Today: September 25, 2024
Today: September 25, 2024

World

World

Iran sentences rapper to more than 6 years in prison over protests, supporters say

Iran has sentenced a popular rapper to six years and three months in prison over his participation in protests that rocked the country last year, his supporters said Monday. A social media account run by supporters of Toomaj Salehi announced the sentence, as did Ye-One Rhie, a member of the German parliament who has campaigned on his behalf. There was no immediate word from Iranian authorities. Salehi was among thousands of mostly young Iranians who took to the streets last fall after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who had been arrested

July 10, 2023
Iran sentences rapper to more than 6 years in prison over protests, supporters say
World

Chris Paul, formally introduced by Warriors, reveals plenty about his motivation

Chris Paul worked out with new teammate Stephen Curry in Atlanta on Sunday morning before traveling to Las Vegas. His assessment of the session: They didn’t miss too many shots. Evidently, Paul’s time with the Golden State Warriors is off to a flying start. The veteran point guard revealed more than a few things in his first official interview session as a member of the Warriors: He isn’t ready to concede that he’s no longer a starter, he doesn’t expect this to be his final season as a player and he gleans the same joy from

July 10, 2023
Chris Paul, formally introduced by Warriors, reveals plenty about his motivation
World

Dutch prime minister says he will leave politics after next election

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the Netherlands’ longest serving premier, said Monday he will leave politics after a general election sparked by his government’s resignation. Rutte, the leader of the conservative People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, or VVD, announced his decision at a hastily arranged parliamentary debate. “Yesterday morning I made a decision that I will not be available again as a leader of the VVD. When a new Cabinet takes office after the elections, I will leave politics,” he said. Rutte’s four-party ruling coalition resigned Friday after failing to agree on a package

July 10, 2023
Dutch prime minister says he will leave politics after next election
World

Erdogan says Turkey could approve Sweden's NATO membership if Europeans 'open way' to Turkey EU bid

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his country could approve Sweden’s membership in NATO if European nations “open the way” to Turkey’s bid to join the European Union. Erdogan, whose country has been holding off its final approval to Sweden’s NATO membership, made the comments in Ankara on Monday before departing to the alliance’s summit meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania. “Turkey has been waiting at the door of the European Union for over 50 years now, and almost all of the NATO member countries are now members of the European Union. I am making this call to

July 10, 2023
Erdogan says Turkey could approve Sweden's NATO membership if Europeans 'open way' to Turkey EU bid
World

Egypt’s inflation rate sets record high at 36.8% in June, official data show

Egypt’s annual inflation rate set a record high in June, as the most populous Arab country continues to battle price hikes and a depreciating currency, the Egyptian statistics bureau said Monday. The annual inflation rate reached 36.8% last month, up from 33.7% recorded in May, according to data released by the state-run Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics. Prices in Egypt rose across many sectors, from food items and medical services to housing and furniture following the Russia-Ukraine war, which unleashed a wave of inflation across the globe. In Egypt, food and beverage prices, the main drivers

July 10, 2023
Egypt’s inflation rate sets record high at 36.8% in June, official data show
World

Israeli troops kill Palestinian suspect as West Bank violence shows no signs of slowing

Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man during new unrest in the West Bank Monday, as a wave of violence in the occupied territory showed no signs of slowing. The Israeli military said troops stopped a motorist in Deir Nidham, a town west of Ramallah, to question him. It said the man got out of his car, threw a grenade and fired shots toward soldiers, who then opened fire. The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed that a 33-year-old man had been killed, but gave no further details. The death comes during a major spike in violence between

July 10, 2023
Israeli troops kill Palestinian suspect as West Bank violence shows no signs of slowing
World

A bejeweled cannon and other art will head home to Sri Lanka from Netherlands museum

Sri Lanka’s foreign minister said Monday that his country welcomes the Netherlands’ plan to return hundreds of colonial-era artifacts — including a bejeweled, ceremonial cannon — and said the Indian Ocean island is working to preserve the historic items. The Dutch government last week announced that it will return 478 objects of cultural significance to Indonesia and to Sri Lanka. It said the objects were wrongfully brought to the Netherlands during the colonial period, acquired under duress or by looting. Under the plan, Sri Lanka is to receive six artifacts, including the cannon and guns

