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Iran says it sent a capsule with animals into orbit as it prepares for human missions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:42 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran said Wednesday it sent a capsule into orbit carrying animals as it prepares for human missions in coming years. A report by the official IRNA news agency quoted Telecommunications Minister Isa Zarepour as saying the capsule was launched 130 kilometers (80 miles) into orbit. Zarepour said the launch of the 500-kilogram (1,000-pound) capsule is aimed at sending Iranian astronauts to space in coming years. He did not say what kind of animals were in the capsule.State TV showed footage of a rocket named Salman carrying the capsule into space.Iran occasionally announces successful launches of satellites and other space crafts. In September, Iran said it sent a data-collecting satellite into space. In 2013, Iran said it sent a monkey into space and returned it successfully.It says its satellite program is for scientific research and other civilian applications. The U.S. and other Western countries have long been suspicious of the program because the same technolog...

A Year in Power: Malaysian premier Anwar searches for support as frustration rises over slow reform

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:42 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Marking his first anniversary of coming to power, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahm admitted he was still struggling to win over ethnic Malay votes and acknowledged frustration over the slow pace of reforms. But he defended his unity government, saying it was now politically stable and able to fully focus on bolstering the economy and improving the people’s welfare. In a candid interview with private television network TV3 late Tuesday, Anwar said that while he understood discontentment because of the slow pace of his government’s reform plan, “we must navigate wisely and prioritize political stability.”Anwar, 76, whose sacking and imprisonment in the 1990s led to massive street protests and a reform movement that rose into a major political force, has been a long-time opposition leader. He clinched victory last year in the country’s general elections. Despite a two-thirds majority in Parliament, Anwar’s unity government has been p...

Stock market today: Asian shares surge as weak US jobs data back hopes for an end to rate hikes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:42 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares advanced on Wednesday after most stocks slipped on Wall Street following a mixed set of reports on the U.S. economy. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.9% to 16,477.34, while the Shanghai Composite edged 0.1% higher, to 2,968.93. The gains followed selloffs the day before amid worries about the health of China’s economy, the world’s second largest. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 added 2% to 33,445.90 after a top central bank official reiterated the Bank of Japan’s determination to maintain its easy credit policy until it achieves a stable level of inflation. In Seoul, the Kospi was up less than 0.1%, at 2,495.38. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.7% to 7,178.40. India’s Sensex gained 0.3% and the SET in Bangkok advanced 0.7%. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower for its first back-to-back loss since October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%.U.S. stocks and Treasury yields wavered af...

Daily horoscope for December 6, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:42 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or making important decisions from 8:30 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. EST today (5:30 a.m. to 8:50 a.m. PST). After that, the Moon moves from Virgo into Libra.Happy Birthday for Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023:You are organized and have a talent for management. People look to you for advice or assistance. This is a year of reflection and taking time to renew your spiritual or religious beliefs. Explore philosophies that give you a better self-awareness and get you closer to the true meaning of your life.ARIES(March 21-April 19)★★★After the Moon changes signs today, it will be opposite your sign, which means you will have to go more than halfway when dealing with others. Curb your enthusiasm, especially when talking to bosses and parents. You might be gung-ho about certain ideas, nevertheless, go gently. Tonight: Cooperate.TAURUS(April 20-May 20)★★★This morning is a creative time for you because you can think outside the box. As the day wears on, you will become productive, e...

Protection of EU funds: EU should do more to detect, prevent and recover frauds 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:42 GMT

In the report, adopted on Monday (4 December) by 17 votes in favour, none against and two abstentions, the Budgetary Control Committee stresses the great risk to the EU’s financial interests posed by nepotism used when procuring EU funds, CONT.MEPs on the committee are also concerned about the latest data showing that journalists’ safety in the EU has deteriorated and call for better protection of investigative journalists who can significantly contribute to fighting corruption and impunity.UkraineThe adopted text says that the EU funds for assistance in non-EU countries and the money allocated for Europe’s response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine are not adequately monitored and controlled. They call on the Commission to carry out more thorough checks to ensure that EU funds end up going to those most in need.Particularly, MEPs are concerned about the peak in irregularities affecting the Instrument for Pre-Accession assistance (IPA) and call on the Commission to also fraud-p...

