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A fireworks explosion in western Michigan killed 1 woman and injured 9 other people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:18 GMT

PARK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — A fireworks explosion in western Michigan killed one woman left nine other people with injuries ranging from critical to minor, the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department said.The explosion happened Monday, but a news release from the department did not say whether it occurred during an organized July Fourth public event. Deputies and ambulances responded to Main Street in Park Township shortly after 11 p.m. for a report that a firework exploded injuring several people, the release said.A 43-year-old woman from the city of Holland died at the scene, the sheriff’s department said. Nine other people were taken to area hospitals.Several area homes and vehicles also were damaged, the release said.The explosion is under investigation.Park Township has a population of about 18,000. It’s on the Lake Michigan shore about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Grand Rapids.The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that in 2022, 10,200 people...

Hong Kong leader says 8 pro-democracy activists who escaped to the West ‘will be pursued for life’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:18 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader said Tuesday that eight pro-democracy activists who now live in the United States, Britain, Canada and Australia will be pursued for life for alleged national security offenses, dismissing criticism that the move to have them arrested was a dangerous precedent. Chief Executive John Lee expressed his support for the police efforts to arrest the eight. At his weekly media briefing, Lee said anyone, including their friends and relatives, who offered information leading to their arrests would be eligible for the bounties offered by the police.“The only way to end their destiny of being an abscondee who will be pursued for life is to surrender,” he said. The arrest warrants were issued for former pro-democracy lawmakers Nathan Law, Ted Hui and Dennis Kwok, lawyer Kevin Yam, unionist Mung Siu-tat and activists Finn Lau, Anna Kwok and Elmer Yuen. They were accused of breaching the Beijing-imposed national security law by committing offenses such as collu...

He was the CIA whiz kid in ‘Charlie Wilson’s War.’ His new book offers advice for the US in Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:18 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — After the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in 1989, defeated by an insurgency equipped and guided by the U.S., a two-word cable arrived at CIA headquarters: “WE WON.” It was one of the last moments of the Cold War, credited with helping push the Soviet Union to collapse two years later. But the U.S. would leave behind a country that rapidly fell into civil war, eventually becoming al-Qaida’s training grounds for the Sept. 11 attacks and the site of a two-decade war that ended in U.S. withdrawal and defeat. Decades later, one of the architects of the covert strategy against the Soviets has published a memoir that calls on President Joe Biden’s administration to do more to support Ukraine’s resistance against Russia. In “By All Means Available,” Michael Vickers also reviews what the U.S. can learn from its past missteps and missed warnings in Afghanistan.In the 2007 movie “Charlie Wilson’s War,” which depicts the top-secret U.S. effort in 1...

Alcaraz starts his Wimbledon with a straight-set win. Princess Kate sits in the Royal Box

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:18 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — In only his third Wimbledon tournament, Carlos Alcaraz is already one of the main men to beat.The top-seeded Spaniard hasn’t been past the fourth round at the All England Club, but he has become the primary threat in Novak Djokovic’s quest for a record-equaling eighth men’s title at the grass-court Grand Slam.On Tuesday, Alcaraz beat Jeremy Chardy 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 on No. 1 Court — a fitting location for the No. 1 player in the world.The match was played under the roof because rain affected play on the outside courts for the second straight day.“Obviously without the roof, with sun, is much better for me. I think for everyone as well,” Alcaraz said on court. “With the roof or not, I have to show my best level.”His best led Alcaraz to his first major title at the U.S. Open last year. He reached the final at this year’s French Open, but Djokovic ended up winning his 23rd Grand Slam title in that match.At Wimbledon, Alcaraz reached the second round in 2021, ...

Armed groups are committing abuses in English-speaking regions of Cameroon, rights group says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:18 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Civilians in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions are being victimized by the army, separatists and militias who are carrying out killings, torture and sexual violence, according to an Amnesty International report released Tuesday.Researchers from the human rights group spoke with more than 100 victims of armed violence, documenting extrajudicial killings and the razing of homes and villages in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon over the past three years amid clashes between government armed forces and separatist rebels.Cameroon’s Ministries of Justice and Defense did not respond to a request for comment, Amnesty International said.The protracted armed conflict known as the Anglophone crisis began in 2016, when English-speaking teachers and lawyers organized protests against professional and political marginalization by the majority French-speaking government. Following a crackdown on the peaceful protests, armed rebel groups mobilized and vowed to ...

