Month: November 2021

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Police and media reports in Serbia say that a series of explosions have ripped through a munitions factory on the outskirts of Belgrade. At least two workers have been killed and 16 others were injured. State RTS television said Tuesday the first explosion took place around 2 p.m. at a munitions

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — An air quality monitoring outfit says Lahore has become the world’s third most polluted city as increasing smog has engulfed Pakistan’s cultural capital. The bad air has sickened hundreds with respiratory and other illnesses. Lahore ranked third behind Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar on the pollution index.

By RONALD BLUM Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Matthew Aucoin’s “Eurydice” opens at the Metropolitan Opera on Tuesday night in the first of seven performances running through Dec. 16. Based on Sarah Ruhl’s 2003 play, with a libretto by Ruhl, the opera gives a contemporary take on the Orpheus myth from a woman’s point

ROME (AP) — The only person convicted in the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher has been freed after serving most of his 16-year prison sentence.  Italian news agencies LaPresse and ANSA quoted attorney Fabrizio Ballarini as saying Rudy Guede’s planned Jan. 4 release had been moved up a few weeks by a judge

By EUGENE GARCIA and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles police say a group of thieves smashed windows at a department store at a luxury mall. The latest incident in a trend of smash-and-grab crimes is part of a national trend that targeted a Nordstrom store late Monday. It came

By SARA BURNETT, KATHLEEN FOODY and TIM SULLIVAN Associated Press Participants like the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies were in the holiday spirit as they stepped off for the Waukesha Christmas Parade. But as they reveled, a red SUV was also heading down Main Street behind them, moving at a pace far faster than the parade. Police

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch government is making social distancing mandatory again for all adults after coronavirus infection numbers hit a new weekly record. Positive tests climbed 39% while hospital and intensive care unit admissions also rose sharply. The latest evidence of a surge in COVID-19 cases came

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is sending his condolences to the victims of the Christmas parade crash in Wisconsin that killed five people and injured 48 others in Waukesha, a suburb of Milwaukee. Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Pietro Parolin sent the telegram of condolences Tuesday on behalf of Francis to the archbishop of Milwaukee.

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer “Good Morning America” co-host Michael Strahan is going to space next month. Strahan, who turned 50 on Sunday, will join Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of astronaut Alan Shepard, on the Dec. 9 mission aboard the New Shepard, a spacecraft named after her father, the first American in

By GARY GERARD HAMILTON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — When Naturi Naughton read the script for ABC’s new music-inspired drama “Queens,” a feeling of déjà vu rushed through her. That’s because Naughton, a former member of the 2000s R&B group 3LW, knew well the drama and breakups and makeups of being in a girl

By WAYNE EMBRY For The Associated Press CLEVELAND (AP) — Wayne Embry, a Hall of Famer and longtime NBA executive, talks about the indignities he and other players endured during the turbulent 1960s. The 84-year-old Embry says league executives made it clear they didn’t want players to get involved in civil rights demonstrations or war

MADRID (AP) — Metalworkers and police have clashed in southern Spain at the end of a protest march to demand that wages rise in line with the country’s surging inflation rate. Police used rubber bullets to disperse protestors who tried to erect barricades across streets in the city of Cádiz on Tuesday. The demonstration marked

By LEANNE ITALIE AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Santa is back this year, but he’s asking people to be cautious as he continues to tiptoe through the pandemic. There are fewer available Santas this year, which means some are busier than ever. Where it’s allowed, some malls and big-box stores are offering Santa’s

BERLIN (AP) — A man in Germany has discovered the hard way that it’s best to get a driving license before trying to use it. Police in Bergheim, near Cologne, said Tuesday that the 37-year-old drove himself to his driving test, parking an Opel Zafira outside the test center in front of an astonished examiner.

NEW YORK (AP) — Authorities say Malikah Shabazz, one of six daughters of slain civil rights leader Malcolm X, was found dead in her home in New York City. A police spokesperson says the 56-year-old Shabazz was found Monday in her home in Brooklyn. Police say her death appears to be from natural causes. Malikah

LONDON (AP) — British politicians have gathered for a Mass to mourn the death of slain lawmaker David Amess, with Pope Francis sending a message calling for mourners to “combat evil with good.” Prime Minister Boris Johnson, three former prime ministers and opposition leader Keir Starmer joined others at Westminster Cathedral in London for the

By BASSEM MROUE Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The U.N. children’s agency says Lebanon’s severe economic crisis has left some children hungry and without good medical care, and forced others to drop out of school to help their families. UNICEF’s report Tuesday comes as the Lebanese pound traded at 23,500 to the dollar — close

By JIM SALTER Associated Press A former St. Louis police officer convicted of beating a Black undercover detective during a 2017 racial injustice protest has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison — far more lenient than prosecutors and the victim had hoped for. Dustin Boone was sentenced Monday after being convicted

NEW YORK (AP) — Matt Damon has some big-name endorsers for a book he’ll have out March 1 about access to safe water. Former President Bill Clinton and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Muhammad Yunus are among those providing blurbs for “The Worth of Water.” The Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker worked on the book with civil and

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Turkish currency has weakened by nearly 10% against the U.S. dollar, a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted there would be no turning back from his unconventional policy of cutting interest rates despite high inflation. The lira plunged to a record low of 13.44 on Tuesday before making some

By THOMAS ADAMSON and ANGELA CHARLTON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — The prime minister of France, who has tested positive for COVID, is being singled out on social media as the prime example of what not to do in the pandemic.  Multiple videos online show a maskless Prime Minister Jean Castex vigorously shaking hands with

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarusian authorities say they have helped more than 100 migrants leave the country and more are prepared to leave. The statement comes after almost two weeks tensions at on the Belarus’ border with Poland where hundreds of migrants remain stuck. Belarus’ Interior Ministry officials said Tuesday

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert has joined the crowded field of Republicans mounting primary challenges against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. The East Texas lawmaker is the latest prominent member of his party seeking to unseat the incumbent in the wake of Paxton’s top deputies reporting him to the FBI last year

By DAVID B. CARUSO, JIM MUSTIAN and MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell doesn’t involve the salacious allegations that the British socialite offered up one of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers to England’s Prince Andrew for sex. Instead, U.S. prosecutors are focusing on allegations by four women who say

By JOSH BOAK and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is ordering a record 50 million barrels of oil released from America’s strategic reserve to help bring down energy costs. He said Tuesday he is acting in coordination with other major energy consuming nations, including China, India, and the United Kingdom.

GENEVA (AP) — Spanish government researchers have agreed to allow other manufacturers to produce their coronavirus antibody test, a move that could significantly boost testing in poor countries with limited COVID-19 surveillance. In a statement on Tuesday, the World Health Organization and the U.N.-backed Medicines Patent Pool said the Spanish National Research Council had signed