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Turkey’s Erdoğan urges end of Ukraine war in call with Putin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:01 GMT

Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday called for the “immediate cessation” of the war in Ukraine during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.Erdoğan also “thanked President Putin for his positive stance regarding the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative” and added that the two countries “could take further steps” when it comes to economic cooperation, the Turkish presidency’s communications directorate said in a statement on Saturday.The Black Sea grain deal, which allowed the export of foodstuffs from Ukraine to resume after Moscow’s unlawful invasion of the country blocked several ports, was extended last weekend. The grain agreement was originally signed last summer by Kyiv and Moscow under the auspices of the United Nations.The Kremlin said in a statement following the Putin-Erdoğan phone call that the two leaders also discussed the situation in Syria.They emphasized “the need to continue the pr...

Swiss finance minister defends rushed takeover of Credit Suisse

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:01 GMT

The takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS was necessary to avoid disruptions of Switzerland’s banking system, Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said on Saturday.“Credit Suisse would not have survived Monday,” she said in an interview with Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung published Saturday.She argued that the use of emergency law to allow a rapid merger between the country’s two largest banks was needed to stabilize the situation. “Without a solution, payment transactions with [Credit Suisse] in Switzerland would have been significantly disrupted, possibly even collapsed, and wages and bills could no longer have been paid,” she said.Last weekend, UBS was forced by Swiss authorities to take over its longtime domestic rival Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs.To justify the move, which angered Credit Suisse shareholders, Keller-Sutter argued that the federal government “only went as far as was absolutely necessary to achieve the g...

Homes destroyed in Scituate fire on Minot Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:01 GMT

The morning will show that multiple homes have burned to the ground in Scituate after flames jumped from house-to-house in the Minot Beach area.Scituate, Hanover, Hull, Duxbury, Rockland, Plymouth and Hanson firefighters all responded. People were displaced but no injuries are being reported.MEMA’s Plymouth County coordinator was on scene and the plume from the blazes could be seen on radar.Scituate fire Chief John Murphy estimated that the fire started sometime between 7:30 p.m. Friday. “Upon arrival, we had three homes well underway with flames,” Murphy told WCVB. “Everybody was evacuated.”This is a developing story …Burned out remnants of homes along the Glades section of Minot beach after a multi alarm fire on March 25, 2023 in , Scituate, MA. . (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)Homes burn along the Glades section of Minot beach at a multi alarm fire on March 24, 2023 in , Scituate, MA. . (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)Homes burn along the Glades sec...

Ontario doctors blast province for ending health care for uninsured residents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:01 GMT

The Ontario Medical Association is blasting the province for its plans to end a program that provides health care services for people without health insurance and is calling on the government to extend it until a new solution can be worked out.Board Chair Dr. Cathy Faulds says the government notified the association on Friday that the Physician and Hospital Services for Uninsured Persons program will end on March 31.Faulds says the government decision will hurt the province’s marginalized residents, who already face extra societal barriers and would have to rely on the good will of individual doctors to receive health care if the program winds down as planned.She says the OMA wants the government to extend the program temporarily and develop a long-term solution that addresses the medical needs of uninsured residents.The Ontario Ministry of Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision.Ontario established the program in 2020 near the start of the ...

Snowfall, heavy rain in Afghanistan kill at least 3

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:01 GMT

JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AP) — Snowfall and heavy rain killed at least three people in Afghanistan, including a child, a government spokesman said Saturday.The severe weather hit nine provinces in different parts of the country on Friday and Saturday: Balkh, Zabul, Faryab, Uruzgan, Nimroz, Nangarhar, Kunar, Nuristan, and Laghman. The snow and rain injured seven people, partially or completely destroyed more than 750 homes, and ruined farmland, according to Shafiullah Rahimi, a spokesman from the Ministry of Disaster Management.He said government departments are providing families with basic necessities, such as food, tents and blankets. Teams will visit the affected areas to survey the damage.Rahimi also said there was no change in the death toll from last Tuesday’s 6.5 magnitude earthquake that struck much of Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan.The late-night quake killed 10 and injured 60 in Afghanistan. It damaged 800 houses across the country.A powerful earthquake rocked a rugge...

