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Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan to testify at Netanyahu’s corruption trial as a prosecution witness

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:28 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan will testify Sunday at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial to answer questions about an alleged “supply line” of champagne and cigars funneled to the Israeli leader and his wife said to have been in exchange for help with Milchan’s personal and business needs.Milchan, who will appear by videoconference from Brighton, England, near where he is based, is a key witness whose testimony is essential for prosecutors who are trying to prove that Netanyahu committed fraud and breach of trust in one of three cases brought against him.Prosecutors hope Milchan’s testimony, which extends through this week and next, will paint a picture of plush favors granted to Netanyahu and his wife that allegedly spurred the Israeli leader to use his position of power to advance Milchan’s interests. The defense will try to lay out their case that Netanyahu wasn’t acting in Milchan’s personal interests and that the gifts were jus...

Islamic State group claims killing Sikh man in Pakistan’s northwest

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:28 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen shot and killed a member of Pakistan’s minority Sikh community in an overnight attack in the northwestern city of Peshawar, police said Sunday.Gauher Khan, a local officer, said the attack on Manmohan Singh, 35, appeared to be a targeted killing. A police investigation continues, Khan said, into the motive.Khan said the assailants opened fire at Singh while he was returning home from a suburban area. The assailants fled the scene.The Islamic State group in a statement claimed responsibility for the killing, saying Singh had been a follower of what it called a “polytheistic” Sikh sect in Peshawar. It also claimed wounding a Sikh in the northwestern city the previous day. It’s the third killing of a Sikh community member this year in Pakistan. Last month, assailants gunned down Sardar Singh in a drive-by shooting in the eastern city of Lahore. In April, gunmen shot and killed Dayal Singh in Peshawar. In the same city in May 2022, gunmen killed tw...

Italy might stop hiring foreign museum directors. The head of Milan’s Brera hopes to leave his mark

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:28 GMT

MILAN (AP) — The British-Canadian director of Milan’s Brera Gallery was hired in 2015 after the Italian government launched reforms that for the first time brought in foreign museum directors. His eight-year tenure is ending as Premier Giorgia Meloni’s right-wing administration seeks to again reserve top cultural jobs for Italians.Admirers have credited James Bradburne, a 67-year-old architect who has run five cultural institutions in five countries, with revolutionizing the museum that Napoleon intended to make “the Louvre of Italy” and fill with paintings from his Italian campaigns when he expanded his French empire. Bradburne had each of the 38 rooms renovated without ever closing the museum, established in 1809. He worked to make it more user-friendly by revamping the labels beneath key works, inaugurating musical events to draw in local residents and no longer putting together exhibitions as a way to drive visitor numbers. During his tenure, popular innovations for highli...

Rockies suffer worst loss in franchise history in 25-1 annihilation by Angels, give up club-record 13 runs in one inning

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:28 GMT

So ugly you can’t look away, the Rockies reached the absolute nadir.The Angels annihilated Colorado on Saturday at Coors Field, 25-1, in the Rockies’ worst loss in franchise history.Los Angeles broke the humidor in the baseball bloodbath while setting a franchise record for largest victory, runs and hits with 28. The Rockies, meanwhile, were ripped into infamy by the visiting lineup as Chase Anderson and Matt Carasiti combined to give up a club-record 13 runs in the third inning.“I don’t think about (negative) records,” Rockies manager Bud Black insisted. “It’s one game.”But it didn’t feel like just one game. It felt like the darkest omen yet in a first-half full of them as the Rockies are steering straight toward the cliff ahead of the all-star break.A red-dotted crowd of 45,274 was on hand for the see-it-to-believe-it performance, and they gave a raucous, sarcastic standing ovation to mock the home club when Carasiti finally re...

MLB Notes: ‘Winning the offseason’ hasn’t translated to on-field success

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:28 GMT

Think back to the offseason and how much was made of the big signings that seemed to come one after another.It felt like every other day the New York Mets or San Diego Padres were handing out another record-setting contract, and across the sport teams were extending themselves to make aggressive moves they felt could help get them over the hump.Meanwhile, fans who believed their clubs weren’t doing enough — Red Sox fans among them — grew more frustrated by the day.Looking back, you would have thought the big spenders’ championship success was preordained, but six months later the baseball landscape looks a lot different.Simply put, no matter how good the roster may appear, baseball games aren’t won on paper, and the clubs who made the biggest splashes are learning the hard way as reality often hasn’t lived up to those lofty expectations.As we near the season’s halfway point, most of the clubs that “won the offseason” have fallen far short of...

