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BRUSSELS -- The head of the European Union’s executive arm vowed Wednesday to introduce checks on key EU infrastructure, including energy, after the suspected sabotage of natural-gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the damage last week to the Nord Stream pipelines linking Russia and Germany has "shown how vulnerable our energy infrastructure is” and a comprehensive plan is needed to ensure the safety of key EU networks, including for data. “We need to stress test our infrastructure,” von der Leyen told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. “We need to identify whether we have weak points and where these weak points are.” She also said that satellite surveillance will be used to detect potential threats. Amid Russia’s seven-mo...

BIRMINGHAM, England -- U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss will say Wednesday that all change brings disruption as she tries to convince her Conservative Party — and the country — that her tax-cutting economic agenda will bring prosperity, despite the turmoil it has unleashed. Truss is due to close a tumultuous Conservative conference with a speech to delegates in the central English city of Birmingham. Many are in a glum mood after a four-day gathering that saw policy U-turns from the government and open rebellion from lawmakers who fear the party is doomed to lose the next national election. Truss says she will stick with her plan to reshape Britain’s economy through tax cuts and deregulation in a bid to end years of sluggish growth and create "a new Britain for the new era.” In her most im...

SEOUL, South Korea -- A malfunctioning South Korean ballistic missile blew up as it plowed into the ground Wednesday during a live-fire drill with the United States that was a reprisal for North Korea's successful launch a day earlier of a weapon that flew over Japan and has the range to strike the U.S. territory of Guam. The explosion and subsequent fire panicked and confused residents of the coastal city of Gangneung, who were already uneasy over the increasingly provocative weapons tests by rival North Korea. Their concern that it could be a North Korean attack only grew as the military and government officials provided no explanation about the explosion for hours. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said no injuries were reported from the explosion, which involved a short-range Hyumo...

PRAGUE -- The heads of nine European NATO members on Sunday issued a joint statement backing a path to membership for Ukraine in the U.S.-led security alliance, and calling on all 30 NATO nations to ramp up military aid for Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise move Friday to apply for fast-track NATO membership, in response to Russia's annexation of four regions of Ukraine. NATO membership needs approval from all 30 members and Ukraine is unlikely to join anytime soon. Being a country already at war complicates the request. The nine NATO countries in Central and Eastern Europe fearful that Russia could target them next if it isn't stopped in Ukraine urged a response to the annexation. The leaders of Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Monteneg...

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Liz Truss said Sunday that she could have done a better job “laying the ground” for her package of unfunded tax cuts, but insisted she would push on with an economic plan that has caused turmoil on financial markets and weakened the country’s public finances. Truss acknowledged that the U.K. faces “a very turbulent and stormy time,” but said her policies would lead to a “high-growth, low-tax economy” in the longer term. The comments are unlikely to calm Truss’ Conservative Party, which opens its four-day annual conference on Sunday in the central England city of Birmingham amid plunging poll ratings and growing public discontent. Truss took office less than a month ago, promising to radically reshape Britain’s economy to end years of sluggish growth. But...

PARIS -- Thousands of people marched in Paris on Sunday to show their support for Iranian protesters standing up to their leadership over the death of a young woman in police custody. Several female demonstrators chopped off chunks of their hair and tossed them into the air as a gesture of liberation. Women of Iranian heritage, French feminist groups and leading politicians were among those who joined the gathering at Republique Plaza before marching through eastern Paris. “Woman, Life, Liberty!” the crowd chanted, undeterred by the rainy weather. Some banners read: “Freedom for Iranian women,” or “No to Obligatory Hijab” or just the young woman's name: “#Mahsa Amini.” It was the latest and appeared to be the largest of several protests in France in support of the Iranian demonstrators....