UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Members of an armed group fired on a U.N. helicopter in eastern Congo early Friday, injuring two South African peacekeepers, one seriously, the United Nations said. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the U.N. peacekeeping department assumes the attack was carried out by members of the M23 rebel group in the Karuba region of North Kivu province, …
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For the first time, an Irish nationalist will lead Northern Ireland’s government
LONDON (AP) — An Irish nationalist made history Saturday by becoming Northern Ireland’s first minister as the government returned to work after a two-year boycott by unionists. Sinn Fein Vice President Michelle O’Neill was named first minister in the government that under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday peace accord shares power equally between Northern Ireland’s two main communities …
Read More »Senegal’s leader postpones Feb. 25 presidential vote, citing controversies over candidate lists
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegalese President Macky Sall on Saturday postponed presidential elections scheduled for Feb. 25, citing controversies over the disqualification of some candidates and allegations of corruption in election-related cases. Sall — who is not seeking another term in office — said he signed a decree repealing the law that convened the electoral body just as campaigning was …
Read More »As Mardi Gras nears, a beefed-up police presence and a rain-scrambled parade schedule in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans’ annual Carnival celebration entered its high-intensity home stretch Friday with a beefed-up police presence and a weather forecast that threatened to disrupt the first of two weekends of elaborate parades. Three parades were scheduled to roll Friday night with no weather complications expected. But flood-threatening rains were in the forecast for Saturday. City officials …
Read More »Ellen Gilchrist, 1984 National Book Award winner for ‘Victory Over Japan,’ dies at 88
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Ellen Gilchrist, a National Book Award winner whose short stories and novels drew on the complexities of people and places in the American South, has died. She was 88. An obituary from her family said Gilchrist died Tuesday in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, where she had lived in her final years. Gilchrist published more than two dozen …
Read More »Judge dismisses election official’s mail ballot lawsuit in North Dakota
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge in North Dakota has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the acceptance of mail-in ballots after Election Day brought by a county election official and backed by a legal group aligned with former President Donald Trump. In his Friday ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor said Burleigh County Auditor Mark Splonskowski lacks standing to …
Read More »Power restored to BP oil refinery in Indiana after outage prompts evacuation, shutdown, company says
WHITING, Ind. (AP) — Power has been restored to BP’s sprawling oil refinery in northwest Indiana following an outage that prompted the company to temporarily shut down the complex and evacuate workers, BP said Friday. BP spokesperson Christina Audisho said in a statement that power was back on Friday at the refinery following Thursday’s outage, and the refinery’s office buildings …
Read More »Senators reach a deal on border policy bill. Now it faces an uphill fight to passage
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate negotiators on Friday reached a deal on a proposal to overhaul the asylum system at the U.S. border with Mexico, clearing the way for Democratic and Republican Senate leaders to begin the difficult task of convincing Congress to pass a national security package that will include tens of billions of dollars for Ukraine and immigration enforcement, …
Read More »UN food agency says it has reports of people dying from starvation amid the conflict in Sudan
CAIRO (AP) — The U.N. food agency said Friday it has received reports of people dying from starvation in Sudan, where raging fighting between rival generals is hampering the distribution of aid and food supplies to those most hungry. The 10 months of clashes between the Sudanese military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, a …
Read More »Judge dismisses election official’s mail ballot lawsuit in North Dakota
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge in North Dakota has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the acceptance of mail-in ballots after Election Day brought by a county election official and backed by a legal group aligned with former President Donald Trump. In his Friday ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor said Burleigh County Auditor Mark Splonskowski lacks standing to …
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