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British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the U.K. has had a tough 12 months and its problems will not “go away” in 2023 LONDON -- Britain has had a tough 12 months and its problems will not “go away” in 2023 — but the coronation of King Charles III will help bring the country together, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said Saturday in his New Year message. Sunak, who in October became the third Conservative British prime minister of the year, said the U.K. was rocked this year by the “profound economic impact” caused by Russia's war in Ukraine. He said his government has taken “difficult but fair decisions to get borrowing and debt under control" and helped Britons cope with a cost of living crisis driven by sharply rising energy bills. Sunak did not mention the U.K.'s political chaos this year, which saw former Prime Minister Boris Johnson quit in July after a string of Scandal s and his successor Liz Truss resign after less than two months in office. Britain's economy an...

Controversial internet personality Andrew Tate will be detained in Romania for 30 days on charges of human trafficking and rape, officials said. Controversial internet personality Andrew Tate will be detained in Romania for 30 days on charges of human trafficking and rape, officials said. Tate, his brother Tristan Tate and two Romanian women were put in 30-day, pre-trial detention in Bucharest on Friday, according to Ramona Bolla, a spokesperson for Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, or DIICOT. In this grab taken from video released by Observator Antena 1, Social Media personality Andrew Tate is led away by police, in the Ilfov area, north of Bucharest, Romania, Dec. 29, 2022. Observator Antena 1 via AP The suspects have already appealed the court's decision, which will be heard on Jan. 5, 2023, she said. The extended detainment follows raids on the four suspects' Romanian properties on Thursday. They were initially detained fo...

The confirmed death toll from a massive fire at a casino hotel complex in western Cambodia has risen to 25 as search efforts resume POIPET, Cambodia -- The confirmed death toll from a massive fire at a casino hotel complex in western Cambodia rose to 25 on Friday as the search resumed for victims , officials said. The blaze at the Grand Diamond City casino and hotel in the town of Poipet on the Thai border started around midnight Wednesday and was extinguished more than 12 hours later on Thursday afternoon. By Friday morning, 25 bodies had been recovered from the site, according to Sek Sokhom, head of Banteay Meanchey province’s information department. He said six bodies were found Friday morning, some in their rooms and others on stairways. More than 60 people were injured, he said, and the death toll was expected to rise once rescuers are able to access victims who are believed to be under debris or in locked rooms. The Grand Diamond City casino complex has 500 employees, and it h...

South Korea has staged large-scale military drills to simulate shooting down North Korean drones SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea staged large-scale Military drills Thursday to simulate shooting down drone s as a step to bolster its readiness against North Korean provocations, three days after the North flew drone s into its territory for the first time in five years. South Korean warplanes and helicopters failed to bring down any of the five North Korean drones spotted south of the border Monday before they flew back home or vanished from South Korean radars. One of them traveled as far as northern Seoul. That caused security jitters among many people in the South, for which the military offered a rare public apology Tuesday. Thursday’s training involved land-based anti-air guns, drones playing the role of enemy drones, and a total of 20 fighter jets, attack helicopters and unmanned assets. While there was no actual live-fire, it was still the country’s first set of major a...

The lawyer for a former Kosovo Serb policeman has been ordered released from prison and placed under house arrest JARINJE, Kosovo-Serbia Border -- A former Kosovo Serb policeman whose detention triggered a major crisis between Serbia and Kosovo that provoked international concern has been ordered released from prison and be placed under house arrest, his lawyer said Wednesday. The Dec. 10 arrest of Dejan Pantic led to protests by Kosovo Serbs who erected multiple roadblocks in the north of the country. Pantic was detained for “terrorism” after allegedly assaulting a Kosovo police officer during an earlier protest. His lawyer, Ljubomir Pantovic, told The Associated Press by phone that a higher Kosovo court replaced his client’s detention with house arrest. “The (Kosovo) police are obliged to transfer Pantic to the address where he lives” in Serb-populated northern Kosovo, the lawyer said. Pantovic said carrying out the order could prove problematic as Kosovo officers would need to cross...

