Businessman close to Maduro was DEA informant, records show
Newly unsealed court records show that a Colombian businessman linked to Venezuelan President Nicolรกs Maduro was secretly signed up by the Drug Enforcement Administration as a cooperating source in 2018 and gave agents information about bribes he paid to Venezuelan officials.
Maduro ally appears in court to face corruption charges
A businessman who prosecutors say was a major conduit for corruption by Nicolรกs Maduroโs inner circle has appeared for the first time in Miami federal court after an extradition that has further strained relations between the U.S. and Venezuelaโs socialist government.
William, Harry condemn BBC over 'deceitful' Diana interview
Prince William and his brother Prince Harry have issued strongly-worded statements criticizing the BBC and British media for unethical practices after an investigation found that one of the broadcasterโs journalists used โdeceitful behaviorโ to secure Princess Dianaโs most explosive TV interview in 1995.
Greek Independence Day events culminate in military parade
Military helicopters fly over Acropolis Hill during a military parade in Athens, Thursday, March 25, 2021. Greece celebrates the bicentenary of the start of the country's war of independence against the Ottoman Empire. Unable to watch the parade in person, many Athenians came out onto balconies in the center of the city to watch the flyby, snapping pictures with cameras and mobile phones. AdThis crucial blow enabled the Greeks to fight on and eventually gain independence in 1830. โTwo centuries ago, a handful of determined fighters within and outside Greece, raised the banner of independence.
Greece kicks off events for bicentenary of independence war
A worker places a Greek flag at a tribune, ahead of a military parade, in Athens, Tuesday, March 23, 2021. The military parade on March 25, marking 200-years since the war that resulted in Greece's independence from the Ottoman Empire and rebirth as a nation, will be held without spectators due to the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)ATHENS โ Greece on Wednesday kicked off two days of celebrations to mark the bicentenary of the start of the countryโs war of independence, although events are far more muted than originally planned due to the pandemic. Celebrations are to culminate in a military parade, accompanied by air force overflights, in central Athens on Thursday, Greeceโs Independence Day. The 200th anniversary of the start of Greeceโs war of independence comes at a time of frosty relations with neighbor and NATO ally Turkey.
Royalty TV: UK monarchy and television have complex ties
Britains royal family and television have a complicated relationship. The medium has helped define the modern monarchy: The 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was Britains first mass TV spectacle. (AP Photo/File)LONDON โ Britainโs royal family and television have a complicated relationship. The medium has helped define the modern monarchy: The 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II was Britainโs first mass TV spectacle. The fictionalized take of Netflix hit โThe Crownโ has molded views of the monarchy for a new generation, though in ways the powerful, image-conscious royal family canโt control.
UK police won't probe journalist over 1995 Diana interview
FILE - This Jan. 22, 2013 file photo shows Martin Bashir at the EA SimCity Learn. British police said Thursday March 4, 2021, that they will not launch a criminal investigation into the journalist Martin Bashir over his 1995 interview with the late Princess Diana. (Photo by Nick Wass/Invision/AP, File)LONDON โ British police said Thursday that they will not launch a criminal investigation into the journalist Martin Bashir over his 1995 interview with Princess Diana. The Metropolitan Police force said โno further action will be takenโ over allegations Bashir used illegal subterfuge to get the interview. Charles Spencer, has alleged that Bashir used false documents, including fake bank statements, and other dishonest tactics to convince Diana to agree to the interview.
Camilla says hospitalized Prince Philip is 'slightly' better
A policeman carries a well wisher's card and ballon outside St Bartholomew's Hospital where Britain's Prince Philip is being treated, in London, Wednesday, March 3, 2021. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)LONDON โ Prince Philip is โslightly improvingโ and the royal family is keeping its fingers crossed for the hospitalized royal's recovery, his daughter-in-law Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, said Wednesday. Philip, 99, has been hospitalized since being admitted Feb. 16 to King Edward VIIโs Hospital in London, where he was treated for an infection. On Monday, he was transferred to a specialized cardiac care hospital, St. Bartholomewโs, to undergo further treatment alongside testing and observation for a pre-existing heart condition. "Weโll keep our fingers crossed.โThe duchess is married to Prince Charles, eldest son of Philip and Queen Elizabeth II.
Despite bleak 2020, celebrities make effort to brighten year
(AP Photo)LOS ANGELES โ Yes, 2020 may seem like a complete fail with all the constant bad news and tragic moments. Itโs been filled with gloom and doom(scrolling), but some celebrities and those inspired by them have tried to brighten a bleak year. He reassigned his 10 seamstresses in New York to produce thousands daily for health care workers on the frontlines. The singer and husband Emilio Estefan's restaurant Estefan Kitchen served up homemade meals for health care workers in Miami. The challenge coordinated offers by celebrities and athletes to raise funds to feed those in need during the pandemic.
'First Cow,' 'Nomadland' top AP's best films of 2020
This image released by Searchlight Pictures shows Frances McDormand in a scene from the film "Nomadland" by Chloe Zhao. Here are our picks for the best movies of 2020:JAKE COYLE1. โDavid Byrneโs American Utopiaโ: Spike Leeโs fiction films make more noise but heโs quietly one of the best documentary filmmakers we have. He may have made the best film of the year in his short film โNew York, New York,โ a tribute to an undefeatable pandemic-stricken city. It's also, with a glorious rendering of Harlem, one of the best New York movies in years.
