Month: December 2023

By BABACAR DIONE Associated Press DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — On Thursday, a court ordered Senegal’s opposition leader Ousmane Sonko to be reinstated on the electoral list, which could allow him to run for president in February’s election. The state has 10 days to appeal, but has yet to say if it will. Sonko finished third

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard says a boat carrying 12 passengers sank north of the Dominican Republic during inclement weather, and all have been rescued. Authorities say six of the passengers who were aboard a raft were rescued by a Carnival Cruise Line ship in the area, and six others

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A missile fired from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen missed a container ship traveling through the crucial Bab el-Mandeb Strait. A U.S. defense official told The Associated Press about the assault Thursday, the latest attack threatening shipping in the crucial maritime chokepoint. The attack saw

BERLIN (AP) — An Austrian court has acquitted five people, including the founder of the Blackwater security firm, who were accused of exporting two crop-spraying aircraft that were allegedly refitted for military purposes without the necessary permits. The state court in Wiener Neustadt found Thursday that the modified aircraft were not “war material.” It also

LONDON (AP) — A political standards watchdog says a U.K. Conservative lawmaker who offered to lobby on behalf of gambling interests should be suspended from Parliament for 35 days. The Commons Standards Committee said Scott Benton offered to lobby government ministers and table parliamentary questions when he met with what he believed were gambling investors.

PARIS (AP) — The Paris prosecutor’s office says an investigation has been opened following the death of a French actress who was among those accusing movie star Gérard Depardieu of sexual misconduct. Actress Emmanuelle Debever posted on Facebook in 2019 that Depardieu had groped her in 1982 while they were acting together for the film

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — A top European Union official has praised an agreement that would see Albania host thousands of migrants picked up at sea and transferred there by the Italian authorities. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s approval comes just as the Albanian Constitutional Court held up  the deal

By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian opposition lawmakers have disrupted the opening of a new session of Parliament, demanding an investigation into the government for alleged corruption. Bodyguards on Thursday blocked the entrance to the Parliament building, refusing admission to opposition lawmakers who started previous outbreaks of violence in the assembly.

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer Artificial intelligence went mainstream in 2023 — it was a long time coming yet has a long way to go for the technology to match people’s science fiction fantasies of human-like machines. Catalyzing a year of AI fanfare was ChatGPT. The chatbot gave the world a glimpse of recent

LONDON (AP) — The father, stepmother and uncle of a 10-year-old girl found dead in her U.K. home have pleaded not guilty to murder charges. Sara Sharif’s body was discovered under a blanket in a bunk bed at her home in southern England on Aug. 10. Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, 41; his partner Beinash Batool,

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Ireland’s prime minister Leo Varadkar says the European Union is losing its credibility because of a lack of a strong position in the war between Israel and Hamas, urging his counterparts to call for a humanitarian cease-fire. Speaking at the start of a EU summit in Brussels

MOSCOW (AP) — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested in Russia on espionage charges, lost an appeal on Thursday to be released from jail and will remain in custody at least until Jan. 30. Gershkovich was detained in March while on a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,200 miles east

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — Pope Francis is calling for an international treaty to ensure artificial intelligence is developed and used ethically. He says a treaty is needed because the risks of technology lacking human values of compassion, mercy and forgiveness are too great. Francis added his voice to increasing calls for

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s justice minister says the son of the president of Somalia will return to Turkey in the coming days to face trial over a fatal highway crash in Istanbul. A 38-year-old motorcycle courier was hit by a car driven by the Somalia president’s son, Mohammed Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, on a highway

PARIS (AP) — Greta Gerwig, actor, writer and film director, notably for the blockbuster “Barbie,” will preside over the jury of the 77th Cannes Festival in May, the first American female film director to be named jury president, the festival announced Thursday. At 40, Gerwig is also the youngest person to take on that role

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Appeals judges at a special Kosovo court have upheld the convictions of a former commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army for arbitrarily detaining and torturing prisoners and murdering one of them during Kosovo’s war for independence. The appeals panel cut his sentence by four years

By FATIMA HUSSEIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says former President Donald Trump’s economic policies toward China left America “more vulnerable and more isolated” in the global economy. It’s a rare jab by her at the front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination. Yellen made the comment in prepared remarks to be

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Several arrests have been in Denmark with police saying they carried out the operation “on suspicion of preparation for a terrorist attack.” The arrests were made in “a coordinated action” in several places in Denmark early Thursday. No other details were given. The Copenhagen police and Denmark’s domestic intelligence service are

By COURTNEY BONNELL and DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writers LONDON (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels have escalated attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea during the Israel-Hamas war, raising concerns about the impact on the flow of oil, grain and consumer goods through a major global trade artery. Israeli-linked vessels have been targeted, but

By KIM TONG-HYUNG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Olympic chief has defended a decision to send hundreds of athletes to a military camp next week as part of preparations for the 2024 Games in Paris. The official cited a need to instill mental toughness in athletes who he says have underachieved

By NAJIB JOBAIN and KAREEM CHEHAYEB Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel has vowed to keep fighting in Gaza until it crushes Hamas after one of the deadliest single battles of the war for its soldiers, even as it faces mounting international calls for a cease-fire and unease on the part of its

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A U.N. report says Taliban officials are sending Afghan women to prison to protect them from gender-based violence. Before the Taliban seized power in 2021, there were 23 state-sponsored specialized women protection centers in Afghanistan where survivors of gender-based violence could seek refuge. Now there are none, the U.N. report said Thursday.

