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Indonesian President Joko Widodo has acknowledged that serious human rights violations occurred across the country in recent decades and vowed to compensate victims and prevent such abuses from happening again in the future JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Wednesday admitted serious human rights violations had occurred across the country in recent decades and vowed to compensate victims and prevent such abuses from happening again in the future. In televised comments, Widodo acknowledged “with a clear mind and sincere heart” a total of 12 incidents categorized as gross human rights violations that occurred from the northernmost province of Aceh to the easternmost province of Papua between the 1960s and early 2000s. Widodo's remarks came a day before Human Rights Watch was to release its annual world report on human rights conditions in more than 100 countries and territories. “I deeply regret it,” Widodo said, flanked by Coordinating Minister for Politic...

Pope Francis’ own role in the investigation into financial wrongdoing at the Holy See is again center stage VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis’ own role in the investigation into financial wrongdoing at the Holy See took center stage Friday in the Vatican tribunal, with witnesses saying he encouraged a key suspect to cooperate with prosecutors and a key defendant accusing him of interfering in the trial. Friday’s hearing was one of the most eagerly anticipated in the Vatican’s “trial of the century,” given it featured testimony from one of the more colorful figures in recent Vatican History , Francesca Chaouqui. The public relations expert was summoned after it emerged late last year that she had played a behind-the-scenes role in persuading a key suspect-turned-star-witness to change his story and implicate his former boss, Cardinal Angelo Becciu. But the daylong hearing ended with an unexpected bombshell, as Becciu responded to Chaouqui's testimony by reading aloud an exchange of le...

Brazil’s Supreme Court has agreed to investigate whether former president Jair Bolsonaro incited the far-right mob that ransacked the country’s Congress, top court and presidential offices, a swift escalation in the probe that shows the ex-leader could... RIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazil’s Supreme Court has agreed to investigate whether former president Jair Bolsonaro incited the far-right mob that ransacked the country’s Congress, top court and presidential offices, a swift escalation in the probe that shows the ex-leader could face legal consequences for an extremist movement he helped build. Justice Alexandre de Moraes granted a request from the prosecutor general's office to include Bolsonaro in the wider investigation, citing a video the former president posted on Facebook two days after the riot. It claimed Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wasn't voted into office, but rather was chosen by the Supreme Court and Brazil's electoral authority. Although Bolsonaro posted the video aft...

Finland’s defense minister has made a stirring argument for his country’s new gender-neutral parental leave system when he announced he would be stepping aside in few weeks to take care of his 6-month-old son HELSINKI -- Finland’s defense minister made a stirring argument for his country’s new gender-neutral parental leave system when he announced he would be stepping aside in few weeks to take care of his 6-month-old son, reassuring the nation that it would be in good hands amid a regional security crisis. While most Finns have shrugged off Antti Kaikkonen’s decision to take leave and the policy is in line with those in neighboring countries, it’s still not common for male politicians in Nordic states to make use of their parental leave. “Children remain small only for a moment, and I want to remember it in ways other than just photos,” Kaikkonen, a 48-year-old father of two, said on Twitter last week in making the argument for two months of parental leave starting Jan. 6. The news ca...

Ray Cordeiro, who interviewed music acts including the Beatles during a six-decade career on Hong Kong radio that earned him the title of the world’s longest-working disc jockey, has died HONG KONG -- Ray Cordeiro, who interviewed music acts including the Beatles during a six-decade career on Hong Kong radio that earned him the title of the world's longest-working disc jockey, has died, his former employer announced. He was 98. Cordeiro died Friday, according to Radio Television Hong Kong, where he worked until 2021. It gave no cause of death. Cordeiro, who was born in Hong Kong in 1924 of Portuguese descent, was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's longest-working DJ. He joined Hong Kong's public broadcast er in 1960 after working as a prison warden and bank clerk. His “All the Way With Ray” show of easy listening music was on RTHK Radio 3 for 51 years until his retirement. "The audience followed me, grew up with me, and they’re all over the wor...

