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Niger’s neighbors and the UN seek to deescalate tensions with last-minute diplomacy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:50 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Nigeriens awoke Tuesday to deepening uncertainty about whether a regional bloc will follow through on its threat to use military force to try to reinstall ousted President Mohamed Bazoum or if last-minute diplomacy will prevail, nearly two weeks after mutinous soldiers overthrew the country’s democratically elected leader.The West African regional bloc ECOWAS had given the mutinous soldiers until Sunday to release and reinstall Bazoum or they threatened to use force.Members from ECOWAS, the United Nations and the African Union were expected to join talks in the capital, Niamey, on Tuesday, a foreign official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.On Monday, acting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland met with the coup leaders in Niger and said they refused to allow her to meet with Bazoum, whom she described as under “virtual house arrest.” She described the mutinous officers as unre...

Searchers find black box of Australian army Taipan helicopter that crashed with the loss of 4 lives

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:50 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Divers have recovered the flight data recorder from an Australia army helicopter that crashed at sea, killing the four crewmembers, during a military exercise with the United States last month, officials said Tuesday.Recovering the black box was a priority to help determine the cause of the crash of the MRH-90 Taipan during a nighttime operation July 28 in the Whitsunday Islands off the northeast Australian coast.Navy divers retrieved the device that contains the helicopter’s flight data and cockpit voice recordings Monday, a Defense Department statement said.A drone spotted human remains in the wreckage last week at a depth of 40 meters (131 feet). But the remains have yet to be retrieved because of bad weather and strong currents.Australia’s fleet of more than 40 Taipans has been grounded since the crash and there are doubts any will fly again. The government says they will remain grounded until crash investigators have found a cause of the tragedy.The g...

Israel demolishes home of alleged Palestinian attacker, fueling West Bank tensions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:50 GMT

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Israeli security forces on Tuesday demolished the West Bank home of a Palestinian man accused of carrying out a deadly shooting attack earlier this year, the military said, the latest incursion to fuel tensions in the occupied territory. Israel’s decades-old tactic of leveling the family homes of alleged Palestinian assailants has drawn intense criticism from human rights groups, which call it collective punishment — prohibited under international law. Opponents of the policy also raise questions about its efficacy, arguing that leveling the residences of often uninvolved parents, spouses and children of alleged assailants and leaving them homeless only fuels an unrelenting cycle of hatred and bloodshed. Israel defends such home demolitions as a deterrent meant to prevent future attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, which has taken a hard line against the Palestinians, has vowed to ramp up home demolitions of Palest...

EU excess mortality above the baseline in May 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:50 GMT

In May 2023, excess mortality in the EU stood at an estimated +2.9% (8,100 excess deaths) above the baseline (average number of deaths for the same period in 2016-2019). In the same month, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of the COVID-19 public-health emergency. Following exceptionally low mortality in February 2023 (-1.4%) with no excess mortality for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, March (+0.9%), April (+3.3%) and May (+2.9%) saw the return of the mortality rate above the baseline. For context, the excess mortality rate was 8.0% in May 2022 (31,00 excess deaths), 10.7% in May 2021 (48,700 excess deaths), and 3.1% in May 2020 (9,700 excess deaths). This information comes from data on excess mortality published by Eurostat today, based on weekly deaths data collection. The article presents a selection of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained articles on excess mortality and weekly deaths. In May 2023, 16 EU countries record...

Dear Abby: I feel bad about it, but I had to squash my husband’s dream

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:50 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My husband and I have three children, and I feel really lucky to be able to stay home with them. I appreciate how hard my husband works so that I can do this.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: We’re nervous about telling our kids this family secret Advice | Dear Abby: The children’s impersonal fundraising requests annoy me Advice | Dear Abby: The bride’s dramatic cousins unleashed wedding backlash Advice | Dear Abby: This unpleasant couple is ruining my peace and quiet Advice | Dear Abby: He put security cameras everywhere, and now he’s logging our activities Our kids are young, so we are in a somewhat tedious season of life, without a lot of rest. But it’s just a season, and it’s already going by so fast.Recently, my husband became interested in motorcycles and bought a nice vintage one. I was fine with it because he rides it only in our neighborhood, and ...