North Carolina treasurer running for governor in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:01 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina State Treasurer Dale Folwell announced on Saturday he will run for governor in 2024, a bid that will likely require him besting Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson to earn the Republican nomination.While Republicans have controlled the Legislature since 2011 and won a majority on the state Supreme Court last November, they have struggled to enter the Executive Mansion. The GOP has won just one gubernatorial general election since 1992, and winner Pat McCrory served for just four years. Folwell, a former legislator, school board member and state unemployment office chief who was first elected treasurer in 2016, said he would bring competence to operating government in a fiscally sound manner and look out for working people if elected. “The root word of ‘governor’ is to govern, and what that means is to be the CEO of the biggest business in the state,” Folwell told The Associated Press in an interview. “And based on my track record of saving lives, minds and mon...

Biden’s moves on Alaska drilling, TikTok test young voters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:01 GMT

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Recent moves by President Joe Biden to pressure TikTok over its Chinese ownership and approve oil drilling in an untapped area of Alaska are testing the loyalty of young voters, a group that’s largely been in his corner.Youth turnout surged in the three elections since Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, helping Biden eke out victories in swing states in 2020, pick up a Democratic Senate seat in the 2022 election and stem potential losses in the House.But the 80-year-old president has never been the favorite candidate of young liberals itching for a new generation of American leadership. As Biden gears up for an expected reelection campaign, a potential TikTok ban and the Alaska drilling could weigh him down. Meanwhile, his plan to wipe out billions of dollars in student loan debt is in jeopardy at the Supreme Court. The effort, announced shortly before last year’s midterms, was an attempt by Biden to keep a promise he made after defeating progressive Sen...

SIU clears York police officers in early morning shootout that left 1 dead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:01 GMT

Two undercover police officers will not face charges following an early morning shootout with suspects wanted in a string of home invasions in Markham last fall.The incident began just after 7 a.m. on November 25, 2022, outside a residence on Eyer Drive, near Rodick and Macrill roads.York region police were investigating a series of armed robberies in Markham and plainclothes officers were tracking multiple suspects in a white vehicle on the morning of the shooting. In its report, the province’s Special Investigations Unit says two men in a BMW X6 approached a black Ford F150 pickup truck which was parked in the driveway of a home on Eyer Drive. Two undercover police officers were inside the truck. One of the suspects, who was armed with a knife, began pounding on the driver’s side window and demanded why they were being followed. The second suspect then emerged from the SUV with a shotgun and began firing at the driver’s side window. The two officers inside the tr...

Suburban city makes top US cities to live in in 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:01 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – As people continue to shift back to pre-pandemic social and recreational activities — even if they are still working remotely — a new study has broken down the best U.S. cities in which to work, learn, hang out and generally enjoy oneself in 2023.Niche, a data analysis company, used Census data, surveys and other info sources to break down the best cities in the U.S., taking into account the cost of living, safety, school quality, nightlife, walkability, outdoor activities and more.See the top five for 2023 below:Weeks Bridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (File: Getty)Topping the list is Cambridge, Massachusetts, home to roughly 117,000. The city, which is also home to Harvard, "offers residents an urban feel" with numerous bars, restaurants, coffee shops and parks. The public schools are also excellent, according to Niche.Rosslyn, Arlington, Virginia, USA city skyline on the Potomac River. (File: Getty)In second place is Arlington, Virginia, which jumped up from fourth i...

The astronomical alignment you can see in the night sky this weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:01 GMT

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) – Venus has been very bright in the western sky, the brightest of every star or planet during the first part of the night. And over the upcoming weekend, it will be part of an astronomical alignment with the moon and another planet.The two-night event will begin Saturday, March 25, with the crescent moon appearing above Venus and topped off by Mars high in the western sky.On the evening of Sunday, March 26, the moon will "split" the two planets. Planet Palooza! When 5 planets will be visible in the night sky The famous constellation Orion will also appear in the western sky just to the left of Mars, the moon, and Venus. You should be able to see it with a telescope.Orion, however, can be seen in the night sky for around half of the year. Its shape is easy to pick out because of its many bright stars and its signature belt: three stars close together in a nearly straight line.