Key Pakistani Islamist party begins sit-in to protest increase in electricity bills

Key Pakistani Islamist party begins sit-in to protest increase in electricity bills

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Hundreds of supporters of a key Islamist party began a sit-in protest in the garrison city of Rawalpindi late Friday after authorities detained dozens to prevent them from holding the rally in Pakistan’s neighboring capital, citing security reasons, officials said. The Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan party originally issued a call for holding the sit-in

Continue reading

Machado, the proscribed leader who complicates Maduro’s reelection in Venezuela | AP News

Machado, the proscribed leader who complicates Maduro’s reelection in Venezuela | AP News

Maria Corina Machado has hiked overpasses, walked highways, ridden motorcycles, sought shelter in supporters’ homes and seen her closest collaborators detained and persecuted. Venezuela’s ruling party has blocked Machado from running in Sunday’s hotly contested presidential election, but fueled by that ban, she has become the driving force for the main opposition coalition and a

Continue reading

Latest tests show Seine water quality was substandard when Paris mayor took a dip

Latest tests show Seine water quality was substandard when Paris mayor took a dip

Tests results released Friday showed the water quality in the River Seine was slightly below the standards needed to authorize swimming — just the Paris Olympics start. Heavy rain during the opening ceremony revived concerns over whether the long-polluted waterway will be clean enough to host swimming competitions, since water quality is deeply linked with

Continue reading

Singing, ceremonies and straw hats: Olympics opening ceremony in Tahiti centers Polynesian culture

Singing, ceremonies and straw hats: Olympics opening ceremony in Tahiti centers Polynesian culture

PAPARA, Tahiti (AP) — Tahitian dancers in palm-leaf skirts mingled with Olympic surfers, locals and tourists as the opening ceremony for the Summer Games commenced in French Polynesia on Friday morning, some 10,000 miles away from the main ceremony in Paris. “The people of Tahiti, we are all enchanted to have these Olympics games here

Continue reading

Two former FBI officials settle lawsuits with Justice Department over leaked text messages

Two former FBI officials settle lawsuits with Justice Department over leaked text messages

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two former FBI officials settled lawsuits with the Justice Department on Friday, resolving claims that their privacy was violated when the department leaked to the news media text messages that they had sent one another that disparaged former President Donald Trump. Peter Strzok , a former top counterintelligence agent who played a

Continue reading

More than 350 structures were destroyed by Jasper wildfire in the Canadian Rockies, officials say

More than 350 structures were destroyed by Jasper wildfire in the Canadian Rockies, officials say

HINTON, Alberta (AP) — A wildfire in Jasper National Park in the Canadian Rockies this week destroyed more than 350 structures but all of the critical infrastructure is intact, officials said Friday. The fast-moving fire that prompted 25,000 people to flee the city of Jasper and adjacent park earlier this week damaged about 30% of

Continue reading