Sale closed in San Jose: $2.1 million for a three-bedroom home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:50 GMT

5561 Del Oro Place – Google Street ViewA 2,035-square-foot house built in 1968 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 5500 block of Del Oro Place in San Jose was sold on July 18, 2023. The $2,100,000 purchase price works out to $1,032 per square foot. This two-story house has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. Additionally, the house includes a two-car garage, offering generous space for vehicles and storage requirements. The lot of the property is substantial, measuring 7,665 square feet, and boasts a pool for relaxation and recreation.Additional houses that have recently been purchased close by include:A 1,852-square-foot home on the 5500 block of Del Oro Drive in San Jose sold in September 2022, for $1,740,000, a price per square foot of $940. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Tesoro Court, San Jose, in September 2022, a 1,852-square-foot home was sold for $2,155,000, a price per square foot ...

European scientists make it official. July was the hottest month on record by far

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:50 GMT

Now that July’s sizzling numbers are all in, the European climate monitoring organization made it official: July 2023 was Earth’s hottest month on record by a wide margin.July’s global average temperature of 16.95 degrees Celsius (62.51 degrees Fahrenheit) was a third of a degree Celsius (six tenths of a degree Fahrenheit) higher than the previous record set in 2019, Copernicus Climate Change Service, a division of the European Union’s space program, announced Tuesday. Normally global temperature records are broken by hundredths or a tenth of a degree, so this margin is unusual.“These records have dire consequences for both people and the planet exposed to ever more frequent and intense extreme events,” said Copernicus deputy director Samantha Burgess. There have been deadly heat waves in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, Europe and Asia. Scientific quick studies put the blame on human-caused climate change from the burning of coal, oil and nat...

South Korea begins evacuating thousands of Scouts from coastal campsite as tropical storm nears

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:50 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Buses began moving tens of thousands of Scouts to inland venues ahead of a tropical storm Tuesday, bringing an effective end to a World Scout Jamboree that had already struggled with heat, hygiene and land use controversies.Known for its insatiable desire to host international events, the South Korean government scrambled to keep the 12-day gathering of Scouts from around the world going as thousands of British and American Scouts departed over the weekend because of an extreme heat wave that caused some attendees to be hospitalized. It wasn’t until Monday afternoon that officials announced the decision to abandon the coastal campsite in the southwestern town of Buan, after forecasters raised alarms that Tropical Storm Khanun was heading toward the Korean Peninsula. South Korean officials say the Jamboree will continue in the form of cultural events and activities, including a K-Pop concert in Seoul Friday.Critics have argued the decision to host the Jambor...

Pakistan’s former premier appeals his conviction and 3-year sentence in graft case, seeks release

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:50 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday appealed his conviction and three-year prison sentence in a graft case, a spokesman for his legal team said.Naeem Haider Panjutha, Khan’s lawyer, said the Islamabad High Court will hear the appeal on Wednesday.It’s the latest turn in Khan’s legal drama after being ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022. He remains the country’s leading opposition figure and was convicted and jailed Saturday on charges of concealing assets after selling state gifts he received while in power. Panjutha met with Khan in the high-security Attock jail in eastern Punjab province. The former cricket star has denied the charges, saying he did not violate any laws.In the appeal, Khan’s lawyers said the former premier’s conviction should be “set aside” and declared “illegal and without lawful authority.” It also requested the court acquit Khan, claiming he was arrested illegally.Panjutha told reporters outside the ...

In the news today: B.C. wildfire forces evacuation of music festival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:33:50 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…B.C. festival evacuated due to wildfire, more properties on alert over long weekendOut of an abundance of caution, officials decided to clear out a music festival in B.C.’s southern interior, after a nearby wildfire was ignited by a recreational vehicle fire.About 1,000 attendees at the Under the Stars event were safely evacuated as the sudden blaze began to quickly spread.Elsewhere, both the Thompson-Nicola and the Columbia Shuswap Regional Districts have evacuation orders in place for two wildfires burning on opposite sides of Adams Lake — the Lower East Adams Lake wildfire and the Bush Creek East wildfire.Evolving wildfire conditions challenging for Yukon officials after village evacuationYukon is burning — with 126 active wildfires across the territory.Fire information officer Haley Ritchie says they are keeping their fingers crossed that ...