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Azerbaijan arrests the former head of separatist government after recapturing Nagorno-Karabakh

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:15 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Azerbaijan said it arrested the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government as he tried to cross into Armenia on Wednesday, following Azerbaijan’s 24-hour blitz last week to reclaim control of the enclave.The arrest of Ruben Vardanyan was announced by Azerbaijan’s border guard service. It appears to reflect Azerbaijan’s intention to quickly and forcefully enforce its grip on the region after the military offensive that has prompted a rapid exodus of tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians.Vardanyan, a billionaire businessman who made his fortune in Russia where he owned a major investment bank, moved to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2022 and served as the head the regional government for several months before stepping down earlier this year.Azerbaijan’s border guard service said Vardanyan was escorted to the country’s capital of Baku and handed over to “the relevant state bodies” that will decide his fate. It posted a picture of Vardanyan held by ...

Sen. Bob Menendez arrives at court to answer to bribery case charges as he rejects calls to resign

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:15 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez on Wednesday arrived at a courthouse where he’s due to answer to charges that he used his powerful post to secretly advance Egyptian interests and do favors for New Jersey businessmen in exchange for bribes of cash and gold bars.The New Jersey Democrat will make his first appearance in a federal court in Manhattan amid growing calls from colleagues that he resign from Congress. Menendez and his wife, who is also charged in the case, said nothing Wednesday morning as they arrived at the lower Manhattan courthouse. A defiant Menendez — who was forced to step down as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee after the indictment was brought last week — says allegations that he abused his power to line his own pockets are baseless. He has said he’s confident he will be exonerated and has no intention of leaving the Senate.It’s the second corruption case in a decade against Menendez, whose last trial involving different allegatio...

Germany increases border patrols along migrant ‘smuggling routes’ to Poland and Czech Republic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:15 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany announced Wednesday it will increase police patrols along “smuggling routes” on the border with Poland the Czech Republic in an effort to prevent more migrants from entering the country.The new measures would begin immediately, said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. The announcement came a day after police raids in Germany found more than 100 Syrian citizens inside apartments searched in connection with a smuggling ring. Faeser did not offer any details on how many more border police officers would be deployed but stressed that no fixed border checks would be installed as Germany has been doing along the border with Austria since 2015. In order to introduce such controls, Germany would have to notify the European Commission.German Finance Minister Christian Lindner wrote later on Wednesday on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, that his ministry would support the increased border control with additional customs officers.“Border controls are to be intensifi...

US allows Israeli citizens to travel to US visa-free as Israel joins a select group of countries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:15 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is admitting Israel into a select group of countries whose citizens are allowed to travel to the United States without getting a visa in advance.The decision announced Wednesday comes despite Washington’s concerns about the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinian Americans and marks a major accomplishment for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has sparred frequently with the Biden administration.Under the waiver program, Israelis will be able to travel to the U.S. for business or leisure purposes for up to 90 days without a visa simply by registering with the Electronic System for Travel Authorization. But even if they are authorized to travel under that system, U.S. officials at the airport can still bar them from entering the country.Israel had been facing a Saturday deadline, the end of the U.S. government’s budget year, to gain admission to the program without having to requalify for eligibility next year.The Dep...

Brooks Robinson Appreciation: In Maryland in the 1960s, nobody was like No. 5

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:15 GMT

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson died Tuesday at the age of 86. Among his many fans in Maryland during his playing days was Ben Walker, a young left-hander who would go on to cover baseball for The Associated Press for more than 40 years. Walker retired in March, but he wrote this appreciation of Robinson for the AP from his childhood home after hearing the news.___We still have a charmed patch of grass in our backyard, plucked from the very spot where Brooks made that play.Growing up in Maryland in the 1960s, Brooks Robinson was a god. Every kid wanted to wear his No. 5. Even us lefties tried to play third base like him.We imitated his aw-shucks Arkansas twang. We copied his relaxed, shoulders-bouncing jog off the field. If we could’ve worn a short-brimmed batting helmet like he did, we would’ve.I was in fourth grade in 1966 when Mrs. Rogers gave our class a project to teach us how the post office worked. We were supposed to write a letter to someone...