A top aide to President Mahmoud Abbas is heard in newly released recordings cursing the Palestinian leader and insulting other members of the Palestinian leadership RAMALLAH, West Bank -- A top aide to President Mahmoud Abbas was heard in newly released recordings on Tuesday cursing the Palestinian leader and insulting other members of the Palestinian leader ship. The purported remarks by Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior official who is seen as a potential successor to the 87-year-old Abbas, gave a glimpse of the bitter infighting inside the Palestinian leader ship as several hopefuls try to position themselves for the post-Abbas era. The embattled leader has not designated a successor, and last year he called off what would have been the first Palestinian parliamentary elections in 15 years. The recordings were released by a news website run by the militant Hamas group, the bitter rival of Abbas’ Fatah party. Hamas ousted pro-Abbas forces and took over the Gaza Strip in 2007, leav...

NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosovo say they are investigating a shooting incident in a tense northern region PRISTINA, Kosovo -- NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosovo said Monday they were investigating a shooting incident in a tense north ern region, urging calm as Serbia's top Military officials inspected their troops on the border with Kosovo in a show of combat readiness. The incident on Sunday evening took place in Zubin Potok, a town in northern Kosovo where local ethnic Serbs have been manning road barricades for the past two weeks and where tensions have been running high between the two former wartime foes. The peacekeepers, known as KFOR, said the incident happened in close proximity of one of their patrols, involving unknown people. A statement said no one was injured and “we are working to establish all the facts.” Serbia's defense minister and the army's chief of staff traveled to the border with Kosovo, praising the combat readiness of Serbian troops and their f...

South Korea’s military has fired warning shots and scrambled aircraft after North Korean drones entered the South’s airspace SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea's military fired warning shots and scrambled aircraft after North Korean drones entered the South’s airspace on Monday, South Korean officials said, days after the North launched two ballistic missiles in its latest testing activities. Several North Korean drones crossed the inter-Korean border and were detected in the South’s territory on Monday morning, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said. South Korea’s Military broadcast warning s and fired warning shots before it launched fighter jets and attack helicopters to shoot down the North Korean drone s, the Defense Ministry said. It wasn’t immediately known if the drone s were shot down. It’s the first time for North Korean drone s to enter South Korean airspace since 2017, when a suspected North Korean drone was found crashed in South Korea. South Korean Military officials...

South Africa is coming to grips with the full extent of the destruction and deaths caused by a Christmas Eve tanker truck explosion JOHANNESBURG -- South Africa was coming to grips Sunday with the full extent of the destruction and death s caused by a Christmas Eve tanker truck explosion near Johannesburg as officials reported the death toll rising to 15. The truck was carrying gas when it got stuck under a low-lying bridge in the town of Boksburg, on Saturday, sparking flames. As firefighters worked to extinguish the flames the tanker exploded, according to emergency services officials.. A “fire bomb” from the explosion substantially damaged Tambo Memorial Hospital, located about 100 meters (110 yards) away, authorities said. Three hospital staff members were among those killed, Minister of Health Joe Phaahla said. The hospital's emergency unit and X-ray department were badly damaged, he said. Residents who had gathered to see the burning truck fled from the explosion,...

A truck carrying liquified petroleum gas has exploded in the South African town of Boksburg, east of Johannesburg, killing at least 8 people and injuring 50 others on Saturday JOHANNESBURG -- A truck carrying liquified Pet roleum gas has exploded in the South African town of Boksburg, east of Johannesburg, killing at least 8 people and injuring 50 others on Saturday, officials said. The top of the truck scraped a low-lying bridge, sparking flames that caused the explosion, according to emergency services officials. Video footage shared by residents on social media showed the dramatic explosion, with pedestrians running away from the blaze and cars dramatically speeding away. Several houses and vehicles have been damaged by the explosion, according to local reports. The tanker was reportedly delivering gas to the nearby O.R. Tambo Memorial Hospital, where some of the injured were treated. Patients in some units at the hospital had to be evacuated because of the explosion and fire, acco...

