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Harvard rejects US demands, but Trump adds new threat
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- US President Donald Trump threatened to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status on Tuesday and said the university should apologize, a day after it rejected what it called unlawful demands to overhaul academic programs or lose federal grants. Beginning with Columbia University, the Trump administration has rebuked universities across the country over their handling of the pro-Palestinian student protest movement that roiled campuses last year following the 2023 Hamas-led att
April 16, 2025 -
Landmark agreement reached over tackling future pandemics
GENEVA (AFP) -- Years of negotiations culminated in the wee small hours of Wednesday with countries agreeing the text of a landmark accord on how to tackle future pandemics, aimed at avoiding a repeat of the mistakes made during the COVID-19 crisis. After more than three years of talks and a final marathon session, weary delegates at the World Health Organization's headquarters could finally pop the Champagne corks at around 2 a.m. Wednesday. "The nations of the world made history in Geneva toda
April 16, 2025 -
Man charged with arson in Pennsylvania struggled with mental health, brother says
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (AP) — A man accused of setting fire to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s mansion over the weekend had struggled with mental illness, twice being treated at a psychiatric hospital, as his life unraveled dramatically in the past few years, his brother said Tuesday. Cody Balmer, 38, had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder but didn’t believe the assessment, his brother, Dan Balmer, told The Associated Press. He said he twice helped Cody get treatment at the Pennsylvania Psy
April 16, 2025 -
Electoral council, observers reject claims of Ecuador vote fraud
QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) -- Ecuador's CNE electoral council and international observers on Tuesday dismissed claims of fraud in presidential elections that saw incumbent Daniel Noboa emerge victorious over leftist rival Luisa Gonzalez. Gonzalez has refused to accept the outcome of Sunday's runoff vote that Noboa won with 55.6 percent of votes cast compared to her own weaker-than-expected 44.4 percent. She had said she would seek a recount, but has not yet made a formal request, according to the CNE.
April 16, 2025 -
Peruvian court sentences former President Humala and wife to 15 years
LIMA, Peru (AP) — A Peruvian court on Tuesday sentenced former President Ollanta Humala and his wife , Nadine Heredia, to 15 years in prison for laundering funds received from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to finance his 2006 and 2011 campaigns. The judges of the National Superior Court found that Humala and Heredia received almost $3 million in illegal contributions for these campaigns from Odebrecht and the government of then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (1999-2013). Humala's wife
April 16, 2025 -
Trump exempts nearly 70 coal plants from Biden-era rule
The Trump administration has granted nearly 70 coal-fired power plants a two-year exemption from federal requirements to reduce emissions of toxic chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and benzene. A list quietly posted as of Tuesday on the Environmental Protection Agency's website lists 47 power providers — which operate at least 66 coal-fired plants — that are receiving exemptions from the Biden-era rules under the Clean Air Act, including a regulation limiting air pollution from mercury and othe
April 16, 2025 -
Millions tune in for 24-hour live coverage of Sweden's epic moose migration
Before Swedish slow TV hit "The Great Moose Migration" began airing Tuesday, Ulla Malmgren stocked up on coffee and prepared meals so she doesn't miss a moment of the 20-day, 24-hour event. "Sleep? Forget it. I don't sleep," she said. Malmgren, 62, isn't alone. The show, called "The Great Elk Trek" in English, began in 2019 with nearly a million people watching. In 2024, the production hit 9 million viewers on SVT Play, the streaming platform for national broadcaster SVT. The livestream kicked o
April 16, 2025 -
Diego Maradona's daughter testifies in negligence trial saying family was deceived by doctors
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — One of Diego Maradona's daughters testified Tuesday in the trial of seven medical professionals accused of negligence in the soccer great's death, describing the room where her father underwent home hospitalization in 2020 as "disgusting" and "smelling of urine." Dalma Maradona said she and her siblings were deceived by the doctors treating their father. "They promised us a home hospitalization that never happened," said Dalma, the eldest of the former Argentina ca
April 16, 2025 -
Harvey Weinstein's New York retrial for sex crimes begins
NEW YORK (AFP) — Disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein's retrial on rape and sex assault charges began Tuesday, forcing survivors who helped fire up the #MeToo movement to prepare to testify against him once more. Weinstein's 2020 conviction by a jury was overturned last year by an appeals court that ruled that the way witnesses were handled in the original New York trial was unlawful. The voiding of the jury's verdict by the New York Court of Appeals was a setback to survivors of the #MeTo
April 16, 2025 -
Hungary passes legislation targeting LGBTQ
BUDAPEST, Hungary (Reuters) — Hungary's parliament approved constitutional changes on Monday targeting LGBTQ+ people and what the government calls "foreign-funded political pressure networks" that undermine the country's sovereignty. Nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in power since 2010, faces elections in 2026 with the economy struggling and a new opposition party posing the strongest challenge yet to his rule. The constitutional amendments are part of Orban's political campaign to boost
April 15, 2025 -
Meta chief Zuckerberg testifies at landmark US antitrust trial
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Meta chief and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg took the stand Monday in a landmark US antitrust trial in which his social media juggernaut stands accused of abusing its market power to acquire Instagram and WhatsApp before they could become competitors. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) attorneys argue that Facebook, since renamed Meta, devoured what it saw as competitive threats. Zuckerberg was shown an internal Facebook email from 2011 that warned Instagram was a hit on smartphones
April 15, 2025 -
Vance fumbles Ohio State's NCAA football championship trophy as Buckeyes visit the White House
WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance ended the Ohio State football team's visit to the White House on Monday by fumbling the team's national championship trophy. After laudatory speeches by President Donald Trump, Buckeye coach Ryan Day and Vance on the South Lawn, the vice president — an Ohio State graduate — tried to hoist aloft the trophy. He didn't count on the trophy's golden top being designed to separate from its black base. After some struggling, the vice president lost his grip on
April 15, 2025 -
Boxing legend George Foreman remembered for his love of family, faith and cheeseburgers
HOUSTON (AP) — George Foreman was remembered Monday in a memorial service in his hometown of Houston for his legendary boxing career as well as for his love of God, family, horses and cheeseburgers and for his desire to help his fellow man. "He preached love all the time. That's what this life is all about. It's all about love and George was pure because George lived and believed what he preached," said James Douglas, a longtime friend and former president of Texas Southern University in Houston
April 15, 2025 -
Months after CEO's killing, intruder arrested near UnitedHealthcare headquarters
A man was arrested near UnitedHealthcare’s headquarters in Minnesota after threatening violence, months after the company's CEO was killed, authorities said Monday. The man was spotted around 11 a.m. in a parking lot outside of the UnitedHealthcare corporate campus in the Minneapolis suburb of Minnetonka. City spokesperson Andy Wittenborg said the man contacted the FBI's field office in Minneapolis once he arrived, and an FBI negotiator made contact with him by phone. “While the investigation is
April 15, 2025 -
Sudan's two years of war have 'shattered' children's lives: UNICEF
The number of major violations against children in Sudan, from killings to abductions, has increased by 1,000 percent following two years of civil war, UNICEF said Monday, calling for increased global awareness. The United Nations children's agency said that such incidents -- which also include maiming and attacks on schools and hospitals -- had previously been confined to a few regions. But the ongoing nature of the conflict between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and Sudan's army had res
April 15, 2025