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‘I thought I was done’: Africans evacuated from Sudan conflict share their stories

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:47 GMT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Pauline Hungwe huddled in the bathroom of her apartment in Sudan, terrified and only peeking out of a window for a second to see the walls of nearby buildings disintegrate as they were hit by artillery fire.She was convinced her building was next and she was going to die. The only thing she thought to do was call her son back home in Zimbabwe.“I thought I was done,” she said. “I told my son, ‘I am gone.’”Teacher Owen Shamu was preparing children at a school in Khartoum for an exam when gunfire rang out meters away from their classroom, throwing him into a panic, he said, let alone the kids. But having kept himself and his family safe through the first days of fighting, Shamu, also a Zimbabwean, had to think about a plan to get them out of Sudan with hardly any money and no immediate help from his home country. He didn’t know how they would survive, he said.Amina Balarabe walked for several days with her six children to various points in Khar...

Daily horoscope for May 20, 2023

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:47 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Gemini.Happy Birthday for Saturday May 20, 2023:You are intuitive and sensitive and can form close bonds with others. You are warm and caring because you identify with others. This is a year of change, which means you should stay flexible so that you can seek out new opportunities or suddenly go in a new direction. Travel is likely.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★It’s a tricky day! Be careful of ego battles and aggressive moves, especially in sports or issues related to kids. (It’s too easy to go overboard today.) This also applies to your relations with your kids. This is a day that requires moderation and patience so that there are no regrets. Tonight: Discussions.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★The gloves are off, and difficulty with authority figures, bosses, parents and the police are likely today. This also might mean conflict at home, within the family or with people related to yo...

Harriette Cole: I’m a 50-year-old woman with fun hair, and I don’t appreciate the scorn

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:47 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently dyed my hair a fun color, and one of my girlfriends criticized me for trying to look younger than I am.I am a 50-year-old woman, and I work in the arts. She works in a corporate job, wears a conservative hairstyle and has let her hair go gray.I have the freedom to do what I want and look how I want, so I decided to have some fun with my hair. I didn’t appreciate her criticism.I don’t want to come off as overly sensitive, but I do want her to know that I feel perfectly comfortable and happy with my playful hair. I don’t judge her for how she wears hers.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: My friend is too lenient in her parenting, but she thrusts advice on me Advice | Harriette Cole: My friend wouldn’t pay when I forgot my wallet. Do I confront her? Advice | Harriette Cole: My boss may be losing her memory, and it’s causing chaos Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m g...

Miss Manners: Would the wedding gift my husband suggested be an insult?

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:47 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: We received a last-minute virtual invitation to a wedding from a family from out of state with whom we used to be close.They had previously advertised the wedding on social media, including the date, and we wondered if we would be invited. We weren’t, which was totally fine because of our limited budget.Then, two weeks before the wedding date, we received an email inviting us to watch it virtually. We already had plans that night, but because we care for this family, we tried to bend things so we could watch it. Unfortunately, the video feed for the reception was all goofed up. We couldn’t really see it, and then we just got a replay reel at the end.What would you say the suggested gift amount is in that situation?Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: I tried to fix the shoddy bouquet and ended up embarrassing my friend. Was I in the wrong? Advice | Miss Manners: I want to talk about my problems, not listen to theirs Ad...

Dear Abby: My mom dressed me funny, and it screwed me up for years

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:47 GMT

DEAR ABBY: Throughout my childhood, my mother was controlling in many ways. One of them was my clothes.She dressed me in ridiculous outfits that I found humiliating. If I expressed an opinion about anything, I was treated as being “bad.” It affected my mental health, which resulted in me hating the way I look.I went through multiple eating disorders and addiction, and I had plastic surgery 15 years ago. After many years of therapy, I am now doing better emotionally.I also endured many years of heart-shattering infertility, but I am finally a mother, working hard to give my child a better life than I had.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: This woman moved into my house, and now I’m not allowed to go downstairs Advice | Dear Abby: Our new neighbor is trouble, and my girlfriend thinks he’s great Advice | Dear Abby: The man I was cheating with won’t apologize for cheating on me Advice | Dear Abby: ...

