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Thai opposition party struggles to take power after stunning election victory

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:42 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s new Parliament convened Monday nearly two months after a progressive opposition party won a stunning election victory, but there was still no clear sign that its leader will be able to become prime minister and end nine years of military-dominated rule.To form a government, a party must have the backing of a combined majority of the elected House of Representatives and the military-appointed Senate, which represents the country’s traditional conservative ruling class.The Move Forward Party’s unexpected election victory alarmed the ruling establishment, which regards it as a threat to the status quo and the monarchy. Some senators have already announced their opposition to party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, a 42-year-old Harvard-educated businessman.Pita has formed an eight-party coalition holding 312 seats in the 500-seat lower house, which leaves it short of an overall majority without the support of a significant number of the 250 senators....

Pedestrian killed, man charged with impaired driving in Scarborough

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:42 GMT

A 38-year-old pedestrian has died after being struck by an alleged impaired driver in Scarborough early Monday morning.Police were called to the scene on Morningside Avenue near Morningview Trail around 12:15 a.m.The pedestrian had been struck by a red Ford F150 traveling northbound. They were pronounced dead on the scene.The victim has not been identified at this time.The driver involved was arrested following an investigation. Harison Denzil, 27, has been charged with impaired driving causing death.He was scheduled to appear in court on Monday morning,

Iga Swiatek wins on Day 1 at Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic, Venus Williams and Coco Gauff in action

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:42 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Top-ranked Iga Swiatek advanced despite a rain delay as Wimbledon got started on Monday with some of the biggest names in tennis in action, including Novak Djokovic, Venus Williams and Coco Gauff.It is the year’s third major tournament — and Djokovic won the first two: the Australian Open in January and the French Open in June. That puts him halfway to the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since 1969. He came close to the feat in 2021, falling just one victory short when he lost in the final of the U.S. Open.He seeks a fifth consecutive title at the All England Club and eighth overall, which both would tie records for men.Djokovic’s title at Roland Garros was his 23rd at a Slam event, breaking a tie with Rafael Nadal for the men’s mark in that category.Swiatek, who owns four major titles but hasn’t been past the fourth round at the All England Club, beat Zhu Lin of China 6-1, 6-3 at No. 1 Court, winning the final two gam...

Gunfire at Indiana hospital kills a police officer and a man

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:42 GMT

TELL CITY, Ind. (AP) — Gunfire killed two people, including a police officer, early Monday at a hospital in southern Indiana, across the Ohio River from Kentucky, authorities said.Shots were fired after officers confronted Sean Hubert at Perry County Memorial Hospital in Tell City, said Indiana State Police Sgt. John Davis.Hubert, 34, and Tell City police Sgt. Heather Glenn died, Davis said.“Our police department suffered a tremendous loss. We are extremely heartbroken,” Tell City police Chief Derrick Lawalin told reporters.Glenn had been a Tell City officer for nearly 20 years.Tell City is 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Indianapolis.The Associated Press

CBSA closes main border crossing between Montreal and New York due to broken road

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:42 GMT

The Canada Border Services Agency says one of the country’s busiest border crossings is closed.The CBSA said in a post on Twitter that all lanes are closed at the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle border crossing because of a “broken roadway.”The agency says commercial operations are continuing at the crossing.Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle is the primary border crossing between Montreal and the United States, connecting major highways that run from Montreal to New York City.CBSA says travelers can use the port of entry in St-Armand, Que. to enter Canada from the U.S. state of Vermont.The agency did not say when it expects the border to reopen.

Jordan’s foreign minister calls for investment into war-torn Syria to speed up refugee returns

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:42 GMT

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Jordan’s foreign minister Monday called for international investment into conflict-ravaged Syria’s crippled infrastructure to speed up refugee returns.Ayman Safadi made the remarks during a visit to the capital Damascus, where he met with Syrian President Bashar Assad and his counterpart, Faisal Mekdad. Jordan, which shares a border with the war-torn country and hosts some 1.3 million Syrian refugees, played a crucial role in the once-pariah state’s return to the Arab League. It hosted regional talks in May between Syrian, Saudi, Iraqi and Egyptian officials in an initiative to reach a political solution to the years-long crisis. Syria’s uprising-turned civil war, now in its 13th year, has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half of its prewar population of 23 million. Syrians in both government-held territory and an opposition-held enclave in the country’s northwest suffer from rampant poverty and crippled infrastructure....

Roger Federer will be celebrated at Wimbledon. A pregnant Serena Williams declined an invitation

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:42 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Roger Federer will be back on Centre Court at Wimbledon on Tuesday. No, not to compete: He’ll be feted for his record-setting career at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament.Federer, who announced his retirement last year, won eight of his 20 Grand Slam singles championships at the All England Club, the most ever by a man — a mark that Novak Djokovic will try to equal this year. Martina Navratilova set the overall standard by claiming nine women’s singles titles at Wimbledon.“Pleased to say that Roger will be with us tomorrow, and we will have a special celebratory moment on Centre Court before play starts, just to honor him as the man holding the most Gentleman’s Singles titles here at Wimbledon,” All England Club chairman Sally Bolton said Monday, the first day of action at the two-week event.“We’ll have a moment just to celebrate his achievements and to say thank you, I think, for us, certainly, for all the memories,” Bolton said....

Drag queens are out, proud and loud in a string of coal towns, from a bingo hall to blue-collar bars

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:42 GMT

SHAMOKIN, Pa. (AP) — Deep in Pennsylvania coal country, the Daniels drag family is up to some sort of exuberance almost every weekend. They’re hosting sold-out bingo fundraisers at the Nescopeck Township Volunteer Fire Co.’s social hall, packed with people of all ages howling with laughter and singing along. Or they’re lighting up local blue-collar bars and restaurants with Mimosas & Heels Drag Brunches for bridal parties, members of the military, families and friends.Or they’re reading in gardens to children dressed in their Sunday best — Dolly Parton’s “Coat of Many Colors” is a favorite book for performers and kids alike.In a string of towns running along a coal seam, the sparkle of small-town drag queens and kings colors a way of life rooted in soot, family and a conservative understanding of the world. Here two very old traditions mingle — and mostly happily, it seems, in contrast to the fierce political winds ripping at drag performances and the bro...

Some in Scotland’s Orkney Islands want to return to Norway after 550 years

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:42 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Sick of being ignored by far-away politicians, officials on Scotland’s remote Orkney Islands are mulling a drastic solution: rejoining Norway, the Scandinavian country that gave them away as a royal wedding dowry more than 550 years ago.Orkney Islands Council is due to debate options for “alternative models of governance” on Tuesday, including exploring the “Nordic connections” of the archipelago, which lies about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of the Scottish mainland.Council leader James Stockan said the islands had been failed by both the Scottish government, 300 miles (480 kilometers) to the south in Edinburgh, and the U.K. government in even more distant London.“On the street in Orkney, people come up and say to me, ‘When are we going to pay back the dowry? When are we going back to Norway?’ There is a huge affinity and a huge deep cultural relationship there,” Stockan told the BBC. “This is exactly the moment to explore what is possible.”Norway kept a diplomatic ...

Swimming at Evanston beaches closed due to elevated E. coli levels

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:49:42 GMT

EVANSTON, Ill. — Swimming at all beaches in Evanston is prohibited Monday due to elevated E. coli levels.Due to excessive rain, the locks in Wilmette opened on Sunday, "causing elevated and unsafe E. coli levels," the city said.Swimming will be prohibited for at least 24 hours. Firework explodes on suburban man’s face; critical condition Evanston said additional updates will be provided Tuesday morning.