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US to begin training Ukrainian troops on Abrams tank

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AP) — The United States will begin training Ukrainian forces on how to use and maintain Abrams tanks in the coming weeks, as the it continues to speed up its effort to get them onto the battlefield against Russia as quickly as possible, U.S. officials said Friday.The decision comes as defense leaders from around Europe and the world are meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany in the ongoing effort to coordinate the delivery of weapons and other equipment to Ukraine. An announcement is expected later Friday.According to the officials, 31 tanks will arrive at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany at the end of May, and the troops will begin training a couple of weeks later. Officials said the troop training will last about 10 weeks. The training tanks will not be the ones given to Ukraine as it fights against Russia’s invasion. Instead, 31 M1A1 battle tanks are being refurbished in the United States, and those will go to the frontlines when they are re...

UK deputy prime minister quits after bullying investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab resigned Friday after an independent investigation found he bullied civil servants.Raab’s announcement the day after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak received findings into eight formal complaints that Raab, who is also justice secretary, had been abusive toward staff members during a previous stint in that office and while serving as Britain’s foreign secretary and Brexit secretary.Raab, 49, denied claims he belittled and demeaned his staff and said he “behaved professionally at all times,” but had said he would resign if the bullying complaints were upheld.The investigation made two findings of bullying against him and dismissed the others, Raab said in his resignation letter. But he called the findings “flawed” and said the inquiry “set a dangerous precedent” by “setting the threshold for bullying so low.”He said he quit because he was “duty bound” to resign since he had promised to.The resignation spares Sunak from havi...

10 members of same family dead in mass shooting in S. Africa

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Ten members of the same family, seven of them women, were killed in a mass shooting at a house in South Africa, police said Friday.According to initial reports, they were ambushed by unknown gunmen at the home in the city of Pietermaritzburg in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, police said. The shooting happened Thursday night or early Friday morning. Police Minister Bheki Cele was due to visit the scene on Friday.South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and there has been a spate of mass shootings in recent years.Eight people were fatally shot at a birthday party in the south coast city of Gqeberha in January. Last year, 16 died in a mass shooting at a bar in the Johannesburg township of Soweto when a group of armed men, some of them wielding rifles, opened fire on customers.___More AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africaMogomotsi Magome, The Associated Press

Amid joy and tragedy, Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr holiday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — The holiday of Eid al-Fitr ushered in a day of prayers and joy for Muslims around the world on Friday. The celebration was marred by tragedy amid the explosion of conflict in Sudan, while in other countries it came against the backdrop of hopes for a better future.After the Ramadan month of fasting, Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr with feasts and family visits. The start of the holiday is traditionally based on sightings of the new moon, which vary according to geographic location.In Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, staccato blasts of gunfire marked the early hours of the feast day. A deadly conflict in the vast African country that erupted in the past week has forced many people to shelter indoors ahead of the holiday, even as water and food for civilians runs low.In Jerusalem, thousands of faithful gathered at Islam’s third holiest shrine, the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, where tensions with Israeli authorities have seethed in the past month. The compound also hosts Judais...

Stock market today: World shares mostly lower, oil advances

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

European shares opened mixed on Friday after benchmarks in Asia dipped, following Wall Street down amid more signals the U.S. economy may be slowing.Markets rose in Paris and Frankfurt but fell in London. Oil prices recovered from early losses. Trading this week has been driven largely by earnings reports and speculation over how the latest economic indicators might affect central bank decisions on raising interest rates to rein in inflation. The majority of companies have been topping Wall Street profit forecasts so far in the early days of this reporting season. Analysts had forecast this would mark the sharpest drop in S&P 500 earnings per share since the pandemic was pounding the economy in 2020.But other issues such as Federal Reserve’s next policy meeting, in May, and the looming expiration of the U.S. national debt ceiling are coming into focus, Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. “In the medium term, however, recessionary concerns remain top...

