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Slovakia election pits pro-Russia ex-PM against liberal pro-West newcomer

Voters in Slovakia cast ballots Saturday in an early parliamentary election that pits a populist former prime minister who campaigned on a pro-Russia and anti-American message against a liberal, pro-West newcomer.

Depending on which of them prevails, the election could reverse the small eastern European country's support for neighboring Ukraine in the war with Russia, threatening to break a fragile unity in the European Union and NATO.

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Novelist Murakami hosts ghost story reading ahead of Nobel Prize announcements

Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami hosted a ghost story reading event in Tokyo amid growing attention before the announcement of this year's Nobel Prize in literature, an award he is a perennial favorite to win.

Murakami said at Thursday's reading that he enjoys scary stories and wanted to write more of them. The event featured one from the 18-century collection "Tales of Moonlight and Rain," which intrigued Murakami since his childhood and is known to have inspired his work.

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Spanish police raid soccer federation as part of probe into Barcelona's spendings

Spanish police has raided the offices of the country's soccer federation as part of an investigation into the payment of millions of dollars over several years by Barcelona to a former vice president of Spain's refereeing committee.

The Guardia Civil confirmed to The Associated Press that its police had searched the offices of the refereeing committee at federation headquarters near Madrid. Police said they had not made any arrests and were acting on the orders of judge Joaquin Aguirre, who is investigating the case for a court in Barcelona.

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Damian Lillard traded from the Trail Blazers to the Bucks in 3-team deal

Damian Lillard was once asked to pick a player he'd want as a teammate, and Giannis Antetokounmpo was his answer.

It's about to happen.

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Millions take to China's railways, roads, air in 1st big autumn holiday since COVID

Many millions of Chinese tourists are expected to travel within their country, splurging on hotels, tours, attractions and meals in a boost to the economy during the 8-day autumn holiday period that began Friday.

This year's holiday began with the Mid-Autumn Festival on Friday and also includes the Oct. 1 National Day. The public holidays end on Oct. 6.

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European shares gain and Asian shares are mixed with Chinese markets on holiday

Shares advanced in Europe on Friday after a day of mixed and sparse trading in Asia, where many markets were closed for public holidays.

Oil prices edged higher and U.S. futures advanced.

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Inflation drops sharply in Europe but higher oil prices loom

Inflation that has been plaguing Europeans declined sharply in September, strengthening hopes that consumers will eventually get relief from costlier groceries, vacations and haircuts — and that the European Central Bank won't have to further restrict the economy by raising interest rates from already-record highs.

The annual rate was 4.3% this month, a drop from 5.2% in August. But recently higher oil prices are casting a shadow over prospects for quickly beating inflation down to the central bank's target of 2%.

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Putin orders former Wagner commander to take charge of 'volunteer units' in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered one of the top commanders of the Wagner military contractor to take charge of "volunteer units" fighting in Ukraine, signaling the Kremlin's effort to keep using the mercenaries after the death of their chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

In remarks released by the Kremlin on Friday, Putin told Andrei Troshev that his task is to "deal with forming volunteer units that could perform various combat tasks, primarily in the zone of the special military operation" — a term the Kremlin uses for its war in Ukraine.

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Russia set to avoid full ban from 2024 Paralympics in Paris

Russia appears to have avoided a full ban from next year's Paralympics in Paris after the International Paralympic Committee's members voted Friday against suspending the country's membership.

The IPC wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that members voted 74-65 against a motion to fully suspend Russia "for breaches of its constitutional membership obligations." Thirteen more members abstained.

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UAE, Egypt agree to currency swap deal as Cairo's economy struggles

The central banks of the United Arab Emirates and Egypt have agreed to a currency exchange deal, which could bolster the struggling Egyptian economy.

A joint news release said the agreement would allow the two central banks to exchange up to 5 billion Emirati dirhams and 42 billion Egyptian pounds, or roughly the equivalent of $1.36 billion.

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