Estos son algunos de los “500 estadounidenses” a los que Rusia prohíbe la entrada

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:47 GMT

(CNN) — El expresidente de Estados Unidos Barack Obama, el presentador de televisión Stephen Colbert y Erin Burnett, de CNN, son algunos de los “500 estadounidenses” a los que Rusia ha prohibido entrar al país.Rusia anunció el viernes que prohibiría la entrada en el país a “500 estadounidenses”, muchos de ellas figuras destacadas del poder ejecutivo estadounidense, “en respuesta a las sanciones regulares antirrusas impuestas por la administración de Joe Biden”, según un comunicado del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores ruso.La lista incluye a Obama, al exembajador estadounidense Jon Huntsman, a varios senadores estadounidenses y a quien se prevé que sea el próximo presidente del Estado Mayor Conjunto, Charles Q. Brown Jr.También incluye a los presentadores estadounidenses de late night TV Jimmy Kimmel, Colbert y Seth Meyers.El comunicado dice: “La ‘lista-500’ adjunta también incluye a aquellos en el gobierno y en las agencias...

Focus on coalition horse-trading as Greek election looks unlikely to deliver a strong winner

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:47 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Sunday’s Greek parliamentary election looks likely to be a dress rehearsal for a new round of voting in the busy summer tourist season — barring a surprise coalition deal by dissonant opposition parties.Opinion polls indicate that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ center-right New Democracy could rake in about 35%, some 6 percentage points ahead of leftwing former prime minister Alexis Tsipras’ Syriza party.But ND still wouldn’t have enough to govern alone, and sharp divisions between the two main contenders and the four smaller parties forecast to enter parliament all but preclude a functioning coalition under either ND or Syriza.A second election on July 2 seems likely. It would be held under a new electoral law giving the winner a boost of up to 50 of Parliament’s 300 seats, which the current system doesn’t. With the economy rebounding after the 2009-2018 financial crisis, military tensions with neighboring Turkey — whic...

Giants host the Marlins on 4-game home win streak

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:47 GMT

Miami Marlins (23-22, second in the NL East) vs. San Francisco Giants (21-23, third in the NL West)San Francisco; Saturday, 4:05 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Marlins: Braxton Garrett (1-2, 5.40 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 36 strikeouts); Giants: Logan Webb (3-5, 3.66 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 58 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Giants -167, Marlins +142; over/under is 7 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The San Francisco Giants host the Miami Marlins trying to continue a four-game home winning streak.San Francisco has a 21-23 record overall and a 14-10 record at home. The Giants have the 10th-ranked team on-base percentage in the NL at .319.Miami has a 9-11 record on the road and a 23-22 record overall. Marlins hitters are batting a collective .249, which ranks eighth in the NL.Saturday’s game is the fifth meeting between these teams this season. The season series is tied 2-2.TOP PERFORMERS: Michael Conforto leads San Francisco with eight home runs while slugging .410. Casey Schmitt is 16-for-40 with two ...

Pittsburgh Pirates and Arizona Diamondbacks meet in game 2 of series

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:47 GMT

Arizona Diamondbacks (25-20, second in the NL West) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (24-20, second in the NL Central)Pittsburgh; Saturday, 4:05 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Diamondbacks: Brandon Pfaadt (0-1, 8.59 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 11 strikeouts); Pirates: Mitch Keller (5-1, 2.38 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 69 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Pirates -137, Diamondbacks +116; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates lead 1-0 in a three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.Pittsburgh has a 24-20 record overall and an 11-9 record in home games. The Pirates have a 15-7 record in games when they did not allow a home run.Arizona has an 11-10 record on the road and a 25-20 record overall. Diamondbacks hitters have a collective .332 on-base percentage, the third-ranked percentage in the NL.The matchup Saturday is the second meeting between these teams this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Jack Suwinski leads the Pirates with seven home runs while slugging .482. Andrew McCutchen is 11-for-34 wit...

St. Louis Cardinals face the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:47 GMT

Los Angeles Dodgers (29-17, first in the NL West) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (19-27, fifth in the NL Central)St. Louis; Saturday, 7:15 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Dodgers: Noah Syndergaard (1-3, 5.94 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 26 strikeouts); Cardinals: Miles Mikolas (2-1, 4.91 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 41 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Cardinals -110, Dodgers -110; over/under is 9 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals host the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.St. Louis has gone 9-15 in home games and 19-27 overall. The Cardinals are 16-6 in games when they have more hits than their opponents.Los Angeles has a 29-17 record overall and a 12-10 record on the road. Dodgers hitters have a collective .450 slugging percentage to rank second in the NL.Saturday’s game is the sixth time these teams square off this season. The Dodgers are up 4-1 in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Paul Goldschmidt has a .301 batting average to lead the Cardinals, and has 16 doubles and seven home runs. Nolan Ar...