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Iran executes man convicted of killing a senior cleric following months of unrest

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:21:35 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran on Wednesday executed a bank guard who was convicted of fatally shooting a senior cleric in April following months of unrest, state media reported.Ayatollah Abbas Ali Soleimani, 77, was the most senior member of the clergy who was killed after protests and a bloody security crackdown on demonstrators. The protesters were enraged by the death in September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested by the country’s morality police. The protests gradually died in early months of the year.A Wednesday report by the official IRNA news agency said the execution took place in northern city of Babol in Iran’s Mazandaran province, just north of the capital, Tehran, in the presence of the victim’s family. The report said a court sentenced the man to death in May and the Supreme Court upheld the verdict. It did not elaborate but Iran usually applies hanging.Authorities offered no motive for the attack in April in Babolsar, a town near the place of the execu...

Missiles from rebel territory in Yemen miss a ship near the key Bab el-Mandeb Strait

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:21:35 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Two missiles fired from territory held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels missed a commercial tanker near the key Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Wednesday, a U.S. official said. An American warship also shot down a suspected Houthi drone flying in its direction during the incident, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. No one was hurt in the attack, the official said. The ship that was targeted, the oil and chemical tanker Marshall Islands-flagged Ardmore Encounter, was traveling north toward the Suez Canal in the Red Sea, satellite tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed. The vessel had been coming from India and had an armed security crew aboard it, according to data transmitted by the ship.Ardmore Shipping Corp., which owns and operates the ship, issued a statement to the AP acknowledging the attack.“No one boarded the vessel and all crew members are safe and accounted for,” the statement said...

EU-funded works win seven prizes at 2023 European Film Awards

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:21:35 GMT

Five films that received EU support came out on top at this year's European Film Awards, winning a total of seven prizes.The winners of the 36th edition of the European Film Awards, which took place in Berlin, were announced during the Awards Ceremony held on 9 December 2023. The EU-funded front-runners are:The Promised Land (Bastarden) by Nikolaj Arcel for Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design and Best Actor award to Mads Mikkelsen for his role in the film; Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Savvusanna sõsarad) by Anna Hints for Best Documentary; Robot Dreams by Pablo Berger for Best Feature Film; Club Zero by Jessica Hausner for Best Original Score; and La Chimera by Alice Rohrwacher for Best Production Design.The EU supported the development and distribution of these works through its Creative Europe MEDIA Programme.

Dear Abby: If my daughter’s not good enough for his son, what does that mean for him and me?

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:21:35 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I have been dating “George” for 17 years following our divorces. I have three grown children. He has four — two of whom are still at home. We have never lived together.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: I let a drunk guy stay on my couch, and he won’t leave Advice | Dear Abby: I skipped the wedding because of what the bride’s mother demanded Advice | Dear Abby: My kids want the inheritance but I’m scared to give it to them Advice | Dear Abby: Do I need to be honest about what happened to their gift? Advice | Dear Abby: If my friend dies without revealing the truth, should I tell what I know? My daughter and George’s son (still at home) had a crush on each other when they were teenagers. Fast-forward 10 years — they have reunited and expressed their love for one another.Although George cares deeply for all my children, I’m afraid he feels m...

Klay Thompson vents over fourth quarter benching: “Of course it frustrates me”

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:21:35 GMT

PHOENIX — Klay Thompson pulled tight on the laces of his hightop Chuck Taylors, head down but voice elevated as he sat at his locker at Footprint Center to unpack an unfamiliar feeling.“I deserved to be benched tonight,” Thompson said. “I played like crap.”It wasn’t long before that coach Steve Kerr pulled the lever he’s been hesitating to grasp; late in the fourth quarter down four against the Phoenix Suns, Thompson, considered still one of the NBA’s most prolific crunch-time scorers, was benched.Thompson caused a scene during the deciding timeout. He was throwing towels, pacing around the Warriors’ bench and yelling at those around him who’d listen. Steph Curry took his shoulders to calm him, knowing that kind of reaction was justified just as much as Kerr’s decision.“Of course it frustrates me. You think I’m going to just chill? I’m friggin’ competitive,” Thompson said. “At the e...

