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Father, stepmother and uncle of dead girl appear in UK court on murder charge after Pakistan arrests

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:25 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The father, stepmother and uncle of a 10-year-old girl found dead in her U.K. home appeared in court on murder charges Friday after being arrested and deported from Pakistan after an extensive police search.Sara Sharif was found dead with extensive injuries at her home in Woking, 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of London, on Aug. 10. An autopsy did not establish a cause of death but showed that she had suffered “multiple and extensive injuries, which are likely to have been caused over a sustained and extended period of time,” British police said.Sara’s father, Urfan Sharif, 41; his partner Beinash Batool, 29; and his 28-year-old brother, Faisal Malik, were charged early Friday with murder and causing or allowing the death of a child. They appeared for a brief hearing at Guildford Magistrates’ Court near Woking, speaking only to confirm their names, dates of birth and addresses. They were not asked to enter pleas and were ordered detained until their next cour...

Stock market today: Wall Street opens lower but is still on track for weekly gains

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are slipping in early trading on Wall Street but not enough to erase the market’s gains for the week. The S&P 500 was down 0.4% in the first few minutes of trading Friday. The Dow edged down 37 points and the Nasdaq composite was off 0.5%. The market mostly rose this week following some healthy indicators on the U.S. economy ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week, where it’s expected to hold interest rates steady. U.S. automaker stocks weren’t moving much after the United Auto Workers union walked off the job at several plants overnight. Treasury yields edged higher.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.U.S. markets were slow to gain traction before the opening bell Friday with global shares mostly higher on news that China’s slowing economy showed signs of stabilizing.Futures for the S&P 500 inched up 0.1% while the Dow Jones industrials rose 0.2%.U.S. markets look to finish with gains after a busy week of ec...

Security forces are seen across Iran as country prepares for anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:25 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Volunteer members of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard could be seen on the streets Friday in western Iran as the country neared one year since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody, prompting protests that challenged the country’s theocratic rule.In Tehran, Iran’s capital, and other cities, the public noticed a heightened presence by police and security forces that went unreported by the country’s state-run and semiofficial media. The demonstrations over Amini’s death last Sept. 16, following her arrest by the country’s morality police for allegedly violating the country’s mandatory headscarf law, represented one of the largest challenges to Iran’s theocracy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. A security force crackdown that followed saw over 500 people killed and more than 22,000 people detained.Iran’s theocracy is trying hard to both ignore Saturday’s anniversary and tamp down on any possibility of mo...

National home sales fall 4% between July and August as market slows: CREA

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:25 GMT

OTTAWA — The Canadian Real Estate Association says home sales slowed last month as they tumbled by roughly four per cent between July and August.Seasonally adjusted sales totalled 38,345 in August compared with 39,996 in July.The actual number of sales amounted to 40,257, up 5.3 per cent from a year earlier.CREA says the national sales figure was pulled lower in August by declines in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley in B.C., Montreal, Ottawa, Hamilton and Burlington, Ont., as well as London and St. Thomas, Ont.The seasonally adjusted average price of a home in August fell 2.3 per cent from July to $674,184, while the actual price was up 2.1 per cent from a year earlier to $650,140.New listings hit 69,438, a 5.5 per cent rise from the prior August, helping to balance supply and demand.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2023.The Canadian Press

Volatile world, arbitrary detentions have Ottawa seeking more friends at UN next week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:25 GMT

OTTAWA — The Trudeau government is planning to use next week’s United Nations General Assembly to try building momentum against states using people as pawns in diplomatic spats, with the help of former detainees such as Michael Kovrig.“We’re in the midst of an international security crisis. That’s the reality in which Canada and the world is right now,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told The Canadian Press in an exclusive interview.“Now is the time to reach out to a wide group of partners,” she said.Joly will co-host a meeting with her counterparts from Costa Rica and Malawi, as well as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on ways to prevent states from arresting foreigners on political grounds.It’s part of an effort Canada launched in February 2021 to try creating a norm against arbitrary detention, with an action plan that aims to prevent states from placing people in harsh conditions and denying them legal council.A meeti...

