Review: Three novels for the price of one, 'Choice' hinges on big decisions (2024)

Vietnamese state media outlet VN Express reports that the head of Vietnam’s Parliament, Vuong Dinh Hue, has resigned. He is the latest member of senior government to leave office amid an ongoing anti-corruption campaign. Hue’s resignation takes places days after his assistant Pham Thai Ha was arrested on charges of abusing his position and power for personal gain, according to various state media outlets. Hue, 67, had been the chairman of Vietnam’s national assembly for over three years. The chairman of the national assembly is the fourth most important politician in Vietnam, along with the President, the Prime Minister and the head of the Communist Party.

Turkey’s state-run news agency has reported that a court sentenced a Syrian woman to life in prison for a deadly explosion on a busy shopping district in Istanbul in 2022. Alham Albashir was given seven consecutive life sentences after being convicted on terrorism charges on Friday. The blast on Nov. 13, 2022 tore through Istiklal Avenue. The thoroughfare in Istanbul is lined with shops and restaurants. The explosion killed six people including two children and wounded 99 others. Authorities accused Albashir and a man named as Bilal el-Hacmaus of being intelligence operatives of Syrian Kurdish militia group YPG and its political branch the PYD. Turkey regards the YPG as the Syrian arm of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party.

Company to Close its Beryllium-Aluminum Alloy Plant This Summer Due to Insufficient Long-Term Market Demand

Vietnamese state media reports head of parliament has resigned amid corruption probe.

Kenya’s state-owned airline has accused the Republic of Congo’s military of holding two of its staffers since last week over cargo issues. Kenya Airways on Friday said the staffers were arrested in its airport office in the capital, Kinshasa, over missing documentation for cargo that the airline had not accepted. The cargo has been described as “valuable,” but its contents have not been disclosed. Kenya and Congo enjoy cordial relations, with Kenya participating in U.N-backed peacekeeping missions in Congo.

Students at a prestigious university in Paris have resumed pro-Palestinian protests, days after French police broke up a similar demonstration inspired by Gaza solidarity encampments at campuses around the United States. About 40 students at Sciences Po university are blocking an entrance to a campus building in central Paris with trash cans, a bicycle and wooden platforms. The group remained in the building overnight into Friday in defiance of administrators who students say called the police on their peers earlier in the week. Similar demonstrations are roiling campuses from California to Connecticut.

Friday

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A Swedish parliament committee says Sweden which joined NATO in March, should increase its military budget by nearly 54 billion kronor ($5 billion) until 2030 to strengthen its air defense and increase the number of conscripts, among other measures. The report, which was presented to the government on Friday, said that membership in the military alliance and the serious security situation require higher ambitions. The report was penned by the Defense Committee which was made up of representatives of the eight political parties in the Swedish parliament, the Riksdag. The center-right, three-party coalition of Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is likely to follow the its recommendations.

Emma Hayes didn’t want anyone to get carried away by Chelsea’s surprise 1-0 win over Barcelona last week in the Women’s Champions League semifinals. That’s because Chelsea needs to finish the job Saturday in the second-leg match in order to reach just its second-ever final — in Hayes’ final season at the club. Defending champion Barcelona won at Stamford Bridge in the semifinals a year ago and arrived in London with plenty of firepower to make a comeback. Lyon faces Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday at Parc des Princes in the other second-leg semifinal. Eight-time champion Lyon trailed 2-0 but came back to win 3-2 in last week’s opener.

Defense lawyers in Donald Trump’s hush money trial are poised to dig into an account of the former publisher of the National Enquirer and his efforts to protect Trump from negative stories during the 2016 election. David Pecker returns to the witness stand Friday for the fourth day as defense attorneys try to poke holes in his testimony, which has described helping bury embarrassing stories Trump feared could hurt his campaign. The cross-examination, which began Thursday, will cap a consequential week in the criminal cases the former president is facing. Trump has has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.

Brazilian soccer star Marta plans to retire from the women's national team after this year. The six-time women’s world player of the year has told CNN Brasil that she hopes to play in the Olympics in Paris but said that would be her last major tournament for the national team. The 38-year-old Orlando Pride playmaker apparently did not say whether she plans to continue her club career in 2025. Marta said she wants to play at the Paris Games for what would be her sixth Olympic appearance. She helped Brazil win silver medals in 2004 and 2008.

