NAIROBI, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Foreign visitors to Kenya will not be required to have a visa beginning January 2024, President William Ruto announced Tuesday during the celebration of Jamhuri Day, or Independence Day, held in Nairobi, the capital.

Ruto said all foreign nationals will enter the county without a visa from January next year, a move that is expected to boost tourism.

WASHINGTON (AP) — To hear his lawyers tell it, Donald Trump was alarmed by Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, motivated as president to focus on cybersecurity and had a good-faith basis four years later to worry that foreign actors had again meddled in the race.

But to federal prosecutors, 2016 is significant as the year that Trump spread misinformation about voter fraud and proved himself resistant to accepting the outcome of elections that might not go his way.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Special counsel Jack Smith on Monday asked the Supreme Court to take up and rule quickly on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted on charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results.

Smith made his request for the court to act with unusual speed to prevent any delays that could push back the trial of the 2024 Republican presidential primary front-runner, currently set to begin March 4, until after next year’s presidential election.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden goes into next year’s election with a vexing challenge: Just as the U.S. economy is getting stronger, people are still feeling horrible about it.

Pollsters and economists say there has never been as wide a gap between the underlying health of the economy and public perception. The divergence could be a decisive factor in whether the Democrat secures a second term next year. Republicans are seizing on the dissatisfaction to skewer Biden, while the White House is finding less success as it tries to highlight economic progress.

NEW YORK (AP) — Even before anyone has cast a vote in a 2024 presidential primary, the attention of many political journalists has shifted to Jan. 20, 2025.

There has been a flurry of recent stories about the implications of a potential second presidency for Donald Trump, and his team’s planning for Inauguration Day and beyond. Polls show his continued dominance over Republican rivals and the likelihood of a close general election.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will arrive on Capitol Hill to a darker mood than when he swooped in last winter for a hero’s welcome, as the Russian invasion is grinding into a third year and U.S. funding hangs in balance.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The university presidents called before a congressional hearing on antisemitism last week had more in common than strife on their campuses: The leaders of the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard and MIT were all women who were relatively new in their positions.

In that sense, they represented the changing face of leadership at top-tier universities, with a record number of women leading Ivy League schools.

BAMAKO, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) has officially ended its 10-year deployment, MINUSMA head El-Ghassim Wane said in Bamako, the capital city.

Regarding the MINUSMA withdrawal process, 10 of the 13 areas occupied by the UN force have already been closed and handed over to the Malian authorities, Wane told an official ceremony Monday marking the final withdrawal of MINUSMA.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber detonated his explosive-laden vehicle at a police station’s main gate in northwest Pakistan early Tuesday, killing at least 22 officers and wounding 32 others, and causing a part of the building to collapse upon impact, officials said, in one of the deadliest attacks in recent months.

Some militants also opened fire and a shootout ensued for hours between them and security forces before three attackers were gunned down, local police officer Kamal Khan said.

ANKARA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's Akkuyu Nuclear Company announced Tuesday that it had received permission from Turkish authorities to commission the first power unit of the country's first nuclear power plant being built by Russia.

With the permission, the start-up, adjustment and operation processes, which are the final phase of the construction of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, can be started, according to a statement from the company.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — New Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday that his government will mobilize to keep the world committed to helping Ukraine.

Tusk said it hurts him to hear that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has to keep trying to persuade world leaders about the need to continue supporting Kyiv’s struggle against Russian aggression.

He said it will be a priority for his coalition government to persuade leaders that they need to continue to help Ukraine defend itself, and that is also in the interests of the free world.

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear renewed his oath of office early Tuesday during a ceremony at Kentucky’s Capitol, launching his second term after notching a convincing reelection victory that could offer a roadmap for his party’s broader efforts to make inroads in Republican strongholds.

Beshear, 46, was sworn in shortly after midnight before a gathering of family, friends and supporters — a Bluegrass State ritual every four years to ensure continuity at the head of state government.