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UK aims to send migrants to Rwanda in months if courts agree

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:38 GMT

KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — Britain’s government said Sunday that it could start deporting asylum-seekers to Rwanda in the next few months — but only if U.K. courts rule that the controversial policy is legal.The Home Office said it was aiming to start flights “before the summer,” as Home Secretary Suella Braverman visited the east African country to reinforce the Conservative government’s commitment to the plan.In the Rwandan capital, Kigali, she met with President Paul Kagame and Foreign Minister Vincent Biruta, visited accommodation intended to house deportees from the U.K. and laid a brick at another housing development for migrants.“I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing firsthand the rich opportunities this country can provide to relocated people through our partnership,” Braverman said.Biruta said Rwanda would offer migrants “the opportunity to build new lives in a safe, secure place through accommodation, education and vocational training.” The U.K. and Rwanda struck a deal almost...

Croatian authorities destroy World War II anti-ship mine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:38 GMT

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatian authorities on Sunday destroyed a huge anti-ship mine from World War II that was buried in the seabed near a key northern Adriatic Sea port.Local authorities in the port of Rijeka sounded emergency sirens early on Sunday to mark the start of the operation. They earlier had evacuated parts of the city while also halting all traffic to secure the area during the removal of the bomb with 690 kilograms (1,500-pounds) of explosives. Officials said that the mine, which was first discovered last June, was positioned too close to the city and that it had to be moved further away before emergency teams could perform the controlled detonation.Videos released by Croatian police after the operation was completed on Sunday showed the mine at the bottom of the sea, and divers strapping it up so it could be moved. Another video showed a huge explosion further away, sending seawater high up in the air.Police officer Nenad Krasny said the mine was very dangerous and c...

Central African Republic rebels storm mine; 9 Chinese killed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:38 GMT

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Suspected rebels stormed a Chinese-operated gold mining site that had recently been launched in Central African Republic, killing nine Chinese nationals and wounding two others Sunday, authorities said.The attack came just days after gunmen kidnapped three Chinese nationals in the country’s west near the border with Cameroon, prompting President Faustin Archange Touadera to travel to China in a bid to reassure investors.The attack on the Chimbolo gold mine began around 5 a.m. when the gunmen overpowered the site’s guards and opened fire, said Abel Matipata, mayor of the nearby town of Bambari. The mining site’s launch had taken place just days earlier, he added.Local authorities said they were pursuing the assailants, but declined further comment. Residents said that the violence was the latest incident undermining confidence in security forces.“The government is having difficulty proving its ability to protect Central Africa...

New law allows anti-abortion monument at Arkansas Capitol

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:38 GMT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has signed a new law that will allow a monument near the state Capitol marking the number of abortions performed in Arkansas before the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.Sanders’ office said Friday night that the Republican governor signed the bill that will allow the creation of a privately funded “monument to the unborn” on the Capitol grounds. The bill, approved by lawmakers last week, requires the secretary of state to permit and arrange the placement of the monument.It also requires the Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission to oversee the selection of the artist and the design of the monument, with input from anti-abortion groups. A law Arkansas approved in 2019 banning nearly all abortions took effect last year when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the 1973 Roe decision. Arkansas’ ban only allows abortions to save the life of the mother in a medical emergency.Tennessee lawmakers approved legislation i...

Kazakhs vote in newly competitive parliamentary election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:38 GMT

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (AP) — Voters in Kazakhstan on Sunday went to the polls to choose lawmakers in the lower house of parliament, which is being reconfigured in the wake of deadly unrest that gripped the resource-rich Central Asian nation a year ago.Although the electoral field was unusually large with two newly registered parties and hundreds of individual candidates joining the race, turnout appeared relatively unenthusiastic — about 54% of eligible voter cast ballots, according the national elections commission.The early election came on the fourth anniversary of the resignation of President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who had led Kazakhstan since independence following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 and who had established immense influence. His successor, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, was widely expected to continue Nazarbayev’s authoritarian course and even renamed the capital as Nur-Sultan in his predecessor’s honor.But the country’s political landscape changed markedly after a wa...

