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Freed from prison for a crime he didn’t commit, ‘Central Park Five’ member wins NYC Council race

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:16 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated “Central Park Five,” has won a Democratic primary for a seat on the New York City Council, all but assuring him of eventual victory. It’s an improbable feat for a political novice who was wrongly accused, convicted and imprisoned as a teenager for the rape and beating of a white jogger in Central Park.The Associated Press refrained from calling the race to represent Central Harlem on election night, but vote tallies released Wednesday showed him to be the clear winner, garnering nearly two-thirds of the vote after three rounds of rank-choice voting.“Many doubted us along the way, but this was a campaign based on change,” Salaam said after AP called the race. “The voters overwhelmingly agreed with our vision for a better, stronger and more tolerant community. “We are going to have a new Harlem renaissance,” his statement said.Salaam and the four other Black and Latino teens from Harlem became known as the Central Park Five after the...

Accuser says Kevin Spacey grope wasn’t a caress: ‘It was like a cobra … angry’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:16 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A man who said Kevin Spacey made crude and racially offensive remarks before forcefully grabbing his genitals said he kept the degrading incident boxed up inside for more than a decade because he feared no one would believe his word against that of an Oscar-winning “golden boy.” “I was a keeper of his secret for a long time,” the man said as he finally unburdened himself by telling his story to a policeman in a video interview played Wednesday for jurors in Spacey’s sexual assault trial in a London court.The man was older and more emotionally and financially stable when he decided to join others who had accused the actor of sexual misconduct as the #MeToo movement exploded in 2017, the man said. He does not seek blood or hope Spacey is imprisoned but wants accountability for an injustice that has eaten at him so long.“It’s weird — he did it and I felt embarrassed,” the man said. “He made me feel worthless at the time.”Spacey, 63, has pleaded not guilty to a dozen...

Ottawa follows peers, blasts Hong Kong bounties on activists with Canada ties

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:16 GMT

Ottawa is condemning Hong Kong officials for issuing bounties for the arrest of eight activists living abroad, days after Canada’s peers slammed the move.Hong Kong’s national-security law restricts civil liberties in the territory, which is a special administrative region within China but was guaranteed certain democratic freedoms when Britain handed over the former colony in 1997.Officials announced on Monday that eight pro-democracy activists who are charged under the law are the subject of bounties, with authorities offering the equivalent of roughly $170,000 for information leading to an arrest.The eight face charges such as “incitement to secession” and “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security.”Edmonton-born Dennis Kwok, who renounced his Canadian citizenship when he became a Hong Kong legislator in 2012, is on that list. He left office as the national-security law came into force in 2020, and ...

After secret documents leak, Pentagon plans tighter controls to protect classified information

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:16 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon on Wednesday announced plans to tighten protection for classified information following the explosive leaks of hundreds of intelligence documents that were accessed through security gaps at a Massachusetts Air National Guard base. Airman 1st Class Jack Texeira, 21, is accused of leaking the highly classified military documents in a chatroom on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers.Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in a memo released Wednesday, ordered all of the department’s secured rooms where classified information is stored and accessed to be brought into compliance with intelligence community standards for oversight and tracking. The changes call for increased levels of physical security, additional controls to ensure documents aren’t improperly removed, and the assignment of top-secret control officers to monitor users. Austin also said the sensitive compartmented information facilities, or SCIFs, must be monito...

Greta Thunberg charged with disobeying law enforcement during climate protest in Sweden

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:16 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish prosecutors have charged climate activist Greta Thunberg with disobedience to law enforcement in connection with a protest in Malmö last month.Local newspaper Sydsvenskan reported Wednesday that Thunberg was detained with other activists after they stopped traffic in the oil terminal of the port in Malmö on June 19.A short statement by Swedish prosecutors on Wednesday said a “young woman” was charged with disobedience because she “refused to comply with police orders to leave the scene” during the protest. The statement didn’t identify the woman, but Swedish Prosecution Authority spokeswoman Annika Collin confirmed that it was Thunberg.Sydsvenskan said the 20-year-old Swedish activist will be called to trial at the end of July. Prosecutor Charlotte Ottosen told the paper that the crime of disobedience is typically punishable with fines.Thunberg’s media team didn’t immediately answer a request for comment.Thunberg inspired a global you...