Germany has inaugurated its second liquefied natural gas terminal BERLIN -- Germany on Saturday inaugurated its second liquefied natural gas terminal , part of a drive by Europe's biggest economy to put reliance on Russian energy sources firmly behind it. Chancellor Olaf Scholz took part in the ceremony in Lubmin on the Baltic Sea coast, which came less than a month after he inaugurated Germany's first LNG terminal at Wilhelmshaven on the North Sea. Several more are expected to go online in the coming months, including another in Lubmin. The terminal s are part of an effort to prevent an energy crunch that also includes temporarily reactivating old oil- and coal-fired power stations and extending the life of Germany’s last three nuclear power plants, which were supposed to be switched off at the end of 2022, until mid-April. Days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Scholz announced that his government had decided to build the first LNG terminals quickly. Germany also ...

Syria and key ally Iran have agreed to renew an economic strategic arrangement between the two countries as Damascus prepares to welcome Iran’s president in the near future DAMASCUS, Syria -- Syria and key ally Iran agreed Saturday to renew an economic strategic arrangement between the two countries as Damascus prepares to welcome Iran’s president in the near future. Since Syria's uprising turned into civil conflict in 2011, Tehran has sent thousands of Iran-backed fighters to help President Bashar Assad stay in power amid fighting that killed hundreds of thousands of civilians and displaced millions. Iran has also been a critical economic lifeline for Syria, delivering fuel and credit lines worth billions of dollars to help Damascus offset crippling Western-led sanctions. Syria's economy across both government and opposition-held areas has hit an all-time low over the past decade, with spiraling inflation, a currency plunge, and rampant power cuts. Syria and Iran signed al...

The U_N_ says comments from Afghanistan's Taliban-controlled central bank about cash shipments for humanitarian work are “misleading and unhelpful.” KABUL, Afghanistan -- The U.N. criticized Afghanistan’s Taliban-controlled central bank for making “ misleading and unhelpful ” remarks about cash destined for humanitarian work. It comes amid growing tension between the global body and the country's rulers over bans on female Education and employment. The U.N. uses the money mostly to provide millions of Afghans with critical humanitarian assistance, flying in cash because of banking disruptions since the Taliban seized power in August 2021. Foreign aid stopped after the takeover. World governments imposed sanctions, halted bank transfers and froze billions more in Afghanistan’s currency reserves, unwilling to work with the Taliban, given their rule in the late 1990s and their refusal to educate girls and allow women to work. The Taliban have, in the last 18 months, barred fem...

A 10-year-old Australian boy who was critically injured two weeks ago when two helicopters collided, killing four people, has woken from a coma SYDNEY -- A 10-year-old Australian boy who was critically injured two weeks ago when two helicopters collided, killing four people, had woken from a coma in hospital and held his father’s hand, a family priest said. Nicholas Tadros remained in the Queensland Children’s Hospital in Brisbane where medical staff described his condition on Monday as “critical but stable.” His mother, Vanessa Tadros, 36, was killed when two Sea World theme park helicopters collided during joy flights on Jan. 2 at the tourist city of Gold Coast, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Brisbane. She was buried on Monday after a funeral near the family home in western Sydney. One of the priests who conducted the funeral, Father Suresh Kumar, posted on social media on Monday that the son has “been off life support now for a few days and his body has responded very well.” “The...

The British government is considering blocking a new law that makes it easier for people in Scotland to legally change their gender LONDON -- The British government is considering blocking a new law that makes it easier for people in Scotland to legally change their gender — a move that would spark conflict with trans gender rights advocates and the nationalist Scottish administration in Edinburgh. The Financial Times reported Monday that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative administration was set to veto the Scottish law. The government said no decision has been made but that it had concerns about the law, “particularly around safety issues for women and children.” The law approved by the Scottish parliament last month allows people age 16 or older to change the gender designation on their identity documents by self-declaration, removing the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria. It also cuts the time trans people must live in a different expressed gender before t...

Yeti Airlines flight 691 crashed Sunday just before landing in Nepal’s tourist city of Pokhara, the gateway to a popular hiking area in the Himalayas, after a 27-minute trip from Kathmandu BANGKOK -- BANGKOK (AP) — Yeti Airlines flight 691 crash ed Sunday just before landing in Nepal's tourist city of Pokhara, the gateway to a popular hiking area in the Himalayas, after a 27-minute trip from Kathmandu. At least 69 of the 72 people aboard have been confirmed dead. Pilots say Nepal can be a challenging place to fly, but conditions at the time of the crash were good, with low wind, clear skies and temperatures well above freezing. So what might have caused the crash of the ATR 72 aircraft? DID THE PLANE STALL? A dramatic video shot on a smartphone from the ground shows the last moments before the plane crash ed in a gorge about 1.6 kilometers (a mile) from newly opened Pokhara International Airport. The aircraft's nose is noticeably high before the left wing suddenly drops and t...

