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Greenpeace demonstrators drape UK prime minister’s house in black to protest oil expansion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:24 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Greenpeace demonstrators draped the country estate of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in black fabric Thursday to protest his plan to expand oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. Video posted by the group showed a crew dressed in bright red jumpsuits, helmets, and safety harnesses carrying ladders and climbing onto the roof of the Yorkshire house. They slowly unfurled long black sheets of fabric over the front of the home and held a yellow sign on the roof that read “No New Oil.”The prime minister was not home because he is vacationing with his family in California. North Yorkshire police said officers were at the location. Sunak announced Monday that Britain will grant hundreds of new oil and gas licenses in the North Sea to gain energy independence. The move was widely criticized by environmental groups that have accused the government of backsliding on its pledge to eliminate net carbon emissions by 2050.As four Greenpeace members were on the roof of the British...

Typhoon Khanun forecast to turn back to Japanese islands where it already caused damage and injuries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:24 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The typhoon that damaged homes and knocked out power on Okinawa and other southern Japanese islands this week was slowly moving west Thursday but is forecast to make a U-turn and dump even more rain on the archipelago.Typhoon Khanun, now in the waters between China and Japan’s southwestern islands, is expected to slow to nearly stationary movement before a weakening high pressure system nearby allows it to turn east Friday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.That forecast would largely spare China, where rain from an earlier typhoon caused deadly flooding and damage this week around the capital, Beijing.Khanun, which means jackfruit in Thai, had sustained surface winds of 162 kph (100 mph) with higher gusts Thursday evening. Up to 20 centimeters (7.8 inches) of rainfall were expected in the Okinawa region by midday Friday, JMA said. China and Taiwan were also making preparations for the storm. Though the eye is forecast to stay offshore as the typhoon turns east...

An uneasy calm settles over Lebanon’s Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian camps after overnight clashes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:24 GMT

SIDON, Lebanon (AP) — A cautious calm returned to Lebanon’s Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian camp in south Lebanon Thursday after a night of renewed clashes.Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp, which is home to about 50,000 people, has been racked since Sunday by fierce battles between President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party and Islamist groups Jund al Sham and Shabab al Muslim.Fatah has accused the Islamists of gunning down a Fatah military general, Abu Ashraf al Armoushi, in the camp on Sunday.The fighting has so far killed more than a dozen people, wounded dozens more, and displaced thousands.In the city of Sidon, outside the camp’s borders, around 100 camp residents who had fled the clashes were sheltering in a nearby mosque on Thursday. Sheikh Ahmad Nader said that around 2,000 people had sheltered at the mosque since the beginning of the clashes.“We are tired of all of this,” said Mohamed Sabakh, an Ein el-Hilweh resident staying in the mosque with his family. “We have children.”...

Banks from 4 Arab countries are in talks to invest in struggling Lebanese banks, official says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:24 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Banks from four Arab countries are interested in investing in Lebanon’s struggling banking sector, which was hard-hit by the small nation’s three-year economic meltdown, a top Arab banker said Thursday.Lebanon is in the throes of its worst economic crisis in its short and troubled history that has skyrocketed poverty and inflation, and crippled its bloated public sector and infrastructure. Wissam Fattouh, the Secretary General of the Union of Arab Banks, spoke to The Associated Press on the sidelines of the biggest regional banking conference held in Beirut since the historic economic crisis began in October 2019. Caretaker Economy Minister Amin Salam and Lebanese and regional banking officials called on their Arab counterparts to invest in the crisis-hit country and help revitalize its battered economy.Fattouh told Saudi-owned TV station Al-Hadath in July that Jordanian and Iraqi banks have expressed an interest to buy small Lebanese banks.“During our numerous visits ...

Stock market today: Global stocks decline after the US government’s credit rating was cut

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:24 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets and Wall Street futures declined Thursday after Fitch Ratings cut the U.S. government’s credit rating.London and Paris opened lower. Tokyo lost 1.7% and Hong Kong also declined. Shanghai advanced. Oil prices retreated.Wall Street turned in its biggest one-day decline in months Wednesday after Fitch Ratings lowered the U.S. government credit rating by one level. The agency cited rising debt and a “steady deterioration in standards of governance” after Congress pushed Washington close to defaulting before agreeing to raise the amount it can borrow.“This is largely irrelevant despite some initial shock,” Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at investment management company Invesco, said in a report, noting that this makes the U.S. rating more consistent with other major economies. “The timing was odd, given that it occurred well after the debt ceiling issue was resolved.”In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London lost 1.3% to 7,466.49....

