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The second son of Thailand’s king returns to the country unexpectedly after decades of estrangement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:44 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The estranged son of Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn visited a daycare center for underprivileged children in Bangkok on Tuesday following a surprise return to the country after 27 years of living abroad.Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse’s return was first revealed in a video posted online Sunday showing him in the arrival area of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport being greeted by well-wishers. His return came at a sensitive time for the Thai royal family, with the eldest daughter of the king being in a coma since December.The 42-year-old, who works at a law firm in New York, is the second son of King Vajiralongkorn with his second wife Sujarinee Vivacharawongse, a former actress. The then-crown prince divorced Sujarinee who was accused of adultery in public in 1996. Sujarinee and her children later moved abroad. The youngest daughter was taken back by the royal family and was given the title Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana, but the four sons remain estran...

Texas woman known as the ‘Sassy Trucker’ leaves Dubai after monthslong legal dispute, advocate says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:44 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Houston woman known online as the “Sassy Trucker” who had been stranded in Dubai for months over an altercation at a car rental agency left the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, an advocate for the woman said.Tierra Young Allen, 29, took off on a flight out of the UAE and will transit through the United Kingdom on her way back to the U.S., said Radha Stirling, who runs a for-hire advocacy group long critical of the UAE called Detained in Dubai.Allen paid a $1,360 deposit to Dubai police to clear the travel ban she faced, Stirling said.It wasn’t clear if Allen still has any legal complaints against her in the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. Officials in Dubai did not immediately return a request for comment, nor did the U.S. State Department.The circumstances of the April altercation at the unidentified car rental agency also remain unclear. Allen earlier had been in a rental car involved in a crash.Stirling ha...

Police arrest suspect in a stabbing that took place near the British Museum in London

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:44 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A man was arrested after stabbing another man outside the British Museum in London on Tuesday, police said. The museum, famous for housing the Rosetta Stone, was evacuated but police say there was no more risk to the public after the isolated incident. Metropolitan Police said the stabbing occurred at a street corner near the museum’s entrance. The victim was taken to the hospital with a stab wound and the suspect was arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm.The British Museum, founded in 1753, is the world’s oldest public national museum and houses works of history, art and culture. The Associated Press

Germany receives 178 compensation applications from gay servicepeople over discrimination

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:44 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The German defense ministry said Tuesday that it has received 178 applications for compensation from gay servicepeople who experienced discrimination in the military in the past.The ministry said in a statement that it had expected more applications, but that nonetheless “the goals of the law were achieved.”A law rehabilitating gay soldiers who suffered discrimination came into force two years ago, and so far, about 400,000 euros ($438,000) has been paid in symbolic compensation, the ministry said.The law was passed in 2021 after a study commissioned by the defense ministry and presented in 2020 documented “systematic discrimination” in the Bundeswehr — the military of West Germany and since 1990 of reunited Germany — from 1955 until the beginning of the 21st century.While the German military stopped its policy of discrimination against gay soldiers in 2000, it took more than two decades to pass the law offering them compensation.The law also offers compensation for ga...

Florida school board reverses decision nixing access to children’s book about a male penguin couple

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:44 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Months after access to a popular children’s book about a male penguin couple hatching a chick was restricted at school libraries because of Florida’s “ Don’t Say Gay law,” a central Florida school district says it has reversed that decision.The School Board of Lake County and Florida education officials last week asked a federal judge to toss out a First Amendment lawsuit brought by students and the authors of “And Tango Makes Three” in June. Their complaint challenged the restrictions and Florida’s new law prohibiting classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels.The lawsuit is moot since age restrictions on “And Tango Makes Three” have been lifted following a Florida Department of Education memo that said the new law only applied to classroom instruction and not school libraries, according to motions filed Friday by Florida education officials and school board members of the district located ou...

