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Opposition leads anti-government march on day symbolizing Poland’s democratic achievements

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:16:14 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s largest opposition party is leading a march Sunday meant to mobilize voters against the right-wing government, which it accuses of eroding democracy and following Hungary and Turkey down the path to autocracy. Donald Tusk, the country’s former prime minister, has called on Poles to to march with him for the sake of the nation’s future. His party and security officials predicted that tens of thousands of people will join the demonstration. Media not aligned with the government said it could be among the biggest protests in post-communist Poland.Supporters of the march have warned that elections this fall might be the last chance to stop the erosion of democracy under the ruling party, Law and Justice.In power since 2015, Law and Justice has found a popular formula, combining higher social spending with socially conservative policies and support for the church in the mostly Catholic nation. However, critics have warned for years that it...

What to know as Prince Harry prepares to take on a British tabloid publisher in court

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:16:14 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry is going where other British royals haven’t for over a century: to a courtroom witness stand. The Duke of Sussex is set to testify in the first of his five pending legal cases largely centered around battles with British tabloids. Opening statements are scheduled Monday in his case. Harry said in court documents that the royal family had assiduously avoided the courts to prevent testifying about matters that might be embarrassing. His frustration and anger at the press, however, impelled him to buck convention by suing newspaper owners — allegedly against the wishes of his father, now King Charles III. If Harry testifies as scheduled Tuesday in his lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mirror, he’ll be the first member of the royal family to do so since the late 19th century, when Queen Victoria’s eldest son, Prince Albert Edward, testified twice in court. The man who would go on to become King Edward VII testified in the divorce pro...

Indian railways minister says signaling system error led to crash that killed over 300 people

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:16:14 GMT

BALASORE, India (AP) — The train derailment in eastern India that killed more than 300 people and injured hundreds more was caused by an error in the electronic signaling system that led a train to wrongly change tracks, India’s railways minister said Sunday.’’Who has done it and what is the reason will come out of an investigation,” Ashwini Vaishnaw said in an interview with New Delhi Television network.The explanation came as authorities worked to clear the mangled wreckage of the two passenger trains that derailed Friday night in Balasore district of eastern Odisha state, in one of the country’s deadliest rail accidents in decades.The Press Trust of India news agency earlier reported that preliminary investigations revealed that a signal was given to the Coromandel Express to enter the main track line but the signal was later taken off. The train entered another line, known as the loop line, and crashed into a goods train parked there, PTI said.Fifteen bodies were recovered on Sa...

Pinckney, Rose each hit HRs, late error helps Alabama beat Troy 11-8 at Tuscaloosa Regional

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:16:14 GMT

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Andrew Pinckney went 3 for 4 with a triple, a home run and two RBIs, Caden Rose went 2 for 3 with a two-run homer to help top-seeded Alabama beat in-state rival Troy 11-8 Saturday night at the Tuscaloosa Regional on a two-out error in the ninth inning. Alabama (42-19), the No. 16 national seed, awaits the winner of a loser-out game between Boston College and Troy on Sunday. Will Hodo and Rose each drew a one-out walk and both scored when Tommy Seidl reached on a throwing error to give Alabama a 9-8 lead in the top of the ninth. Pinckney added an RBI triple and then scored on a single by Dominic Tamez to make it 11-8. Alton Davis II came on in the bottom of the ninth and struck out Clay Stearns before Kole Myers reached on an error but Davis got Ethan Kavanagh to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the game. Hunter Hoopes (2-1) came on with a runner on first and no outs in the eighth but induced another 4-6-3 double play and a pop out to get the win and Dav...

Haas’ two doubles lift Texas A&M past Stanford, 8-5 at Stanford Regional

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:16:14 GMT

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Hunter Haas hit a two-run double in the sixth to pull Texas A&M even, then hit another double with the bases loaded in the eighth to help the Aggies to an 8-5 win over top-seeded Stanford in the Stanford Regional Saturday night. The Aggies await the winner of Sunday’s elimination game between the Cardinals and Cal State Fullerton and now are one win away from a berth in the super regionals.Braden Montgomery hit a two-run home run in the first inning to give Stanford the early lead. Eddie Park singled to score Malcolm Moore and Moore doubled in a run in the third to stake Stanford to a 3-1 advantage. But the Cardinal would not score again until Drew Bowser stroked an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.Texas A&M used five pitchers who collectively issued nine walks to go with nine base hits. Brandyn Garcia worked 2 ⅔ innings hitless innings, walking three and striking out two, and earned the win in relief. Troy Wansing got the final out to earn...

