North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on his way home after concluding a trip to Russia’s Far East

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is on his way home from Russia at the end of a six-day trip that triggered global concerns about weapons transfer deals between the two countries locked in separate standoffs with the West. Kim began his journey back to North Korea Sunday aboard his armored train from the Primorye region in Russia’s Far East, following a farewell ceremony at a train station, according to Russian media. Since entering Russia last Tuesday in his first overseas trip in more than four years, Kim had met President Vladimir Putin and visited key military and technology sites. Earlier Sunday, he was in a lighter mode, touring a university and watching a walrus show at a Russian aquarium.

For a divided Libya, disastrous floods have become a rallying cry for unity

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — The disastrous flooding that killed more than 11,000 people has fostered national solidarity among Libyans, long governed by opposing powers. Collective grief has morphed into cries for unity in a country blighted by 12 years of conflict and division. The tragedy has also ramped up pressure on the country’s leading politicians, viewed by some as the architects of the catastrophe. The oil-rich country has been divided between rival administrations since 2014, with an internationally recognized government in Tripoli and a rival authority in the east, where the worst of the floods hit.

Atlantic storm Lee delivers high winds and rain before forecasters call off warnings in some areas

BAR HARBOR, Maine (AP) — Atlantic storm Lee made landfall at near-hurricane strength, bringing destructive winds, rough surf and torrential rains to New England and Maritime Canada. But officials withdrew some warnings for the region late Saturday night. The U.S. National Hurricane Center has discontinued a tropical storm warning for the coast of Maine, while Environment Canada has ended its tropical storm warning in New Brunswick. The hurricane center reported late Saturday that the post-tropical cyclone was about 105 miles west of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and about 80 miles east of Eastport, Maine. The storm is expected to move northeast in the coming days, taking the weather system across the Canadian Maritimes.

Texas AG Ken Paxton is back on job after acquittal but Republicans aren’t done attacking each other

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is back in office after winning acquittal on impeachment charges over accusations of corruption and bribery. But the verdict verdict is inflaming rifts within the Texas GOP that surrounded his impeachment in the first place. Conservative allies of the Trump-backed attorney general say they will target Republican legislators who led the investigation against Paxton. Even the very act of impeachment in Texas could get a second look. Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who presided over the trial, has called for new guardrails in a fiery speech questioning how the case made it this far.

The auto workers strike will drive up car prices, but not right away — unless consumers panic

DALLAS (AP) — If the United Auto Workers strike isn’t settled soon, consumers will see higher prices for new cars — and not just the ones from Detroit. On Friday, union members picketed outside a Ford plant, a General Motors plant, and a Stellantis factory. Right now, the automakers have big inventories, so most analysts say there shouldn’t be an immediate shortage of cars. But if the strike drags on and dealers lose manufacturer incentives to cut prices, car buyers will be in for another round of sticker shock. If consumers can’t find a Ford, GM or Stellantis vehicle, they’ll have to turn to nonunion competitors like Toyota, Honda and Tesla, which will be able to raise their prices.

UN committee votes to list ancient Jericho as a World Heritage Site in Palestine

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — A U.N. conference has voted to list the ancient West Bank city of Jericho as a World Heritage Site in Palestine. The decision taken Sunday likely to anger Israel, which controls the territory and does not recognize a Palestinian state. Jericho is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities on earth, and is in a part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank that is administered by the internationally-recognized Palestinian Authority. The decision was taken at a meeting of the U.N. World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the auspices of the U.N. cultural organization, UNESCO. Israel quit UNESCO in 2019, accusing it of being biased against it. But Israel remains a party to the World Heritage Convention and sent a delegation to Riyadh.

Yoga in a basement helps people in a Ukrainian front-line city cope with Russia’s constant shelling

KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) — People in the front-line Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk gather three times a week for a yoga session to alleviate the stress caused by the persistent shelling of Russian artillery. Soothing music fills the basement. The 52-year-old yoga instructor says in a serene tone: “We let go of the external world.” The “external world” for the participants of the yoga session is life in a front-line city where sirens sound every few hours and the noise of explosions disrupts their daily lives.

Donald Trump’s GOP rivals try to attract social conservatives in Iowa at an event he skipped

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Some of Donald Trump’s top Republican rivals addressed a large, influential gathering of Iowa evangelical Christians on Saturday night. They were aiming to peel their support away from the former president who skipped the event but largely refraining from direct criticism of him. Candidates took the stage one-by-one at the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition’s annual banquet and town hall in Des Moines to discuss opposing abortion, call for stricter security along the U.S.-Mexico border and trumpet the importance of God in their lives, drawing largely restrained applause from the crowd of more than 1,000.

Zimbabwe’s reelected president says there’s democracy. But beating and torture allegations emerge

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Lawyers for an opposition party councilor in Zimbabwe say he and a relative were abducted, beaten and whipped by unknown men amid a post-election crackdown on criticism of recently reelected President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ruling ZANU-PF party. More than a dozen opposition figures, including elected representatives, officials and activists, have been targeted with violence or arrested by police. Many had hoped for a post-election rapprochement that is badly needed in the once-prosperous southern African country. But main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa says his party is facing backlash from Mnangagwa and ZANU-PF following the disputed and troubled general election in August.