PARIS — French prosecutors want Air France to stand trial for manslaughter in the 2009 crash of a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris that killed all 228 people aboard, a judicial official said Wednesday.      Prosecutors also have asked that the case against Airbus, maker of the doomed aircraft, be dropped for lack of evidence. The official wasn’t authorized to speak about the case and asked to remain anonymous.    Air France Flight 447 left Rio de Janeiro for Paris but crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June …

PARIS — French prosecutors want Air France to stand trial for manslaughter in the 2009 crash of a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris that killed all 228 people aboard, a judicial official said Wednesday.      Prosecutors also have asked that the case against Airbus, maker of the doomed aircraft, be dropped for lack of evidence. The official wasn’t authorized to speak about the case and asked to remain anonymous.    Air France Flight 447 left Rio de Janeiro for Paris but crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on June …

Many college students enter college or university thinking they are ready for the academic challenges ahead. But many would be wrong, experts say. Some students feel that gaining admission suggests they are ready for college or university, says Fuji Lozada, director of the John Crosland Jr. Center for Teaching and Learning at Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina. He says the truth is, though, almost every student needs help adjusting to a new academic environment. The Crosland Center at Davidson is similar to support centers at many schools that are …

Composer Hans Zimmer can’t seem to get away from “The Lion King.” The emotional score has gotten him jobs, his only Oscar and secured him a place in the hearts of children and adults. But he wasn’t sure he wanted to come back when Jon Favreau approached him to revisit the soundtrack for his technologically advanced reimagining of the animated film, which opens nationwide Thursday night. “I’m always the one saying no to everything,” Zimmer, 61, said. “I suppose I’m the reluctant bride.” He only agreed to do “The Lion …

STATE DEPARTMENT — “My father is a fixer, a bridge-builder, a connector. He knows that a better future is one where Han Chinese and Uighur children are in school together, are friends together and have the same opportunities,” said Jewher Ilham, who pleaded for the release of her father, prominent jailed Uighur scholar and economist Ilham Tohti.    She also petitioned Chinese authorities to release all Uighur girls from so-called re-education camps before Beijing hosts the 2022 Winter Olympics.     Tohti has been serving a life sentence on separatism-related charges since 2014. Chinese authorities …

STATE DEPARTMENT — “My father is a fixer, a bridge-builder, a connector. He knows that a better future is one where Han Chinese and Uighur children are in school together, are friends together and have the same opportunities,” said Jewher Ilham, who pleaded for the release of her father, prominent jailed Uighur scholar and economist Ilham Tohti.    She also petitioned Chinese authorities to release all Uighur girls from so-called re-education camps before Beijing hosts the 2022 Winter Olympics.     Tohti has been serving a life sentence on separatism-related charges since 2014. Chinese authorities …

Bolivia, which has one of South America’s highest rates of women being killed because of their gender, has declared femicide a national priority and will step up efforts to tackle growing violence, a top government rights official said on Tuesday. Since January authorities have recorded 73 femicides – the killing of a woman by a man due to her gender – in the highest toll since 2013. The murders amount to one woman killed every two days. “In terms of the femicide rate, Bolivia is in the top rankings,” said …

Saudi Arabia’s air force intercepted and destroyed three Yemeni rebel drones before they could reach targets in the southern Saudi cities of Jizan and Abha, a military spokesman said Tuesday. Col. Tukri al-Maliki was quoted in the state-run Saudi Press Agency saying the drones were launched by the Iran-backed rebel Houthis from the northern Yemeni governorate of Amran. Bomb-laden drones launched by Houthis killed a civilian and wounded others at a Saudi airport in Abha in recent weeks. A Saudi-led coalition allied with Yemen’s government has been at war with …

Saudi Arabia’s air force intercepted and destroyed three Yemeni rebel drones before they could reach targets in the southern Saudi cities of Jizan and Abha, a military spokesman said Tuesday. Col. Tukri al-Maliki was quoted in the state-run Saudi Press Agency saying the drones were launched by the Iran-backed rebel Houthis from the northern Yemeni governorate of Amran. Bomb-laden drones launched by Houthis killed a civilian and wounded others at a Saudi airport in Abha in recent weeks. A Saudi-led coalition allied with Yemen’s government has been at war with …

Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra rejected the demand of a regional governor on Tuesday to cancel within 72 hours the construction permit for a copper mining project that has led to protests. Residents from the area bordering Southern Copper Corp.’s $1.4 billion Tia Maria copper mine project in the south of Peru, which is the second largest copper producer in the world, began protesting on Monday with a blockade of a portion of Peru’s main coastal highway. Officials from the southern region of Arequipa said the government had not taken into …

Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra rejected the demand of a regional governor on Tuesday to cancel within 72 hours the construction permit for a copper mining project that has led to protests. Residents from the area bordering Southern Copper Corp.’s $1.4 billion Tia Maria copper mine project in the south of Peru, which is the second largest copper producer in the world, began protesting on Monday with a blockade of a portion of Peru’s main coastal highway. Officials from the southern region of Arequipa said the government had not taken into …

John Paul Stevens, who served on the Supreme Court for nearly 35 years and became its leading liberal, has died. He was 99. Stevens’ influence was felt on issues including abortion rights, protecting consumers and placing limits on the death penalty. He led the high court’s decision to allow terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay to plead for their freedom in U.S. courts. As a federal appeals court judge in Chicago, Stevens was considered a moderate when Republican President Gerald Ford nominated him. On the Supreme Court he became known …

John Paul Stevens, who served on the Supreme Court for nearly 35 years and became its leading liberal, has died. He was 99. Stevens’ influence was felt on issues including abortion rights, protecting consumers and placing limits on the death penalty. He led the high court’s decision to allow terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay to plead for their freedom in U.S. courts. As a federal appeals court judge in Chicago, Stevens was considered a moderate when Republican President Gerald Ford nominated him. On the Supreme Court he became known …

A major immigration policy shift took effect Tuesday to deny asylum to anyone who shows up on the Mexican border after traveling through another country. The dramatic move will likely have the biggest impact on Guatemalans and Hondurans, who must pass through Mexico to reach the U.S. by land. Together, they account for most Border Patrol arrests, and they tend to travel in families. The change drew an immediate lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center in federal court in San Francisco. Here are …