A federal judge in Miami has rejected attempts by a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to shield himself from U.S. criminal charges MIAMI -- A federal judge in Miami on Friday rejected attempts by a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to shield himself from criminal charges, ruling Alex Saab isn't entitled to diplomatic immunity in the U.S. and must stand trial on accusations of money laundering. The l egal fight over Saab's purported diplomatic status was being closely watched by Maduro's socialist government, which has demanded the release of the Colombian-born businessman as part of furtive negotiations with the Biden administration. The U.S. in 2019 stopped recognizing Maduro as Venezuela's legitimate leader, and Judge Robert Scola cited that determination as a basis for rejecting Saab's motion to dismiss the criminal charges. He also sided with prosecutors who raised doubts about the legitimacy of several officia...

Confessed French serial killer Charles Sobhraj has been released from prison in Nepal after serving most of his sentence KATHMANDU, Nepal -- Confessed French serial killer Charles Sobhraj was freed from prison in Nepal on Friday after serving most of his sentence for the murders of American and Canadian backpackers. Sobhraj was driven out of Central Jail in Kathmandu in a heavily guarded police convoy to the Department of Immigration, where he will wait for his travel documents to be prepared. The country’s Supreme Court had ordered that Sobhraj, who was sentenced to life in prison in Nepal, be released because of poor health, good behavior and having already served most of his sentence. Life sentences in Nepal are 20 years. The order also said he had to leave the country within 15 days. Sobhraj's attorney Gopal Siwakoti Chitan told reporters that the request for the Travel documents must be made by the immigration department to the French embassy in Nepal, which could take so...

An American couple in Uganda has been charged with aggregated torture for their alleged treatment of a 10-year-old child they were fostering, according to police. LONDON -- An American couple living in Uganda has been charged with aggregated torture for their alleged treatment of a 10-year- old child they were foster ing, according to a statement from the Uganda Police Force. Nicholas Spencer and Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer, both 32, were charged with aggravated torture in Buganda Road Court on Dec. 9, police said. They were later charged with child trafficking, The Associated Press reported on Wednesday. American couple Nicholas Spencer and Mackenzie Leigh Mathias Spencer, both 32, stand in the dock at Buganda road court, where they were charged with torturing a 10-year-old, in Kampala, Uganda, on Dec. 14, 2022. Abubaker Lubowa/Reuters The Spencers pleaded not guilty to the aggravated torture charge , AP reported. The couple arrived in Uganda as volunteers in 2017, police said...

Designated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has successfully formed a new coalition to govern Israel JERUSALEM -- Designated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced late Wednesday that he has successfully formed a new coalition, setting the stage for him to return to power as head of the most right-wing Israeli government ever to hold office. Netanyahu made the announcement in a phone call to President Isaac Herzog moments before a midnight deadline. His Likud Party released a brief video clip of the smiling Netanyahu and a recording of the conversation. “I wanted to announce to you that thanks to the amazing public support we received in the elections, I have succeeded in forming a government that will take care of all the citizens of Israel,” Netanyahu said. The move came after weeks of surprisingly difficult negotiations with his partners – who still have need to finalize their power-sharing deals with Netanyahu’s Likud Party. Nonetheless, Netanyahu said he intends to...

Snow and arctic winds forced the suspension of all flights at Vancouver International Airport and winter weather is playing havoc with transportation across the southern part of Canada’s Pacific coast province of British Columbia VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Snow and Arctic winds blasting across parts of Canada's British Columbia and into the northwestern U.S. temporarily halted all flights at Vancouver's airport Tuesday during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. Forecasters warned of whiteout conditions in some parts of the Pacific coast province as life-threatening cold from the Arctic air mass was expected this week to sweep as far as the Southern U.S. during the peak winter holiday travel season. As much as 30 centimeters (12 inches) of snow accumulated on parts of southern Vancouver Island while Metro Vancouver grappled with up to 25 centimeters (10 inches), the Ministry of Transportation said. Environment Canada forecast that as much as 10 more centi...