Scottish officials approve UK’s first drug consumption room intended for safer use of illegal drugs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:15 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Scottish authorities on Wednesday approved a 2.3 million-pound ($2.8 million) pound drug consumption room, the first government-backed place in the U.K. where users can take illegal drugs such as cocaine and heroin under the supervision of medical staff.Local officials in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Wednesday approved the facility, which had long been delayed by political disagreements.The facility was first proposed in 2016 following an HIV outbreak in Glasgow among people who injected drugs in public places. It’s backed by the Scottish government, although some lawmakers have raised concerns about the impact on local residents and businesses. Proponents, including Scotland’s drug and alcohol policy minister Elena Whitham, say evidence from more than 100 similar facilities worldwide, including in Germany and the Netherlands, show they work to save lives and reduce overall costs to health services. The center will be staffed by trained health care profe...

France’s sexual equality watchdog says violent porn is sowing seeds for real-world sexual violence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:15 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A French government-nominated watchdog body on sexual equality says an online deluge of violent and degrading pornography is sowing the seeds for real-world rapes and femicides and that the porn industry “chews up women.” “This school of sexism, this school of sexist violence that pornography has become must stop – both for the women and for the people who watch,” said Sylvie Pierre-Brossolette, who heads the High Council for Equality Between Women and Men that released a damning study on Wednesday about porn-industry practices.Violent pornography is “a factory for future rapists, future killers of women,” she said, speaking on France Inter radio. The council that she presides over makes policy recommendations to France’s prime minister. It was set up in 2013 by the government of former Socialist President François Hollande.The council was submitting its report titled “Pornocriminality,” alleging that the industry massively promotes sexual violen...

Soccer star Paulinho becomes torchbearer in Brazil for his sometimes-persecuted Afro-Brazilian faith

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:15 GMT

LAGOA SANTA, Brazil (AP) — When Brazilian soccer player Paulinho scored a goal at the Tokyo Olympics, he celebrated by pointing an imaginary arrow at the flashing cameras as homage to a deity in his persecuted Afro-Brazilian faith – and taking aim at religious intolerance.Shortly after, he lost more than 10,000 followers on social media for his public gesture paying tribute to Oxóssi– a godly archer who uses his bow to hunt and feed the hungry.But he says he gradually gained new fans in his soccer-crazed South American country for representing his Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé and challenging religious intolerance. His religion has faced a rising tide of harassment, sometimes linked to Brazil’s fast spread of evangelical Christianity.“Some players ask me about my religion, they want to know what it’s like, … I always tell them, they listen. But it’s still a small minority in soccer,” the 23-year-old player for Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro said in an interview at his home outs...

2 killed in I-57 rollover crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:15 GMT

CHICAGO — Two people were killed in a rollover crash on I-57 early Wednesday morning.The accident happened around 2:30 a.m. on northbound I-57 near 99th Street. Illinois State Police responded for a single-vehicle crash after the car spun put and struck a light pole. According to ISP, there were three occupants inside the vehicle at the time of the crash. A man was confirmed dead on the scene.Another man was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in grave condition, where he was pronounced dead. A woman was transported to the same hospital in serious condition.Their identities have not yet been released.As of 7 a.m., the northbound lanes were back open at 111th Street after being closed for several hours Wednesday morning.The cause of the crash is unknown at this time.

Hyundai and Kia recall nearly 3.4 million vehicles over fire risk, urge owners to park outdoors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:15 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Hyundai and Kia are recalling nearly 3.4 million vehicles in the U.S. and telling owners to park them outside due to the risk of engine compartment fires.The recalls cover multiple car and SUV models from the 2010 through 2019 model years including Hyundai's Santa Fe SUV and Kia's Sorrento SUV.Documents posted Wednesday by the U.S. U.S. safety regulators say the anti-lock brake control module can leak fluid and cause an electrical short, which can touch off a fire while the vehicles are parked or being driven.The automakers are advising owners to park outdoors and away from structures until repairs are done.Dealers will replace the anti-lock brake fuse at no cost to owners. Kia says in documents that it will send notification letters to owners starting Nov. 14. For Hyundai the date is Nov. 21.Messages were left early Wednesday seeking comment from both companies.Affected Kia models include the 2010 through 2019 Borrego, the 2014 to 2016 Cadenza, 2010 th...