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Russian shelling of an eastern Ukrainian city kills 16 and wounds dozens, the prime minister says

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:30:46 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — At least 16 people were killed and dozens were wounded Wednesday when Russian shelling struck a market in a city in eastern Ukraine, officials said. The deadly attack came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv and was expected to announce more than $1 billion in new American funding.Associated Press journalists at the site of the attack in Kostiantynivka saw covered bodies on the ground and emergency workers extinguishing fires at market stalls, with blackened and mangled cars nearby.Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at least 16 people were killed. At least 28 were wounded, according to Internal Minister Ihor Klymenko.Emergency service workers extinguished the fire that damaged about 30 pavilions at the outdoor market, Klymenko said.Blinken’s visit also was aimed at assessing Ukraine’s 3-month-old counteroffensive and signal continued U.S. backing as some Western allies express worries about Kyiv’s slow progress in driving out Russian forc...

UK government likened to ‘cowboy builders’ as 147 schools named at risk due to crumbling concrete

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:30:46 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The British government has been accused of “cutting corners” as it published Wednesday a list of 147 schools in England that are potentially at risk of collapse from crumbling concrete.The list from the Department for Education suggests that 19 schools have had to delay the start of the new academic year because of the concrete crisis and that students at 24 others will receive some remote learning, with four having switched to fully remote learning at the weekend. Other educational establishments could be added to the list over the coming days or weeks.Keir Starmer, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, likened the government to “cowboys running the country” during a rowdy first Prime Minister’s Questions session following the summer break. “The truth is this crisis is the inevitable result of 13 years of cutting corners, botched jobs, sticking-plaster politics,” he said. “It’s the sort of thing you expect from cowboy builders saying that everyone el...

Three people found dead at northern Minnesota resort; police say no threat to the public

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:30:46 GMT

BREEZY POINT, Minn. (AP) — Three people were found dead at a resort in northern Minnesota, police said Wednesday.The bodies were discovered around 8:50 p.m. Tuesday at Whitebirch Resort in Breezy Point in Breezy Point. Police have not disclosed names of the victims or how they died, but said in a statement there was “no indication of any ongoing threat to the public.”The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is assisting in the investigation.The resort is in a popular vacation area in north-central Minnesota, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Minneapolis.Source

Jenni Hermoso accuses Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales of sexual assault for kiss at Women’s World Cup

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:30:46 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Jenni Hermoso accuses Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales of sexual assault for kiss at Women’s World Cup.Source

EU court dismisses claim by Syrian refugees for damages from Frontex border agency

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:30:46 GMT

LUXEMBOURG (AP) — A top European Union court on Wednesday dismissed a claim by several Syrian refugees for damages from the Frontex EU border agency because they were returned to Turkey after landing in Greece, where they expressed a wish to be granted international protection.The EU General Court ruled that “since Frontex does not have the power to assess the merits of return decisions or applications for international protection, that EU agency cannot be held liable for any damage related to the return of those refugees.”The European Border and Coast Guard Agency, widely known as Frontex, coordinates border control efforts.The refugees arrived in Greece in 2016 but were returned to Turkey in a Frontex operation and eventually ended up in Iraq. They sought a combined 136,000 euros ($146,000) in damages.The court insisted that “Frontex’s task is only to provide technical and operational support to the Member States. However, it is the Member States alone that are competent to assess...

War sanctions against Russia highlight growing divisions among the Group of 20 countries

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:30:46 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is facing growing skepticism from some leading rich and developing nations as the residual impact of sanctions against Russia is deepening divisions among the Group of 20 countries.With world leaders and finance ministers meeting this week in India for the G20 summit, fractures have came into the open, and alliances are tightening among some nations that have long been resistant to the U.S.-led efforts to exact economic punishment on Moscow for its war in Ukraine.The United States and its allies among the Group of Seven major industrial nations insist that the sanctions and a price cap on Russian oil have been successful at restricting revenue for the Russian economy, even though it grew, in a year-to-year comparison, by 4.9% in the second quarter of 2023. Russia and China, meanwhile, have declared a “no limits” partnership of their own. And the economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — known as BRICS — is tryi...