Magnitude 5.4 earthquake strikes off southcentral Alaska

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:38 GMT

HOMER, Alaska (AP) — A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck off the coast of south-central Alaska on Sunday and was reported as widely felt in communities on the Kenai Peninsula, the Alaska Earthquake Center said.The earthquake occurred just after 7 a.m. It was 13 miles (21 kilometers) west of Homer and 130 miles (210 kilometers) southwest of Anchorage, the center said. The quake was reported felt as far away as the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, the center said.The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is north of Anchorage.Emails seeking comment were sent to the center, the Homer Police Department and a state emergency management spokesperson Sunday.The Associated Press

7-Eleven wants its EV charging network to be among the largest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:38 GMT

(Green Car Reports) -- Convenience store chain 7-Eleven has ambitious plans for EV charging.The company on Thursday announced 7Charge, an EV charging network that it aims to make one of the largest in North America. The plan includes DC fast-charging stations at 7-Eleven locations in the U.S. and, eventually, Canada, with access via a proprietary app.While light on details, a 7-Eleven press release declared that the company “intends to build of the largest and most compatible electric vehicle charging networks of any retailer in North America,” and noted that charging is already available at some 7-Eleven stores in California, Colorado, Florida, and Texas.7-Eleven storefrontPart of the emphasis on compatibility means offering both Combined Charging Standard (CCS) and CHAdeMO fast-charging connectors. The network won’t support Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS), however. Tesla owners will need a CCS adapter to charge at 7Charge sites.Pricing is determined ...

Los Angeles residents getting mystery Uber Eats deliveries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:38 GMT

(KTLA) – One Los Angeles neighborhood is being bombarded with Uber Eats deliveries the residents did not order or buy.The deliveries started about two weeks ago, and seem to be focused in the area of Range View Avenue in the Highland Park neighborhood. They've been showing up at all hours.One man said he received 13 deliveries in one day, none of which he ordered. His neighbors had similar stories.Caroline Aguirre said she's received items from "low-fat milk, to a Danish, to chicken McNuggets, french fries, an egg croissant.”The free food was "a nice treat at first," William Neal said, "Then, when it became too much food at once, we'd try to find places to donate it or give it away.""It was bag after bag after bag, sometimes three at a time, 3 in the morning, 5 in the afternoon," he added. One neighbor even put a "no deliveries" sign on his front door, but the surprises kept coming, up to 10 bags a day.The residents said the names on the orders, primarily fast food, did not match an...

How to fight the ‘pink tax’ amid inflation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:38 GMT

(NerdWallet) - Trae Bodge, a shopping expert who lives in the New York City area, sees higher prices for products and services marketed to women everywhere: Socks, razors, shampoo and apparel are a few of the product types aimed at women that tend to cost more. “I don’t know why brands think this is acceptable,” Bodge says. “It’s another punch to the gut as we’re trying to manage our budgets right now,” she adds, referring to rising prices across consumer goods categories due to inflation. The phenomenon known as the “pink tax,” when products and services aimed at women cost more than their counterparts aimed at men, is well-documented across many goods and services. A 2021 paper co-authored by Stephanie Gonzalez Guittar, assistant professor in the sociology department at Rollins College in Florida, found that women pay more for deodorants and lotions, and that personal care products are increasingly differentiated by gender. For example, lotion for women cost an average of $2....

NCAA brings positive impact to Downtown Albany

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:30:38 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The Sports Foundation of the Capital Region has been hosting block parties outside of the MVP Arena all weekend, and the event positively impacted local businesses. The parties featured food trucks and vendors along south pearl street while the games were displayed on two large video boards outside the arena.Albany County Executive Dan McCoy was excited to offer an opportunity for fans who could not get a ticket. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! “We want them to come here; we want the fans to enjoy the experience the minute they park their car,” McCoy said.But parking was an issue due to the road closures for the event. On Sunday morning, MVP Arena announced on its Facebook page that the garage would be closed and that shuttle services would not be available.Albany officials also announced that South Pearl Street between Beaver Street and Hudson avenue will be closed until Monday at 6 am. But despite ...