LONDON (AP) ― Britain’s unruly newspapers should be regulated by an independent body dominated by non-journalists with the power to levy steep fines, a judge said Thursday in a report that pleased victims of tabloid intrusion but left editors worrying about creeping state control of the country’s fiercely independent press. Prime Minister David Cameron echoed concerns about government interference, expressing misgivings about a key recommendation of the report ― that the new regulator be enshrin

NEW YORK (AP) ― Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and a hotel maid who accused him of trying to rape her have reached an agreement to settle her lawsuit, likely ending a legal saga that forced the onetime French presidential contender’s resignation and opened a floodgate of accusations against him, a person familiar with the case said Thursday.Details of the deal, which comes after prosecutors dropped related criminal charges last year, weren’t immediately known and

Nepal‘s former crown prince Paras Shah has been granted bail after being arrested and charged with cannabis possession on the Thai resort island of Phuket, police said Friday.Shah, who as crown prince was unpopular for his playboy lifestyle, was detained along with a Thai woman on October 23 after the management of his condominium complained about his unruly behaviour.Police found roughly three grams (0.1 ounces) of marijuana.“We didn’t know who he was when he was first arrested because he had a

A Connecticut website dedicated to the spreading of anonymous love letters said some 5,500 handwritten love notes have been distributed around the world.Hannah Brencher, 24, of North Haven, creator of the World Needs More Love Letters project at moreloveletters.com, said the handwritten notes have been left in public places in locations as far-off as Australia and Brazil, the Chicago Tribune reported Thursday.Brencher, who said she started the project after writing a letter to cheer up a downtro

A British woman, who was having a relationship with three men at once, was sentenced to 10 weeks in prison for fraud and property damage. The 25-year-old Stacey Simpson lived a fantasy life, telling her boyfriends that she was an Emirates airline flight attendant, though she was apparently unemployed. She would tell each boyfriend that she was out of the country when she was actually with one of the others. Her three boyfriends were all residents in nearby Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.Her lies l

Visiting the White House this Christmas? As it is every year, the executive residence will be dressed up in its best seasonal attire, all to the theme “Joy to All.”The theme, according to the official handout, will celebrate “the many joys of the holiday season.This year’s theme is a celebration of the traditional holiday festivities that fill our hearts with warmth and cheer, the joy of giving and service to others, the joy of sharing our blessings, and the joy of welcoming guests to our homes.

BEREA, Ohio (UPI) -- Four music majors at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, were arrested and charged with running an on-campus drug lab, officials said.Benjamin Knight, 24, Lauren Pajerski, 22, Max Cickovskis, 22, and Jonathan Beckwith, 23, were indicted Nov. 16 on various charges, including cultivating marijuana and possession of drug-making chemicals. Knight and Pajerski were also charged with theft and burglary, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Tuesday.The case against them began

Authorities said they were still looking for a fifth suspect in the abduction of an Iowa man who was beaten and left naked.KCRG-TV, Cedar Rapids, reported Saturday Tyler J. Williams, 18, Tory A. Gibson, 19, William J. Newton, 19, and Cody L. Caldwell, 22, all of West Union, were in custody on first-degree kidnapping charges. Authorities said Curtis A. Williams, uncle of Tyler, was still at-large. He is wanted for first-degree kidnapping and first-degree burglary. They are accused of abducting Al