Joe Jonas files for divorce from Sophie Turner after 4 years of marriage

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:30:46 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Joe Jonas filed for divorce from Sophie Turner on Tuesday after four years of marriage and two children. The 34-year-old Jonas Brothers singer filed to end his marriage with the 27-year-old star of “Game of Thrones” in Florida’s Miami-Dade County Court.The filing says “the marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken.”Turner and Jonas married in a secretive ceremony at a Las Vegas wedding chapel on May 1, 2019, after the Billboard Music Awards. Country duo Dan + Shay performed at the wedding.The couple had a daughter, Willa, in 2020, and last year had another daughter whose name they have not made public.Jonas is seeking joint custody of the girls, according to the divorce documents. The two had a prenuptial agreement that Jonas expects will be enforced, according to the filing.Representatives for Jonas and Turner did not immediately respond to requests for comment. On Wednesday, Turner and Jonas each posted identical statements to their Instagram ac...

Ukraine’s Catholic bishops tell pope that his praise for Russia’s imperial past ‘pained’ Ukrainians

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:30:46 GMT

ROME (AP) — Ukraine’s Greek Catholic bishops told Pope Francis on Wednesday that his words praising Russia’s imperial past had pained the Ukrainian people, bringing complaints about the Vatican’s diplomatic neutrality in Moscow’s war on their country to the heart of the Holy See.The bishops were in Rome for a periodic meeting and met with the pope in person for nearly two hours.While thanking Francis for his prayers, the bishops said certain statements and gestures from the pope and the Vatican “are painful and difficult for the Ukrainian people, who are currently bleeding in the struggle for their dignity and independence,” according to a statement from His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, the head of the Greek Catholic church in Ukraine.The 86-year-old Jesuit pope has enraged both sides in the war, repeatedly expressing solidarity with the “martyred” Ukrainian people but refusing to call out Russia or President Vladimir Putin by name. He seemingly expressed understanding for t...

Former Rep. Mike Rogers enters Michigan Senate race as the first prominent Republican

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:30:46 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Republican Mike Rogers, who served in Congress for 14 years and chaired the House Intelligence Committee, is running for an open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan that Democrats have held for over two decades.The announcement, which was provided to The Associated Press in a campaign video on Wednesday, instantly shakes up a Senate race that had been relatively quiet and dominated by Democratic candidates. It’s seen as a recruiting victory for Michigan Republicans, who have struggled to win statewide races with a state party in turmoil.An Army veteran and former FBI agent, Rogers was elected to Congress in 2000 and served seven terms in the House, the last two as chair of the committee that oversees U.S. intelligence agencies. He left office in 2015 and served briefly on Trump’s transition team as an adviser on national security issues.“I thought I put politics behind but, like you, I know something’s broken,” Rogers said in the campaign video that attacks Pres...

Romanian minister says drone pieces from Russian attacks in Ukraine found in the NATO member

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:30:46 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania’s defense minister said Wednesday that pieces apparently of a drone from Russia’s recent attacks on Ukraine’s port on the Danube River have been found on the territory of his country. Romania is a NATO member.Angel Tilvar, the minister, told local news channel Antena 3 CNN that parts of what was most likely a drone were discovered in the eastern Tulcea county, an area of the Danube that forms a natural border between Romania and war-torn Ukraine.“I confirm that in this area, pieces that may be of a drone were found,” he said, adding that the pieces did not pose a threat. It’s unclear if Romania has determined when or from where the drone was launched. There has been a series of recent attacks by Russia on Danube ports in Ukraine, which are close to Romania, a NATO member since 2004.Tilvar’s comments come after Romania’s Ministry of National Defense “categorically denied” claims made on Monday by the spokesperson of Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreig...