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Cyprus authorities free British man despite a 2-year prison sentence for killing his ailing wife

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:37 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A British man was freed immediately despite a Cyprus court sentencing him on Monday to two years in prison for killing his wife in their retirement home because he wanted to spare her the pain from her illness. Defense lawyer Nicoletta Charalambidou told The Associated Press that Cyprus Prisons Department authorities tabulated the time 76-year-old David Hunter had already spent in custody since the December, 2021, killing and decided to release him immediately. The court had earlier this month convicted Hunter of manslaughter after accepting testimony that his decision to suffocate his wife Janice was a made on the spur of the moment because he could no longer stand seeing her weeping in pain from a type of blood cancer she feared would develop into full-blown leukemia. State prosecutor Andreas Hadjikyrou told The Associated Press that the court took into account that Hunter, 76, acted “out of love” to save his wife. She was suffering from a blood ailment when...

Pakistan buries dead from massive suicide attack at political rally that killed 54

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:37 GMT

KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — Hundreds of mourners attended funerals in Pakistan on Monday after a suicide bombing killed at least 54 people at an election rally for a pro-Taliban cleric, carrying caskets draped in colorful cloths to burial sites in the hills.No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s bombing in Bajur that killed at least five children and wounded nearly 200 people.The attack appeared to reflect divisions between Islamist groups, which have a strong presence in the district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan. It targeted the Jamiat Ulema Islam party, which has ties to the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban.At least 1,000 people, according to police, were crowded into a tent near a market for the rally ahead of fall elections.“People were chanting God is Great as the leaders arrived,” said Khan Mohammad, a local resident who said he was standing outside the tent, “and that was when I heard the deafening sound of the bomb.” Mohammad said...

Stock market today: Wall Street ticks higher ahead of another packed week of corporate earnings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:37 GMT

BANGKOK — Wall Street pointed modestly higher early Monday as investors look ahead to another busy week of corporate earnings while digesting a mixed bag of economic data from abroad.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 each rose about 0.1% before the bell.Shares were mixed in Europe after data released Monday showed Europe’s economy has grown modestly after months of stagnation. The 20 countries that use the euro currency and their 346 million people saw 0.3% growth in the April-to-June period, compared with the first three months of the year, the EU statistics agency Eurostat said.That’s a slight improvement over zero growth in the first quarter and a slight decline in fourth quarter of last year.Germany’s DAX was up 0.1% while the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.5% and Britain’s FTSE 100 was essentially unchanged.Another heavy slate of corporate earnings will consume markets this week, with Pfizer, Starbucks, CVS Health, Amazon, Apple and Airbnb all releasing...

Myanmar’s military-led government extends state of emergency, forcing delay in promised election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:37 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military-controlled government has extended the state of emergency it imposed when the army seized power from an elected government 2 1/2 years ago, state-run media said Monday, forcing a further delay in elections it promised when it took over. MRTV television said the National Defense and Security Council met Monday in the capital, Naypyitaw, and extended the state of emergency for another six months starting Tuesday because time is needed to prepare for the elections. The NDSC is nominally a constitutional government body, but in practice is controlled by the military.The announcement amounted to an admission that the army does not exercise enough control to stage the polls and has failed to subdue widespread opposition to military rule, which includes increasingly challenging armed resistance as well as nonviolent protests and civil disobedience, despite the army having a huge advantage in manpower and weapons.The state of emergency was declared when tro...

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Aug. 6-12

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:37 GMT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Aug. 6-12:Aug. 6: Children’s music performer Ella Jenkins is 99. Actor-director Peter Bonerz is 85. Actor Louise Sorel (“Days of Our Lives”) is 83. Actor Ray Buktenica (“Rhoda”) is 80. Actor Dorian Harewood is 73. Actor Catherine Hicks (“Seventh Heaven”) is 72. Singer Pat MacDonald of Timbuk 3 is 71. Actor Stepfanie Kramer (“Hunter”) is 67. Actor Faith Prince is 66. Singer Randy DeBarge of DeBarge is 65. Actor Leland Orser (“ER”) is 64. Actor Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All At Once,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) is 61. Country singers Peggy and Patsy Lynn of The Lynns are 59. Actor Jeremy Ratchford (“Cold Case”) is 58. Actor Benito Martinez (“American Crime,” “The Shield”) is 55. Country singer Lisa Stewart is 55. Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan (“The Sixth Sense”) is 53. Actor Merrin Dungey (“Summerland,” ″Alias”) is 52. Singer Geri Halliwell Horner of Spice Girls is 51. Actor Jason O’Mara (“Life on Mars”) is 51. Actor Vera Farm...