July 10, 2023
A bejeweled cannon and other art will head home to Sri Lanka from Netherlands museum
World

Russian teen Mirra Andreeva shows her inexperience at Wimbledon as Madison Keys advances

After a week of showing her maturity at her first Wimbledon, 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva showed her inexperience on Monday. The Russian qualifier, who had won all six of her matches on grass to reach the fourth round at the All England Club, let a big lead over 25th-seeded Madison Keys slip away in a 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 loss on No. 2 Court. Andreeva took the first set and led 3-0 in the second — winning nine of 10 games in one stretch — before Keys turned things around. Frustrated at one point, Andreeva threw her

July 10, 2023
Russian teen Mirra Andreeva shows her inexperience at Wimbledon as Madison Keys advances
World

Relentless rain floods roads in Northeast, leads to evacuations, rescues

Heavy rain washed out roads and forced evacuations in the Northeast on Monday as more downpours were forecast throughout the day. One person in New York drowned as she was trying to leave her home. The slow-moving storm reached New England in the morning after hitting parts of New York and Connecticut. Heavy downpours with possible flash flooding were forecast in parts of Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. One of the worst hit places was New York’s Hudson Valley, where rescuers found the body of a woman in her 30s whose home

July 10, 2023
Relentless rain floods roads in Northeast, leads to evacuations, rescues
World

Presidents of Serbia, Montenegro agree to patch up strained relations between historic allies

The presidents of Serbia and Montenegro agreed Monday to try to patch up strained relations between the historic Balkan allies. The two countries had formed a joint state until Montenegro split in 2006 following a referendum on independence. The former allies grew further apart after Montenegro recognized the 2008 declaration of independence by Serbia’s former province of Kosovo. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Montenegro’s new President Jakov Milatovic said after a meeting in Belgrade that they will work to improve political ties to match their countries’ economic cooperation. Milatovic’s visit to Belgrade was the first by

July 10, 2023
Presidents of Serbia, Montenegro agree to patch up strained relations between historic allies
World

British police assessing information from BBC over claim a presenter paid a teen for explicit photos

British detectives met representatives of the BBC on Monday over allegations that a leading presenter paid a teenager for sexually explicit photos. The U.K.’s publicly funded national broadcaster has suspended the male star, who has not been named, over allegations he gave a youth 35,000 pounds ($45,000) starting in 2020 when the young person was 17. Though the age of sexual consent in Britain is 16, it’s a crime to make or possess indecent images of anyone under 18. London’s Metropolitan Police force said detectives were “assessing the information discussed at the meeting and further enquiries are

July 10, 2023
British police assessing information from BBC over claim a presenter paid a teen for explicit photos
World

North Korean leader's powerful sister says warplanes repelled US spy plane

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un alleged on Monday that the country’s warplanes repelled a U.S. spy plane that flew over its exclusive economic zone and warned of “shocking” consequences if the U.S. continues reconnaissance activities in the area. The U.S. and South Korean militaries did not immediately respond to the comments by Kim Yo Jong, one of her brother’s top foreign policy officials, which were published in state media Monday evening. Earlier Monday, North Korea’s Defense Ministry issued a statement accusing the U.S. of flying spy planes into its “inviolable

July 10, 2023
North Korean leader's powerful sister says warplanes repelled US spy plane
World

As temperatures soared in Europe last year, so did heat-related deaths, study finds

Scientists say crushing temperatures that blanketed Europe last summer may have led to more than 61,000 heat-related deaths, highlighting the need for governments to address the health impacts of global warming. In their study, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers examined official mortality figures from 35 European countries and found a marked increase in deaths between late May and early September last year compared with the average recorded over a 30-year period. The increase in heat-related deaths was higher among older people, women and in Mediterranean countries, they found. But the data also indicated that

