Month: December 2021

LONDON (AP) — A British police chief has written to apologize to the family of former professional soccer player Dalian Atkinson who died after a police officer used a stun gun on him and kicked him in the head. Constable Benjamin Monk was convicted of manslaughter in June and sentenced to eight years in prison

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) — The sister and lawyer of a French tourist jailed in Iran last year say that he has begun a hunger strike to protest against mistreatment in prison. Benjamin Brière was arrested in May 2020 after taking pictures in a desert area where photography is prohibited and asking

By COLLEEN SLEVIN Associated Press GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) — A truck driver sentenced to 110 years for an explosive crash that killed four people in suburban Denver has moved a step closer to potentially having his prison term reduced. Judge Bruce Jones on Monday scheduled a hearing for Jan. 13 to reconsider Rogel Aguilera-Mederos’ sentence,

By KRUTIKA PATHI Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s government has blocked Mother Teresa’s charity from receiving foreign funds, saying the Catholic organization did not meet conditions under local laws, dealing a blow to one of the most prominent groups running shelters for the poor. The Home Ministry says the Missionaries of Charity’s application

By YURAS KARMANAU Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Belarus’ authorities have released a draft document proposing amendments to the country’s constitution that may allow authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to further cement his grip on power after months of mass protests and remain in office until 2035. The proposed amendments are published on the president’s

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A man charged with fatally shooting two men at a busy restaurant in Kentucky has pleaded not guilty. News outlets report 21-year-old Karson Reitz appeared before a judge Sunday on murder charges in the shooting at the Roosters restaurant on Preston Highway in Louisville. The judge set his bond at $1

By TALI ARBEL AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Flight cancellations that disrupted holiday travel stretched into Monday. Staffers calling out sick because of COVID-19 have left airlines short in recent days. Airline tracker FlightAware says airlines have canceled more than 4,000 flights to, from or inside the U.S. since Friday, with over 1,000

By DÉBORA REY and ALMUDENA CALATRAVA Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — It’s been a year since Argentina legalized elective abortions up to 14 weeks of gestation, and there are disparities in the procedure’s availability. In some jurisdictions around the capital, abortions are easily accessible. In more socially conservative areas, few physicians and medical

By LOUISE DIXON Associated Press LONDON (AP) — English sparkling wine has been winning respect and an audience in recent years. Globally, English sparkling wines still make up a tiny part of the market but sales are growing. English sparkling wine uses the same three grapes as Champagne and the same production method. The vines

By KWASI GYAMFI ASIEDU Associated Press WEDOWEE, Alabama (AP) — The U.S. Roman Catholic church faces a clergy shortage. The number of priests has declined by 60% over the last 50 years. For nuns, there has been a 75% drop. To ease the shortage, dioceses have been looking overseas to recruit in places such as

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press LE PECQ, France (AP) — French investigators say they have detained a man suspected of supplying authorities in Syria with materials that can be used in the production of chemical weapons. A French judicial official said Monday that the dual French-Syrian national was arrested in the south of France while

By TOM HAYS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A jury in the sex trafficking trial of Ghislaine Maxwell has completed three full days of deliberations without a sign that a verdict is near. On Monday, the jury requested multi-colored sticky notes, a white board and some trial transcripts. They also asked for the definition

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s government minister for public security says he is now under round-the-clock protection after coming under threats from Jewish extremists. Omer Barlev sparked an uproar earlier this month when he criticized a wave of violence by West Bank settlers against Palestinian civilians in the Israeli occupied West Bank. On Monday, Barlev wrote

BOSTON (AP) — Edward O. Wilson, the pioneering Harvard biologist who advanced the provocative theory that human behavior such as war and altruism has a genetic basis, has died. He was 92. A tribute posted Monday on the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation’s website said Wilson died on Dec. 26. The professor won two Pulitzer prizes,

By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators have stepped up a series of investigations into multiple engine fires that have plagued Hyundai and Kia vehicles for more than six years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says a new engineering analysis investigation covers more than 3 million vehicles from

By COLLEEN LONG and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden insists that he strongly believes in the rights spelled out in the 1973 Roe v. Wade court decision, which are now under the most dire threat in decades. But he barely uses the word “abortion.” And when his administration has been

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — New Year celebrations are approaching and across the world there is an urge to party. But the desire to let loose is being countered by the highly transmissible omicron variant. Governments are moving at different speeds to contain the pandemic, with some reimposing restrictions immediately and others

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — When Ohio House legislative aide Adam Headlee got his hands on a new set of trading cards of Ohio lawmakers, the 25-year-old Republican set out to get each one signed. His office in Ohio’s state capital was already stuffed with political memorabilia, from campaign buttons

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s top court has rejected an appeal filed by Iran-backed factions contesting the results of parliamentary elections held in October. The lawsuit had been filed by a lawmaker whose pro-Iran coalition lost seats in the Oct. 10 vote. The Federal Supreme Court had not ratified the election results pending the appeal. The

LONDON (AP) — British police say they are investigating a video linked to a man armed with a crossbow who was arrested at Windsor Castle on Christmas Day. The video, obtained by The Sun newspaper, showed a masked person in a dark hoodie holding a crossbow and addressing the camera with a distorted voice, saying

By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press CAIRO (AP) — Libyan lawmakers are meeting to discuss the many challenges that forced a postponement this month of the restive North African nation’s long-awaited presidential election. The parliament, based in the country’s east, is to weigh in on Libya’s election commission proposal to hold the vote on Jan. 24.

BERLIN (AP) — A Berlin court says none of the parties has appealed against the verdict in the diplomatically sensitive trial of a Russian man who was convicted earlier this month of what judges concluded was the state-ordered killing of a Chechen man. The verdict on Dec. 15 prompted Germany’s foreign minister to expel two

By HOLDEN LEWIS of NerdWallet IBuyers are one of the few true innovations to hit the real estate industry in recent years. Yet consumers haven’t fully embraced them because of misconceptions about how iBuyers work, and what types of problems they resolve for sellers and buyers. There is little evidence that iBuyers lowball sellers, they

By DASHA LITVINOVA Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s top diplomat says talks between Russia and the United States on Moscow’s demand for Western guarantees precluding NATO’s expansion to Ukraine will start immediately after the new year holiday period. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday the talks will start immediately after Jan. 9. Moscow has

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s president says he has decided to veto a media bill that would have forced U.S. company Discovery to give up its controlling share of Polish television network TVN. President Andrzej Duda noted Monday that the bill was unpopular with many Poles and would have dealt

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court has extended the prison term handed to an activist who investigated Stalin-era repression to 15 years. Yuri Dmitriyev rose to prominence after uncovering mass graves of victims of Stalinist repressions. He was arrested on charges of sexually abusing his adopted daughter, which rights activists have dismissed as fabricated and

By MEHMET GUZEL Associated Press EDIRNE, Turkey (AP) — Bulgarian shoppers are crossing Turkey’s western border in packed cars and buses, taking advantage of a declining Turkish lira to fuel their own shopping sprees. Their first stop is the currency exchange and then it’s off to the markets and grocery stores in the northwestern city

By ALEX SCHULLER and GEIR MOULSON Associated Press VIENNA (AP) — Negotiators from Iran and five world powers have resumed negotiations on restoring Tehran’s tattered 2015 nuclear deal, with Iran insisting that the United States and its allies promise to allow it to export its crude oil. The latest round of talks in Vienna opened

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME and ANDREW MELDRUM Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s legacy is reverberating among young South Africans, many of whom were not born when the clergyman battled apartheid and sought full rights for the nation’s Black majority. South Africa is holding a week of mourning for Tutu, who died Sunday at