Opposition leads anti-government march on anniversary of Poland’s democratic breakthrough

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:16:14 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s largest opposition party is leading a march Sunday meant to mobilize voters against the right-wing government, which it accuses of eroding democracy and following Hungary and Turkey down the path to autocracy. Donald Tusk, the country’s former prime minister, has called on Poles to march with him for the sake of the nation’s future. His party and security officials predicted that tens of thousands of people will join the demonstration.Media not aligned with the government said it could be among the biggest protests in post-communist Poland as fears grow that a fall election won’t be fair.Supporters of the march have warned that the election might be the nation’s last chance to stop the erosion of democracy under the ruling party, Law and Justice.In power since 2015, Law and Justice has found a popular formula, combining higher social spending with socially conservative policies and support for the church in the mostly Cath...

Taliban claims responsibility for attack in northwest Pakistan, 2 soldiers, 2 militants dead

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:16:14 GMT

Peshawar, Pakistan (AP) — The Pakistani Taliban or TTP claimed responsibility for an attack in northwest Pakistan that left two soldiers and two militants dead.The army said in a statement that militants opened fire on a security checkpoint Saturday evening in the Jani Khel area of Bannu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, leading to a shootout with Pakistani troops. A search operation was underway to track the militants behind the attack.TTP spokesman Mohammad Khorasani said — in a statement on their website— that the group carried out the “joint attack” in collaboration with another faction of the Pakistani Taliban, the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group. The militant group has been distancing itself from the TTP and carrying out attacks independently. The Pakistani Taliban are a separate group but are allied with the Afghanistan Taliban, who took over Afghanistan in August 2021, following the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces from the country. The takeover emboldened the TTP. They uni...

Oil tanker breaks down in Egypt’s Suez Canal, disrupting traffic in the global waterway

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:16:14 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — A tanker transporting curd oil broke down in Egypt’s Suez Canal on Sunday, disrupting traffic in the global waterway, a canal spokesperson said.The Malta-flagged Seavigour suffered a mechanical malfunction at the 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) mark of the canal, said George Safwat, a spokesperson for Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority.The canal authority deployed three tugboats to tow away the tanker and allow other vessels to transit the waterway, he said.The tanker was part of the north convoy, which transits the canal from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, he said. The Seavigour was built in 2016, and is 274 meters (899 feet) long and 48.63 meters (159 feet) wide, according to MarineTraffic, a vessel tracking service providerSunday’s incident was the latest case of a vessel reported stuck in the vital waterway. A flurry of ships ran aground or broke down in the Suez Canal over the past few years.On May 25, a Hong Kong-flagged ship briefly blocked the canal. On March 5, a ...

With oil prices slumping, OPEC+ producers weigh more production cuts

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:16:14 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The major oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia are wrestling with whether to make another cut in supply to the global economy as the OPEC+ alliance struggles to prop up sagging oil prices that have been a boon to U.S. drivers and helped ease inflation worldwide.The 23-member group is meeting Sunday at OPEC headquarters in Vienna after sending mixed signals about possible moves. Saudi Arabia, dominant among the oil cartel’s members, has warned speculators that they might get burned by betting on lower prices. Russia, the leader of the non-OPEC allies, has indicated no change to output is expected. The decision comes amid uncertainty about when the slow-growing global economy will regain its thirst for fuel for travel and industry, and with producers counting on oil profits to bolster their coffers.Oil prices have fallen even after OPEC+ slashed 2 million barrels per day in October, angering U.S. President Joe Biden by threatening high...

Ukraine keeps up pressure following Russian declaration of victory in Bakhmut

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:16:14 GMT

OUTSIDE BAKHMUT, Ukraine (AP) — Watching imagery from a drone camera overhead, Ukrainian battalion commander Oleg Shiryaev warned his men in nearby trenches that Russian forces were advancing across a field toward a patch of trees outside the city of Bakhmut.The leader of the 228th Battalion of the 127th Kharkiv Territorial Defense Brigade then ordered a mortar team to get ready. A target was locked. A mortar tube popped out a loud orange blast, and an explosion cut a new crater in an already pockmarked hillside.“We are moving forward,” Shiryaev said after at least one drone image showed a Russian fighter struck down. “We fight for every tree, every trench, every dugout.”Russian forces declared victory in the eastern city last month after the longest, deadliest battle since their full-scale invasion of Ukraine began 15 months ago. But Ukrainian defenders like Shiryaev aren’t retreating. Instead, they are keeping up the pressure and continuing the fight from positions on ...