'Shuggie Bain' writer Douglas Stuart wins Booker Prize
LONDON โ Scottish writer Douglas Stuart won the Booker Prize for fiction Thursday for โShuggie Bain,โ the story of a boyโs turbulent coming of age in hardscrabble 1980s Glasgow. Stuart, 44, won the prestigious 50,000 pound ($66,000) award for his first published novel, the product of a decade of work. Stuart dedicated the book to own mother, who died when he was 16. Though there have been many British winners of the Booker Prize, most of them English, Stuart is the first Scottish victor since James Kelman took the 1994 prize with โHow Late it Was, How Lateโ โ a book Stuart has called an inspiration. Mantel won the Booker for both its predecessors, โWolf Hallโ and โBring up the Bodies,โ and had been widely tipped for the hat trick.
Prince William welcomes new probe into 1995 Diana interview
LONDON โ Prince William has โtentatively welcomedโ an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding a BBC interview in 1995 with his mother, Princess Diana, royal officials said Thursday. William, who is second in line to the throne, said in a statement that the probe is โa step in the right direction." The investigation will consider if the steps taken by the broadcaster and Bashir were appropriate, and whether those actions influenced Dianaโs decision to give the interview. The 1995 interview, in which Diana famously said โthere were three of us in this marriageโ โ referring to Prince Charlesโ relationship with Camilla Parker-Bowles โ was watched by millions of people and sent shockwaves through the monarchy. Diana divorced from Charles in 1996 and died in a Paris car crash in 1997 as she was pursued by paparazzi.
BBC names ex-judge to lead probe into 1995 Diana interview
The announcement came after Dianaโs brother, Charles Spencer, made renewed claims this month that BBC journalist Martin Bashir used forged statements and false claims to convince the late royal to agree to the interview. The investigation will consider if the steps taken by the BBC and Bashir were appropriate and to what extent those actions influenced Dianaโs decision to give an interview. John Dyson, a former Supreme Court judge, is โan eminent and highly respected figure who will lead a thorough process,โ the BBC said. Charles Spencer has demanded an inquiry and an apology. The BBC carried out an internal investigation when the complaints first surfaced and has said Bashir admitted commissioning mocked-up documents.
Bound despite Brexit: Prince Charles hails UK-Germany ties
Britain's Prince Charles arrives for a meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Bellevue Palace in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020. Prince Charles attends Germany's national memorial day and will held a speech at the parliament building. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)BERLIN โ Prince Charles called Sunday for Britain and Germany to remember their long and close ties, reaffirmed by the nations' reconciliation after two world wars, as the U.K. tries to find its place outside โ but also alongside โ the European Union. The palace was built in the late 18th century by Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, to whom Charles is distantly related through his family's German line. Charles, 72, was exempt due to the diplomatic nature of his trip from Germany's rules requiring him to go into quarantine on arrival from Britain.
Britain's Prince Charles celebrates 72nd birthday
LONDON โ Britainโs Prince Charles celebrated his 72nd birthday Saturday following an eventful year that saw him contract the coronavirus and his son Prince Harry step down from official royal duties. Charlesโ eldest son, Prince William, and his wife, Kate, were among those wishing him a happy birthday on social media. But like the rest of the royal family, Charles has had to adapt his many official engagements by moving them online during the pandemic. The year also saw Charlesโ son Harry and his wife, the former Meghan Markle, move abroad after quitting royal duties. Charles, known as the Prince of Wales, is the queenโs eldest son.
Show goes on for Olivier Awards, even with UK theaters shut
Scott and Ian McKellen were among acting winners as Britains Laurence Olivier Awards celebrated the best of the London stage in bittersweet fashion Sunday night, Oct. 25, 2020 - most U.K. theaters remain closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)LONDON โ Andrew Scott and Ian McKellen were among acting winners as Britainโs Laurence Olivier Awards celebrated the best of the London stage in bittersweet fashion Sunday night โ most U.K. theaters remain closed because of the coronavirus pandemic. McKellen won a special Olivier โ his seventh โ for his one-man 80th birthday tour of the U.K., staged before the pandemic as a fundraiser for regional theaters. A handful of theaters have reopened to reduced, socially distanced audiences, but many are still shut and relying on emergency funding from the government to stay afloat. Olivier organizers say the next awards ceremony will likely not be until 2022, because so little work has been staged this year.
Donated bikes help ease difficulties through pandemic
A recipient of a bicycle from the Benjamin Canlas Courage to be Kind Foundation pushes her bicycle outside a building at the financial district of Manila, Philippines, Saturday, July 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)MANILA A year after he passed away at age 17, Benjamin Canlas is still making the world a better place -- one bike at a time. There is so much need out there, said Dr. Glennda Canlas, co-founder with her husband Dr. George Canlas of the private Benjamin Canlas Courage to be Kind Foundation. It is working on launching more sustainable projects that will help more while also inspiring others to pay it forward. We live in a world where it still takes courage to be kind, said Dr. Glennda Canlas.
Scottish grandmother climbs a mountain, one step at a time
The feat took her 73 days and kept her busy for 10 weeks while the nation sheltered in lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Payne Family via AP)LONDON In the end, Margaret Payne scaled her mountain, one step at a time. The 90-year-old grandmother who launched an epic climb to raise money for charity completed her fundraiser Tuesday. Payne, who is from Ardvar in the Scottish Highlands, calculated that climbing 282 flights of her staircase would get her to the top of a mountain she climbed only once, when she was 15. Three other charities, NHS Highlands, Highlands Hospice and RNL will also benefit.