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First Brexit, now Orxit? Politicians on Scotland’s Orkney Islands vote to explore more autonomy

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:54:50 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Officials on the Orkney Islands, a corner of Scotland with Viking roots and an independent spirit, seized a moment in the global spotlight on Tuesday and voted to explore ways of seeking more autonomy — or even independence — from neglectful U.K. governments.Journalists from across Britain and around the world tuned in remotely as Orkney Islands Council voted to study “alternative models of governance” for the archipelago, which has a population of 22,000.The proposal from council leader James Stockan grabbed international headlines with its mention of potentially restoring Orkney’s “Nordic connections.” Orkney was under Norwegian and Danish control for centuries until 1472 when the islands were taken by the Scottish crown as part of Margaret of Denmark’s wedding dowry to King James III of Scotland.Stockan said his proposal “is not about us joining Norway,” but about countering the “discrimination that we’ve had against this community” from the Scottish and U.K. govern...

Shooting after local festival leaves three dead and eight injured in Texas, police say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:54:50 GMT

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Authorities in Texas say three people were killed and eight people were injured when gunfire erupted following a local festival. The shooting in Fort Worth happened Monday night in the Como neighborhood in the city’s southwest. WFAA, citing police, reports the shooting occurred just hours after the end of the neighborhood’s annual ComoFest. The report said no arrests had been made as of Tuesday morning. It was also unclear how many people may have opened fire.Associated Press, The Associated Press

Masked assailants attack a journalist and a lawyer in Russia’s Chechnya province

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:54:50 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Masked assailants in the Russian province of Chechnya attacked and beat a journalist and a lawyer on Tuesday, an assault that highlighted a violent pattern of rampant human rights abuses in the region.Novaya Gazeta journalist Elena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov had just arrived in Chechnya to attend the trial of Zarema Musayeva, the mother of two local activists who have challenged Chechen authorities.Just outside the airport, their vehicle was blocked by several cars and they were beaten by several unidentified masked assailants, who put guns to their heads and broke their equipment.Novaya Gazeta said that Milashina sustained a brain injury and had several fingers broken, and Nemov had a deep cut on his leg. They were taken to a hospital in Chechnya’s main city, Grozny, and later to Beslan in the nearby region of North Ossetia. The newspaper said that Milashina repeatedly lost consciousness.Officials were considering their medical evacuation to Moscow.Kre...

The Taliban ban women’s beauty salons in Afghanistan

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:54:50 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban are banning women’s beauty salons in Afghanistan, a government spokesman said Tuesday. It’s the latest curb on the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls, following edicts barring them from education, public spaces and most forms of employment.A spokesman for the Taliban-run Virtue and Vice Ministry, Mohammad Sidik Akif Mahajar, didn’t give details of the ban. He only confirmed the contents of a letter circulating on social media.The ministry-issued letter, dated June 24, says it conveys a verbal order from the supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada. The ban targets the capital, Kabul, and all provinces, and gives salons throughout the country a month’s notice to wind down their businesses. After that period, they must close and submit a report about their closure. The letter doesn’t give reasons for the ban.Its release comes days after Akhundzada claimed that his government has taken the necessary steps for the better...

Retailers, beware: Resumption of student loan payments could lead some buyers to pull back

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:54:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The reprieve is over. Just as the American economy is struggling with high inflation and interest rates, the coming resumption of student loan payments poses yet another potential challenge.The suspension of federal student loan payments, which took effect at the height of the pandemic in 2020, expires late this summer. Interest will start accruing again in September. Payments will resume in October.Though many hoped their loans might at least be lightened, the Supreme Court last week struck down a Biden administration plan that would have given millions of people some relief from the return of the loan payments. The Biden plan would have canceled up to $20,000 in federal student loans for 43 million borrowers; 20 million would have had their loans erased entirely. The court ruled that the plan exceeded the government’s authority.The restart of those payments will force many people to start paying hundreds of dollars in loans each month — money they had been spendi...

