's prime minister on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020 ordered the military to confront the Tigray regional government after he said it attacked a military base overnight, citing months of "provocation and incitement" and declaring that "the last red line has been crossed." (AP Photo, File)
Ethiopia near civil war as PM sends army into defiant region

By Elias Meseret And Cara Anna Nov. 03, 2020 11:50 PM EST

Protesters hold signs reading in Polish "women's strike" as they block a crossing in downtown Warsaw, Monday, Nov. 9, 2020, on the 12th straight day of anti-government protests that were triggered by the tightening of Poland's strict abortion law and are continuing despite a anti-COVID-19 ban on public gatherings. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Poland delays implementing abortion ruling amid protests

By Monika Scislowska Nov. 03, 2020 07:37 AM EST

Protesters hold signs reading in Polish "women's strike" as they block a crossing in downtown Warsaw, Monday, Nov. 9, 2020, on the 12th straight day of anti-government protests that were triggered by the tightening of Poland's strict abortion law and are continuing despite a anti-COVID-19 ban on public gatherings. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Poland protests leader: Abortion court ruling must be waived

Nov. 02, 2020 12:21 PM EST

Protesters gathered before Poland's state TVP building with angry chants against the government on the eighth straight day of demonstrations against a court ruling that further tightened the predominantly Catholic nation's restrictive abortion law in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020. A massive protest is planned for Friday, despite calls by the prime minister for no gatherings at the time of a steep spike in new COVID-19 infection cases.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Poland: Tens of thousands hold new protest over abortion ban

By Vanessa Gera Oct. 30, 2020 05:24 AM EDT

Protesters gather outside the parliament in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday Oct. 28, 2020. People across Poland stayed off their jobs and huge crowds poured onto the streets for a seventh straight day of protests Wednesday, enraged over a top court ruling that bans abortions in cases of fetal abnormalities.(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Poland: New protests as PM urges restraint amid virus spike

By Monika Scislowska Oct. 29, 2020 11:00 AM EDT

Women's rights activists with posters of the Women's Strike action protest in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020 against recent tightening of Poland's restrictive abortion law. Massive nationwide protests have been held ever since a top court ruled Thursday that abortions due to fetal congenital defects are unconstitutional. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)
Poles join strike as protests against abortion ruling expand

By Vanessa Gera Oct. 28, 2020 06:36 AM EDT