Associated Press PARIS (AP) — The final act of the Paralympics in Paris will be a giant dance party. That’s a promise from Thomas Jolly, the artistic director of the Olympic and Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies. Jolly says 24 DJs will perform thumping techno and dance music at the Stade de France on Sunday
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LONDON (AP) — One doesn’t need to know sign language to understand what Michael Connolly feels about his colleagues’ efforts to break down the barriers posed by his deafness. When asked what he thought of his teammates’ decision to learn British Sign Language, the 45-year-old autoworker at the Nissan plant in Sunderland, England,
Continue ReadingAssociated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s justice minister has denied corruption allegations against her related to a mutual bank scandal in which thousands of retirees lost their life savings. VBS Mutual Bank was declared insolvent and bankrupt in 2018 after it emerged that more than 2 billion rand or $112 million had been stolen
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LONDON (AP) — A man who helped fuel a fire outside a hotel housing more than 200 asylum-seekers has been sentenced to nine years in prison, the longest punishment so far handed to those involved in last month’s wave of far-right riots in England. At the sentencing hearing Friday at Sheffield Crown Court
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Thousands of mourners gathered Friday for funeral services in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv for victims of a Russian missile attack that killed seven people, including a mother and her three daughters. The pre-dawn blasts earlier this week in the historic center of the city also injured dozens
Continue ReadingAP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly two decades ago, Paris Hilton released her debut album, 2006’s eponymous “Paris,” at one height of her powers — an album of breezy pop music that offered a soundtrack to her cheery and decadent public-facing lifestyle, anchored by the reggae-lite sugar rush of “Stars Are Blind.” Not
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — The parent company of the Japanese 7-Eleven convenience store chain is turning down a takeover offer from Alimentation Couche-Tard of Canada. In a letter made public Friday, Stephen Dacus, who heads a special committee examining the proposed takeover, said the committee carefully reviewed the offer to acquire all outstanding
Continue ReadingAssociated Press Sweden says children under the age of 2 should not be exposed to any digital screens. The recommendations were issued by the Scandinavian country’s public health agency earlier this month. The suggestions are the latest in a worldwide effort to limit screen time for young children. The coronavirus lockdowns exacerbated the problem as
Continue ReadingTALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Japanese man has been arrested in Belarus and is facing charges of working for Japan’s special services by photographing military and civilian infrastructure near the border with Ukraine. A report on Belarusian state TV said suspect Masatoshi Nakanishi was arrested in July and faces seven years in prison if convicted.
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — More than five months after weighing in on the presidential matchup, Rhode Island voters will choose which candidates will face off in this fall’s U.S. Senate election. Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse faces a primary challenge from Mike Costa, a former Republican candidate for governor who lives in Bristol. Costa, now
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — New Hampshire is among the smallest states in the country, but its state primaries have enough intrigue to fill a much larger state. Tuesday’s primaries will set the stage for important general elections. Due to the retirements of Gov. Chris Sununu and longtime Rep. Ann Kuster, there are open races
Continue ReadingAssociated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The impending departures of Gov. John Carney and U.S. Sen. Tom Carper are having ripple effects throughout the ballot in Tuesday’s state primaries in Delaware. Carney is term-limited and is now running for Wilmington mayor after holding different statewide offices for more than 20 years. Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long hopes
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s anti-immigrant government is signaling that it is serious about implementing a plan to provide asylum seekers free one-way travel to Brussels. It’s a measure meant to pressure the European Union into relenting on heavy fines against the country for its restrictive asylum policies. At a news conference in
Continue ReadingAssociated Press PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The European Union envoy for the Western Balkans has urged Kosovo and Serbia step up their efforts at normalization talks, saying these are decisive on their path toward membership into the bloc. Miroslav Lajcak was visiting Kosovo’s capital Pristina Friday, where he met with Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi,
Continue ReadingTHE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch government is expanding export restrictions on machines that make advanced processor chips that can be used in weapons systems. It cited security risks. Dutch company ASML is one of the world’s leading makers of chip machines and it already faced export restrictions on other machines ahead of the
Continue ReadingAP White House Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris raised well more than double what former President Donald Trump took in from donors in August, her campaign announced Friday, saying it raised $361 million from nearly 3 million donors in her first full month as a candidate. Trump’s team had announced Wednesday he
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order for federal grants that will prioritize projects with labor agreements, wage standards, and benefits such as access to child care and apprenticeship programs. Biden said the ideas in his order “are common sense.” “Economists have long believed that these
Continue ReadingAssociated Press RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AP) — Ukraine’s president has told U.S. and allied military leaders meeting in Germany that his country needs the ability to strike deep within Russia now. Ukraine is pressing the West to loosen weapons use restrictions and allow it to target Russian air bases and launch sites far from
Continue ReadingPARIS (AP) — Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is promising to step up efforts to fight criminality on the messaging app. In a Telegram post, the app’s founder made his first public comments since French authorities handed him preliminary charges for allegedly allowing the platform’s use for criminal activity. Durov defended himself against the French judicial
Continue ReadingAssociated Press GENEVA (AP) — U.N.-backed human rights investigators are urging the creation of an “independent and impartial force” to protect civilians in Sudan’s war. The fact-finding mission is blaming both sides for war crimes including murder, mutilation and torture and warning that countries that arm and finance them could be complicit. It also accused
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