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mostly higher in Asia on Thursday after a powerful rally across Wall Street sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record high as the Federal Reserve indicated that interest rate cuts are likely next year. The European Central Bank and Bank of England

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — The World Bank is forecasting that China’s economy will slow next year, with annual growth falling to 4.5% from 5.2% this year. The report issued Thursday said the recovery of the world’s second-largest economy from setbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic, among other shocks, remains “fragile.” It

By RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders are struggling to keep their two most elementary promises to Ukraine at war intact — to give it the wherewithal to stave off the Russian invasion and maintain its hope of joining the wealthy bloc. The threat to that commitment does not come from

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN Associated Press TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A leader of Taiwan’s main opposition Nationalist Party is visiting rival China less than one month before the self-governing island republic holds elections for president and the legislature. In a news release Thursday, the party said vice chair Andrew Hsia and his delegation departed for China

By HARRIET MORRIS Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin holds his end-of-year news conference Thursday — and this year, ordinary citizens are getting the chance to phone in their questions along with those asked by journalists. Putin, who has held power for nearly 24 years and is running for reelection in March,

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — The defense ministers of Japan, Britain and Italy have signed an agreement to establish a joint organization to develop a new advanced jet fighter, as the countries push to bolster their cooperation in the face of growing threats from China, Russia and North Korea. The three countries

By VASILISA STEPANENKO Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Siberian Battalion is unique in many ways. It’s soldiers are Russians who have joined Ukraine’s military ranks to fight against their homeland, hoping someday to help oust Russian President Vladimir Putin. The fighters undergo lengthy security checks before they are trained and deployed to Ukrainian

By DAVID McHUGH AP Business Writer FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The inflation plaguing European shoppers has fallen faster than expected. The economy is in the dumps. And that has people talking about interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank, perhaps as soon as the first few months of next year. No rate move is

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England is set to join its peers in the U.S. and Europe in keeping borrowing rates unchanged despite mounting worries over the state of the British economy. The central bank on Thursday is expected to keep its main interest rate at a 15-year high

PERTH, Australia (AP) — Australia batter Usman Khawaja has worn a black armband because he wasn’t allowed to wear shoes branded with a “all lives are equal” humanitarian message on Day 1 of the series-opening cricket test against Pakistan. The International Cricket Council intervened after Khawaja indicated he planned to wear shoes during the match

By DIANE JEANTET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — The renowned chief from the Amazon rainforest and the Belgian filmmaker appeared to be close friends at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Far from the flashing cameras, however, their decades-long partnership was nearing its end. With his feathered crown and wooden lip plate, Chief Raoni

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — As the age-old adage goes, don’t mess with success. The Grammy Awards aren’t, bringing Trevor Noah back as host in 2024. Noah shared the news Wednesday night on his podcast “What Now? With Trevor Noah.” For those keeping count, the 66th Grammys will mark his

By BRIAN SLODYSKO Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. James Comer, who is leading the House Republicans’ impeachment investigation of Joe Biden, has focused on the Biden family’s use of “shell companies.” Comer says the president’s family has used such companies to obscure their earnings from “shady” business deals. But Comer has a shell company

By BRIAN SLODYSKO Associated Press TOMPKINSVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Rep. James Comer, who is leading the House Republicans’ impeachment investigation of Joe Biden, has focused on the Biden family’s use of “shell companies.” Comer says the president’s family has used such companies to obscure their earnings from “shady” business deals. But Comer has a shell

By ALMUDENA CALATRAVA Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentines are facing uncertainty and concerns after President Javier Milei’s government announced economic shock measures aimed at tackling the country severe crisis. The measures include a sharp devaluation of the peso by 50%, cuts to subsidies and the closure of some government ministries. Milei has

By SEUNG MIN KIM and LINLEY SANDERS Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Relatively few Americans are excited about a potential rematch of the 2020 election between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump. But more Republicans would be happy to have Trump as their nominee than Democrats would be with Biden. That’s according to a new

By MEAD GRUVER Associated Press CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A judge in Wyoming will decide as soon as Thursday whether to strike down, affirm or hold a trial over the state’s abortion bans, including its first-in-the-nation explicit prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy. Any decision on the bans during or after a

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mickey Mouse is about to belong to you and me. The earliest version of Disney’s most famous character, and arguably the most iconic character in American pop culture, will become public domain on Jan. 1, 2024. That’s because the copyright on his first screen appearance,

By DIANE JEANTET Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — It was considered to be among the world’s most productive partnerships between an Indigenous chief and a Westerner. For five decades, the Amazonian tribal leader and Belgian film director enlisted presidents and royals, even Pope Francis, to improve the lives of Brazil’s Indigenous peoples and

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — The leaders of Guyana and Venezuela are scheduled to meet face-to-face as regional partners urgently seek to defuse a long-standing territorial dispute that has escalated after Venezuelans voted in a referendum to claim two-thirds of their small neighbor. Guyana’s president, Irfaan Ali, and Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, are expected to meet

BOGOTA.Colombia (AP) — A Colombian congressional committee has ordered a preliminary investigation into President Gustavo Petro over allegations of crimes in the financing of his election campaign. The committee is empowered to deal with complaints against the president, who has immunity from being investigated by the prosecutor’s office. The committee said Wednesday that it ordered

By KIM CHANDLER Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A lawsuit filed by lawyers for a spiritual adviser to an Alabama inmate scheduled to be executed with nitrogen gas next month say that restrictions on how close the adviser can get to the inmate in the death chamber are “hostile to religion.” The Rev. Jeff

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles County prosecutors say two men who spent decades in prison for crimes they didn’t commit have been exonerated and freed. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office says a judge on Wednesday found the men factually innocent of the crimes. DA George Gascón apologized to both men during a

By DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Two leading international human rights groups are accusing Greek authorities of failing to properly investigate the circumstances around a migrant boat sinking six months ago that killed hundreds. In a joint report, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said Thursday that “little meaningful progress” has been