Albert Wagner 
RIO DE JANEIRO – Heat exhaustion is the cause of death of a Brazilian fan who attended a concert of singer Taylor Swift in November, a forensics report obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday shows. 23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides passed out during Swift’s second song in the Nov. 17 concert in Rio … Read more
WARSAW, Poland – Poland’s political battle over state media continued Wednesday as the president filed a revised spending bill in defiance of the new pro-European Union government ‘s goal of freeing the media from political control. President Andrzej Duda, an ally of the previous right-wing government, had vetoed the new government’s bill that … Read more
ATHENS, Greece – A Greek riot police officer who was shot with a flare during fan violence in Athens three weeks ago has died in a hospital of his injuries, health authorities said Wednesday. On Dec. 7, a group of fans left a volleyball match to attack riot police stationed outside the arena … Read more
RAFAH, Gaza Strip – Israel launched heavy strikes across central and southern Gaza overnight and into Wednesday after broadening its offensive against Hamas to more areas where the military had told Palestinians to seek shelter earlier in the war. Residents reported heavy bombing in the built-up Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, in … Read more
Israeli forces raided a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, killing at least six Palestinians, Palestinian health authorities said Wednesday. The Israeli military also expanded its ground offensive in the Gaza Strip to the densely populated urban refugee camps in the central part of the territory. Residents reported shelling and airstrikes in … Read more
SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un praised what he called achievements and victories that strengthened national power and boosted the country’s prestige this year, as he opened a key political meeting to set new policy goals for 2024, state media reported Wednesday. Experts said that during this week’s year-end … Read more
Ken Jennings is opening up about the departure of Mayim Bialik as co-host of the long-running game show “Jeopardy!” “It took me off guard, because I loved working with my Mayim and I’m gonna miss her,” Jennings said in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter published Monday. “I can’t speak to her … Read more
The Hubble Space Telescope captured a newly revealed image of the mysterious, ghostly shadows on Saturn’s rings — the latest sighting of the so-called “spokes” that continue to baffle scientists. The composite photo, released Thursday by NASA, was taken by Hubble on Oct. 22 as Saturn was about 1.37 billion kilometres away, according to … Read more
SEOUL, South Korea – Lee Sun-kyun, a popular South Korean actor best known for his role in the Oscar-winning movie “Parasite,” was found dead in a car in Seoul on Wednesday, authorities said, after weeks of an intense police investigation into his alleged drug use. Police and emergency officers initially found Lee in … Read more
DETROIT – The Detroit Pistons have made NBA history. Detroit became the league’s first team to lose 27 straight games in a season, falling 118-112 to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night. “Is it heavy? Yeah, I would imagine for everybody it is,” said Pistons first-year coach Monty Williams, a former NBA … Read more