Egypt has sent a high-level delegation to Israel with the hope of brokering a cease-fire agreement with Hamas in Gaza. At the same time, Egypt warned that a possible Israeli offensive focused on the southern city of Rafah on the border with Egypt could have catastrophic consequences to regional stability. As the war drags on and casualties mount, there is growing international pressure for Hamas and Israel to reach an agreement on a cease fire. Friday’s cease-fire talks were to focus on a limited exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners, and the return of a significant number of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza.

An investigation led by The Associated Press has found that the practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police has spread quietly across the nation over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts. The injections are given by medical personnel during police encounters. The investigation shows how a strategy intended to reduce violence and save lives has resulted in some avoidable deaths. While sedatives were mentioned as a cause or contributing factor in a dozen official death rulings, authorities often didn’t even investigate whether injections were appropriate in the 94 deaths identified by the AP over a decade. About half of the 94 who died were Black.

An investigation led by The Associated Press has found that the practice of giving sedatives to people detained by police has spread quietly across the nation over the last 15 years, built on questionable science and backed by police-aligned experts. The injections are given by medical personnel during police encounters. The investigation shows how a strategy intended to reduce violence and save lives has resulted in some avoidable deaths. While sedatives were mentioned as a cause or contributing factor in a dozen official death rulings, authorities often didn’t even investigate whether injections were appropriate in the 94 deaths identified by the AP over a decade. About half of the 94 who died were Black.

A former researcher working in the U.K. Parliament and another man charged with spying for China have been granted bail after a court appearance in London. Christopher Cash and Christopher Berry didn't enter pleas Friday in Westminster Magistrates’ Court. They are charged with violating the Official Secrets Act by providing information or documents that could be “useful to an enemy” and “prejudicial to the safety or interests” of the U.K. between 2021 and February 2023. Cash worked with senior lawmakers from the governing Conservatives. He was ordered not to contact members of Parliament.

Daniel Whitney has had every chance to go Hollywood. As Larry the Cable Guy, he emerged from the groundbreaking Blue Collar Tour to become one of the most successful stand-ups of all time. He bolstered his popularity by writing bestsellers like "Git-R-Done" and by providing the voice of Mate…

LOS ANGELES — In early 1984, Bon Jovi emerged from the wilds of New Jersey to make its first appearance on Billboard's Hot 100 with "Runaway," a synthed-up pop-metal jam that frontman Jon Bon Jovi essentially willed to success by badgering a Long Island disc jockey to spin it on his air.

ATLANTA — Travis Tritt is proudly part of the Country Class of 1989 with Clint Black, fellow Georgian Alan Jackson and of course, Garth Brooks.

South Korean police have searched the office of the hard-line incoming leader of a doctors association and confiscated his mobile phone. He faces an accusation that he incited the protracted walkouts by thousands of medical interns and residents. The office of Lim Hyun-taek, who is to be inaugurated as head of the Korean Medical Association next week, called the raid politically motivated and questioned whether the government is sincere about its offer for dialogue to end the strikes. Police said they sent officers to Lim’s office in Seoul and residence in the southern city of Asan on Friday to confiscate his mobile phone and other unspecified materials.

NEW YORK — Filled with sad-sack characters living lives of soul-sucking boredom, Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” ain’t ever a walk in the park to produce or, for that matter, to watch.

The historic run on offensive players, especially quarterbacks, in the first round of the NFL draft pushed plenty of talented defenders down the board. It also pushed some first-round worthy defensive players into Round 2 on Friday. Those include Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean, Texas A&M inside linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry.

Philippine forces have killed an Abu Sayyaf militant who had been implicated in past beheadings including of 10 Filipino marines and two kidnapped Vietnamese. Philippine police backed by military intelligence agents killed Nawapi Abdulsaid in a brief gunbattle Wednesday night in the remote coastal town of Hadji Mohammad Ajul on Basilan island. Security officials said Friday that it came after weeks of surveillance. Abu Sayyaf is a small but violent armed Muslim group which has been blacklisted by the United States and the Philippines as a terrorist organization. It has been considerably weakened but remains a security threat in the southern Philippines.