Sri Lankan protesters demand justice for 2019 Easter attacks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Thousands of Sri Lankans held a protest in the capital on Friday, demanding justice for the victims of the 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed nearly 270 people.The protesters demanded that the government uncover who they said were the real conspirators behind the attacks on three churches — two Catholic and one Protestant — that included simultaneous suicide bombings during Easter celebrations on April 21, 2019. Three tourist hotels were also targeted, killing 42 foreigners from 14 countries.Thousands of people including Catholic clergy on Friday lined up for a silent protest on both sides of the main road connecting the capital, Colombo, with the country’s international airport. They blamed the government for not taking adequate measures to deliver justice for the victims of the bombings and punish those responsible.The protesters, dressed in white and black, held one another’s hands, forming a human chain. They displayed placards and ...

Schenectady County completes LED streetlight conversion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Nearly 350 streetlights—most of them on Schenectady County roads—have been converted from high-intensity discharge lamps (HID) to light-emitting diode lights (LED). The project cost $23,465, which the county believes will be fully reimbursed by National Grid. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Converting to LED lights is expected to save county taxpayers over $37,000 annually and reduce energy consumption equal to the amount of greenhouse gas emitted by driving over 413,000 miles in an average gas-powered car. “Upgrading to LED lights is a smart investment for taxpayers and the planet,” said Anthony Jasenski, Chair of the Schenectady County Legislature. “By switching to LED lights we’re significantly reducing our energy consumption, cutting costs, and minimizing our impact on the environment, at no cost to taxpayers." National Grid volunteers clean up Schenectady’s Central Park In 2022, Schenect...

Macron pension reform ends cherished French exception

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

French President Emmanuel Macron has pushed through a pension reform that is unpopular, but at a great cost to his own political capital. He now seeks to restore it by offering discussions with unions about other issues.Some foreign commentators wondered why there were so many protests. His pension plan simply brought France in line with the European Union.This does not take into account the fact that the French regarded the 62-year-old retirement age as an important social benefit, nor the concern of many workers who were excluded due to their personal circumstances and face a later retirement.CAN THE FRENCH RETIRED EARLIER THAN OTHERS?Theoretically, yes. France, along with Greece, has the lowest retirement age of the European Union. The average for the 27 member states is 64.8.According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the French retire longer than most other countries due to their relatively lower retirement and higher life expectancy.According to the...

Bridge: April 21, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

It’s common knowledge that opportunity knocks only once (if at all, for some of us). Even then, she may knock softly.Today’s North-South bid to a slam though West’s weak two-bid warned of possible bad breaks. When West led the king of hearts, South took the ace and cashed his A-K of trumps — and West discarded.South still had a chance. He took the queen of trumps, then started the diamonds. East ruffed the third diamond and led another heart. Declarer ruffed and tried a club finesse with dummy’s jack, but East’s queen won.TOP TRUMPSOpportunity knocked, could South but have heard. At Trick Two, South can ruff a heart. He then cashes his three top trumps. When he takes the A-K of diamonds next, and East plays the eight and ten, South can judge to play East for 4-3-2-4 pattern; hence, for the queen of clubs.South leads a club to dummy’s ace, ruffs the last heart and continues diamonds. When East ruffs, he must lead from the queen of clubs, conc...

Ask Amy: I fought with my fiancee’s kid about a slur, and now I’ve been kicked out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

Dear Amy: At the end of an extremely long road trip, my fiancée, her 16-year-old son and I stopped at a noisy sports bar at 9:30 p.m., famished.As we waited for our food, I saw an article on my phone regarding a woman who was fired for using a slang variant of “the N-word.”I turned to my fiancée to recount the story, but instead of using the variant of the word I saw in the article, I leaned in and in a very low voice said the actual (offensive) word to her, never intending for her son to hear it.When we got into the car, her son vehemently questioned why I had used the word. I was stunned. His tone and aggression were totally disproportionate to my action. I got angry because of his tone and told them.My fiancée sided with her son. She said his tone was justified by my saying the word in his presence (we are all Northern European, by the way).I am a politically progressive American who has supported many Black candidates, worked for voting rights, and have many Black friends.My fia...