Month: December 2021

By TOM HAYS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The first week of the sex-abuse trial of Ghislaine Maxwell saw the first of her four main accusers taking the witness stand to give emotional testimony accusing the British socialite of coaxing her into sexual encounters with financier Jeffrey Epstein. The jury at the federal trial

BERLIN (AP) — Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel has made what is likely her final appeal before leaving office next week for Germans to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Merkel gave what is expected to be her last weekly video message two days after federal and state leaders decided on a series of measures meant to break

By DAVID SHARP Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Most Americans know about atrocities endured by Native Americans after the arrival of European settlers — wars, disease, stolen land. Members of the Penobscot Nation in Maine want to ensure that history doesn’t whitewash one of the ugliest parts — government-sanctioned scalping by colonists. At the

By AYA BATRAWY Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the final leg of a two-day Gulf tour. Concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, the multiple crises in Lebanon and the ongoing war in Yemen were expected to be aired in private

By NICOLE WINFIELD and DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Pope Francis has warned that the “easy answers” of populism and authoritarianism threaten democracy in Europe and called for fresh dedication to promoting the common good. Francis used a speech in Greece, the birthplace of democracy, to address Europe at large, arguing that

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The highest volcano on Indonesia’s most densely populated island of Java has spewed thick columns of ash high into the sky, triggering panic among people living nearby. There have been no immediate reports of casualties. Mount Semeru’s sudden eruption in Lumajang district in East Java province left several villages around its

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — A Sudanese pro-democracy group has condemned comments by the U.N. chief urging citizens to support a deal that reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok so the country can have “a peaceful transition towards a true democracy.” The Sudanese Professionals’ Association, which was at the forefront of the uprising

PARIS (AP) — Members of France’s main conservative party are picking their presidential candidate, a decision that could significantly shape April’s election. The head the Paris region, Valérie Pécresse, and a hardline lawmaker from Nice, Eric Ciotti, are competing in the final round of The Republicans’ primary. About 140,000 registered members of The Republicans are

MILAN (AP) — A dentist in Italy faces possible criminal charges after trying to receive a coronavirus vaccine in a fake arm made of silicone. A nurse in the northern city of Biella, Filippa Bua, said she could tell right away that something was off when a 57-year-old man presented the phony limb for a

HONG KONG (AP) — The new head of Hong Kong’s Catholic diocese has expressed hope that he could foster healing in a congregation and a city divided by the continuing fallout from massive anti-government protests in 2019. Bishop Stephen Chow spoke to the gathered after his ordination in the 19th-century Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

BERLIN (AP) — Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel has made what is likely her final appeal before leaving office next week for Germans to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Merkel gave what is expected to be her last weekly video message two days after federal and state leaders decided on a series of measures meant to break