National Hispanic Heritage Month highlights cultural diversity of Spanish-speaking Americans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:25 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Hispanic history and culture take center stage across the U.S. for National Hispanic Heritage Month, which is celebrated annually from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. The celebration recognizes the contributions of Hispanic Americans, the fastest-growing racial or ethnic minority, according to the Census. It includes people whose ancestors come from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.With a U.S. population of over 63 million people, there will be a plethora of Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations all over the country starting Friday.HOW DID IT COME TO BE?Before there was National Hispanic Heritage Month, there was Hispanic Heritage Week, created through legislation sponsored by Mexican American Rep. Edward R. Roybal of Los Angeles and signed into law in 1968 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. The annual celebration was to be held the week that included Sept. 15-16.The weeklong commemoration was expanded to a month two decades later, with legislation signed i...

Man who threw bricks at TTC passengers went on to assault several others: police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:25 GMT

Toronto police say they have arrested a man accused of throwing bricks at passengers on a bus in the city’s west end on Thursday.Officers responded to the area of Dufferin Street and Eglinton Avenue West around 9 a.m. after getting reports of an assault on a TTC bus.Police say a man on the bus got into an argument with other passengers. The man then allegedly left the bus and came back on board with bricks in hand.He allegedly threw the bricks at two passengers, hitting one of them in the head. One of the victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries.The suspect fled on foot in an unknown direction.Police allege the same man assaulted several other people in the north end of the city on the same day.Toronto resident Ljay Golden, 28, is now in custody and is facing a dozen charges including two counts of assault with a weapon and three counts of assault.He is scheduled to appear in a Toronto courtroom on Friday morning.

Police: 3 shot while driving on South Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:25 GMT

CHICAGO — Three people were shot while driving early Friday morning on the South Side.At around 1:40 a.m., police responded to the 100 block of West 95th Street on the report of multiple people shot.Police said a 28-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman were shot while traveling in a vehicle.The man sustained two gunshot wounds to the chest and the woman sustained a graze wound to the thigh. The man was transported in critical condition and the woman was transported in good condition.Another man, 31, was shot in a separate vehicle as a result of the incident. He was transported in fair condition.No one is in custody.

WATCH: Trial day 5 of two former DCFS workers in connection with the 2019 death of 5-year-old AJ Freund

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:25 GMT

MCHENRY COUNTY, Ill. — The trial for two former Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) workers accused of child endangerment entered its fifth day Friday after the prosecution rested their case Thursday afternoon.Charges were filed against the pair in Sept. 2020, stemming from the April 2019 death of five-year-old Andrew “AJ” Freund of Crystal Lake. Andrew Polovin and Carlos Acosta are accused of having known the child’s life was in danger four months earlier, yet not taking the right steps to ensure the situation didn’t worsen.Throughout the trial, prosecutors have maintained that caseworkers should have taken action when they received information in Dec. 2018 from police, who called the DCFS hotline regarding a bruise on AJ’s hip. While the child and his mother blamed the bruise on being pawed by a dog, the child also told a doctor, “maybe someone hit me with a belt. Maybe mommy didn’t mean to hurt me.” PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Trial day 4 of two former DCFS workers in conn...

Skechers opens 'Costco-style' restaurant in California, and it's an overnight success

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:25 GMT

(KTLA) - For the last four months, lines have been building outside the Skechers store in Gardena, California, and it's not the shoes that everyone is buzzing about.The warehouse outlet store, which was the second brick-and-mortar location the company opened decades ago, is now home to a concession stand offering uncomplicated but high-quality cheap eats. The local business community, and even some well-known social media influencers, can't seem to get enough of it.Skechers has opened an elevated concession stand at its outlet store in Gardena and the project has become an overnight success. (KTLA)It's called the Food Spot, and the outdoor eatery is attached to the side of the unassuming store in a bustling shopping center.It's been described by many as a "Costco-style" concession stand that's a bit tastier and a touch more expensive, but one that doesn't require a membership to eat there.It offers some of the affordable classic Costco fare you know and love, like all-beef hot dogs ...