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Ex-England cricket captain Vaughan cleared of racism charge

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:18 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan was cleared by a disciplinary panel Friday of making a racist remark toward a group of Yorkshire teammates of Asian ethnicity in 2009, the latest stage of a scandal that has left a cloud over the English game.The scandal erupted when Azeem Rafiq, a former player at Yorkshire, went public in 2020 saying he had been the victim of racial harassment and bullying across two spells at English cricket’s most successful club between 2008-18.Among his allegations, which were heard in the British parliament and led to Yorkshire losing sponsors and briefly the right to host international matches, Rafiq accused Vaughan of saying to Rafiq and other teammates of Asian ethnicity there were “too many of you lot, we need to have a word about that.” Vaughan was alleged to have made the comment on the sidelines of a Twenty20 match.Vaughan categorically denied the charge, which was issued by the England and Wales Cricket Board, and it was dis...

Finland’s young leader is popular but faces tough reelection

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:18 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — A parliamentary election in Finland on Sunday is shaping up as an extremely close race between three parties as Prime Minister Sanna Marin’s Social Democrats fight to secure a second term running the government.The election is taking place days after Finland cleared the last big hurdle in its 10-month campaign to join NATO. Turkey’s parliament ratified the northern European nation’s membership in the Western military alliance late Thursday.Marin, who at age 37 is one of Europe’s youngest leaders, has received praise for her Cabinet’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her vocal support of Ukraine in the last year has increased her international visibility. She remains popular at home, but Finns are also frustrated with their country’s rising cost of living.The economy, climate change and others issues that affect voters’ daily lives — like education and social benefits — have dominated the election campaign. Job creation and ...

Russia sends bombs as Ukraine marks grim Bucha anniversary

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:18 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia used its long-range arsenal to bombard anew several areas of Ukraine on Friday, killing at least two civilians and damaging homes as Ukrainians commemorated the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha.President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Bucha, a town near Kyiv, stands as a symbol of the atrocities the Russian military has committed since its full-scale invasion began in February 2022.“We will never forgive,” Zelenskyy said in a post on his Telegram channel. “We will punish every perpetrator.”The Kremlin’s forces occupied Bucha weeks after they invaded Ukraine and stayed for about a month. When Ukrainian troops retook the town, they encountered horrific scenes: bodies of women, young and old men, in civilian clothing, lying in the street where they had fallen or in yards and homes.Other bodies were found in a mass grave. Over weeks and months, hundreds of bodies were uncovered, including some of children. Russian soldiers on intercepted phone conversati...

Weekend need to know: Stranger Things experience, Spring Run-Off, Toronto Vintage Show

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:18 GMT

The Upside Down has arrived in Toronto for all Stranger Things fans, an annual run through High Park is happening to welcome the return of Spring, plus Canada’s largest vintage show returns to Exhibition Place.There is a scheduled subway closure on Line 1 as well as a late subway opening on Line 2 this weekend. People can also keep an eye on ongoing road closures within the city.Here’s what to do this weekend:Top eventsStranger Things: The Experience Stranger Things: The Experience is a new immersive experience located at Cinespace Studios Marine Terminal in Toronto.Fans will be thrown into a replica of the town of Hawkins, The Upside Down and all things from the Stranger Things universe.Tickets are limited and prices will start at $49 per person.Children under 5 years old will not be allowed into the experience, and anyone under 14 years old must be accompanied by an adult.Opening times:Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays: 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.Saturdays and Sundays: 10:30 a.m...

Russia, Indonesia sign extradition treaty to combat crime

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:18 GMT

DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia and Russia signed an extradition agreement on Friday which they said will help combat transnational crime and be a turning point in their relations.The treaty — Indonesia’s first extradition agreement with a European country — was signed by Indonesian Law and Human Rights Minister Yasonna Laoly and Russian Minister of Justice Konstantin Chuychenko.Chuycenko said the agreement is key to bringing bilateral relations forward.“With this treaty signed, we now have a legal basis for our cooperation in the sphere of combating crimes and this is going to be systematical and productive in the future,” Chuychenko said after the signing ceremony on the resort island of Bali.Thousands of Russians and Ukrainians have fled to Bali since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russians were the second biggest group of visitors to Bali last year after Australians, and their number is predicted to continue to incre...

