Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia has returned to Ukraine the bodies of 501 soldiers in what appears to be the biggest repatriation of war dead since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukrainian authorities said law enforcement agencies and forensic experts will identify the victims, who will then be handed to family members
Continue ReadingLONDON (AP) — The onetime husband and wife team who designed Princess Diana’s wedding dress have settled their dispute over the sale of the drawings for the gown. David Emanuel had filed a lawsuit in the U.K. courts against his ex-wife Elizabeth Emanuel, claiming that she had infringed his copyright by reproducing drawings of the
Continue ReadingCAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa has asked Taiwan to move its unofficial embassy out of the administrative capital, Pretoria, in a move that’s seen as appeasing ally China. The foreign ministry said Friday that it had given Taiwan six months to relocate the “liaison office” to the commercial hub of Johannesburg. The
Continue ReadingTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — An Iranian newspaper implying that the public needed to have the patience of the Biblical figure Job in waiting for President Masoud Pezeshkian to lift restrictions on the internet now faces potential criminal charges. The reported case against the pro-reform newspaper Ham Mihan represents one of the first media freedom issues
Continue ReadingAP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Reba McEntire finds herself behind the bar in her latest return to network TV, making a series that’s a nicely calibrated cocktail of drama and comedy. NBC’s “Happy’s Place” — premiering Friday — finds McEntire’s character, Bobbie, inheriting a Tennessee tavern from her recently-passed father and finding out
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is shelling out billions of dollars for clean energy and approving major offshore wind projects as officials race to secure major climate initiatives before President Joe Biden’s term comes to an end. Biden wants to establish a legacy for climate action that includes locking in a trajectory
Continue ReadingAssociated Press SAN ISIDRO, Colombia (AP) — Many initiatives by ethnic communities in impoverished Choco in northwestern Colombia aim to fight back against the environmental devastation inflicted upon the Atrato, a river that weaves around some 750 kilometers (470 miles) through northern Colombian jungles. With no visible state presence and armed groups encroaching on the
Continue ReadingAssociated Press GENEVA (AP) — A spokesman for forces in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon says it is maintaining its positions despite warnings to move from the Israeli Defense Forces. Andrea Tenenti of the interim force known as UNIFIL cited a unanimous decision by its 50 troop-contributing countries and the Security Council for
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech capital has approved a ban on organized nighttime pub crawls, a popular pastime for tourists that has raked in the cash for bars but caused misery for residents and authorities alike. The outings see boisterous tourist groups moving from bar to bar in Prague’s historic district. They drew
Continue ReadingLONDON (AP) — Friends, collaborators and fellow musicians have expressed shock and sadness over the death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne, who died in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday at age 31. A look at some of the reactions: __ “We’re completely devastated by the news of Liam’s passing. In time, and when
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A Polish zoo is celebrating the arrival of four Sumatran tiger cubs, announcing their birth Friday after keeping it a closely-guarded secret for weeks due to fears they may not survive. Officials at the Wrocław Zoo in the southwestern Polish city of Wroclaw said the tigers — a critically
Continue ReadingKUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia will introduce new taxes and revamp gasoline, education and healthcare subsidies next year as part of aggressive reforms to narrow the country’s fiscal deficit. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim unveiled a national budget for 2025 on Friday that focuses on strengthening the economy and driving reforms. He said the country’s
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LONDON (AP) — One of the most basic questions in the world is “Who are you?” It’s at the heart of the ancient tragedy of Oedipus, and it perplexes people still. It drives a new production of Sophocles’ 2,500-year-old play in London, directed by Robert Icke and starring Mark Strong and Lesley Manville.
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Every Christmas growing up in Minnesota, Jimmy Darts’ parents gave him $200 in cash: $100 for himself and $100 for a stranger. Now, with over 12 million followers on TikTok and several million more on other platforms, philanthropy is his full-time job. Darts, whose real surname is Kellogg, is one of the biggest
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Christian nationalist leaders are telling followers that Vice President Kamala Harris is under the influence of a “Jezebel spirit,” using a term with deeply racist and misogynistic roots that is setting off alarm bells for religious and political scholars. The concept is inspired by the biblical story of the evil Queen Jezebel, who
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Naomi Shihab Nye is this year’s winner of the Wallace Stevens Award, a $100,000 lifetime achievement honor named for the great 20th century poet. Nye’s prize was announced Friday by the Academy of American Poets, which has previously given the award to Louise Glück, John Ashbery and Rita Dove among others.
Continue ReadingPARIS (AP) — France’s prime minister says firefighters and other rescuers have been involved in about 2,300 operations, some of them lifesaving, in what appears to be the biggest flooding in 40 years in central France. Over 1,000 people have been evacuated. Most of them were able to go back home on Friday. French weather
Continue ReadingATHENS, Greece (AP) — A data breach has exposed personal information of over 500 officers from a newly launched elite crime fighting agency in Greece. The Directorate for Combating Organised Crime was launched this week amid revalations that details of the agency’s structure and staff membership had been published on a news website and subsequently
Continue ReadingAssociated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Norwegian authorities say they have dropped the case against a real estate tycoon who had been suspected of murder or complicity to murder in connection with his wife’s disappearance almost six years ago. Police initially said Anne-Elizabeth Falkevik Hagen, 68, had been abducted from her home on Oct. 31,
Continue ReadingAssociated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Nine monkeys who died in Hong Kong’s oldest zoo in two days this week had been infected with an endemic disease, possibly after some digging work near their cages, officials said on Friday. Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung said in a press briefing that the animals
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