By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s foreign ministry says Qatar’s Court of Appeal reduced the death sentence handed in October to eight retired Indian navy officers on spy charges. Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said Thursday in a statement that the detailed verdict has not been received yet. “We are in close
Continue ReadingBy Rachel Ramirez, CNN (CNN) — As the new year approaches, you might be thinking about buying a bottle of champagne to ring it in with a celebratory “pop.” But the climate crisis could ruin the party, new data suggests. The three grapes used in almost all champagne — chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier
Continue ReadingBy Marcus Mabry, CNN (CNN) — 2023 was another unprecedented year — from a former US president being criminally indicted to a Speaker of the House of Representatives being removed — both for the first time in the country’s nearly 250-year history. Beyond politics, the US and Canada witnessed a suspected Chinese spy balloon float
Continue ReadingBy Steve Contorno, CNN (CNN) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is enlisting new help in Iowa as he scrambles to ward off mounting interest in the rival presidential candidacy of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley: One of her former constituents. South Carolina state Sen. Josh Kimbrell, a deeply conservative lawmaker who has pushed a
Continue ReadingBy PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer DENVER (AP) — There were times when Jo Overstreet felt all alone as a standout flag football player on boys teams growing up in Texas. Sure, she was accepted. Considered just one of the boys. She longed for something more — a sense of sisterhood. These days, the 40-year-old
Continue ReadingBy HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for bolstered war readiness to repel what he says are unprecedented U.S.-led confrontational moves in comments during a key political meeting tasked with setting state objectives for 2024. Kim’s comments, reported by state media, indicated once again
Continue ReadingBy MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The family of renowned South African playwright, producer and composer Mbongeni Ngema says he has died in a car crash at the age of 68. The family says he was killed in a head-on accident while returning from a funeral in the town of Lusikisiki in Eastern
Continue ReadingLONDON (AP) — A storm that battered the U.K. with high winds and heavy snow has damaged houses, canceled trains and left thousands of people without electricity across Scotland and parts of northern England. Workers dealt with wind speeds of 80 miles per hour in some coastal areas of Scotland as they tried to restore
Continue ReadingBy The Associated Press A judge in New York has ruled that Alibaba must face a lawsuit by a U.S. toymaker alleging that the Chinese ecommerce giant’s online platforms were used to sell counterfeit Squishmallows. Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District Court of New York refused Alibaba’s request to dismiss the case filed by
Continue ReadingBy Dakin Andone, CNN (CNN) — The University of Idaho on Thursday demolished the off-campus home where four students were fatally stabbed last year — the latest instance in which a property is razed following grisly, high-profile killings. Ethan Chapin, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen were killed inside the Moscow, Idaho, off-campus rental
Continue ReadingBy MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The family of renowned South African playwright, producer and composer Mbongeni Ngema said he has died in a car crash at the age of 68. In a statement on Wednesday, Ngema’s family said he was killed in a head-on car accident while returning from a funeral in
Continue ReadingBy Jennifer Hansler, CNN (CNN) — Paul Whelan marked five years in Russian detention on Thursday – a grim milestone that the ex-US Marine hoped he would never see. In a call with CNN on Thursday, Whelan called on President Joe Biden to “please use every resource available to secure my release as you would do
Continue ReadingBy JIWON SONG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s top court has ordered a third Japanese company to compensate some of its former wartime Korean employees for forced labor. Thursday’s ruling by the Supreme Court is the second such ruling in a week. The Supreme Court says Hitachi Zosen Corp. and Mitsubishi
Continue ReadingBy WAFAA SHURAFA, SAMY MAGDY and JACK JEFFERY Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces bombarded cities, towns and refugee camps across Gaza on Thursday, killing dozens of people in a widening air and ground offensive against Hamas that has forced thousands more to flee from homes and shelters in recent days.
Continue ReadingBy ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — European shares opened lower Thursday after strong advances in Asia led by rallies in Chinese markets. U.S. futures were mixed and oil prices fell. Germany’s DAX lost 0.1% to 16,729.35 and the CAC 40 in Paris also edged 0.1% lower, to 7,563.03. Britain’s FTSE 100 was
Continue ReadingBy The Associated Press A judge in New York has ruled that Alibaba must face a lawsuit by a U.S. toymaker alleging that the Chinese ecommerce giant’s online platforms were used to sell counterfeit Squishmallows. Judge Jesse Furman of the Southern District Court of New York refused Alibaba’s request to dismiss the case filed by
Continue ReadingBy MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The family of renowned South African playwright, producer and composer Mbongeni Ngema said he has died in a car crash at the age of 68. In a statement on Wednesday, Ngema’s family said he was killed in a head-on car accident while returning from a funeral in
Continue ReadingBy MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The family of renowned South African playwright, producer and composer Mbongeni Ngema said he has died in a car crash at the age of 68. In a statement on Wednesday, Ngema’s family said he was killed in a head-on car accident while returning from a funeral in
Continue ReadingCNN, POOL By Priscilla Alvarez and Rosa Flores, CNN (CNN) — Senior US officials held a “very productive meeting” with their Mexican counterparts Wednesday, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said, as Washington seeks help from Mexico City to drive down southern border crossings that have placed increasing pressure on President Joe Biden. “The regional challenge of
Continue ReadingANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A chain-reaction crash Thursday involving seven vehicles on a motorway in northwest Turkey killed at least 10 people and injured 57 others, officials said. The pileup occurred in dense fog and low visibility on the Northern Marmara Highway in Sakarya province, some 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Istanbul. An investigation has
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