Tugs tow burning cargo ship to new location on North Sea while salvage crews ponder next steps

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:37 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A cargo ship carrying thousands of cars that has been burning on the North Sea for nearly a week was towed Monday to a new location further from the Dutch coast to wait for salvage crews to decide their next steps, the government said.The Fremantle Highway arrived earlier than expected at an anchorage 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of the Dutch islands of Schiermonnikoog and Ameland, thanks to favorable currents, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management said.A salvage team is planning to board the burning vessel “as soon as possible” to carry out an inspection, the ministry added.The ship carrying 3,783 new vehicles, including 498 electric vehicles, from Germany’s Bremerhaven to Singapore has been burning since Tuesday. Firefighters decided not to douse the flames with water for fear of making the nearly 200-meter (656-foot) ship unstable as it floats close to North Sea shipping lanes and a world-renowned migratory bird habitat.A photo ...

UAE state oil firm moves up net zero climate target to 2045

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:37 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A state-run oil giant in the United Arab Emirates said Monday it has moved up its target for achieving net zero emissions in its operations to 2045, as the country prepares to host U.N. climate talks later this year.The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, known as ADNOC, said it is also committed to acheiving zero methane emissions by 2030. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term.Earlier this year, ADNOC earmarked $15 billion for an array of green initiatives, including the development of hydrogen power, carbon capture facilities and the planting of mangroves. The company had previously committed to net zero — the balancing of greenhouse gas emissions to the point that the amount removed from the atmosphere is equal to the amount emitted — by 2050.The UAE, an OPEC member that produces over 3 million barrels of crude oil a day, will host the global climate talks known as COP28 from Nov. 30 to Dec. 1...

Greek prime minister seeks improved relations with Turkey but says Ankara needs to drop aggression

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:37 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Greece’s prime minister said Monday that his government wants to take full advantage of a developing positive political climate with neighboring Turkey in order to improve bilateral relations despite a string of decades-old disputes. But Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that doesn’t mean Turkey has “substantially changed” its stance on key differences between the two countries and needs to “decisively abandon its aggressive and unlawful conduct” against Greece’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.Turkey and Greece remain at odds over maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, a dispute that affects irregular migration into the European Union, mineral rights and the projection of military power.Mitsotakis said that he agreed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 11-12 to initiate new “lines of communication” and to maintain “a period of calm.”High-level talks between the the two co...

RFK Jr. says he’s not anti-vaccine. His record shows the opposite. It’s one of many inconsistencies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:37 GMT

Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic because of his strident opposition to vaccines. Yet, he insists he’s not anti-vaccine. He has associated with influential people on the far right – including Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon and Michael Flynn – to raise his profile. Yet, he portrays himself as a true Democrat inheriting the mantle of the Kennedy family.As he challenges President Joe Biden, the stories he tells on the campaign trail about himself, his life’s work and what he stands for are often the opposite of what his record actually shows.Though Kennedy’s primary challenge to a sitting president is widely considered a long-shot, he’s been sucking up media attention due to his famous name and the possibility that his run could weaken Biden ahead of what is expected to be a close general election in 2024. He’s drawn praise from Republican presidential candidates like Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Meanwhi...

Inside a Canadian man’s massive psychic scam

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:37 GMT

In today’s Big Story Podcast, this is the story of a scam that lasted for decades, and cost its victims over $200 million. It was run by a Canadian man, Patrice Runner, who now sits in an American prison. It sold the services of a psychic, but that wasn’t the problem with it — the issue was that the scammer used a particular psychic’s likeness without permission.Rachel Browne is an investigative journalist and documentary producer, and she wrote about Patrice Runner for The Walrus. “This whole case raises questions about the level of deceit in all advertisement, the level of deceit in the ways that things are marketed. I think this case kind of shows the importance of critical thinking and carefully examining promises that are being made wherever they’re coming from,” said Browne. How did the scheme work, and who fell for it? Can you really scam people who are already voluntarily paying for a service that promises to tell you the future or make you rich? What...