NEW YORK (AP) -- McDonald's chief executive officer has been pushed out of the company after violating company policy by engaging in a consensual relationship with an employee, the corporation said Sunday.The fast food giant said former president and CEO Steve Easterbrook demonstrated poor judgment, and that McDonald's forbids managers from having romantic relationships with direct or indirect subordinates.In an email to employees, Easterbrook acknowledged he had a relationship with an employee

TOKYO (AP) -- A fire has spread among structures at Shuri Castle on Japan's southern island of Okinawa, nearly destroying the UNESCO World Heritage site. Firefighters were still battling the blaze a few hours after the fire started early Thursday and nearby residents were evacuated to safer areas, Okinawa police spokesman Ryo Kochi said.The fire in Naha, the prefectural capital of Okinawa, started from the castle's main structure. The main Seiden temple and a Hokuden structure, or north temple,

HONG KONG (AP) -- Hong Kong authorities have disqualified pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong from upcoming local council elections. Wong on Tuesday sent a copy of a letter notifying him of the disqualification to media. The government issued a statement saying that the nomination of a candidate, whom it did not identify, had been ruled invalid.  Wong became known as the young face of Hong Kong's 2014 "Umbrella Movement" protest movement. He has been less prominent in the current p

NEW YORK (AP) -- Move over, Rocky, there's a new stairway to climb.A set of outdoor steps in the Bronx has become a tourist attraction in recent weeks since the release of the movie "Joker."The stairs are between two buildings on Shakespeare Avenue, about a half-mile from Yankee Stadium. In the movie, lead actor Joaquin Phoenix dances as he goes down the steps, wearing a bright red suit and clown makeup.These days, neighborhood residents using the steps are being joined by tourist

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The US special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, is expected to be nominated as early as this week to be second-in-command at the State Department, officials said Monday.Two Trump administration officials and a congressional aide familiar with the selection process said the White House is expected to nominate Biegun to be the next deputy secretary of state in the coming days. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonym

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The helicopters flew low and fast into the night, ferrying US special forces to a compound where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was hiding in Syria. Half a world away, President Donald Trump watched the raid in real time via a video link as troops blasted into the hideout and sent the most-wanted militant running the last steps of his life.The daring raid was the culmination of years of steady intelligence-gathering work -- and 48 hours of hurry-up planning onc

The shadowy leader of the Islamic State group who presided over its global jihad and became arguably the world's most wanted man, is dead after being targeted by a U.S. military raid in Syria, President Donald Trump said Sunday."Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is dead," Trump announced at the White House, saying the U.S. had "brought the world's number one terrorist leader to justice." As U.S. forces bore down on him, Trump said al-Baghdadi fled into a tunnel with three of his children

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the shadowy leader of the Islamic State group who presided over its global jihad and became arguably the world's most wanted man, is believed dead after being targeted by a US military raid in Syria.A US official told The Associated Press late Saturday that al-Baghdadi was targeted in Syria's Idlib province. The official said confirmation that the IS chief was killed in an explosion is pending. No other details were available. The official was not authori

LONDON (AP) — A fourth person was arrested in connection with the deaths of 39 people found in the back of a container truck in southeastern England, British police said Friday as the investigation into one of the country’s worst human smuggling cases geared up.Police said a 48-year-old man from Northern Ireland was arrested Friday at England’s Stansted Airport on suspicion of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people. The arrest came after police arrested a man and a woman

GRAYS (AP) -- Authorities found 39 people dead in a truck in an industrial park in England on Wednesday and arrested the driver on suspicion of murder in one of Britain's worst human-smuggling tragedies.Police were reconstructing the final journey of the victims as they tried to piece together where they were from and how they came to be in England."To put 39 people into a locked metal container shows a contempt for human life that is evil," said Jackie Doyle-Price, a member of Parliam

A historic World Cup qualifying soccer match in Pyongyang between North Korea and South Korea has been cast into media darkness in the South, with the North keeping out rival reporters and spectators and refusing a live broadcast from Kim Il-sung Stadium.The South Korean soccer association, known as the KFA, sent two staff members to the North Korean capital to watch Tuesday's game, but ruled out live text updates on its website because of uncertainties in internet connection, said association o

NEW YORK (AP) -- Even as it's just hitting US theaters, Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite'' is already a major award-winner and a box-office smash."Parasite'' will open in theaters Friday having already amassed $70.9 million in Bong's native South Korea, where the film notched one of the country's best opening weekends ever. In May, "Parasite'' won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, a first for a Korean film. Jury president Alejandro Inarritu said it was a unanimous decision. At a

Hong Kong's government, faced with months of pro-democracy protests that have spiraled into violence, on Friday invoke emergency powers to ban masks from street demonstrations. A look at how some other countries have dealt with masked protesters:FRANCEIn March, following months of often violent yellow vest protests, the French Parliament passed a bill backed by President Emmanuel Macron's government to further prevent violence during protests and to help authorities maintain order. The so-called

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam banned protesters from wearing masks Friday in a hardening of the government's stance on the territory's most disruptive crisis since it reverted to Chinese rule in 1997.Lam announced the ban at an afternoon news conference where she decried a recent escalation of violence after four months of anti-government demonstrations.The mask ban, imposed under a colonial-era Emergency Ordinance, takes effect Saturday. It applies to unauthorized public gatherings and police-app

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday he wants to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un even though he keeps testing missiles. At the same time, Abe gave a cold shoulder to South Korea amid tensions over wartime history.In a policy speech opening the parliamentary session, Abe said he will take any chance to meet Kim."I'm determined to face Chairman Kim Jong-un, without attaching any preconditions," Abe said, after changing his policy earlier this year. "