Burkina Faso has suspended the BBC and Voice of America radio stations for their coverage of a report by Human Rights Watch on a mass killing of civilians carried out by the country’s armed forces. Burkina Faso’s communication spokesperson Tonssira Myrian Corine Sanou said both radio stations would be suspended for two weeks, and warned other media networks to avoid reporting on the story. According to the report published by Human Rights Watch on Thursday, the army killed some 223 civilians, including 56 children, in villages accused of cooperating with militants.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kenny Brooks has served one full month as Kentucky Wildcats women’s basketball coach. In that month, Brooks has already fundamentally altered the paradigm for the UK women’s hoops program in two significant ways.

HARTFORD, Conn. — UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley feels a responsibility to embrace his position as one of the main characters in this new age of college basketball.

About the time Boston fans began leaving quietly into the night with less than a minute left, the small smile of accomplishment began flickering on Miami Heat players. Tyler Herro, at the free-throw-line, offered a quick grin to Bam Adebayo, who offered one back before finishing their night’s work.

LOS ANGELES — R. Allen Stanford is among the most brazen white-collar criminals — and he’s paying dearly for it. The former financier is in the 14th year of a 110-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2012 for selling $7 billion in fraudulent certificates of deposits in the Caribbean…

The 1974 NFL draft was held Jan. 29-30 at the Americana Hotel in New York City. Mel Kiper Jr. and his hair were still a decade away from introducing themselves to America. If the draft was mocked, it was because it lasted 17 rounds, saw 442 players selected and was not televised. The Steeler…

LEXINGTON, Ky. — This year’s historic 150th running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville will, once again, be absent of the biggest name in modern horse racing.

TikTok is banned in a handful of countries and not allowed on government-issued devices in a number of others. That's due to official worries that the popular video-sharing app poses privacy and cybersecurity concerns. Now it's in the crosshairs in the U.S., where new legislation threatens a ban unless its China-based parent ByteDance sells off TikTok. Places that have implemented total bans on TikTok include Afghanistan, India, Nepal and Somalia. Australia, Canada and many European countries like Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands have banned the app from work phones. In the U.S., TikTok is banned from official devices issued by the government agencies, many states, Congress and the military.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Still less than two weeks removed from a Rupp Arena coronation that caught the attention of the entire college basketball world, Mark Pope has been a busy man.

China’s vision of the future of the automobile — electrified and digitally connected — is on display at the ongoing Beijing auto show. Organizers say that 117 new models are making their debut at Auto China 2024, which runs through May 4. They range from eye-poppingly cutting edge to more subtle novelties.

A relative says a premature Palestinian infant, who was rescued from her mother’s womb shortly after the woman was killed in an Israeli airstrike, has died. The baby girl's uncle said Friday that she died a day earlier after spending five days in an incubator, and was buried the same day. The infant was born by an emergency cesarean section after an Israeli airstrike on her family home in the southern Gaza city of Rafah killed her parents and 4-year-old sister. The infant's mother was 30 weeks' pregnant at the time of her death.

ORLANDO, Fla. — With just days until Florida’s six-week abortion ban takes effect on Wednesday, providers are rushing to perform as many abortions as possible while planning contingencies for a future where they will need to turn thousands of women away.

Formula 1 driver Nico Hülkenberg is leaving Haas for Sauber at the end of the year, giving the team a German presence on the grid when it rebrands to Audi for 2026. The 36-year-old Hülkenberg will depart Haas after two years. Hülkenberg outscored teammate Kevin Magnussen on points last season and is ahead of the Danish driver after five races this year. Audi agreed a full takeover of Switzerland-based Sauber last month and is planning to field a full works team from 2026. Sauber says Hülkenberg will be “an important building block” in that process and closely involved with developing the 2026 car.

U.S. poultry producers will have to reduce salmonella bacteria in certain chicken products to very low levels to prevent food poisoning. That's according to a new rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The rule says salmonella is a contaminant in frozen breaded and stuffed raw chicken products — like frozen chicken cordon bleu or chicken Kiev that appears to be fully cooked but isn't. Those products have been linked to more than 200 illnesses since 1998. The rule is a first step to curb salmonella poisoning, which causes more than 1.3 million infections each year.

LOS ANGELES — For years, scientists have said that atmospheric rivers can either make or break the water supplies of thirsty California cities and farms.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears did exactly as expected by taking USC star Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. They are banking on the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner to become the sort of quarterback they have been craving for years to lift a founding franchise to the…