Month: February 2024

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s Cabinet has approved plans to reduce a one-year minimum sentence for spreading child sexual abuse images, changing a rule that was introduced in 2021 but officials say has proven to be too inflexible in practice. German law currently stipulates that a person who “disseminates child pornographic content or makes it available

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Talks to form a far right-led government in the Netherlands have come to a premature end, for now. That’s left the Netherlands in limbo amid a stalled move to build a political coalition around anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders. Wilders’ Party for Freedom, or PVV, swept

By DAVID BAUDER and EMMA BURROWS Associated Press Russian President Vladimir Putin has been interviewed by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the Kremlin confirmed Wednesday. It is Putin’s first interview to a Western media figure since his full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago. Carlson had released a video from Moscow on Tuesday in

By CIARÁN GILES Associated Press MADRID (AP) — Spain’s Eurovision song “Zorra,” whose title can be translated as an anti-female slur, is causing a storm among conservatives and feminists while Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez says he likes it. The song by the duo Nebulossa was chosen Saturday as Spain’s offering for the Eurovision song

NEW YORK (AP) — “The Girl on the Train” author Paula Hawkins has a new thriller out this fall, and will release it through a new publisher. Mariner Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, announced Wednesday that Hawkins’ “The Blue Hour” is scheduled for Oct. 8. Hawkins sets the story on a remote Scottish island,

By NINIEK KARMINI Associated Press JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Separatist rebels in Indonesia’s restive Papua region have expressed their readiness to release a New Zealand pilot who was taken hostage exactly a year ago. Independence fighters led by a regional commander in the Free Papua Movement stormed a plane in Paro on Feb. 7, 2023

By JOSH JACQUOT Edmunds Maximizing your car’s trade-in value can add thousands to the bottom line in a new-car transaction. We share tips that will help you get the most from your trade in by preparing in advance and avoiding common mistakes. This means doing things like readying your car for sale, getting multiple offers

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia says the Thai government and Muslim separatist rebels in southern Thailand have agreed in principle to a roadmap to try to end a decades-long Muslim insurgency. The sides held two days of talks in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, and will meet again over the next two months to

By RIO YAMAT Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — Las Vegas proposed to the NFL in December 2021. “Let’s just marry these brands, and let’s bring the Super Bowl here,” Steve Hill, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, recalled telling a room of NFL franchise owners. They said yes. The

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese officials say a stray dog attacked 11 people, most of them children playing in a park, causing minor injuries. Fire department personnel rushed to the site after receiving a call from police requesting an ambulance for a man in his 40s who was bitten by a dog at the park in

By MAE ANDERSON and WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP Business Writers NEW YORK (AP) — If you watch the Super Bowl for the commercials, you no longer have to wait until the big game to see what advertisers have in store for viewers. Many companies now release ads ahead of the game in the hope of capitalizing

MOSCOW (AP) — The upper house of Russia’s parliament has unanimously endorsed a bill that would allow authorities to confiscate money, valuables and other assets from people convicted of spreading “deliberately false information” about the country’s military. Following Wednesday’s vote, the is now expected to quickly receive Russian President Vladimir Putin’s signature to become law.

By SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to victims of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in Israel in a national ceremony and denounced what he described as the “largest antisemitic massacre of our century.” Forty-two French citizens died in the attack, and three hostages are still believed to

By The Associated Press The U.N.’s World Food Program says it is aiming aims to reach up to 3 million Ethiopians affected by climate change and conflict in the coming weeks. That’s half the number the agency supported in Ethiopia before a monthslong aid suspension last year. The program said in a statement issued on

By JOSH BOAK Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is naming a top White House aide as the director of the newly established safety institute for artificial intelligence. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo says in a statement that Elizabeth Kelly will lead the AI Safety Institute at the National Institute for Standards and

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — A top U.N. official says that two generals in Sudan whose forces have been at war for the last 10 months assured him recently that they would attend a meeting in Switzerland to discuss humanitarian issues and Sudan’s beleaguered civilians. U.N. undersecretary for humanitarian affairs Martin Griffiths

By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Swedish officials say they have decided to close their investigation into the September 2022 explosions on the underwater Nord Stream gas pipelines, which were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany, because they don’t have jurisdiction. Sweden’s investigation was one of three into the

BERLIN (AP) — Ground staff for Lufthansa have walked off the job at five major German airports, causing the airline to cancel hundreds of flights. The Ver.di union called on ground staff at Frankfurt and Munich, Lufthansa’s two main hubs, as well as Berlin, Duesseldorf and Hamburg, to strike for 27 hours starting at 4

By ELAINE KURTENBACH AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese and U.S. officials have met in Beijing for talks on tough issues dividing the two largest economies as trade and tariffs increasingly draw attention in the runup to the U.S. presidential election. China’s Ministry of Finance said Beijing raised objections to higher tariffs on Chinese

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza is teetering on the brink of financial collapse. Its chief says it might have to halt operations at the end of February without more funds. Israel’s allegations that 12 employees of the aid agency known as UNRWA participated in

By ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Authorities say Russia has fired cruise and ballistic missiles and Shahed-type drones at targets across Ukraine. Officials said the Wednesday morning attack killed at least five civilians and wounded almost 50 others. The attacks targeted at least three major Ukrainian cities including the capital. European Union