Tag Archives: associated press

Michelangelo’s David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue’s religious and political significance is being diminished by the thousands of refrigerator magnets and other souvenirs sold around Florence focusing on David’s genitalia. The Galleria dell’Accademia’s director, Cecilie Hollberg, has positioned …

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida reiterated Thursday his determination to work toward a summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to realize the return of Japanese people believed abducted by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 80s. “I remain committed to realizing this for Japan,” he told reporters, while declining to directly address the recent comments from North Korea …

The U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday it is searching for a U.S. Marine who went swimming in high surf off Puerto Rico’s northeast coast while on vacation. Officials identified him as 26-year-old Samuel Wanjiru from Massachusetts and said he was visiting the island with his family. He went missing Wednesday afternoon after going into the water at La Pared beach …

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The top United Nations court on Thursday ordered Israel to take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including opening more land crossings to allow food, water, fuel and other supplies into the war-ravaged enclave. The International Court of Justice issued two new so-called provisional measures in a case brought by South Africa accusing …

Authorities in Russia have detained six journalists across the country this month, including a journalist who covered the trials of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny for several years, media freedom organization Reporters Without Borders said Thursday. Antonina Favorskaya was detained and accused by Russian authorities of taking part in an “extremist organization” by posting on the social media platforms of …

A well-known politician in the Bahamas was killed when two gunmen opened fire on a group of people while trying to rob them, police said Thursday. Don Saunders, a former parliamentarian and the deputy chairman of the Free National Movement Party, died at the scene late Wednesday, according to officials. He was 49. 4 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 2013 ASSASSINATION …

The coach of Oxford’s crew taking part in the Boat Race described the pollution in London’s River Thames as a “national disgrace” as the company responsible for its upkeep faces mounting financial difficulties that critics say will need it to be taken back into state hands. Testing by a campaign group has found high levels of E.coli along a section …

BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired rockets with heavy warheads at towns in northern Israel, saying it used the weapons against civilian targets for the first time Thursday in retaliation for Israeli airstrikes the night before that killed nine, including what the group said were several paramedics. There were no reports of Israelis hurt in the rocket …

French lawmakers on Thursday condemned an infamous 1961 police crackdown on Algerian protesters in Paris as a “bloody and murderous repression,” marking another step in the country’s recognition of the massacre that authorities sought to cover up for decades. The National Assembly, parliament’s lower house, voted 67-11 in favor of a nonbinding resolution that condemned the police brutality that occurred …

Seventh-grade student Henry Cohen bounced side to side in time to the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” playing in teacher Nancy Morris’ classroom, swinging his arms open and closed across the planets pictured on his T-shirt. Henry and other classmates at Cleveland’s Riverside School were on their feet, dancing during a session of activities tied to April’s total solar eclipse. …