Turkey says Quran burning in Sweden raises questions about its reliability as a possible NATO member

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:54:50 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s foreign minister said Tuesday that Swedish authorities’ failure to prevent Quran-burning protests in the country is raising security concerns and questions about Sweden’s credentials for possible NATO membership.But Hakan Fidan said Turkey would still approve Sweden’s membership in the military alliance if Stockholm “completes its homework” and presses ahead with efforts to address Turkey’s concerns. “The fact that the Swedish security system is incapable of preventing provocations and is presenting an image of a (country) that brings problems to NATO — instead of more power — is making us think in terms of the strategic and security aspects,” Fidan said at a joint news conference with his Jordanian counterpart. “When it comes to Sweden’s membership in NATO, whether it will become a burden or a benefit has become more open to debate.”Sweden and Finland abandoned their decades-long neutrality and applied to join NATO last year following Russ...

Princess Kate visits Wimbledon. Rain interrupts play for the 2nd straight day

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:54:50 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Kate, the Princess of Wales, was at a rainy Wimbledon on Tuesday and is expected to sit in the Royal Box when play begins on Centre Court.Showers interrupted play on Day 2 at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament, just like it did on the opening day.Matches began on most courts shortly after 11 a.m. at the All England Club, but the tarps came out as the rain came down about an hour later.Rain is forecast for much of the day Tuesday in southwest London.The only two courts at Wimbledon with retractable roofs, Centre Court and No. 1 Court, were not scheduled to have matches until later in the day.Elena Rybakina will open Tuesday’s Centre Court play against American opponent Shelby Rogers — the traditional spot for the defending women’s champion. The defending men’s champion, Novak Djokovic, had the honor of starting play in the main stadium on Day 1.Djokovic’s match was delayed by rain Monday, and he even helped dry the court before pla...

Global chemical weapons watchdog says it found no evidence to back Syrian claim of 2017 gas attack

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:54:50 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The global chemical weapons watchdog said Tuesday it found no evidence to support a claim by Syria that its forces were attacked using toxic gas in 2017.The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said that its fact-finding mission concluded that “there are no reasonable grounds to determine that chemicals were used as a weapon” in two incidents in July and August 2017 in Massasneh, a village in the central province of Hama.Syria asked the OPCW to investigate after reporting a “mortar attack with poisonous gas” on its army in the town in fighting with rebels.The watchdog sent a team to Syria three times to investigate and interview witnesses but they found no evidence of a gas attack, according to the Fact-Finding Mission report.The fact-finding mission has issued 20 reports covering 73 instances of alleged chemical weapons use in Syria. It has found that chemical weapons were used or likely used in 20 incidents. The mission is not mandated...

Putin says Russia is ‘united as never before’ at meeting of Russia- and China-led security group

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:54:50 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — President Vladimir Putin claimed Tuesday that the Russian people were “united as never before,” as he sought to project confidence in the wake of a short-lived revolt, at a meeting of a rare international organization where he can find a sympathetic audience.The Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting, hosted via videoconference by India, was Putin’s first multilateral summit since an armed rebellion rattled Russia and comes as he is eager to show that the West has failed to isolate Moscow over its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.The Asian security grouping, founded by Russia and China to counter Western alliances, also welcomed Iran as a new member, bringing its membership to nine nations. Speaking via video link from the Kremlin, Putin praised the organization for “playing an increasingly significant role in international affairs, making a real contribution to maintaining peace and stability, ensuring sustainable economic growth of the participating states, and strengt...

Palestinian attacker wounds 4 in Tel Aviv as Israel presses on with West Bank operation

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:54:50 GMT

JENIN, West Bank (AP) — A Palestinian man careened his car into pedestrians in Tel Aviv on Tuesday, wounding at least four people, in an attack praised by the Islamist militant group Hamas as a response to Israel’s ongoing military operation in the occupied West Bank. Israeli paramedics said at least four people were wounded when a car careened into pedestrians on a sidewalk in the seaside city. Police spokesman Eli Levi told Kan public radio that the incident was a deliberate attack, and that a civilian shot and killed the driver at the scene.The Hamas militant group praised the attack as “heroic and revenge for the military operation in Jenin.” Israeli media identified the attacker as Hasin Halila, 23, a Palestinian man from a village near the West Bank city of Hebron. The attack came as Israeli troops pressed ahead with their hunt for Palestinian militants and weapons in a West Bank refugee camp, after military bulldozers tore through alleys and thousands of residents fled ...