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Spanish general election tipped to put the far right back in office for the first time since Franco

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:53:48 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Voters in Spain go to the polls Sunday in an election that could make the country the latest European Union member to swing to the populist right, a shift that would represent a major upheaval after five years under a left-wing government.Here’s what you need to know about the vote.___WHAT IS AT STAKE?Opinion polls indicate the political right has the edge going into the election, and that raises the possibility a neo-fascist party will be part of Spain’s next government. The extreme right has not been in power in Spain since the transition to democracy following the death of former dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.With no party expected to win an absolute majority, the choice for voters is basically between another leftist governing coalition or one between the right and the far right.The right-of-center Popular Party, the front-runner in the polls, and the extreme right Vox party are on one side. They portray the vote as a chance to end “Sanchismo” — a t...

Ukraine wants ships to keep exporting its grain despite Russian attacks. Some are interested

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:53:48 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Russia has repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Ukrainian ports key to sending grain to the world. Moscow has declared large swaths of the Black Sea dangerous for shipping. Even the U.S. said ships are at risk of being targeted.There is still interest from ship owners in carrying Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea — if they can mitigate the risk, according to a major shipping group. And that’s a big if.Despite the warnings and port attacks, which have leveled grain infrastructure, “shipping has always been very, very resilient in the face of these sorts of risks,” said John Stawpert, senior manager of environment and trade for the International Chamber of Shipping, which represents 80% of the world’s commercial fleet.This week’s strikes came after Russia pulled out of a wartime accord that the U.N. and Turkey brokered last year to provide safeguards for shipping companies in a bid to end a global food crisis. Ukraine — which, along with Russia, is a m...

Temecula school board adopts state curriculum after previously banning book for LGBTQ+ figures

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:53:48 GMT

The Temecula Valley Unified School District voted unanimously to adopt California's new social studies book and curriculum during a Friday meeting after previously rejecting it twice.The board had objected to the book's coverage of LGBTQ+ figures in history. Despite agreeing to adopt the curriculum, the board says it will pull any material referencing gay rights activist Harvey Milk, which was one of the main points of contention.After reviewing options, the board said it may consider replacing the text referencing Milk with the biography of another gay rights leader instead.Emotions were high during the hours-long Friday meeting as both sides presented arguments in favor of the curriculum or against it. The policy's adoption will likely avoid a $1.5 million fine from the state for compliance violations.This follows a previous five-hour Tuesday hearing that saw parents, teachers, and community members debating over the curriculum for elementary school kids. The board later voted 3-2...

Robert Oppenheimer once taught at U.C. Berkeley

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:53:48 GMT

BERKELEY, Calif. (KRON) – The movie “Oppenheimer” debuts in theaters across the country Friday, but few may know that the man behind the world’s first atomic bomb got his start at U.C. Berkeley. Robert Oppenheimer taught physics there when he was recruited by the government to help with war efforts against Nazi Germany.Oppenheimer’s bombs were detonated over Japan causing much suffrage, but he was regarded as a hero for our national security during World War II.Oppenheimer was hired as an assistant professor of physics at U.C. Berkeley in 1929. He was said to have chain-smoked with a cigarette in one hand and a piece of chalk in the other – furiously scribbling equations on a blackboard. Marin theater fully booked as Barbie fever hits Bay Area He was quirky, but his contributions to quantum mechanics were explosive. So much so that the U.S. Government tasked Oppenheimer with creating the first atomic bomb in what is known as the Manhattan Project once word got out that Germany was...

South Africa’s Women’s World Cup captain says team has resolved pay dispute

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:53:48 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — South African players are committed to playing in the Women’s World Cup following disputes around player and support staff pay, and the team captain on Saturday assured fans back home they are fully focused on their upcoming tournament matches.Team captain Refiloe Jane confirmed that all disputes with the South African federation had been settled before the tournament’s start, including the guarantee of $30,000 to each player that had previously been promised by FIFA.“All the contractual disputes that we had were resolved,” Jane said at a news conference ahead of Sunday’s opener against Sweden. “We came into New Zealand having sorted all our problems. And when we left South Africa, we assured the nation that everything has been in order. So coming into this tournament our focus has been just focusing on football.”Earlier this month, the majority of the national team did not play a warm-up match against Botswana in protest of FIFA’s group payment ...

