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3 killed at massive fire in Pakistan’s largest southern city of Karachi, officials say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:32:02 GMT

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — A massive fire broke out Wednesday at a multi-story commercial building in Pakistan’s largest southern port city of Karachi, killing at least three people and damaging several shops, police and rescue officials said.The fire started at a furniture store and quickly engulfed other shops on the ground floor of the building known as Ayesha Manzil, said Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab. He said firefighters doused the flames after hectic efforts. Wahab and hospital officials said three people died in the blaze and one person was injured.TV footage showed billowing into the sky as flames engulfed parts of the building.The cause of the fire was not immediately clear and officers said they were still investigating.Most structures in Karachi, and other parts of the country, lack fire prevention and firefighting systems, which often results in damages and casualties.Karachi is the capital of southern Sindh province, where such incidents are common.Wednesday’s blaze ...

Union representing German train drivers calls strike that will hit passenger services

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:32:02 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A union representing German train drivers on Wednesday called its members to strike for 24 hours this week, following the breakdown of talks with the main national operator in what is shaping up to be an unusually difficult dispute over pay and working hours.The GDL union said the strike will affect passenger services operated by state-owned Deutsche Bahn from 10 p.m. on Thursday until 10 p.m. on Friday. Freight trains will be hit from 6 p.m. Thursday. The walkout follows a 20-hour strike on Nov. 16, when Deutsche Bahn ran a much-reduced long-distance schedule — as it has on previous occasions when GDL took industrial action. GDL’s strength among drivers and some other railway personnel varies regionally, and some regional services run by private operators aren’t affected by the dispute.Limited “warning strikes” are a common tactic in German pay negotiations, but GDL may soon expand its action. On Nov. 24, GDL chairman Claus Weselsky declared that negotiati...

Prosecutor seeks terror-linked charge for man accused of killing tourist near Eiffel Tower

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:32:02 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s anti-terrorism prosecutors requested on Wednesday that the man who allegedly fatally stabbed a tourist and wounded two other people over the weekend near the Eiffel Tower be given preliminary charges of murder and attempted murder in connection with a terrorist organization.The suspect, Armand Rajabpour-Miyandoab, will go before an investigating magistrate who ultimately decides the charges.Rajabpour-Miyandoab, 26, is accused of killing a German-Filipino tourist at a bridge near the Eiffel Tower on Saturday night. He was under surveillance for suspected Islamic radicalization at the time, and had been convicted and served prison time for a planned attack that never took place.The stabbing has drawn special concern from French authorities less than a year before the 2024 Paris Olympics, whose opening ceremony is planned along the Seine river. It has also raised questions about how people convicted of terrorism-linked crimes can roam freely after serving th...

Pro-Israel Democrat to challenge US Rep. Jamaal Bowman in primary race next year

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:32:02 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A pro-Israel Democrat will challenge U.S. Rep. Jamaal Brown in the primary race for his congressional seat next year.Westchester County Executive George Latimer announced his candidacy Wednesday for the New York district, which covers parts of the north Bronx and Westchester suburbs.Bowman is one of the House’s most vocal critics of Israel, and Jewish community leaders have been encouraging Latimer to run since the eruption of the latest Israel-Hamas war. The 70-year-old launched his campaign with an ad criticizing Bowman’s stance on the conflict as well as his opposition to a major Democratic infrastructure bill. “It’s the continual commentary from people who live in the district who feel that they are not represented properly from the incumbent,” Latimer said in an interview with the Associated Press. “His focus has been to make a national name for himself.”Several other House Democrats are also facing primary challenges due in part to their s...

Officer assaulted, injured after intervening in daytime robbery attempt in Scarborough

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:32:02 GMT

An off-duty police officer was assaulted and suffered serious injuries after they intervened in a robbery that was occurring at a retail store in Scarborough.Toronto police were called to the Progress Avenue area near the eastbound Highway 401 ramp just before 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday for reports of an assault.It’s alleged multiple suspects were stealing from a retail store in the area when an off-duty officer intervened. Police said the officer was assaulted with a weapon, and the suspects fled in a vehicle.The officer has been taken to a local hospital with serious injuries. It’s unclear what retail store was subjected to the daytime robbery attempt. Scarborough Town Centre and other stores are in the area where the incident took place.All three suspects are described as male. Police said they fled in a grey Toyota Sienna minivan.