Qatar Airways reports $1.2B in profits after ferrying passengers to last year’s soccer World Cup

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:16 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar Airways on Wednesday reported $1.2 billion in profits over the past year, buoyed by its role in ferrying fans to the soccer World Cup.The long-haul airline increased its revenue to $21 billion, a 45% increase over the previous year, it said. Its yearly passenger load reached 31.7 million, a 71% increase.The airline said it transported 1.4 million passengers to the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. It also expanded its network to more than 160 destinations.Qatar Airways operates out of a gleaming new airport in Qatar’s capital, Doha, and competes with long-haul carriers Emirates and Ettihad, which operate out of the nearby United Arab Emirates.Qatar Airways made it through the pandemic’s hardest months with a $3 billion lifeline from the Qatari government. Its main competitor, Dubai’s flagship Emirates Airline, also received a multibillion-dollar payment by the Dubai government during the pandemic. The two airlines serve as economic mainstays for...

Israel’s prime minister says missing citizen in Iraq is being held by Iran-backed militia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:16 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — A dual Israeli-Russian citizen who has been missing in Iraq for months is being held by an Iran-backed militia in Iraq, the office of Israel’s prime minister said Wednesday.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Elizabeth Tsurkov, who disappeared in late March, is still alive “and we hold Iraq responsible for her safety and well-being.”Tsurkov, who is an academic whose work focuses on the Middle East and specifically war-torn Syria, is an expert on regional affairs and was widely quoted over the years by international media.Netanyahu said she is being held by the Shiite militia Kataeb Hezbollah that is one of Iraq’s most powerful Iran-backed groups. He added that Tsurkov is an academic who visited Iraq on her Russian passport, “at her own initiative pursuant to work on her doctorate and academic research on behalf of Princeton University.”There has been no official comment from Iraq since she went missing but days after her disappearance, a local website re...

Mississippi high court will hear case about appointing judges in majority-Black capital city

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:16 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Supreme Court will hear an appeal Thursday as some Jackson residents try to revive one of the lawsuits challenging the appointment, rather than the election, of some judges in the capital city — and the top justice will not take part in the hearing.Chief Justice Mike Randolph has recused himself from considering the appeal because he said he does not want to prolong the case.The Jackson residents originally named Randolph as a defendant in the lawsuit because the chief justice is required to appoint five judges, under the law that the suit is trying to block. Randolph objected to being sued, and a chancery court judge removed him as a defendant. In Randolph’s recusal order on the appeal, he wrote Monday that he is neutral about the constitutionality of the law, which is the central issue in the lawsuit.“But absent recusal, the Chief Justice’s participation risks prolonging the ‘circus’ and allowing a sideshow to overshadow the center-ring ...

Quran burnings have Sweden torn between free speech and respecting minorities

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:16 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Quran burning and a string of requests to approve the destruction of more holy books have left Sweden torn between its commitment to free speech and its respect for religious minorities.The clash of fundamental principles has complicated Sweden’s desire to join NATO, an expansion that gained urgency after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but needs the approval of all current members. Turkey has blocked Swedish accession since last year, citing reasons including anti-Turkish and anti-Islamic protests in Stockholm.Then, last week, an Iraqi Christian immigrant burned Islam’s holy book outside a Stockholm mosque during the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, an act that the man said displayed his feelings about the Quran. The burning triggered widespread condemnation in the Islamic world. And along with similar recent protests by a far-right activist, it sparked a debate in Sweden about the limits of freedom of speech. Now, Swedish police say they have received new...

Updated legislation aims to tackle discrimination in public service: PSC

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:16 GMT

OTTAWA — Federal government departments and agencies will now have to evaluate whether their hiring practices are discriminatory as changes to the Public Service Employment Act take effect.Public Service Commission spokeswoman Élodie Roy says the changes will strengthen diversity and inclusion in the federal government workforce.The changes were among several amendments introduced to the act in budget implementation process in 2021 but these changes did not take effect until this week.They require the public service to evaluate how staffing methods, such as interviews and written exams, might discriminate against women, or Black, Indigenous, LGBTQ and disabled people.The Public Service Commission will also have more resources to investigate mistakes or misconduct that affect their hiring processes.Previously amendments took affect that revised the job qualifications for members of equity-seeking groups and ensured permanent residents were given the same hiring preferences as Canadia...