PARIS (AP) — A French man has been sentenced to life in prison for stabbing an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor to death in an antisemitic attack. The case triggered widespread outrage and called attention to resurgent anti-Jewish sentiment in France. Mireille Knoll’s family welcomed the verdict but is pushing for an annual homage to all victims of antisemitism to keep her spirit alive. Knoll was found dead with multiple stab wounds in 2018 in her apartment, which was then set ablaze. Tribute marches were held around France to honor her and denounce racism. President Emmanuel Macron attended her ..read more

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syria says the government has signed a contract with a group of companies from the United Arab Emirates to build a solar power station in a suburb of the capital of Damascus. Thursday’s announcement follows a meeting this week between the UAE foreign minister and Syria’s President Bashar Assad in Damascus, the first such visit since the Syrian conflict started a decade ago. Syrian state-run media say the station will be finished in two years and will generate 300 megawatts at peak rates. The reports didn’t say how much the construction would cost but added that it will s ..read more

Tampa Bay’s high-scoring offense faces Washington’s slowly improving defense in a rematch of the teams’ playoff game last season. Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers are 6-2 and look like legitimate contenders. Washington fell to 2-6 before its bye week with a 17-10 loss at Denver. Taylor Heinicke has become Washington’s starting quarterback after making his debut with the team in the wild-card round loss to Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers are 9½-point favorites this time. The post High-scoring Buccaneers’ offense takes show to Washington appeared first on WVVA ..read more

AMSTERDAM (AP) — The European Medicines Agency has recommended the authorization of two new medicines against the coronavirus for people at risk of severe disease. In a statement on Thursday, the EU drug regulator said it had concluded that the monoclonal antibody treatments — a combination of casirivimab and imdevimab, and the drug regdanvimab — have both been proven to significantly reduce the risk of hospitalization and death in patients vulnerable to serious COVID-19. The EMA described the safety profile of both medicines as “favorable,” and said that despite a small number of side effects ..read more

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A man who is serving a 25-year prison sentence for rigging computers to win lottery jackpots for himself, friends and family is suing Iowa, claiming he was pressured four years ago to plead guilty to crimes he did not commit. Eddie Tipton filed documents starting the lawsuit from prison in January 2020. He wants the court to halt all restitution he’s been ordered to pay until a trial is held. A lawyer from the Iowa attorney general’s office asked a judge to dismiss Tipton’s lawsuit as frivolous. Tipton in 2017 accepted a plea agreement and was ordered to repay $2 millio ..read more

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — A Florida aquarium will temporarily close to treat its dolphin with a prosthetic tail that starred in the “Dolphin Tale” movies and is now in critical condition from a suspected infection. The Clearwater Marine Aquarium said in a statement it will close Friday “to create the best possible environment” for medical staff to treat Winter, a 16-year-old female bottlenose dolphin suffering from a gastrointenstinal infection. Winter was two months old when her tail became entangled in a crab trap near Cape Canaveral, forcing its amputation. “Dolphin Tale,” released in 2011, c ..read more

CAIRO (AP) — An advocacy group says internet has remained largely disrupted in Sudan since last month’s military coup, despite a court order for providers to restore the service. NetBlocks tweeted on Thursday that the disruption has entered its eighteenth day and that this is an “ongoing impediment” to democracy and human rights. A Sudanese court on Wednesday ordered the country’s three main telecommunications providers to restore internet access. However, authorities have not shown any signs yet of carrying out that order. The Sudanese military seized power in October, dissolving the country ..read more

NEW YORK (AP) — The skeptics of Wall Street have gone missing. As the stock market surges to record after record, activity has dwindled to a nearly two-decade low for the traders known as short sellers, who make their money betting stocks will fall. That will sadden nearly no one. Critics from Capitol Hill to Main Street often paint short sellers as merchants of pain who only hurt the market. But experts and remaining short sellers say they provide an important service suited for this moment: offering a counterweight against stock prices that may be rising too high, too fast.  The post Di ..read more

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Dutch public health institute has announced the highest daily tally of new COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. The announcement comes as the government reportedly is considering a limited lockdown to put the brakes on spiking infections. The institute said Thursday it recorded 16,364 new positive tests in the 24 hours to 10 a.m., a rise of 3,688 over the previous day. The soaring number of cases comes despite more than 84% of the Dutch adult population being fully vaccinated. Hospitals in the southern province of Limburg — the hardest-hit Dutch region — s ..read more

MILAN (AP) — Daniel Lee is leaving his job as creative director at Bottega Veneta after three years and creating the brand’s distinctive cloud-like bags and slip-on footwear. Bottega Veneta did not give a reason for the surprise departure of the 35-year-old Lee, a British designer who joined the Italian fashion house in July 2018. The company, which revealed the news Wednesday, said a new creative organization would be announced soon. The fashion house’s CEO, Leo Rongone, credited Lee’s creative vision with helping the brand grow over the last three years. “He provided Bottega Veneta with a fr ..read more