Norway makes country’s largest-ever cocaine seizure in Oslo

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:18 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Police made the largest-ever cocaine seizure in Norway when they discovered 800 kilograms (1,760 pounds) of the drug in boxes of fruit in Oslo, officials said.Norwegian news agency NTB said late Thursday that the drugs were found this week following a tipoff from German police who seized 1,200 kilograms (2,645 pounds) in Potsdam on Tuesday.Police didn’t disclose the exact date that the cocaine was found in Oslo, or where the fruit originated from. No one has been arrested in Norway.Police spokeswoman Grete Lien Metlid was quoted by NTB as saying that it was the largest seizure ever in Norway. She said that it was too early to say whether the cocaine was intended for the Norwegian market, or if Norway was being used as a transit point. “We cannot rule out that there are larger networks with connections to Norway,” Lien Metlid told NTB.The previous largest seizures of cocaine in Norway was in 2013 when 153 kilograms (337 pounds), were seized, and in 20...

Strong, fast-moving storms ahead Friday

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:18 GMT

Friday will start out feeling warmer with some sporadic showers and storms possible in the morning.But the threat of severe weather looms.The hours of 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. are the areas of most concern with strong to severe thunderstorms developing at that time. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Saturday will be mostly cloudy, very windy and colder. Some rain or possible mixed rain and snow showers is likely. It will be very windy. Wind gusts may 50 mph at times. High of 44 but falling into the mid to upper 30s.Latest warnings and watches from the National Weather Service.Sunday things calm down and warm up some. Partly sunny, becoming windy and noticeably milder by afternoon. Wind gusts to 40 mph then. High 59.

Dangerous storms and tornadoes forecast for the Midwest and South

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:18 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Meteorologists are urging people in parts of the Midwest and southern U.S. to be ready Friday for dangerous weather including tornadoes, saying the conditions are similar to those a week ago that unleashed a devastating twister that killed at least 21 people in Mississippi.An outbreak of severe thunderstorms has the potential to cause hail, damaging wind gusts and tornadoes that could be strong and move on the ground over long distances, according to the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center. Does climate change boost tornadoes? The major population centers at greatest risk for storms starting Friday afternoon include Memphis, Tennessee, Jonesboro, Arkansas, and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as of Thursday afternoon's forecast. But people throughout eastern Iowa, western and northern Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas should also be prepared, said Northern Illinois meteorology professor and tornado expert Victor Gensini.“There will be lots of thunderstor...

52 years after capture, orca Lolita may return to her mother in the Pacific

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:18 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — More than 50 years after the orca known as Lolita was captured for public display, plans are in place to return her from the Miami Seaquarium to her home waters in the Pacific Northwest, where a nearly century-old, endangered killer whale believed to be her mother still swims.An unlikely coalition involving the theme park's owner, an animal rights group and an NFL owner-philanthropist announded the agreement during a news conference Thursday.“I'm excited to be a part of Lolita's journey to freedom,” Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay said. “I know Lolita wants to get to free waters.”Lolita, also known as Tokitae, was about 4 years old when she was captured in Puget Sound in summer 1970, during a time of deadly orca roundups. She spent decades performing for paying crowds before falling ill.Trainer Marcia Hinton pets Lolita, a captive orca whale, during a performance at the Miami Seaquarium in Miami, March 9, 1995. An unlikely coalition made up of a theme park owner, an ...

Movies in the Park dates released

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:12:18 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin Parks Foundation, or APF, released the 2023 schedule for the Movies in the Park and Playdates in the Park series Thursday. APF said all shows are free for everyone. For Movies in the Park, the Austin Parks Foundation said it would show movies in parks throughout Austin and the rental service Rocket Cinema. Attendees can bring blankets, lawn chairs, picnics and dogs on-leash, according to the APF announcement. Glass or styrofoam containers are not allowed at the parks.  Here's a list of upcoming movies:April 13, 7 p.m., "Back to the Future", Dick Nichols Park, 8011 Beckett Rd. April 27, 7 p.m., "Lego Batman", Dove Springs District Park, 5801 Ainez Dr.May 25, 7:30 p.m., "Free Guy", Gus Garcia District Park, 1201 E. Rundberg Ln.June 29, 7:30 p.m., "The Sandlot", Govalle District Park, 5200 Bolm Rd.Sept. 29, 6:30 p.m., "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", Location TBAOct. 26, 6:30 p.m., "Hocus Pocus", Mueller Lake Park, 4500 Mueller Blvd.Nov. 10, 6:30 p.m.: "Moana", Mabel...