Greeks vote in second general election in 5 weeks and conservative party is favored to win majority

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:28 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greeks headed to the polls for the second time in less than two months on Sunday, with the conservative party in power a strong favorite to win with a wide majority after a campaign focused on economic growth and security.The vote is overshadowed by a major shipwreck just over a week ago that left hundreds of migrants dead or missing off the coast of western Greece. But the disaster is unlikely to significantly affect the overall outcome as Greeks are expected to focus on domestic economic issues.Conservative leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis, 55, is eyeing a second term as prime minister after his New Democracy party won by a huge margin in May elections — but fell short of gaining enough parliamentary seats to form a government. With a new electoral law now favoring the winning party with bonus seats, he is hoping to form a strong majority in the 300-member parliament.His main rival is Alexis Tsipras, 48, who leads the left-wing Syriza party and served as prime mini...

Live Updates | Aftermath of Russian mercenary chief’s armed rebellion

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:28 GMT

The latest on the aftermath of the armed rebellion declared by Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin:——There are still no reports of mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin arriving in Belarus after he reached a deal with the Kremlin to go into exile and ended his rebellion.Many other questions remained unanswered on Sunday morning, including whether Prigozhin would be joined in exile by any of his Wagner Group’s troops and what role, if any, he might have there.Prigozhin, who sent out a series of audio and video updates during his revolt, has gone silent since the Kremlin announced that the deal had been brokered for him to end his march toward Moscow and leave Russia.——KEY DEVELOPMENTS:Russian mercenary leader’s exile ends revolt but leaves questions about Putin’s powerThe mercenary chief who urged an uprising against Russia’s generals has long ties to PutinFollow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine——The U.S.-based think tank Institute for the...

Taliban leader claims women are provided with a ‘comfortable and prosperous life’ in Afghanistan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:28 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The supreme leader of the Taliban released a message Sunday claiming that his government has taken the necessary steps for the betterment of women’s lives in Afghanistan, where women are banned from public life and work and girls’ education is severely curtailed.The statement from Hibatullah Akhundzada was made public ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday, which will be celebrated later this week in Afghanistan and other Islamic countries.Akhundzada, an Islamic scholar, rarely appears in public or leaves the Taliban heartland in Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province. He surrounds himself with other religious scholars and allies who oppose education and work for women.In his Eid message Akhundzada said that under the rule of the Islamic Emirate, concrete measures have been taken to save women from many traditional oppressions, including forced marriages, “and their Shariah rights have been protected,” Moreover, “necessary steps have been taken for the...

Canadian Music Hall of Fame to officially welcome Nickelback at plaque ceremony

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:28 GMT

CALGARY — Nickelback will seal its place in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame with an official plaque ceremony in Calgary.Band members Chad Kroeger, Mike Kroeger, Ryan Peake, and Daniel Adair are set to place the Nickelback name plaque at the National Music Centre’s Studio Bell on Sunday.  It will be a private ceremony for media and invited guests, followed by a live interview accessible to members of the public for a fee. Nickelback was inducted into the hall of fame during the Juno Awards broadcast earlier this year.The band recently kicked off the North American leg of the Get Rollin’ Tour, after releasing their tenth studio album last November.The National Music Centre says Nickelback is one of the top-selling acts of all time, with more than 12 consecutive sold-out world tours. The centre is also home to an exhibit celebrating the rock group’s induction. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 25, 2023.The Canadian Press

Large crowds expected as Toronto hosts Canada’s largest Pride parade

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:28 GMT

TORONTO — Massive crowds are expected to pack the streets of downtown Toronto today for Canada’s largest Pride parade.The annual event, which caps off weeks of festivities celebrating the city’s LGBTQ community, is slated to attract thousands of marchers and 250 participating groups. Some prominent politicians are also expected to attend, including federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and a handful of candidates hoping to be elected as the city’s mayor on Monday.But the event will unfold amid heightened security prompted by a rise in threats targeting Pride festivals across the country and a surge in hateful incidents targeting the LGBTQ community.Parade organizer Pride Toronto says policing costs have more than doubled this year, while insurance costs ballooned from $67,000 in 2022 to more than $300,000.The parade is set to get underway at 2 p.m.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2023.The Canadian Press