Man steals forklift from a Maryland store and rams a car, killing a woman, authorities say.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:18 GMT

WALDORF, Md. (AP) — A man stole a forklift from a Maryland home improvement store and killed a woman in the parking lot after ramming the car in which she was sleeping, authorities said.Bryce Caleb Timothy Brown, 20, has been charged with murder, assault, theft and other alleged offenses, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.Brown broke into a Lowe’s store in Waldorf after midnight on Sunday and stole a forklift, the sheriff’s office said. Brown then rammed through the rear gates of the store and hit a parked car, the sheriff’s office said. A woman who was sleeping in the car tried to run away. Brown followed her, ran her over, stole her car and fled, the sheriff’s office said. Gloristine Pinkney, 73, was found dead under the forklift, the sheriff’s office said.Authorities said the two people did not know each other and it was not immediately known why Brown hit Pinkney’s car and ran her over. They are both from Waldorf, the ...

Belarus opposition leader says anonymous message alleges that her husband died in prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:18 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said Tuesday that she had received an anonymous message alleging that her imprisoned husband, also an opposition figure, died behind bars. Siarhei Tsikhanouski, 44, a popular blogger and opposition activist, was arrested in 2020 after announcing plans to run against Belarus’ authoritarian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, in presidential elections that year. His wife ran against Lukashenko in his stead after the arrest, rallying large crowds of people in her support across the country. Official results of the election handed Lukashenko his sixth term in office but were denounced by the opposition and the West as fraudulent. Amid unprecedented protests that broke out in the aftermath of the vote, Tsikhanouskaya left the country under pressure from the authorities. Her husband was later sentenced to 19 1/2 years in prison on charges of organizing mass riots. Tsikhanouskaya told The Associated Press on Tues...

Ukrainians honor award-winning writer killed in Russian missile attack on restaurant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:18 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Dozens of people with flowers, many unable to hold back tears, bid farewell Tuesday to an award-winning Ukrainian writer who was among those killed by a Russian missile attack on a popular restaurant in eastern Ukraine. The memorial service for Victoria Amelina, 37, was held in the crowded main hall of Saint-Michael’s Cathedral in Kyiv, where ceremonies are usually held for soldiers who were killed on the battlefield. Amelina died in a hospital from injuries sustained in the June 27 strike on a popular restaurant frequently visited by journalists and aid workers in the city of Kramatorsk. Twelve other people also lost their lives in the attack. “Usually, we gather here to say goodbye to the most deserving,” said Archimandrite Lavrentii, the Orthodox priest leading the service. “Considering the times we live in, leading a worthy and dignified life for each of us is the best tribute we can offer in memory of those who have passed away into eternity.”Around 1...

51-year-old man dead after Ajax crash involving motorcycle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:18 GMT

A man is dead after a two-vehicle crash in Ajax involving a motorcycle on Monday evening.The collision happened at the intersection of Taunton Road East and Audley Road North around 8 p.m., according to Durham Regional Police.Police say a motorcycle was travelling eastbound on Taunton when a westbound Honda Civic made a left hand turn into its path.The motorcyclist, a 51-year-old man from Ajax, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Honda stayed at the scene and cooperated with the investigation.Witnesses told police that both vehicles had green lights when they entered the intersection.Roads were closed in the area of the investigation but they have since reopened.Anyone with information is being asked to contact police.

Iowa man’s collection of 70,000 pencils being evaluated as possible world record

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:18 GMT

COLFAX, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa man may be well on his way to an official world record — for pencils.Aaron Bartholmey of Colfax has been collecting wooden advertising pencils since he was a child. Now, he claims to own more than 70,000. That’s substantially more than the Guinness World Record for the largest pencil collection — 24,000, held by Emilio Arenas from Uruguay since 2020.Bartholmey told KCCI-TV that his most treasured pencils are those from his hometown, noting that in many instances the pencils “are the only place where there is any record of that business still, and I think it’s just a neat way to preserve history.”Last weekend, two counters from the American Pencil Collectors Society were at the Colfax Historical Society to count Bartholmey’s pencils. Now, he’s waiting to hear if the count is approved by Guinness, which estimated the review process could take up to three months.The Associated Press