By COLLEEN BARRY Associated Press VENICE, Italy (AP) — Under the gaze of the world’s media, the fragile lagoon city of Venice launched a pilot program Thursday to charge day-trippers a 5-euro (around $5.35) entry fee that authorities hope will discourage visitors from arriving on peak days and make the city more livable for its
Continue ReadingBy ABBY SEWELL Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — A top Hamas political official told The Associated Press the Islamic militant group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is
Continue ReadingBy JENNIFER PELTZ, MICHAEL R. SISAK, COLLEEN LONG and JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A reluctant Donald Trump returned to a New York City courtroom Thursday as his hush money trial resumed at the same time that the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in Washington over whether he should be immune from
Continue ReadingBUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s nationalist prime minister has called for right-wing forces to take power in upcoming European and U.S. elections, and expressed support for former President Donald Trump in his ongoing criminal trial. Viktor Orbán, a right-wing populist and the European Union’s longest-serving leader, told supporters at the CPAC Hungary conference on Thursday
Continue ReadingBy JIM HEINTZ Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Moscow court has imposed a 50,000-ruble ($560) fine on a TV presenter and actress who gained notoriety for hosting an “almost naked” party, saying her social media posts calling for peace discredited the military. Anastasia Ivleeva sparked an explosion of public indignation in the increasingly
Continue ReadingBy Jack Guy, CNN (CNN) — Two Household Cavalry horses which broke free and ran through the streets of London on Wednesday are in a “serious condition,” a British government minister has said. Six soldiers and seven horses were taking part in an exercise on Wednesday morning when the animals became spooked after some concrete
Continue ReadingBy GEIR MOULSON Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — The German parliament has voted to introduce an annual national “veterans’ day” to honor people who have served in the military, which often has struggled to gain recognition in the country. The proposal was drawn up by the parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party governing coalition together
Continue ReadingBy PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The Scottish National Party has ended its three-year power-sharing agreement with the much smaller Greens after tensions grew between the two pro-independence parties over climate change policies. Humza Yousaf, Scotland’s first minister, informed the Greens on Thursday he was terminating the agreement with immediate effect. It means
Continue ReadingBy JILL LAWLESS and ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine is scrambling to get much-needed new supplies of weapons and ammunition from a huge U.S. aid package to its eastern front line. Russia is pressing forward with efforts to take ground for Kyiv’s outnumbered and outgunned troops. Ukraine is also seeking to
Continue ReadingBy JIM VERTUNO, ACACIA CORONADO and NICK PERRY Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — With graduations looming, student protesters doubled down early Thursday on their discontent of the Israel-Hamas war on campuses across the country as universities, including ones in California and Texas, have become quick to call in the police to end the demonstrations
Continue ReadingBy JIM VERTUNO, ACACIA CORONADO and NICK PERRY Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — With graduations looming, student protesters doubled down early Thursday on their discontent of the Israel-Hamas war on campuses across the country as universities, including ones in California and Texas, have become quick to call in the police to end the demonstrations
Continue ReadingCOPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Danish police say that a routine traffic stop on a highway south of the capital turned into an unusual standoff as a 26-year-old woman locked her car and refused to speak to the police officer who had pulled her over. The Central and West Zealand Police said in its daily report
Continue ReadingBy ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — More than 100 long-finned pilot whales that beached on the western Australian coast Thursday have returned to sea, while 29 died on the shore, officials said. Ships and a spotter plane were monitoring the rescued whales in case they returned to shore, the Parks and Wildlife
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was expected to return to court Thursday morning as witness testimony in his hush money trial enters a third day. The trial resumes at the same time that the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in Washington over whether he should be immune from prosecution for actions he took during
Continue ReadingNICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A top European Union top military officer says a frigate that’s part of an EU miliary mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Austrian Gen. Robert Brieger is the chair of the EU’s military Committee.
Continue ReadingBy ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawyers for an American believed to be held by the Taliban for nearly two years are asking a United Nations human rights investigator to intervene, citing what they call cruel and inhumane treatment. Ryan Corbett was abducted in August 2022 after returning to Afghanistan, where he and
Continue ReadingPARIS (AP) — Air passengers traveling to and from Paris have experienced significant disruptions Thursday, despite a decision by air traffic controllers to cancel a strike after last-minute negotiations. Flight operations were substantially reduced because of adjustments made to schedules ahead of the proposed industrial action. French civil aviation authorities had preemptively requested airlines to
Continue ReadingBy ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A Sydney bishop who was stabbed repeatedly in an alleged extremist attack blamed on a teenager has backed X Corp. owner Elon Musk’s legal bid to overturn an Australian ban on sharing graphic video of the attack on social media. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel said in
Continue ReadingLONDON (AP) — Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in serious condition Thursday after undergoing operations, a U.K. government official said. The animals were among a group of four horses that broke free during routine exercises Wednesday
Continue ReadingBy INDRAJIT SINGH Associated Press PATNA, India (AP) — A major fire that engulfed a restaurant and hotel in eastern India killed at least six people and injured 20. The fire began when a cooking gas cylinder exploded while diners were eating in the restaurant, and it soon spread into an adjacent hotel in Patna,
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