Month: April 2023

By JOHN LEICESTER and HELENA ALVES Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Parisians have overwhelmingly voted to banish the French capital’s ubiquitous for-hire electric scooters from their streets. The 15,000 opinion-dividing mini-machines are now expected to vanish from central Paris at the end of August when the city’s contracts with the three operators expire. The question

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean, U.S. and Japanese navies are conducting their first anti-submarine drills in six months to boost their coordination against increasing North Korean missile threats. The two-day drills that started Monday come after North Korea unveiled battlefield nuclear warheads and raised worries it may

By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business Writer TOKYO (AP) — Business sentiment among big Japanese manufacturers worsened in the first quarter of this year. That’s according to a Bank of Japan survey of business sentiments called “tankan.” It was the fifth straight decline in manufacturers’ sentiments in the quarterly survey. The central bank’s survey released Monday

NEW YORK (AP) — Documentary maker Alanis Obomsawin is this year’s winner of the Edward MacDowell Medal, a lifetime achievement honor given previously to Toni Morrison, David Lynch and Roseanne Cash among others. She is the first female director to win the medal, presented by the MacDowell artist residency program. She is also the first

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A medical helicopter responding to a call of a hiker with breathing problems crashed Sunday in Alabama. Authorities say two crew members died and the third aboard the helicopter was taken to a hospital. The Federal Aviation Administration says the Eurocopter EC130 crashed near the community of Chelsea, southeast of Birmingham,

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer DALLAS (AP) — Kim Mulkey returned home to Louisiana wanting to bring LSU its first basketball championship. The Hall of Fame coach did just that in only her second year at the school. Her Tigers used a record offensive performance to beat Caitlin Clark and Iowa 102-85 on Sunday

PARADISE, Mont. (AP) — Authorities say about 25 train cars have derailed in northwestern Montana. No injuries or evacuations have been reported after the cars derailed near the town of Paradise along the Clark Fork River on Sunday. The Sanders County Sheriff’s Office says the cars aren’t believed to be carrying anything hazardous. But firefighters

By JILL LAWLESS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Screen stars Paul Mescal and Jodie Comer have won prizes at London’s Olivier Awards for their first-ever West End stage roles. A stage adaptation of Japanese animated classic “My Neighbor Totoro” won six trophies. Irish actor Mescal  was named best actor in a play for his turn

LONDON (AP) — Winners of the 2023 Olivier Awards, handed out Sunday for achievement in London theater, opera and dance include: “My Neighbor Totoro,” which won six prizes including best new comedy and best director. “Prima Facie” was named best new play, and “Standing at the Sky’s Edge” took the trophy for best new musical.

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga has called for a temporary halt to anti-government protests after President William Ruto urged his opponents to negotiate with him. Ruto said Sunday he wants to hold talks with opponents to discuss how members of Kenya’s electoral commission are chosen. The

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei have toured a hospital built with support from Taipei, reaffirming their close diplomatic ties as the self-governing island seeks to strengthen relations with its remaining allies in Central America. It was the final day of Tsai’s three-day visit to Guatemala and came

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Providence suspended guard Alyn Breed after he was charged with pointing a gun at his girlfriend and other crimes over the weekend. Maj. David Lapatin said Breed wielded the gun during an exchange with his girlfriend in an off-campus apartment early Saturday, The Providence Journal reported. He also is accused of

By The Associated Press An explosion tore through a cafe in Russia’s second-largest city Sunday, killing a well-known military blogger and strident supporter of the war in Ukraine. Some reports said a bomb was embedded in a bust of the blogger that was given to him as a gift. Russian officials said Vladlen Tatarsky was

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Riding terrific reviews and a strong word-of-mouth, the role playing game adaptation “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” opened with $38.5 million in U.S. and Canadian movie theaters over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, stealing the top box-office perch from “John Wick: Chapter

By VANESSA GERA Associated Press WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Thousands of Poles have joined marches in Warsaw and other cities in defense of the late pope, St. John Paul II. The events on Sunday followed the airing last month of an explosive documentary alleging that John Paul covered up child sex abuse by clergy in

By The Associated Press Twitter has removed the verification check mark on the main account of The New York Times, one of CEO Elon Musk’s most despised news organizations. The removal comes as many of Twitter’s high-profile users are bracing for the loss of the blue check marks that helped verify their identity and distinguish

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Thousands of people took to the streets in Kosovo to support former guerilla leaders on trial for their alleged roles in atrocities. Protesters filled the main squares of the capital Pristina on Sunday, a day before the trial is set to begin. Former President Hashim Thaci and three other ex-guerillas are

CHICAGO (AP) — A state appeals court has ordered a new trial for the man accused of gunning down a Chicago honor student just days after she had performed at Barack Obama’s 2013 presidential inauguration. Micheail Ward was found guilty in connection with the death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton in 2018 and sentenced to 84

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — A court in Algiers sentenced a prominent journalist to five years in prison with two years suspended on Sunday. Ihsane El-Kadi, who was active in Algeria’s Hirak pro-democracy protest movement in 2019, appears to be the latest target of a crackdown on dissenting voices in the North African country. The court

By YURI KAGEYAMA and MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Ryuichi Sakamoto, a world-renowned Japanese musician and actor who composed for Hollywood hits such as “The Last Emperor” and “The Revenant,” has died. He was 71. Japan’s recording company Avex said in a statement Sunday that Sakamoto died on March 28 while undergoing treatment

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia and other major oil producers on Sunday announced surprise cuts totaling up to 1.15 million barrels per day from May until the end of the year, a move that could raise prices worldwide. Higher oil prices would help fill Russian President Vladimir Putin’s coffers as his country

NORWALK, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut police have charged two people with cutting more than 2,000 fiber optic cables, leaving over 40,000 homes and businesses without internet service in the southwest part of the state. Norwalk police say they arrested Asheville, North Carolina, residents Jillian Persons and Austin Geddings on Saturday during a surveillance operation. Both

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The president of the International Gymnastics Federation has paid a visit to Ukraine for talks with senior political figures amid a standoff over Russian athletes’ eligibility for Olympic qualifying events. A statement on the Ukrainian presidential website says FIG president Morinari Watanabe met with the Ukraine’s presidential office head Andriy Yermak