July 10, 2023
As temperatures soared in Europe last year, so did heat-related deaths, study finds
World

Aces enjoy state-of-the-art WNBA facility as they get set to host All-Star game

A’ja Wilson is all too happy to show off her coveted corner locker and its creature comforts in Las Vegas’ new WNBA practice facility. But the two-time league MVP isn’t the only Aces player receiving preferential treatment these days. Their locker room, which includes a TV and mini computer at each player stall, is part of the $40 million, 64,000-square-foot facility the Aces opened before this season. Las Vegas officials say its the first built specifically for a WNBA team in the league’s 27-year history. Two courts are the centerpiece of the facility, which also includes

July 10, 2023
Aces enjoy state-of-the-art WNBA facility as they get set to host All-Star game
World

Ruling expected Tuesday in runner Caster Semenya's human rights appeal against sex eligibility rules

The European Court of Human Rights is expected to deliver what could be the final word Tuesday in Olympic champion runner Caster Semenya’s yearslong legal challenge against rules that force her and other female athletes to lower their natural hormone levels through medical intervention to be allowed to compete in women’s track and field races. The testosterone limits have effectively put a stop to Semenya’s career by barring her from running in her favored 800 meters event — where she is a two-time Olympic champion and three-time world champion — since 2019. The South African athlete has refused to follow

July 10, 2023
Ruling expected Tuesday in runner Caster Semenya's human rights appeal against sex eligibility rules
World

12 homes torn apart by landslide on Southern California's Palos Verdes Peninsula

A dozen homes torn apart by earth movement on Southern California’s Palos Verdes Peninsula during the weekend were likely to fall into an adjacent canyon, an official said. The homes in the Los Angeles County city of Rolling Hills Estates were hastily evacuated by firefighters on Saturday when cracks began appearing in structures and the ground. Walls and roofs began to fail as the land continued to slide, the county Fire Department showed in video released on social media. Significant land movement overnight completely destroyed the homes, Janice Hahn, chair of the Los Angeles

July 10, 2023
12 homes torn apart by landslide on Southern California's Palos Verdes Peninsula
World

United Nations humanitarian chief says Sudan appears to be in a civil war 'of the most brutal kind'

Sudan appears to be in a civil war “of the most brutal kind” and the world needs a new forum for talks in pursuit of a cease-fire, the United Nations humanitarian chief told The Associated Press on Monday. Martin Griffiths spoke as regional leaders met in neighboring Ethiopia following the breakdown of peace talks in Saudi Arabia in June. Egypt says it will host leaders from Sudan’s neighbors on Thursday in search of peace, with few details. “We don’t have a place, a forum, where the two parties are present … where we can broker the

July 10, 2023
United Nations humanitarian chief says Sudan appears to be in a civil war 'of the most brutal kind'
World

Georgia Tech's Eubanks stuns Tsitsipas at Wimbledon to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal

Until about a week ago, even Chris Eubanks did not really believe he was capable of this sort of thing — of beating the world’s best tennis players at Wimbledon, of reaching the quarterfinals at any Grand Slam tournament, of winning match after match after match on grass courts. “I would show up to tour events saying, ‘Oh, can I get through a couple rounds of here?’” he said during an interview the day before play began at the All England Club. “Now I genuinely can say, probably for the first time, I’m showing up to

July 10, 2023
Georgia Tech's Eubanks stuns Tsitsipas at Wimbledon to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal
World

Mexico's president breaks with tradition in quarrel with scrappy opposition upstart

Mexico’s president has vowed to continue campaigning against the opposition front-runner for the 2024 presidential elections, breaking a longstanding tradition of Mexican presidents keeping out of the race to succeed them. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s target is Xóchitl Gálvez, a plain-talking senator and former indigenous affairs official. Gálvez hasn’t been nominated yet by opposition parties, but has been gaining momentum. Parties are still in primary season and the official campaigns do not formally start until September, so López Obrador’s criticism of Gálvez’s potential candidacy may not be technically illegal. But López Obrador suggested last week