Rep. Pressley introduces legislation to guarantee right to vote for people with felonies on record

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:32:02 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Democrats have introduced legislation that would allow people convicted of a felony to vote in federal elections, a proposal that if enacted could restore the voting rights of millions of people in U.S. elections.Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont submitted the legislation, named the Inclusive Democracy Act, on Tuesday which would guarantee the right to vote in federal elections for all citizens regardless of their criminal record.In a statement, Pressley said the legislation was necessary due to policies and court rulings that “continue to disenfranchise voters from all walks of life — including by gutting the Voting Rights Act, gerrymandering, cuts to early voting, and more.” Welch called the bill necessary due to “antiquated state felony disenfranchisement laws.”In late 2022, approximately 4.6 million people were unable to vote due to a felony conviction, according to a study by the Sentencing Project, a nonpartis...

Italian prosecutors say no evidence of Russian secret service role in escape of suspect sought by US

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:32:02 GMT

MILAN (AP) — There is no evidence of Russian secret services involvement in the escape from Italian custody of a Russian businessman wanted by the U.S. on sanctions-busting charges, Milan prosecutors told a news conference Wednesday.Two suspects have been arrested, one in northern Italy and another in Croatia, and another four are being sought for helping Artyom Uss, the 40-year-old son of the governor of Russia’s vast Krasnoyarsk region in eastern Siberia, to escape house arrest near Milan last March. He had been arrested five months earlier at a Milan airport trying to board a flight to Istanbul.Uss disappeared a day after an Italian court approved his extradition to the United States, which has offered a $7 million reward for information leading to his arrest or conviction on charges of smuggling U.S. technologies in violation of Western sanctions and money laundering. Uss resurfaced in Russia last April.He faces up to 30 years in prison, Milan prosecutors said.According to the U...

Oregon power company to pay nearly $300 million to settle latest lawsuit over 2020 wildfires

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:32:02 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Electricity utility PacifiCorp will pay $299 million to settle a lawsuit brought by about 220 customers who were harmed by devastating wildfires in southern Oregon in 2020. The settlement announced Tuesday comes after the utility lost a similar lawsuit in June for wildfires in other parts of the state, The Oregonian reported. The utility has faced several lawsuits from property owners and residents who say PacifiCorp negligently failed to shut off power to its 600,000 customers during a windstorm over Labor Day weekend in 2020, despite warnings from state leaders and top fire officials, and that its power lines caused multiple blazes. The fires were among the worst natural disasters in Oregon’s history. They killed nine people, burned more than 1,875 square miles (4,856 square kilometers) and destroyed upward of 5,000 homes and other structures.The settlement ends three years of legal wrangling with victims of the Archie Creek fire, which devastated communities...

It Used to Be Hers: Sara Bareilles dons her apron once more with ‘Waitress’ live-capture film

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:32:02 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — She was an admired pop star with a voice like butter. But writing a musical about a woman who bakes pies? When Sara Bareilles was approached more than a decade ago about penning the score for “Waitress” on Broadway, she literally pictured a mountain in front of her, impossible to climb.Bareilles hadn’t even yet seen the source material, the 2007 indie movie starring Keri Russell as Jenna, a small-town waitress in an abusive marriage who bakes for solace and self-expression. And though she loved musicals, Bareilles had never written from any character’s perspective but her own. But at that initial lunch meeting, theater director Diane Paulus suggested Bareilles go watch the film and then write something, anything: “Whatever pours out of you.” A few weeks later, an MP3 file from Bareilles popped into Paulus’ inbox. It was “She Used to Be Mine,” an achingly wistful, painful yet also somehow triumphant anthem for Jenna. And it was ready to go. Paulus thought: “OK, we’ve ...

Biden to press Congress to pass Ukraine aid package in Wednesday speech, as US offers dire warnings

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:32:02 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday is set to publicly call on Congress to pass tens of billions of dollars in military and economic assistance for Ukraine as his administration warns of dire consequences for Kyiv if lawmakers don’t act.Biden’s address comes hours after he huddled with leaders of the Group of Seven advanced democracies, which have staunchly supported Ukraine against Russia’s ongoing invasion, and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Biden has asked Congress for nearly $106 billion to fund the wars in Ukraine, Israel and other security needs, but has faced stiff resistance on Capitol Hill. Some Republicans have grown tired of providing support to Ukraine after the U.S. has already sent $111 billion, and other GOP lawmakers are insisting on stiff changes to U.S. border policy as a condition of voting for the measure.The White House has sent increasingly sharp warnings to lawmakers of what would happen if they don’t approve th...