World

Brazil judge overseeing corruption probe dies in plane crash

Published on Thu, 01/19/2017 - 2:54pm

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Teori Zavascki, who had a central role overseeing a massive corruption investigation roiling Latin America's largest nation, has died in a plane crash, his son said Thursday. He was 68.

Francisco Prehn Zavascki wrote on his Facebook page that the plane crashed outside of Paraty, a popular coastal town about 155 miles (250 kilometers) west of Rio de Janeiro.

"Dear friends, we have just received confirmation that my father has died. Thank you for all the strength," the son wrote.

Putin: Obama administration trying to undermine Trump

Published on Tue, 01/17/2017 - 4:39pm
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MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin took a parting shot at the Obama administration Tuesday, accusing it of trying to undermine Donald Trump's legitimacy with fake allegations and "binding the president-elect hand and foot to prevent him from fulfilling his election promises."

In his first public remarks about an unsubstantiated dossier outlining unverified claims that Trump engaged in sexual activities with prostitutes at a Moscow hotel, Putin dismissed the material as "nonsense."

Mexico town fears nightclub shooting means drug war has come

Published on Tue, 01/17/2017 - 4:32pm
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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) — Authorities said Tuesday they are investigating whether extortion, street-level drug sales or a murder plot was the motive behind a shooting at an electronic music festival in this Caribbean resort town that left three foreigners and two Mexicans dead.

The drug hypothesis was strengthened after a banner briefly appeared along a roadside, signed by the "Old School Zetas," part of the fragmented Zetas cartel, suggesting the attack was carried out as part of a battle against rival gangs.

Mexican resort shooting kills 5, panics festival-goers

Published on Mon, 01/16/2017 - 3:20pm
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PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico (AP) — Gunfire broke out in a crowded beachfront nightclub throbbing with electronic music early Monday, causing five deaths and setting off a bloody stampede by screaming concertgoers at an international festival in this Caribbean resort.

At least one person died in the crush to escape and some of the 15 people wounded or injured were hurt in the rush out, authorities said.

Iraqi forces in IS battle raise flag over Mosul University

Published on Fri, 01/13/2017 - 4:22pm
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MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Iraqi special forces raised the Iraqi flag above buildings within the Mosul University complex Friday as they battled Islamic State militants for control of the city, according to senior Iraqi officers and the U.S.-led coalition.

The troops entered the university grounds in the morning hours and by afternoon they had taken control of a neighborhood on the northeastern edge of the university compound and the technical institute within the campus, according to special forces Brig. Gen. Haider Fadhil and Maj. Gen. Sami al-Aridi.

Paris officials charge first 4 suspects in Kardashian heist

Published on Thu, 01/12/2017 - 5:03pm
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PARIS (AP) — French authorities have filed the first charges against four suspects in the armed jewelry heist of Kim Kardashian West, with more charges expected to follow, the Paris prosecutors' office said Thursday.

Kardashian West's sister, Khloe Kardashian, welcomed the step forward in the French probe as a "kind of closure" and denounced the robbery as "a disgusting act" in an interview with The Associated Press.

"From the poorest of the poor to the richest of the rich, nobody deserves to be taken, anything to be taken from them," she said.

Compromising material appears frequently in Russian politics

Published on Wed, 01/11/2017 - 3:17pm
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MOSCOW — Blurry video of highly placed men engaging in sexual acts, audio recordings of influential figures profanely insulting their nominal allies — in Russia these appear enough that a special word has evolved: "kompromat," or "compromising material."

In the wake of unsubstantiated allegations that Russia has gathered kompromat against President-elect Donald Trump, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov brushed them off as an attempt to undermine potentially improved U.S.-Russia ties once Trump takes office.

Anxiety in Istanbul after series of extremist attacks

Published on Tue, 01/10/2017 - 4:39pm

By MIKE CORDER and CINAR KIPER, Associated Press

ISTANBUL — For Ethem Salli, life in what he still calls one of the greatest cities on earth has been pared back to little more than his commutes to and from work.

These days, with a string of extremist attacks targeting Istanbul still fresh in his memory, the 41-year-old environmental engineer doesn't venture outdoors much.

Hearts, intestines ripped out in Brazil prison killing spree

Published on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 4:31pm
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By PETER PRENGAMAN and MAURICIO SAVARESE, Associated Press
 
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Thirty-one inmates were slain Friday in northern Brazil, some with their hearts and intestines ripped out, during a prison killing spree led by the country's largest gang, authorities said.
 

DEA opens shop in China to help fight synthetic drug trade

Published on Fri, 01/06/2017 - 4:15pm
By ERIKA KINETZ, Associated Press
 
SHANGHAI (AP) — In a sign of improving cooperation between the U.S. and China to fight the global drug trade, the Drug Enforcement Administration will open a new office there and its top chief will visit next week for the first time in more than a decade.
 
The DEA said acting administrator Chuck Rosenberg will visit Beijing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong Monday through Thursday, at the invitation of China's Ministry of Public Security. The last time the head of the DEA visited the country was 2005.