The death toll from a weekend Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro has risen to 40 DNIPRO, Ukraine -- Ukrainian emergency crews on Monday sifted through what was left of a Dnipro apartment building destroyed by a Russian missile, placing bodies from one of the war's deadliest single attacks in months in black bags and gingerly carrying them across steep piles of rubble. Authorities said the death toll from Saturday's strike rose to 40 and that 30 people remained missing Monday. Tall cranes swung across the jagged gaps in a row of residential towers, the engines growling as residents of one of Ukraine's largest cities watched largely in silence under a gray sky. About 1,700 people lived in the multistory building, and search and rescue crews have worked nonstop since the missile strike to locate victims and survivors in the wreckage. The regional administration said 39 people have been rescued and at least 75 were wou...

Thousands of Iranians in Europe have marched to the EU Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg in support of Iran’s anti-government protesters as Paris prepared an Eiffel Tower tribute to Mahsa Amini, whose death prompted the demonstrations PARIS -- Some 5,000 people marched Monday to the EU parliament in the French city of Strasbourg in support of Iran's anti-government protesters as Paris prepared an Eiffel Tower tribute to Mahsa Amini, whose death in September prompted the demonstrations. The Strasbourg march was organized by Iranians in Europe on the 44th anniversary of the day when Iran’s last Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, ailing and under growing pressure, left the country for ever. The following month, the monarchy collapsed under the fervor of the Islamic revolution that gave Iran its theocracy. Some of the demonstrators Monday carried photos of the former king. Last week, over 100 MEPs signed a letter calling for the European Union to take a firmer stance against Iran. ...

A London police officer has admitted sexually assaulting a dozen women over a 17-year period LONDON -- A London police officer on Monday admitted raping and sexually assaulting a dozen women over a 17-year period, in what prosecutors described as one of the most shocking cases involving a serving police officer. David Carrick, 48, pleaded guilty to 49 offenses, including 24 counts of rape and charges that included assault, attempted rape and false imprisonment. The officer, who joined London's Metropolitan Police force in 2001, had served with the parliamentary and diplomatic protection command. The police department apologized to victims after it emerged that nine allegations of rape and other crimes were made against Carrick between 2000 and 2021. He was only suspended from the force after his arrest for a rape complaint in 2021. Assistant Commissioner Barbara Gray said the case was “devastating” and apologized for not removing Carrick from the force earlier. “He has had a devast...

Ukraine’s first lady is pressing world leaders and corporate executives at the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering to do more to help her country at a time when Russia’s invasion is leaving children dying and the world struggling with food insecurity DAVOS, Switzerland -- Ukraine’s first lady on Tuesday pressed world leaders and corporate executives at the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering to do more to help her country at a time when Russia's invasion is leaving children dying and the world struggling with food insecurity. As the anniversary of the war nears, Olena Zelenska said parents in Ukraine are in tears watching doctors trying to save their children, farmers are afraid to return to their fields filled with mines and “we cannot allow a new Chernobyl to happen,” referring to the 1986 nuclear disaster as Russian missiles have pounded Ukrainian energy infrastructure for months. “What you all have in common is that you are genuinely influential," Zelenska told att...

German news agency dpa is reporting that Swedish climate activist Great Thunberg and several other protesters have been carried away by German police from the edge of an open coal pit mine BERLIN -- Police in western Germany carried Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and other protest ers away Tuesday from the edge of an open coal pit mine where they demonstrated against the ongoing destruction of a village to make way for the mine's expansion, German news agency dpa reported. Thunberg was among hundreds of people who resumed anti-mining protests at multiple locations in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia a day after the last two climate activists holed up in a tunnel beneath the village of Luetzerath left the site. The German government reached a deal with energy company RWE last year allowing it to destroy the village in return for ending coal use by 2030, rather than 2038. Both argue the coal is needed to ensure Germany’s energy security that's squeeze...