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
Continue ReadingBy RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders are struggling to uphold their two most elementary promises to Ukraine: to give it the wherewithal to stave off the Russian invasion and to maintain its hope of joining the 27-nation bloc. The biggest threat to that commitment comes from inside the bloc and
Continue ReadingBy 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.
Continue ReadingWLS, PATRICK WATSON, ILLINOISNAACP.ORG, CNN By Andy Rose and Whitney Wild, CNN (CNN) — Teresa Haley, the top official of the Illinois NAACP is under fire from the state’s governor and others after a leaked video call with NAACP leaders around the state appears to show her comparing recent migrant arrivals to “savages” and saying “they’ve been raping people.” Asked about
Continue ReadingBy 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
Continue ReadingLONDON (AP) — The father, stepmother and uncle of a 10-year-old girl found dead in her home in southern England have pleaded not guilty to murder charges. Sara Sharif’s body was discovered under a blanket in a bunk bed on Aug. 10. Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, 41; his partner Beinash Batool, 29; and his brother,
Continue ReadingBy Jeremy Herb, Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell, CNN New York (CNN) — Testimony in Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial concluded on Wednesday in New York, capping an 11-week saga that could decide the fate of the former president’s business empire. The drama in and out of the courtroom offered a preview of Trump’s criminal trials slated
Continue ReadingBy 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
Continue ReadingBy HARRIET MORRIS Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday that there would be no peace in Ukraine until his goals are achieved and said those objectives remain unchanged at a year-end news conference that offers the leader an opportunity to reinforce his grip on power. Giving rare detail on what
Continue ReadingMOSCOW (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
Continue ReadingBy 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
Continue ReadingBy 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. Like the Fed, the European Central Bank and
Continue ReadingANKARA, 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
Continue ReadingBy RAF CASERT Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders are struggling to uphold their two most elementary promises to Ukraine at war — 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 outside,
Continue ReadingPARIS (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
Continue ReadingBy HARRIET MORRIS Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin began his end-of-year news conference Thursday vowing that his goals in Ukraine remain the same and that there would be no peace until they’re achieved. The Russian president, who has held power for nearly 24 years and announced recently he is running for
Continue ReadingBy 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
Continue ReadingBy 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 at a U.S.-China Business Council
Continue ReadingBy Devan Cole, Holmes Lybrand and Katelyn Polantz, CNN (CNN) — Rudy Giuliani didn’t see two former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss as “human beings” when he spread conspiracy theories about them after the 2020 election, their attorney told a Washington, DC, jury Thursday during closing arguments in the defamation damages trial.
Continue ReadingBy HARRIET MORRIS Associated Press MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that some 244,000 Russian troops are currently fighting in Ukraine, a rare detail on Moscow’s military operation there. Putin said during his year-end press conference that the Kremlin doesn’t need a second wave of mobilization of reservists, with 1,500 men recruited into
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