German budget crisis: Government reaches spending deal for 2024

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:21:35 GMT

Germany’s three-party ruling coalition has agreed on a new spending plan for next year after weeks of tense negotiations that have mired the government in political and fiscal crisis.The deal, reached in the early hours of Wednesday, is set to be publicly announced in a statement to the press by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, his Economy Minister Robert Habeck and Finance Minister Christian Lindner at noon local time. Scholz is also scheduled to address parliament shortly thereafter.“Habemus budget 2024!” wrote Andreas Schwarz, a budget policy lawmaker from Scholz’s Social Democratic Party, wrote on X (formerly Twitter). An official from the ruling coalition told POLITICO that a joint meeting of leading politicians from the three ruling parties — the SPD, Habeck’s Greens and the fiscally conservative Free Democratic Party (FDP) of Lindner — is scheduled for this afternoon.Germany’s ruling coalition had been in disarray since a bombshell Constitutional Co...

Scientists discover ‘staggering’ features in massive Milky Way star explosion

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:21:35 GMT

(CNN) — Thousands of years ago, a star in our galaxy violently exploded and created a glowing supernova remnant called Cassiopeia A that has intrigued scientists for decades.Now, a new image captured by the James Webb Space Telescope has revealed the closest and most detailed look inside the exploded star, according to astronomers. Analyzing the image could help researchers better understand the processes that fuel these massive incendiary events.The space observatory has also allowed astronomers to glimpse mysterious features that haven’t appeared in images taken of the remnant using telescopes like Hubble, Chandra or Spitzer or Webb’s other instruments.The new image was shared on Monday by first lady Dr. Jill Biden as she debuted the first-ever digital White House Advent Calendar, which includes Webb’s new perspective of Cassiopeia A that seems to shine like a Christmas ornament.“We’ve never had this kind of look at an exploded star before,” said astronomer Dan...

OBF: Did Taylor Swift’s ‘Bad Blood’ predict Bill Belichick’s demise?

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:21:35 GMT

Taylor Swift turns 34 today.What to give the woman who has everything, except a history of stable relationships?Would-be hubby Travis Kelce can jump out of her cake.Taylor has a hold over the NFL not seen since Park Avenue was ready to go to the Supreme Court against Tom Brady.After all, have you ever seen Swift on TV after the Chiefs make a bad play, lose, or allow the opposing team to score? We only see her cheering. That’s gotta be in the contract somewhere.Perhaps Roger Goodell gifts the Kansas City Swifties a reversal on the Kadarius Toney offside call. The Commissioner is omnipotent. There is nothing to stop him from overturning the outcome of Kansas City’s loss to Buffalo and giving the Chiefs the victory.Let them eat cake, right Roger?Hey, 2 billion Swifties can’t be wrong.It’s more probable than not Swift returns to Foxy Foxborough Sunday as the K.C. Swifties visit as 9.5-point favorites to face the mathematically eliminated New England Patriots.But there will be no sellout...

Howie Carr: John Kerry just an old fart at 80

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:21:35 GMT

As John Forbes Kerry turned 80 on Monday, the words of Louis Prima came to mind, from the song that serves as an epitaph for Liveshot’s lavish life.“Just a Gigolo.”“And there will come a day,” Prima crooned, “and youth will pass away/ What will they say about me?”I know what I would say. First of all, I would mention what has made it all possible — his second wife’s first husband’s trust fund.Then I would quote a few of his own most memorable statements over the years.“I actually did vote for the 87 billion dollars before I voted against it.”“Everybody knows I botched a joke.”“I’m fascinated by rap and hip hop.”So many punch lines, so little time. But on this solemn occasion, let us remember his greatest accomplishment. Most gigolos only make one major score in life. Then they go crazy, or drink themselves to death.There’s an old saying about gigolos that applies to Kerry. He made his money the old-fashioned way. He married it.But John Kerry did something that few, if any gigo...

Indhu Rubasingham named as first woman to lead Britain’s National Theatre

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:21:35 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s National Theatre announced Wednesday that Indhu Rubasingham will be the next artistic director of the United Kingdom’s pre-eminent public stage company.Rubasingham, who currently runs the small but influential Kiln Theatre in north London, will be the first woman and first person of color to lead the National, whose six previous artistic directors include Laurence Olivier, Peter Hall and Nicholas Hytner.She will join as director-designate in the spring of 2024 and take over in early 2025 from Rufus Norris, who is stepping down after a decade at the helm.Rubasingham will also become the company’s joint chief executive alongside Kate Varah, who is currently executive director of the theater.Rubasingham said it was “a huge honor” to lead a venue that “has played an important part in my life.”“Theater has a transformative power — the ability to bring people together through shared experience and storytelling, and nowhere more so than the National,” she said.At th...