
-
Indian army says new exchange of gunfire with Pakistan
-
Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre takes own life in Australia: family
-
Hundreds of buildings damaged, dozens injured in 6.3 Ecuador quake
-
India and Pakistan's Kashmir fallout hits economy too
-
Francis's funeral to be grand farewell to 'pope of the poor'
-
Pogacar faces defiant Evenepoel at Liege-Bastogne-Liege
-
Chelsea eye great escape against Barcelona in Women's Champions League
-
Iran, US to hold new round of high-level nuclear talks
-
'Energy and effort' pay off for Reds as Blues' woes continue
-
Albatross and closing birdie lift China's Liu to LPGA Chevron lead
-
On the horizon? Wave of momentum for high seas treaty
-
Developing countries should fast-track US trade deals: World Bank president
-
Grizzlies' Morant 'doubtful' for must-win game 4 v Thunder
-
Trump in Rome for pope funeral in first foreign trip of new term
-
Trump says Russia-Ukraine deal 'very close' after new Kremlin talks
-
US rookies lead PGA pairs event with McIlroy and Lowry in hunt
-
Trump tariff promises get a reality check
-
Warriors coach Kerr 'relatively optimistic' injured Butler will play game 3
-
Postecoglou hopes 'Stonecutter's Credo' can inspire Spurs
-
PSG lose unbeaten Ligue 1 record ahead of Arsenal showdown
-
Venezuela accuses El Salvador president of 'human trafficking'
-
Own goal takes Sundowns to African final against Pyramids
-
Scores of buildings damaged, 20 injured in Ecuador quake
-
US stocks extend rally as market eyes busy calendar next week
-
Pope's death triggers surge of disinformation he fought against
-
Rovanpera takes control of Rally Islas Canarias
-
Zelensky insists Crimea is Ukrainian as US envoy meets Putin
-
Patel and Mendis help Sunrisers beat Kings in Dhoni's 400th T20
-
Copa del Rey ref statements 'unacceptable': Real Madrid after boycotting final build-up
-
Insurance CEO's accused killer pleads not guilty to federal murder charges
-
FBI arrests Wisconsin judge for shielding undocumented migrant
-
Brazil ex-president Collor de Mello jailed for corruption
-
Zelensky insists Crimea 'belongs' to Ukraine as US envoy meets Putin
-
Real Madrid boycott Copa del Rey build-up over referee complaints
-
Trinidad and Tobago votes for parliament, PM, with opposition in lead
-
IMF chief hails 'constructive' Spring Meetings held under tariff uncertainty
-
Iran FM Araghchi in Oman ahead of nuclear talks with US
-
Dozens of buildings destroyed, 20 injured in Ecuador quake
-
Young Barca must 'enjoy' Real Madrid Copa final fight: Flick
-
Pakistan and India border closure separates families
-
Brazil's Bolsonaro 'stable' after post-surgery setback
-
Catholics in secular Cuba hail Francis as 'bridge'
-
US envoy Witkoff, Putin discuss 'possibility' of direct Russia-Ukraine talks
-
Community seeks answers after French school knife killing
-
German prosecutors seek jail terms in VW 'dieselgate' trial
-
Sabalenka makes winning start at Madrid Open
-
EU, US should de-escalate and negotiate trade deal: IMF Europe director
-
Russia accuses Ukraine of killing general in car bombing
-
Emery wants FA Cup glory and Champions League berth for Villa
-
Buildings destroyed, one injured in Ecuador quake

Singer R. Kelly sentenced to 30 years over sex crimes
Disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday for leading a decades-long effort to recruit and trap teenagers and women for sex.
Judge Ann Donnelly handed down the term in the Brooklyn federal court nearly a year after the 55-year-old Kelly was convicted by a New York jury.
"The verdict is in: R. Kelly has been sentenced to 30 years," the US attorney's office for the Eastern District of New York said in a tweet.
The prosecutors had urged the court to put the "I Believe I Can Fly" artist behind bars for at least 25 years, saying he still "poses a serious danger to the public."
In September, the fallen superstar was found guilty on all nine charges he faced, including the most serious of racketeering.
"His actions were brazen, manipulative, controlling and coercive. He has shown no remorse or respect for the law," prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo.
Kelly's lawyers called for a lighter sentence with a maximum of approximately 17 years.
The sentence comes just over a month before jury selection is due to start in Kelly's separate, long-delayed federal trial in Chicago on August 15.
In that case, Kelly and two of his former associates are alleged to have rigged the singer's 2008 pornography trial and hid years of sexual abuse of minors.
The musician who once dominated R&B also faces prosecution in two other state jurisdictions.
- #MeToo milestone -
Kelly's conviction in New York was widely seen as a milestone for the #MeToo movement: It was the first major sex abuse trial where the majority of accusers were Black women.
It was also the first time Kelly faced criminal consequences for the abuse he for decades was rumored to have inflicted on women and children.
Prosecutors were tasked with proving Kelly guilty of racketeering, a federal charge commonly associated with organized crime syndicates that depicted Kelly as the boss of an enterprise of associates who facilitated his abuse.
Calling 45 witnesses including 11 alleged victims to the stand, they painstakingly presented a pattern of crimes they say the artist born Robert Sylvester Kelly carried out for years with impunity, capitalizing on his fame to prey on the less powerful.
To convict Kelly of racketeering, jurors had to find him guilty of at least two of 14 "predicate acts" -- the crimes elemental to the wider pattern of illegal wrongdoing.
Lurid testimony intended to prove those acts included accusations of rape, druggings, imprisonment and child pornography.
His accusers described events that often mirrored one another: Many of the alleged victims said they had met the singer at concerts or mall performances and were then handed slips of paper with Kelly's contact details by members of his entourage.
Several said they were told he could bolster their music industry aspirations.
But prosecutors argued all were instead "indoctrinated" into Kelly's world -- groomed for sex at his whim and kept in line by "coercive means of control," including isolation and cruel disciplinary measures, recordings of which were played for the jury.
Core to the state's case was Kelly's relationship with the late singer Aaliyah.
Kelly wrote and produced her first album -- "Age Ain't Nothin' But A Number" -- before illegally marrying her when she was just 15 because he feared he had impregnated her.
His former manager admitted in court to bribing a worker to obtain fake identification allowing the union, which was later annulled.
O.Karlsson--AMWN