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US ambassador dismisses claims of interference in Thailand’s elections that were won by reformists

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:43:56 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Thailand dismissed claims of American interference in recent elections as a “disservice” to the Thai people, saying Tuesday that Washington does not support any individual candidate or political party. Claims of the U.S. meddling in the May 14 vote have swirled since the opposition Move Forward Party emerged as the top vote getter and another opposition party came in second, raising the possibility of a new coalition government that could take power from Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.The Move Forward Party is seen as nominally more pro-American than Prayuth, a former general who initially came to power in a military coup nine years ago, and the claims of American interference in the election are widely seen as originating from supporters of the current status quo. A small group of protesters even demonstrated in front of the U.S. Embassy in April, accusing Washington of interfering in Thailand political affairs. At a roundtable with doz...

Russian President Vladimir Putin hails military and law enforcement for ‘stopping a civil war’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:43:56 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin hails military and law enforcement for ‘stopping a civil war.’Source

Un curioso cetáceo sigue un kayak mientras Australia se deleita con un excelente conteo anual de ballenas jorobadas

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:43:56 GMT

(CNN) — Casi 5.000 ballenas jorobadas han sido avistadas en aguas australianas durante un censo de migración anual récord, dijo un grupo conservacionista, mientras un cetáceo curioso fue visto siguiendo a un kayakista cerca de la famosa playa Bondi de Sydney.Cada año, expertos y miembros del público se dirigen a la costa de Nueva Gales del Sur para realizar un conteo anual. El censo de este domingo resultó en 4.792 ballenas, la cifra más alta jamás registrada, lo que se suma a un raro avistamiento de “megápodos” en 2021 que cautivó anteriormente a los observadores de ballenas.Muchas de las ballenas fueron vistas a pocos metros de la costa, según Steve Trikoulis, vicepresidente de la Organización para el Rescate y la Investigación de Cetáceos (ORRCA).“Estaban viajando a Queensland y Hervey Bay para hacer bebés”, le dijo a CNN. “Fue emocionante para la gente (en la costa) verlas… saltando”.Mejor clima y agua más limpia fueron solo algunos de los fac...

Deliberations continue in the trial of ex-school resource officer who stayed outside during Parkland shooting

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:43:56 GMT

(CNN) — Deliberations are continuing for a second day Tuesday in the trial of Scot Peterson, a former school resource officer who stayed outside during the February 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.Prosecutors say Peterson, 60, ignored his training and common sense and chose to do nothing while students and adults at the Parkland, Florida, school were shot. Seventeen people died – 14 of them students.“His job was to go and investigate and make his presence known, and that simply did not happen,” Assistant State Attorney Christopher Killoran said in closing rebuttal arguments Monday.Peterson is accused of failing to confront the gunman according to his active shooter training, instead taking cover for more than 45 minutes outside the school’s three-story 1200 building during the deadliest high school shooting in US history.“In that moment, while he stood at those doors, every student and every teacher on the third floor was still alive,” Assistant State Atto...

Florida homeowner captures dozens of invasive cane toads threatening community, pets

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:43:56 GMT

NAPLES, Fla. (WSVN) – Lee Smith, a Florida homeowner, has taken it upon himself to embark on a relentless mission to hunt down dozens of cane toads in his neighborhood. His actions are motivated by the potential harm these invasive species pose to both people and pets.The toad eradication endeavor began when Smith’s wife experienced sleepless nights due to the cacophony created by the loud noises emanating from the cane toads. Determined to alleviate the problem, Smith decided to intervene.“I thought I’m just gonna go out there and see if I can catch ’em,” Smith stated.Within a mere 15 minutes, Smith managed to capture an astonishing 30 to 40 toads in his backyard alone.“And I thought this is a good way to get rid of cane toads, to just go out and catch ’em. That’s how it started, and now it’s been like a challenge,” Smith shared.However, Smith’s objective doesn’t end with the capture. Cane toads are consi...