A proposed constitutional change before Ohio voters could determine abortion rights in the state

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:44 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio concludes a hastily called and highly charged special election Tuesday, a contest that could determine the fate of abortion rights in the state and fuel political playbooks nationally heading into 2024.On the ballot is Issue 1, a proposal to raise the threshold for passing future changes to the state’s constitution from a simple majority to 60%. But more passionately in the sights of the proposal’s backers — including Republican officeholders — is a proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot that calls for enshrining access to reproductive care in the state’s foundational document.The measure was clearly resonating with voters, who turned out in huge numbers during the early voting period, which ended Sunday. The number of advance ballots cast — a combination of mail and early in-person ballots — hit nearly 700,000, more than double the early vote during the state’s two previous midterm primary elections in 2022 and 20...

Greece’s coast guard heads to overcrowded migrant sailboat anchored off remote uninhabited island

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:44 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s coast guard was mounting a rescue operation Tuesday for dozens of people crammed onto a sailing boat anchored off the coast of an uninhabited island far from the country’s mainland, authorities said. A private vessel had spotted the sailing boat off the small island of Falconera, officials said. The island is located between Milos and the Peloponnese in an area known for strong currents and rough seas. About 50 people were believed to be on board. A coast guard helicopter was already on the scene, while four coast guard vessels were heading to the island.Separately Tuesday, 19 people were picked up from a dinghy that had lost steering northeast of the eastern Aegean island of Samos.In June, a battered trawler smuggling up to 750 people from Libya to Italy sank southwest of Greece in one of the worst Mediterranean migrant disasters in years. Only 104 people survived, while Greek authorities were criticized for failing to intervene in time.Greece h...

Kenya police say dead bodies were planted to accuse officers of excessive force during protests

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:44 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A Kenyan police official said Tuesday that dead bodies were planted to accuse police officers of using excessive force during recent anti-government protests, which rights groups say left dozens of demonstrators dead.Japhet Koome, the national police inspector general, told reporters that “people were hiring dead bodies and parading them to the media to taint the police’s image.”He did not provide evidence or details to support the claim.Rights groups say police killed a varying number of people during a series of protests in July led by the opposition coalition demanding that President William Ruto repeal a law that raised taxes and strained the already high cost of living. The opposition has said it plans to file cases against individual police officers at the International Criminal Court in a move that Koome described on Tuesday as “intimidation.”“Police will not be intimidated by threats to file cases against them at the International Criminal Court,”...

Millennial Money: Issuer closing your credit card? Act fast to preserve credit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:44 GMT

It’s not uncommon for credit card issuers to close accounts. Sometimes they do so to lessen their risk when the economy is in distress, generally as a reaction to your spending activity — or lack thereof.After all, issuers make money from every tap or swipe, so inactive cards aren’t fruitful for them.“If you’re not paying an annual fee and you’re not using the card, you’re below the zero revenue line, you’re actually costing the card issuer money every month,” says John Ulzheimer, a credit expert formerly with FICO, a credit-scoring company, and Equifax, a major bureau that provides consumer reports. “Eventually they’re going to close your account because you’re not generating any swipe-fee income.”An account closure can harm your credit, but if you’re fortunate, a credit card issuer might send you a notice as a courtesy beforehand. That can provide you time to make some moves to counter any negative impact to your credit scores. Regardless, if you take no actions, it could take lon...

All lanes shut down on Dan Ryan near 83rd Street for police investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:44 GMT

CHICAGO — Police activity has shut down all lanes of the outbound Dan Ryan Expressway Tuesday morning.According to Illinois State Police, a driver called and reported that their vehicle had been struck by gunfire.As of 6 a.m., all lanes are blocked on the outbound Dan Ryan near 83rd Street as ISP canvasses the area. All traffic is being forced off at 83rd Street.Major delays are reported on the inbound Dan Ryan, IB I-57 and IB Bishop Ford due to this investigation. Allow extra time for your morning commute.This is a developing story. Check back for details.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines