Spanish prosecutors seek 9-year prison sentence for Dani Alves in sexual assault trial

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:04:10 GMT

Spanish prosecutors seek 9-year prison sentence for Dani Alves in sexual assault trial MADRID (AP) — Prosecutors are seeking a nine-year prison sentence for Brazilian soccer player Dani Alves for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman last year, a Spanish court said Thursday.Alves is set to face trial over allegations he assaulted the woman in a night club in Barcelona on Dec. 30. He was indicted by an investigative judge in August and the court said this month there was enough evidence to open a trial. A date for the hearings was not yet set.The former Barcelona defender has denied any wrongdoing, claiming he had consensual sex with the accuser.Prosecutors also want Alves to pay 150,000 euros ($163,000) in damages to the victim, and to be prohibited from having any contact with her for an additional 10 years. They also want Alves to be remain supervised for a decade after serving his prison term.If found guilty, Alves would be prohibited from any type of work with minors for 10 years after his term, in accordance with Spanish law.Under Spain’s new sexual consent law, ...

German soccer federation limits Facebook comments following racist abuse directed at U17 players

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:04:10 GMT

German soccer federation limits Facebook comments following racist abuse directed at U17 players BERLIN (AP) — The German soccer federation has had to limit comments on the Facebook page of its junior teams following a slew of racist and discriminatory comments against its Under-17 players.The federation posted a picture of four players from the Germany U17 team, all Black, celebrating Tuesday’s 3-2 win over the United States in the round of 16 at the U17 World Cup in Indonesia.But the post was met by a torrent of racist comments from a host of Facebook users about the players – Charles Herrmann, Almugera Kabar, Paris Brunner (all from Borussia Dortmund) and Fayssal Harchaoui (Cologne).The federation responded by switching off comments and posting a statement of its own.“We’re proud of the diversity in our Under-17s, who are currently playing their hearts out in Indonesia,” the federation said. “The commitment to diversity is firmly anchored in the federation’s statutes — as are the values of tolerance and respect. If you don’t share these values, please unfollow us. Discrimina...

Bobsledder Kaysha Love pushed her way to an Olympics. She now wants to drive to another

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:04:10 GMT

Bobsledder Kaysha Love pushed her way to an Olympics. She now wants to drive to another Kaysha Love is trying to pull off perhaps the most difficult transition in bobsledding, the one where a push athlete tries to become a driver.Last year, the results weren’t great.This year, so far, they are.Hard as this may be to believe, the four-year cycle between one Winter Games and the next is almost half over already — and Love’s recent run of success suggests that she’s a serious hopeful to be part of the U.S. team at the 2026 Olympics. (Italy will host those games, though the sliding will take place elsewhere since plans to rebuild a track fell through.)“My goal is to return to the Olympics,” said Love, who was at the 2022 Beijing Games as the push athlete for three-time Olympic champion Kaillie Humphries. “And I understand that it just takes more time to develop as a pilot than it does as a brakeman. Ultimately, the goal is just to return to the games, whether that’s a pilot or as a brakeman. But I would love to see it, God willing, be in the pilot d...

Para los migrantes que aún enfrentan viajes traumáticos a EE.UU., el Día de Acción de Gracias será un día como cualquier otro

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:04:10 GMT

Para los migrantes que aún enfrentan viajes traumáticos a EE.UU., el Día de Acción de Gracias será un día como cualquier otro (CNN) — Cuando los estadounidenses se sienten a cenar para el Día de Acción de Gracias, Jean Luis Hernández, de 7 años, estará en la habitación individual que comparte con su familia en un otrora elegante hotel de Manhattan, extrañando a sus queridos abuelos en Venezuela.“Piensa en ellos todo el tiempo”, dice Lucelys García, de 27 años, madre del niño. “Siempre estuvo con ellos”.Jean Luis, su madre, su padrastro y su tía no comerán pavo con salsa este jueves. No verán fútbol por televisión. Su tía de 17 años, Kimberlyn Nayib Izquierdo Flores, nunca ha oído hablar de los Pilgrims ni del Mayflower.Sin embargo, cuenta con entusiasmo cómo ella y sus tres familiares viajaron en los últimos meses a través de media docena de países y una selva brutal llamada el Darién, donde vieron cuerpos flotando boca abajo en ríos crecidos por la lluvia.El cruce por el Darién, un infierno con ruta al futuro“Fuimos de Colombia a Panamá, de Panamá a Costa Rica, luego Nicaragua y Honduras, Guatemala ...

Lawrence shoots 62 to lead by 3 strokes at Joburg Open in first week of 2024 European tour season

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:04:10 GMT

Lawrence shoots 62 to lead by 3 strokes at Joburg Open in first week of 2024 European tour season JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African golfer Thriston Lawrence began his bid for a second title at the Joburg Open by shooting 8-under 62 Thursday to lead by three shots after the first round of the season-opening event on the European tour.The 2024 season began just four days after the 2023 one finished in Dubai — and the No. 90-ranked Lawrence maintained his fine form from the World Tour Championship, where he finished in a tie for fifth place.Lawrence, who won the Joburg Open by four strokes in Nov 2021 and has captured three more titles since, birdied five of his first six holes to quickly tie for first place with clubhouse leader and compatriot Nikhol Rama (65), a player ranked No. 1,214.Lawrence added more birdies at Nos. 13 and 14 and then rolled in a putt from 10 feet at the last to pick up another shot in a bogey-free round at Houghton Golf Club.Defending champion Dan Bradbury shot 66 and was in a 10-way tie for third place.The event marks the start of three straight tournament...

Aurora school donated 500 pounds of goods for Thanksgiving

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:04:10 GMT

Aurora school donated 500 pounds of goods for Thanksgiving DENVER (KDVR) -- An Aurora school gathered students, staff and families prior to Thanksgiving to raise enough goods to fill an entire truck worth of goods.Aurora Frontier P-8 organized a food and necessities drive leading up to Thanksgiving.Aurora Public Schools tweeted photos on Thursday morning. These places need volunteers for Thanksgiving in Denver Aurora Public Schools food giveaway (Courtesy of Aurora Public Schools)Aurora Public Schools food giveaway (Courtesy of Aurora Public Schools)Aurora Public Schools food giveaway (Courtesy of Aurora Public Schools)The school collected an estimated 500-600 pounds of goods and donated the food and necessities to SECOR Cares, a company focused on helping end suburban poverty.SECOR already picked up the goods earlier this week and will distribute the items at its food bank in Parker, Colorado.If you haven't volunteered or donated this Thanksgiving, it's not too late. There are still places in the Denver metro area that are accepting volu...

From Bruno Mars to Lauren hill, concerts are coming to South Florida in December

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:04:10 GMT

From Bruno Mars to Lauren hill, concerts are coming to South Florida in December If November is all about the Thanksgiving food and giving gratitude, December is all about the Christmas music. Pretty soon you won’t be able to escape it.Have no fear, Deco’s monthly concert forecast is here. It calls for variety with only a 20% chance of a jolly jingle.Get ready to rock and to dance.Bleachers, The Black Keys, and Jelly Roll are just some of the big names hitting the stage at this year’s Riptide Music Festival.It’s all going down on Fort Lauderdale Beach, Dec. 2 and 3.Two-day and single day ticket options are available. Just don’t forget to grab some sunscreen.What’s better than one Bruno Mars concert? Two bruno mars concerts, of course.The R&B superstar is playing back-to-back shows at Hard Rock Live in Hollywood on Dec. 7 and 8.Just one catch though, no phones or smart watches allowed.Let’s party like it’s 1998.Miss Lauryn Hill is hitting the road to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her hit album “The Mis...

Films to look forward to in December

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:04:10 GMT

Films to look forward to in December We might not see cold temps here in the 305, but that won’t stop us from bundling up with a warm blanket for a good movie night.Speaking of movie nights, this December is bringing some good flicks to the big screens.From true stories to a musical remake of a 19-80’s classic, here’s what to expect from cinemas this December.“The Boys in the Boat”Based on real events, “The Boys in the Boat” tells the story of the University of Washington men’s crew team, and their quest for gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.The guys have to learn to work together to beat out other teams from their school just to get to Berlin, but then, they have to beat Hitler’s athletes in their own country.George Clooney directs the film, and english actor Callum Turner stars as rower, Joe Rantz.George Clooney: “Rowing, in particular in the 1920s, was one of the most attended sports for the United States. ‘The Boys in the Boat” was about strong,...

Germany’s Lindner signals government to suspend debt brake for 2023

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:04:10 GMT

Germany’s Lindner signals government to suspend debt brake for 2023 BERLIN — German Finance Minister Christian Lindner announced Thursday that he will propose a draft supplementary budget for 2023, signaling that the government will seek to suspend the country’s debt brake in the aftermath of a constitutional court ruling that has plunged the country into a severe political and budgetary crisis.“There is now new legal clarity on how we have to deal with special assets and emergency loans,” Lindner said in a short statement to reporters. “We will now put expenditure, particularly for the electricity and gas price brakes, on a constitutionally secure footing.”Germany’s constitutional court ruled last week that a government plan to repurpose €60 billion left over from an emergency COVID-19 fund to finance the ruling coalition’s green agenda was unconstitutional. But the ruling also has far wider implications that limit the government’s ability to draw from a variety of special funds created to circumvent ...

EU to deploy more guards to bolster Finland’s border control efforts

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:04:10 GMT

EU to deploy more guards to bolster Finland’s border control efforts EU border agency Frontex said Thursday it plans to deploy 50 border guard officers and other staff, along with equipment such as patrol cars, to bolster Finland’s border control activities amid accusations that Russia is stoking an immigrant influx on its eastern border.The EU move follows the Finnish government’s decision to close all eastern border crossing points with Russia except Raja-Jooseppi from Friday night until December 23. The Finnish tabloid newspaper Iltalehti reported the situation on the eastern border has not improved and that there are signs that the crisis could escalate further, citing Prime Minister Petteri Orpo.“This significant reinforcement is expected to be on the ground as soon as next week,” Frontex said in a statement. Frontex currently has 10 officers on the Finnish borders.“Frontex’s support to Finland goes beyond logistics; it’s a demonstration of the European Union’s unified stand against hybrid challenges affecting one of its member...