US envoy slams Orbán as a leader who ‘embraces Putin’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:42 GMT

The United States’ ambassador to Hungary sharply criticized Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for disregarding the country’s alliance with NATO, describing him as a leader who “embraces” Russian President Vladimir Putin.Ambassador David Pressman said Hungary “relies upon its NATO allies but feels comfortable disregarding the interests of those same allies and our alliance, including during a time of war in Europe,” while speaking to a gathering of business leaders at an American Chamber of Commerce event Tuesday night in Budapest.“That disregard is evident when the [Hungarian] prime minister embraces Putin, when his government threatens to hold up crucially needed aid to its neighbor, Ukraine, while Ukrainian men, women, and children are murdered by war criminals,” Pressman added. Orbán has threatened to veto a planned €50 billion in aid for Ukraine and has adamantly opposed opening accession negotiations with Kyiv, after the European Commissi...

Classified briefing devolves into shouting as senators fight over border provisions in Ukraine-Israel aid package

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:42 GMT

(CNN) — A classified briefing Tuesday on Ukraine devolved into a shouting match about border security as senators described a tense meeting that did little to break the Senate’s stalemate over whether to include tighter immigration policies in the aid package.The meeting came as Republican senators have warned they are prepared to vote against advancing a more than $100 billion supplemental national security package unless it includes major border policy changes, casting doubt on whether the aid will pass this year.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer gave his description of what unfolded and said the fight over the border erupted when Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, asked GOP Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma to present on the border instead of asking a question about Ukraine to the briefers.“It was immediately hijacked by Leader McConnell. The first question instead of asking our panelists, he called on Lankford to give a five-minute talk...

Howie Carr: MassGOP rising from the grave

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:42 GMT

For four miserable years, Jim “Jones” Lyons operated the Massachusetts GOP the way his namesake, the Rev. Jim Jones, ran his suicidal death cult in the 1970s.Now, less than a year after his ouster as capo di tutti frutti, it’s time for the bust-out Republican loser to begin composing his final words to his toothless, destitute followers.And it seems only appropriate that Lyons should use the message of his namesake, the original Jim Jones, when he urged his Kool Aid Kult in Guyana to drink deeply of the poisoned chalice:“Take our life from us. We laid it down, we got tired. We didn’t commit suicide, we committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhumane world.”An inhumane world – that is exactly how the Kult would describe the forces that are driving them off the political cliff.Their last hope for salvation – in this veil of tears, anyway – was to reclaim control of the state’s GOP state committee in the primary elections in March and reinstall Lyons ...

Turkey’s Erdogan tends to strained relationship with EU with ‘win-win’ trip to neighbor Greece

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:42 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will fly to Greece on Thursday on a visit designed to set the historically uneasy neighbors on a more constructive path.Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will oversee joint Cabinet talks and trade consultations. A series of cooperation deals will be signed as part of a so-called “positive agenda,” aimed at bypassing long-standing and often volatile disputes. After years of tension and a looming risk of military confrontation, the NATO allies are seeking to rebuild trust and deliver a timely message of cooperation in the troubled eastern Mediterranean.WHY ARE THE TALKS HAPPENING NOW?Erdogan and Mitsotakis, both re-elected this year, are respectively focused on the economy, with Greece on a growth spurt after a decade of financial turmoil and Turkey battling crippling inflation and shaky international investment.“Of course, we have differences of opinion and there are deep issues that cannot be resolved at...

Volkswagen-commissioned audit finds no signs of forced labor at plant in China’s Xinjiang region

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:42 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — An audit commissioned by Volkswagen has found no indication of forced labor at its plant in China’s Xinjiang region, where Western governments have accused the Chinese government of human rights violations against the Uyghur ethnic minority.The German automaker has come under fire for operating in Xinjiang, a remote western region that borders Central Asia. The U.S. government has blocked imports from Xinjiang unless it can be proven that the products were not made with forced labor.The auditor, Loening — Human Rights and Responsible Business, conducted 40 interviews and was able to inspect the factory freely, said Markus Loening, a former German human rights commissioner who founded the consultancy.“We could not find any indications or evidence of forced labor among the employees,” he said in remarks provided by Volkswagen from a media briefing in Germany on Tuesday.China launched a harsh crackdown in Xinjiang around 2017 in response to a series of bombings, kn...