Without much offense, Vietnam plays tough against US in Women’s World Cup debut

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:53:48 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Left bruised, bandaged and limping, the Vietnamese still managed to walk off the pitch smiling.Entering its World Cup -opening match Saturday against the United States, Vietnam was expected to suffer a defeat similar to the 2019 Thailand team, which lost to the Americans 13-0 to open that tournament.After all, the top-ranked United States has won four World Cup titles and Vietnam was making its tournament debut. But in a match where Vietnam failed to get off a shot, its defensive intensity kept it in the game.Final score: United States 3, Vietnam 0. “I think that’s the point of Vietnam is to frustrate us, is to make it hard for us to break them down,” American forward Alex Morgan said after the game. “I think there were ebbs and flows of the game that were frustrating at times, but I think that at the end of the day, we just have to capitalize on the chances that we get.”The Vietnamese were “tough in tackles,” U.S. head coach Vlatko Andonovski said, but ...

France seeks better Women’s World Cup result after falling short in Paris four years ago

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:53:48 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Four years after France fell flat in the Women’s World Cup as the host country, Les Bleus return to the global stage with a new coach determined to dethrone the United States. France hoped to contend for the 2019 tournament title but was eliminated by the Americans in the quarterfinals in Paris. The plan for a better result this year was nearly derailed in February when captain Wendie Renard quit the team “to protect my mental health” and two other players followed her exit. The French federation vowed to look into the situation and in March fired coach Corinne Diacre with a year remaining on her contract. The team replaced her with Hervé Renard, who resigned as coach of Saudi Arabia’s men’s team to take the job. Hervé Renard led Saudi Arabia to an upset over eventual winner Argentina in the men’s World Cup in November and, when he leads France against Jamaica on Sunday in a Group F match in Sydney, he will be just the second coac...

Japanese players wear black armbands at Women’s World Cup to remember royal family member

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:53:48 GMT

HAMILTON, New Zealand (AP) — Japanese players wore black armbands in their Women’s World Cup opener against Zambia on Saturday following the death of Fumiko Tottori, the mother of Japanese Princess Takamado. The princess is the honorary patron of the Japan Football Association, and her mother, Tottori, 96, died Tuesday in Tokyo. FIFA granted the association’s request to wear the bands as a tribute.The Japanese team wore the armbands days after New Zealand and Norway held a moment of silence ahead of the tournament’s opening match after two men were killed in a shooting in downtown Auckland.Before the tournament, FIFA announced it would permit team captains to wear eight specially designed armbands unveiled earlier this month.The eight armband designs were based on anti-discriminatory themes including inclusivity toward Indigenous peoples, ending domestic violence and creating gender equality. ___AP Women’s World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-womens-world-cup ...

Protesters try to storm Baghdad’s Green Zone over the burning of Quran and Iraqi flag in Denmark

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:53:48 GMT

BAGHDAD (AP) — Hundreds of protesters attempted to storm Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses foreign embassies and the seat of Iraq’s government, early Saturday following reports of the burning of a Quran carried out by a ultranationalist group in front of the Iraqi Embassy in Copenhagen.They were pushed back by security forces, who blocked the Jumhuriya bridge leading to the Green Zone, preventing them from reaching the Danish Embassy.The protest came two days after people angered by the planned burning of the Islamic holy book in Sweden stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad. Protesters occupied the diplomatic post for several hours, waving flags and signs showing the influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr, and setting a small fire. The embassy staff had been evacuated a day earlier.Hours later, Iraq’s prime minister cut diplomatic ties with Sweden in protest over the desecration of the Quran.An Iraqi asylum-seeker who bur...

A man lies in a Kenya morgue. His family says he’s one of at least 35 shot dead by police this month

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:53:48 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — At the morgue, the bullet was still lodged in Douglas Kalasinga’s head. His family said they couldn’t afford an autopsy. At least 35 civilians have been shot dead by police in Kenya this month during protests over new taxes and the rising cost of living, and Kalasinga’s loved ones believe he’s one of them.“It is as if the police wanted to kill him because they aimed straight at his head,” his uncle, David Wangila, told The Associated Press on Friday.An interior ministry spokesperson referred requests for comment to the police, who didn’t respond.Wangila said the 27-year-old was struck on Thursday while at work, pushing a handcart of water cans instead of taking part in the national demonstrations called by the political opposition.As his family viewed his body, Kenyan human rights groups raised a chorus of outrage.Data shared with the AP by a police watchdog, the Independent Medico-Legal Unit, showed 35 people were killed by police across the country in such de...