What’s open/closed in Toronto on the August Civic Holiday?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:24 GMT

Another summer long weekend is here and there are plenty of activities and events going on around the city to keep people busy.There won’t be as many closures on Monday as a typical holiday long weekend, but keep in mind, many businesses will operate on reduced hours.Here’s a full list of what’s open and closed on the August Civic Holiday.Attractions open on Monday:Art Gallery of Ontario: 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.Canada’s Wonderland: Open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.Casa Loma: Open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.CN Tower: Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.Hockey Hall of Fame: Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.Ontario Place/Trillium Park: Open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.Ontario Science Centre: Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Ripley’s Aquarium: Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.Royal Ontario Museum: Open 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.Toronto Zoo: Open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.Beer/LCBOSelect Beer Store locations will be open on Monday, click here to locate one in your areaCertain LCBO stores will be closed on Monday, click here to locate one in your area.TransitThe TTC will run on...

Russia adds Norway to its list of unfriendly countries for allegedly targeting its diplomats

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:24 GMT

Russia has added Norway to its list of “unfriendly countries” for allegedly targeting Russian diplomats abroad, further worsening its relations with the West.The Russian government published the order Thursday, which restricts the number of local staff the Norwegian diplomatic mission can hire in Russia to 27 people.In April, Norway expelled 15 Russian diplomats after accusing them of carrying out intelligence activities under diplomatic cover. Russia retaliated by expelling 10 Norwegian diplomats in what Norway said was an “act of revenge.”Norway’s Foreign Ministry said it hasn’t yet received official information from Russian authorities but that there is no basis for saying Norway is unfriendly toward Russia.“Today’s situation is due to Russia’s war against Ukraine. Russia can itself choose to end the war,” Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt told local media.Huitfeldt added that the two nations, which share a border in the Arctic, have an interest in “functioning diploma...

US military identifies a soldier killed in a crash on a German highway

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:24 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The U.S. military on Thursday identified a soldier killed when a truck hit her Stryker armored vehicle on a highway in southern Germany.U.S. Army Europe said that 1st Lt. Hailey Hodsden, a platoon leader with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment’s 4th Squadron, died in the crash near Tirschenreuth in Bavaria on Tuesday. It said in a statement that the 24-year-old native of Dripping Springs, Texas, was a West Point graduate and had been in her unit for a little over a year. The 4th Squadron commander, Lt. Col. Joseph M. Byerly, described her as “an exceptional leader.”A civilian semi-truck hit the Stryker as it merged onto the A93 highway. Hodsden was treated and taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead. No other soldiers in the military vehicle were injured, and the crash is under investigation.The Associated Press

The heaviest animal ever discovered may be this ancient whale found in the Peruvian desert

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — There could be a new contender for heaviest animal to ever live. While today's blue whale has long held the title, scientists have dug up fossils from an ancient giant that could tip the scales.Researchers described the species — named Perucetus colossus, or “the colossal whale from Peru” — in the journal Nature on Wednesday. Each vertebra weighs over 220 pounds (100 kilograms) and its ribs measure nearly 5 feet (1.4 meters) long.“It’s just exciting to see such a giant animal that’s so different from anything we know," said Hans Thewissen, a paleontologist at Northeast Ohio Medical University who had no role in the research.Paleontologist Mario Urbina poses for a photo next to the vertebrae of a newly found species named Perucetus colossus, or “the colossal whale from Peru”, during a presentation in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. The bones were first discovered more than a decade ago by Urbina from the University of San Marcos’ Natural History Museum....

Should Trump go to jail? Election could become a referendum on that question

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:55:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The 2024 election will determine whether Donald Trump returns to the White House. It could also decide if he’ll face time behind bars.For Trump, who's now facing his third criminal indictment — this time for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and block the transfer of presidential power — winning is about more than ego, redemption, score-settling or the future of the country.“This election may very well be about Donald Trump’s personal freedom,” said Ari Fleischer, a longtime Republican strategist. “It’s not an exaggeration to say, if convicted, he could be sentenced to prison unless he wins and he uses the levers of justice to reverse it or stop it or drop it."The deeply personal stakes for Trump add to what is already an election unlike any other in modern history. It's now not only a debate over the country’s challenges, but a partisan fight over whether the 77-year-old former president and GOP frontrunner should spend time in prison. Pu...