AP News Digest 5:50 a.m.
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NEW/DEVELOPING
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BURKINA-FASO-MILITARY — Heavy gunfire rang out at a military base in Burkina Faso’s capital early Sunday, prompting fears that a coup attempt was underway after weeks of growing frustration with the government’s handling of the Islamic insurgency wracking the country. SENT: 190 words, photos.
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TOP STORIES
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RUSSIA-UKRAINE — Russia’s Foreign Ministry has rejected a British claim that Russia was seeking to replace Ukraine’s government with a pro-Moscow administration, and that former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevheniy Murayev was being considered as a potential candidate. By Jim Heintz. SENT: 440 words, photos.
See full coverage of Ukraine here.
KASHMIR-JOURNALIST UNDER SIEGE — Journalists in Indian-controlled Kashmir have long contended with threats and found themselves caught between the authorities and rebels. But their situation has gotten dramatically worse since India revoked the region’s semi-autonomy in 2019, throwing Kashmir under a security and communication lockdown. Journalists have been arrested, interrogated and investigated under harsh anti-terror laws. Fearing reprisals, most of the local press has wilted under pressure. By Aijaz Hussain and Sheikh Saaliq. SENT: 1,210 words, photos.
MIGRATION-HUNGARY — Hungary’s nationalist leader is keen to use the threat of migrants at his country’s southern border to give him an advantage in the upcoming general election. But the scale of migration pressure claimed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban is drawn into question by statistics from neighboring Serbia and the European Union’s border agency. Many migrants from Syria, Afghanistan and other countries make dozens of attempts to cross into Hungary and authorities apprehend them and return them to Serbia. This practice is known as a “pushback” and it has been declared illegal by the EU’s top court. By Justin Spike. SENT: 1,040 words, photos.
POLICE-OFFICERS-SHOT — The 22-year-old New York City police officer who was shot to death while responding to a call in a Harlem apartment once wrote that he joined the force to make a difference in the “chaotic city.” A copy of a letter Jason Rivera wrote in 2020 to his commanding officer was obtained by The Associated Press. By Bobby Caina Calvan and Michael R. Sisak. SENT: 880 words, photos.
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TRENDING NEWS
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MEXICO-MIGRANTS — Mexican authorities have detected many strange schemes to smuggle Central American migrants to the U.S. border, but they say they found a new one: a fake ambulance loaded with 28 Nicaraguans, including nine unaccompanied children. SENT: 130 words.
PEOPLE-SCHWARZENEGGER — A spokesman said Arnold Schwarzenegger was fine after being involved in a car crash that sent a woman to the hospital with minor injuries. SENT: 110 words, photo.
MONKEYS-CRASH — The last of the escaped monkeys from the crash of a truck towing a trailer load of 100 of the animals was accounted for, a day after the pickup collided with a dump truck on a Pennsylvania highway, authorities said. SENT: 610 words, photos.
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MORE ON THE VIRUS OUTBREAK
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VIRUS OUTBREAK-NEW ZEALAND — New Zealanders are set to face new COVID-19 restrictions after nine cases of the omicron variant were detected in a single family that flew to Auckland for a wedding earlier this month, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced.
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WASHINGTON/POLITICS
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ABORTION-VIRGINIA — Virginia’s new attorney general has altered the state’s position on a closely watched abortion case before the U.S. Supreme Court, with his office now saying it should be left to individual states to decide on restrictions. SENT: 270 words.
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INTERNATIONAL
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MIDEAST-SEIZURES — The U.S. Navy has announced it seized a boat in the Gulf of Oman carrying fertilizer used to make explosives that was caught last year smuggling weapons to Yemen. The British royal navy said it confiscated 2,295 pounds of illegal drugs in the same waters. SENT: 440 words.
