Month: December 2022

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s last brown bear in captivity was rescued by an international animal welfare organization Wednesday and will be taken to a sanctuary in Austria. Four Paws began the journey with the 24-year-old bear, named Mark, accompanied by a large file of documents to get him across

By JOSEPH WILSON Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spanish police are searching for 14 people who ran from a plane at Barcelona’s airport after it made an emergency landing to obtain assistance for a pregnant woman who allegedly simulated that she was about to give birth. The office for Spain’s government in the Catalonia

By RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — A spokesman says the Taliban authorities have executed an Afghan convicted of killing another man in the first public execution since the former insurgents took over the country last year. The official says that Wednesday’s execution in the western Farah province, carried out with an assault rifle

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, says he’s pained by a rise in antisemitism in the United States. Emhoff, who’s Jewish, says he’ll continue to speak out about bias against Jews and other forms of bigotry and hate. Emhoff led a a White House

By RONALD BLUM and JAY COHEN AP Baseball Writers SAN DIEGO (AP) — Aaron Judge has issued his ruling: Court remains in session in the Bronx. Judge is staying with the New York Yankees on a $360 million, nine-year contract, according to a person familiar with baseball’s biggest free agent deal ever. The person spoke

By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press MILAN (AP) — Italy’s premier opera house has opened its new season with the Russian opera “Boris Godunov.” Pro-Ukrainian activists gathered outside La Scala’s gala premiere in Milan on Wednesday to protest the performance, calling the selection a propaganda win for the Kremlin. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni attended the gala

By JOSHUA GOODMAN Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — For years, Mark Hager’s job as an observer aboard New England fishing boats made him a marked man, seen as a meddling cop on the ocean, counting and scrutinizing every cod, haddock and flounder to enforce rules and help set crucial quotas. On one particularly perilous

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The convicted killer of South African anti-apartheid leader Chris Hani has been released from prison in the capital Pretoria after serving more than 28 years for the 1993 murder. Janusz Walus, 69, has been placed on parole effective Wednesday after he was discharged from the prison’s hospital

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and ABBY SEWELL Associated Press BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi activist has been sentenced to three years in prison over alleged criticism of state-sanctioned militias, spurring criticism from human rights monitors and local activists. Hayder al-Zaidi, 20, was active in popular anti-government protests that began in October 2019. He was sentenced Monday

By MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani investigators say the killing in Kenya of outspoken Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif was a “planned assassination.” The investigators released a report about the incident on Wednesday in Islamabad, weeks after the mysterious killing triggered condemnations and calls for an independent probe. Separately, Islamabad police on Wednesday

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN and MATTHEW PERRONE AP Business Writers Embattled vaping company Juul Labs has reached settlements covering thousands of lawsuits over its e-cigarettes, which in recent years became a scourge in schools and communities nationwide. Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but Juul said that it has secured an equity investment to

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — When Russian forces launched a military campaign against infrastructure in Ukraine nearly two months ago, they opened a front that carried the war along power lines, water mains and heating systems to homes, schools, offices and churches. The government in Kyiv and the Western countries that

By KATHERINE ROTH Associated Press Handmade holiday cards can be gifts in themselves for both maker and receiver. They’re a way to express creativity and connection. And gathering to make them can be a nice social activity. Experts advise setting out to make just a small number of quality cards. Don’t get overwhelmed trying to

By ABBY BADACH DOYLE of NerdWallet From rising home prices  to soaring interest rates,  it’s a daunting time to be a home buyer. To achieve homeownership, some single buyers are trying a different approach: co-buying with friends or family members. But co-buying isn’t a short-term hack – it’s a lifestyle shift. Before you team up,

By DENG MACHOL Associated Press JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudan’s ruling party has endorsed President Salva Kiir as its candidate for another term in the country’s delayed election set for the end of 2024. Kiir has been the country’s only president since it gained independence from Sudan in 2011. South Sudan has since

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft agreed Wednesday to make the hit video game Call of Duty available on Nintendo for 10 years should its $69 billion purchase of game maker Activision Blizzard go through — an apparent attempt to fend off objections from rival Sony. The blockbuster merger is facing close scrutiny from regulators in the

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer Video game developer Ben Esposito’s first big break was a quirky game called Donut County starring a raccoon who dropped small objects and then entire neighborhoods into an ever-growing hole in the ground. His latest, Neon White, is a campy twist on the first-person shooter genre that involves careening

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union has announced that it’s begun legal action at the World Trade Organization against China over what it says are import restrictions Beijing has imposed on Lithuania. The European Commission estimates that China has cut trade from Lithuania by 80% this year. It followed the Baltic state breaking with diplomatic

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — False earthquake alerts have gone off on Android smartphones in Iran as the country continues to grapple with nationwide protests. The deputy chief of Iran’s cyber police told Iranian state television on Wednesday that only Android phones received the fake alert. He blamed testing at state-owned service provider Iran

By BARRY HATTON Associated Press MONTEMOR-O-NOVO, Portugal (AP) — Dissident Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei is taking heart from recent public protests in China over the authorities’ strict COVID-19 policy, but he doesn’t see them bringing about any significant political change. “I don’t think that’s possible,” he told The Associated Press in an interview

By TASSANEE VEJPONGSA and TIAN McLEOD JI Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — Tesla has launched sales in Thailand, offering its popular Model 3 and Model Y at prices aimed at competing with rivals like China’s BYD. The company staged a glitzy showcase of its plans Wednesday at Bangkok’s Siam Paragon mall. Online purchases have begun,

By GERALD IMRAY AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The next World Cup will be the biggest ever after world soccer body FIFA took the leap from a 32-team field to 48 teams in 2026. It means more of soccer’s so-called “little teams” that didn’t make it to Qatar will be given a chance

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Two passenger trains taking commuters to the city of Barcelona collided early Wednesday, injuring more than 150 people, though none seriously, Spanish officials said. Emergency services said medics tended to 155 people on site, with 39 later taken to medical centers for further treatment. The reported injuries were limited to knocks

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal has finished counting the votes that were cast in the Nov. 20 parliamentary elections. The results will ultimately determine the next prime minister. But formation of a new government could take days as no single party has secured a majority in the House of Representatives. Once the new House convenes,

By ELAINE KURTENBACH and MATT OTT AP Business Writers Wall Street futures edged lower Wednesday ahead of new employment and wholesale price data with the Federal Reserve gauging its next step in its fight to cool inflation. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials slipped 0.4% and the S&P 500 fell 0.7% just over an hour

By GRAHAM DUNBAR AP Sports Writer DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Cameroon soccer federation president Samuel Eto’o was filmed apparently kicking a man to the ground in an altercation outside a World Cup stadium early. Eto’o had paused to pose for photos with fans in a public area after Brazil beat South Korea 4-1 late Monday.

By FRANK JORDANS Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — German police have rounded up dozens of people including a self-styled prince, a retired paratrooper and a former judge, accusing the suspects of discussing the overthrow of the government, but leaving unclear how concrete the plans were. A German official and a lawmaker said Wednesday that investigators