July 10, 2023
Mexico's president breaks with tradition in quarrel with scrappy opposition upstart
World

Europe signs off on a new privacy pact that allows people's data to keep flowing to US

The European Union signed off Monday on a new agreement over the privacy of people’s personal information that gets pinged across the Atlantic, aiming to ease European concerns about electronic spying by American intelligence agencies. The EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework has an adequate level of protection for personal data, the EU’s executive commission said. That means it’s comparable to the 27-nation’s own stringent data protection standards, so companies can use it to move information from Europe to the United States without adding extra security. U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order in October to implement the

July 10, 2023
Europe signs off on a new privacy pact that allows people's data to keep flowing to US
World

Jury seated in trial over singer Aretha Franklin's handwritten wills

A Michigan judge narrowed the issues Monday in a dispute over Aretha Franklin’s estate, saying the only task for jurors is to decide whether a 2014 document handwritten by the Queen of Soul and found in couch cushions can be accepted as a valid will. The stipulation was made by attorneys for Franklin’s sons before a jury was seated in Oakland County Probate Court. Franklin died in 2018 at age 76. But five years later, the music superstar’s estate remains unsettled. A son, Ted White II, believes a 2010 handwritten will should mainly control the estate,

July 10, 2023
Jury seated in trial over singer Aretha Franklin's handwritten wills
World

Yankees' Gerrit Cole and Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen to start MLB All-Star Game

The New York Yankees’ Gerrit Cole will start Tuesday night’s All-Star Game for the American League and Arizona’s Zac Gallen will open on the mound for the NL. AL manager Dusty Baker of Houston and NL manager Rob Thomson of Philadelphia announced their starting lineups on Monday before the annual Home Run Derby. Cole will start for the first time in his sixth All-Star nod. He is 9-2 with a 2.85 ERA and 123 strikeouts in 117 innings. The 32-year-old right-hander joins Lefty Gomez (five times), Red Ruffing (twice), Hank Borowy, Spud Chandler, Roger Clemens, Whitey Ford,

July 10, 2023
Yankees' Gerrit Cole and Diamondbacks' Zac Gallen to start MLB All-Star Game
World

Spurs decide that Wembanyama's Summer League is over after 2 games

Victor Wembanyama’s first, and likely last, Summer League is over. The San Antonio Spurs said Monday that they have seen all they needed from the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft and won’t play him during their remaining games in Las Vegas. Wembanyama’s final numbers from two games: 36 points, 20 rebounds, eight blocks and three assists on 41% shooting from the floor. He played about 54 minutes. The shutdown wasn’t a surprise; the Spurs never planned for Wembanyama to play the entirety of Summer League, and now they’ll have a chance to use the

July 10, 2023
Spurs decide that Wembanyama's Summer League is over after 2 games
World

Ukrainian minister says he fears Russia has 'no red lines' to prevent attacks on nuclear plant

The catastrophic collapse of a dam in southern Ukraine has made Kyiv worried that Russia might stage an attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to foment panic and quell Ukrainian advances on the frontline, Ukraine’s energy minister said Monday. Herman Halushchenko said the destruction of the dam while under Russian control in the Kherson region proved “there are no red lines” for Moscow. He said it warrants the level of alarm Ukraine’s leadership has been raising in recent weeks of an alleged Russian ploy to attack the nuclear plant in a possible false flag operation. Ukrainian

July 10, 2023
Ukrainian minister says he fears Russia has 'no red lines' to prevent attacks on nuclear plant
World

Yankees hire TV analyst Sean Casey as hitting coach to replace fired Dillon Lawson, AP source says

The New York Yankees have hired 12-year big league veteran Sean Casey as their hitting coach for the remainder of this season, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been formally announced. Casey, 49, has been working for MLB Network as an analyst. Casey’s hiring comes a day after the Yankees fired hitting coach Dillon Lawson following their 7-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs. New York is eight games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East and has

July 10, 2023
Yankees hire TV analyst Sean Casey as hitting coach to replace fired Dillon Lawson, AP source says

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