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African Union calls on Russia to reinstate Ukrainian grain deal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

The African Union called today to urgently reinstate a United Nations-brokered deal allowing Ukraine to export millions of tons of grain that was terminated at Russia’s behest.“The problem of grains and fertilizers concerns everyone,” Comoros President Azali Assoumani, who heads the 55-nation African Union, told Russian state newswire RIA Novosti. He was speaking in St. Petersburg, where Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting a summit with African leaders.Putin last week pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative that had allowed Ukraine — one of the world’s breadbaskets — to export grains and oilseeds through three Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea: Odesa, Chornomorsk and Yuzhny/Pivdenny. Russia, which has waged all-out war on Ukraine for 17 months, has since launched a series of air strikes against the country’s port facilities and reimposed a maritime blockade — making countries that need to import food more reliant on Russia and inc...

Chicago White Sox trade pitchers Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López to the Los Angeles Angels for minor leaguers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López were pivotal additions when the Chicago White Sox began their rebuild in 2016.Late Wednesday, they were the first two players moved in what figures to be a busy selloff by the trade deadline.The Sox sent Giolito and López to the Los Angeles Angels for minor-league switch-hitting catcher Edgar Quero and left-handed pitcher Ky Bush.“Given this club’s performance over the course of the last several months, it’s apparent that these types of moves have to take place given where we are at and putting us in the best position we can be going forward,” Sox general manager Rick Hahn said.“Certainly not where any of us in the organization thought when this year started we would be come the trade deadline. But clearly moves like these in terms of putting ourselves in the best position going forward are essential and we are certainly pleased to add Bush and Quero.”Giolito and López, both free agents at the end of...

Army fire kills a 14-year-old, Palestinians say, as an Israeli minister visits flashpoint holy site

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli military fire killed a 14-year-old Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said Thursday, as an extremist Israeli Cabinet minister visited a sensitive Jerusalem holy site that has been a frequent flashpoint for violence between Israel and the Palestinians.Itamar Ben-Gvir’s visit to the disputed hilltop compound comes as Israel and the Palestinians are locked in a year-and-a-half long bout of fighting and could enflame already surging tensions. It was also likely to draw condemnation from Palestinians who view such visits as provocative. The site is revered by Jews and Muslims, and the competing claims lie at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Early Thursday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said 14-year-old Fares Sharhabil Abu Samra was killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank town of Qalqilya. The Israeli military said Palestinians threw rocks and firebombs at troops, who responded by firing into the air. It said t...

Last of nearly 100 pilot whales that beached on Australia’s coast are euthanized after rescue fails

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

PERTH, Australia (AP) — The last of nearly 100 whales that beached on the southwestern Australian coast were euthanized Wednesday after a second day of frantic, but unsuccessful efforts to rescue them, authorities said.The pod of long-finned pilot whales stranded themselves Tuesday on Cheynes Beach east of the former whaling station of Albany in Western Australia state, south of the capital Perth.Despite the efforts of 100 wildlife officers and 250 volunteers wearing wetsuits to protect against the Southern Hemisphere winter cold, 52 stranded whales died on the beach.The remaining 45 were euthanized Wednesday after efforts to lead them to deeper water failed. The survivors continually returned to the shallows, the Western Australia Parks and Wildlife Service said in a statement late Wednesday.“Sadly, the decision had to be made to euthanize the remaining whales to avoid prolonging their suffering,” the service said.“It was a difficult decision for all involved, however the welfare o...

Pakistan’s finance minister says China rolls over $2.4 billion loan for Islamabad for 2 years

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s finance minister on Thursday said China has rolled over a $2.4 billion loan for the cash-strapped Islamic nation for two years, a move aimed at helping the country overcome one of its worst economic crises.The latest extension in loan maturities by Beijing was a boost to Pakistan’s fragile foreign exchange reserves, which are still only enough to pay the import bill for a period of two months.In a post on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, Ishaq Dar said the Chinese EXIM Bank rolled over for two years the “principal amounts” of the $2.4 billion loan, which Islamabad was to have paid back in 2024 and 25.However, he said Pakistan would now only make interest payments in both years.China is a longtime friend of Pakistan and it has played a key role in helping Pakistan avoid a default this year, though there has been concern in the country about how Islamabad would repay the growing Chinese loans. Some analysts in Pakistan call it a debt t...