Boris Johnson ruined UK’s ‘good chaps’ theory of government, says watchdog

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:43:56 GMT

LONDON — The idea that “good chaps” in British politics can be relied on to do the right thing is dead — and the country’s revolving door watchdog pins part of the blame on Boris Johnson. In a letter to the government Tuesday, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) argued that the former prime minister’s repeated breaches of the rules show the current set-up to police politicians taking on lucrative post-government jobs is “out of date.” It comes just days after Johnson — recently censured and effectively stripped of his parliamentary pass after a damning report into his conduct — was admonished for taking on a job as the Daily Mail’s new star columnist without clearing it with the ethics watchdog.ACOBA ruled that, in failing to wait for the body’s advice before taking on the writing gig, Johnson broke the ministerial code. He submitted his application for advice 30 minutes before the appointment was announced on Twitt...

Police: Driver hits MBTA bus near Kenmore Station, flees scene

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:43:56 GMT

Transit police are investigating after a driver in an SUV slammed into the back of an MBTA bus outside Kenmore Station on Tuesday morning before fleeing the scene.The 2015 Honda hit the back of the bus around 5:30 a.m. and there were no reported injuries.No additional information was immediately available.https://twitter.com/MBTATransitPD/status/1673659696689889280

Trial of man accused of killing Weymouth police officer, bystander nearing its end

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:43:56 GMT

The trial for a man accused of killing a Weymouth police sergeant and a bystander in 2018 is wrapping up, with the final witness expected on Tuesday and final arguments slated for Wednesday.Emanuel Lopes, is accused in the deaths of police Sgt. Michael Chesna, 42, and Vera Adams, 77.Prosecutors say the then-20 year old had been wanted in connection with a crash in Weymouth the morning of July 15, 2018, when Sgt. Chesna confronted him. Prosecutors say Lopes hit Chesna with a rock and then murdered him with his own service firearm.Other officers started chasing Lopes when he fired three more rounds – one of which fatally struck Adams while she was sitting in her sun porch, according to the prosecution.The defense has described Lopes as a man suffering from mental health problems.

Harvard Medical School morgue manager, others to appear in court in alleged sale of stolen body parts

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:43:56 GMT

(WHDH) — Several people, including a former morgue employee at Harvard Medical School, are set to appear in federal court on Pennsylvania on Tuesday after allegedly taking part in the sale and transportation of stolen body parts, according to officials.It’s alleged that Cedric Lodge, 55, the manager of the medical school’s morgue, and three other defendants, including his wife, Denise Lodge, 63, worked for years to move, sell or purchase organs, skin and other parts from bodies that were donated for educational purposes.The other two defendants named were Katrina Maclean, 44, of Salem, Mass., and Joshua Taylor, 46, a resident of West Lawn, Penn.According to court documents, the parts included “heads, brains, skin, bones, and other human remains” that had been scheduled for cremation but taken by Lodge to his house in Goffstown, New Hampshire, which was later searched by federal investigators in March 2023.Investigators said that in some cases, he sold stolen body parts t...

Philippine police raid alleged cybercrime buildings, rescue 2,700 workers from 18 countries

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:43:56 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine police backed by commandos staged a massive raid on Tuesday and said they rescued more than 2,700 workers from China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and more than a dozen other countries who were allegedly swindled into working for fraudulent online gaming sites and other cybercrime groups.The number of human trafficking victims rescued from seven buildings in Las Pinas city in metropolitan Manila and the scale of the nighttime police raid were the largest so far this year and indicated how the Philippines has become a key base of operations for cybercrime syndicates.Cybercrime scams have become a major issue in Asia with reports of people from the region and beyond being lured into taking jobs in countries like strife-torn Myanmar and Cambodia. However, many of these workers find themselves trapped in virtual slavery and forced to participate in scams targeting people over the internet.In May, leaders from the Association of Southeast Asia...