YEMEN — Workers in war-wrecked Yemen recovered five more bodies from the rubble of a prison facility hit by a Saudi-led coalition airstrike, bringing the death toll to at least 87, an international aid group says. SENT: 190 words, photo.,
DENMARK-VIKING-SHIPS — For thousands of years, wooden sailboats allowed the peoples of Northern Europe to spread trade, influence and sometimes war across seas and continents. In December, the U.N.’s culture agency added Nordic “clinker boats” to its list of traditions that represent the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden jointly sought the UNESCO designation. SENT: 610 words, photos.
NORWAY-AFGHANISTAN-TALIBAN — A Taliban delegation led by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has started three days of talks in Oslo with Western government officials and Afghan civil society representatives amid a deteriorating humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. SENT: 470 words, photos.
IRAN-SOUTH KOREA — Using Iranian bank funds freed from American sanctions, South Korea has paid Iran’s $18 million in delinquent dues owed to the United Nations, Seoul said Sunday. The step was apparently approved by Washington to restore Tehran’s suspended voting rights at the world body. SENT: 490 words.
BRITAIN-POLITICS — A former minister in Britain’s Conservative government says she was told her Muslim faith was a reason she was fired, a claim that has deepened the rifts roiling Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s governing party. SENT: 410 words.
EMIRATES — The United Arab Emirates has banned the flying of drones in the country for recreation after Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed a fatal drone attack on an oil facility and major airport in the country. SENT: 220 words.
UKRAINE-MALANKA-PHOTO-GALLERY — Dressed as goats, bears, oxen and cranes, many Ukrainians ring in the new year in the colorful rituals of the Malanka holiday. Malanka, which draws on pagan folk tales, marks the new year according to the Julian calendar, meaning it falls on Jan. 13-14. SENT: 170 words, photos.
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NATIONAL
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POLICE-OFFICERS-SHOT — The 22-year-old New York City police officer who was shot to death while responding to a call in a Harlem apartment once wrote that he joined the force to make a difference in the “chaotic city.” A copy of a letter Jason Rivera wrote in 2020 to his commanding officer was obtained by The Associated Press. SENT: 880 words, photos.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE-BIG SUR — Firefighters were battling a wildfire that broke out in the rugged mountains along Big Sur, forcing hundreds of residents on this precarious stretch of the California coast to evacuate and authorities to shut its main roadway. SENT: 470 words, photos.
CUSTODY DEATH-VIDEO — Surveillance video shows a Black 17-year-old struggling with staff at a Wichita juvenile center last fall before he died after he was restrained facedown for more than 30 minutes. Sedgwick County released 18 video clips late Friday afternoon of what happened before Cedric Lofton was rushed to a hospital on Sept. 24. He died two days later. SENT: 450 words.
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ENTERTAINMENT
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MEAT LOAF-ELLEN FOLEY — It was singer Ellen Foley who belted out three famous words of warning to Meat Loaf — “Stop Right There!” — about halfway through their eight-and-a-half minute duet “Paradise By the Dashboard Light,” the epic seduction song on his mega-selling 1977 “Bat Out of Hell” album. Foley is looking back on the singular experience of making the memorable song as she recalls Meat Loaf and a “beautiful, feisty, joyful friendship” that began in her early 20s. SENT: 720 words, photos.
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SPORTS
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FBN-49ERS-PACKERS — Robbie Gould continued his playoff perfection and moved the San Francisco 49ers one step away from their second Super Bowl appearance in three seasons. Gould kicked a 45-yard field goal as time expired on a field littered with snow flurries to give the 49ers a 13-10 victory over the top-seeded Green Bay Packers in an NFC divisional playoff game. By Sports Writer Steve Megargee. SENT: 970 words, photos.
FBN-BENGALS-TITANS — The Cincinnati Bengals just keep ending postseason droughts. Their latest victory has them in their first AFC championship game in 33 years. Rookie Evan McPherson kicked a 52-yard field goal as time expired as the fourth-seeded Bengals beat the top-seeded Tennessee Titans 19-16 to end the NFL’s longest active road playoff skid. By Pro Football Writer Teresa M. Walker. SENT: 960 words, photos.
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HOW TO REACH US
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