Kuwait executes 5 prisoners, including man convicted in 2015 Islamic State-claimed mosque bombing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Kuwait said Thursday it executed five prisoners, including an inmate convicted over an Islamic State group-claimed mosque bombing in 2015 that killed 27 people. A statement from Kuwait’s Public Prosecution said the five inmates were executed by hanging. The 2015 bombing struck during midday Friday prayers inside one of Kuwait’s oldest Shiite mosques. The Islamic State group views Shiites as heretics.Kuwait, a small, oil-rich nation, conducted its last mass execution in November 2022, putting to death seven inmates.The Associated Press

Stock market today: Asian shares advance after the Federal Reserve raises interest rates

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Thursday after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to their highest level in more than two decades, just as Wall Street expected. Market attention turned to a decision later in the day by the European Central Bank and to whether Japan’s central bank might alter its longstanding ultra-lax monetary policy at a policy meeting that ends on Friday. The ECB is expected to follow the Fed’s example. “Today, all eyes will be on the ECB, where a 25 basis point hike is widely expected along with the door being left open for another hike in September,” ING Economics said in a commentary. A 0.25 percentage point hike would take the ECB’s benchmark rate to 4.25%. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.7% to 32,891.16 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 0.9% to 19,545.77. The Shanghai Composite index slipped 0.3% to 3,213.20. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 added 0.7% to 7,455.90. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.4% to 2,603....

Wildfire in Spain's Gran Canaria island menaces villages

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

A rapidly-spreading wildfire that broke out at the centre of the Spanish island of Gran Canaria on Tuesday (25 July) forced the authorities to remove several hundred villagers from their homes, shut three roads and deploy helicopters to contain the blaze.A witness said the flames affecting the hilly central part of the island near the Tejeda peak, away from the beaches popular with tourists, were just metres from an array of antennae on a mountain top, some of them linked to air traffic control.However, Spanish airports operator AENA told Reuters, however, the Gran Canaria airport on the eastern coast was operating normally."The fire has escaped the initial efforts to control it... We are working intensely to prevent it from spreading," local emergency services chief, Federico Grillo, told Radio Canarias.Antonio Morales, head of the Island Council of Gran Canaria, told reporters about 100 firefighters and nine aircraft were working to put out the blaze that has so far burned through...

Dear Abby: The insufferable neighbor is trying to claim my boyfriend

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend, “Pete,” and I have been together four years. During the pandemic, he moved to my hometown, and we live together.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: My fiance left me, and now I’m pregnant. That’s just the start of it. Advice | Dear Abby: This painting hurts me, and I don’t know what to do about it Advice | Dear Abby: How honest should I be with my married pickleball partner? Advice | Dear Abby: I’m leaving, and I don’t want to hear their phony farewells Advice | Dear Abby: This guy I just met has gotten very creepy online Last year, he befriended a man who lives across the street. This neighbor had been a civil-service employee but took early retirement and is undergoing treatment for PTSD.Originally, I was happy for Pete’s new friendship in a new city, but the friendship has turned into a daily bromance.They spend two to six hours ...

Detached house sells for $1.6 million in Fremont

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:26 GMT

4438 Richmond Avenue – Google Street ViewA house located in the 4400 block of Richmond Avenue in Fremont has new owners. The 1,782-square-foot property, built in 1961, was sold on June 14, 2023. The $1,565,000 purchase price works out to $878 per square foot. The layout of this single-story house consists of three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Additionally, the home includes a garage. Situated on a spacious 6,200-square-foot lot, the property offers ample outdoor space.These nearby houses have also recently changed hands:A 1,777-square-foot home on the 4300 block of Lorren Drive in Fremont sold in April 2023, for $1,460,000, a price per square foot of $822. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In August 2022, a 1,940-square-foot home on Logan Drive in Fremont sold for $1,676,000, a price per square foot of $864. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Kimbro Street, Fremont, in September 2022, a 1,694-square-foot home was sold for $1,850,000, a price per square foot of $1,092....