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Russian ship spotted near Nord Stream pipelines days before sabotage: Reports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:33 GMT

A Danish patrol boat detected a Russian vessel near the Nord Stream gas pipelines four days before they were sabotaged in multiple blasts, according to media reports.Norway’s defense command confirmed it had 26 images of the SS-750 Russian navy ship, which carries a small submarine that is designed to carry out underwater operations, photographed from a Danish patrol boat in the vicinity of the pipelines on September 22, 2022, Danish newspaper Dagbladet Information reported Thursday.Four days later, on September 26, 2022, explosions ripped through three of the four Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines, which link Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea and are part-owned by Russia’s Gazprom. Swedish and Danish authorities called the blasts an act of deliberate sabotage. Sweden’s Prosecution Authority, confirmed in November that residues of explosives and several “foreign objects” were found at the “crime scene” on the seabed, around 100 meters below the surface of...

Europe’s next crisis: Water

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:33 GMT

It’s barely spring, and Europe is running dry. A key reservoir serving millions of Catalans is dwindling away. A conflict over water triggered clashes in France, where several villages can no longer provide their residents with tap water. And Italy’s largest river is already running as low as last June. More than a quarter of the Continent is in drought as of April, and many countries are bracing for a repeat — or worse — of last year’s bone-dry summer. A study using satellite data confirmed earlier this year that Europe has been suffering from severe drought since 2018. Rising temperatures are making it difficult to recover from this deficit, leaving the Continent stuck in a dangerous cycle where water becomes ever more precarious. “A few years ago I would have said we have enough water in Europe,” said Torsten Mayer-Gürr, a lead author of the satellite study. “Now it looks like we could face problems.” While wet conditions in coming weeks could r...

Disney’s ‘Peter Pan & Wendy’ doesn’t have liftoff

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:33 GMT

MOVIE REVIEW“Peter Pan & Wendy”Rated PG. On Disney+Grade: C+ We’ve seen so many Peter Pan movies that we’ve lost count of them and their Peters, Wendys, Tinker Bells and Captain Hooks. Some of us are still recovering from Joe Wright’s career-crashing 2015 flop “Pan.” Then there was Benh Zeitlin’s 2020 mystery-wrapped-in-an-enigma “Wendy.” I could go on.J.M. Barrie’s character Peter Pan first appeared in his 1902 novel “The Little White Bird” and then became the lead in Barrie’s 1904 hit stage play “Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up.” Hook is often the meatier part in the many adaptations because the actor playing him gets to wave his sword and his hook around and do his best pirate impression. This is why Dustin Hoffman was able to steal the abysmal “Hook” (1991) from Robin Williams (petty theft). I wish I had seen Boris Karloff’s singing Captain Hook in the 1950 Broadway musical. This new “Peter Pan & Wendy” feat...

Heavy clashes rock Sudan’s capital, despite truce extension

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:33 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Heavy explosions and gunfire rocked parts of Sudan’s capital, Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman early Friday, residents said, despite the extension of a fragile truce between the county’s two top generals whose power struggle has killed hundreds.The escalation came hours after both sides accepted a 72-hour extension of the truce, apparently to allow foreign governments complete the evacuation of their citizens from the chaos-stricken African nation.Multiple short truces have not stopped the fighting, but they created enough of a lull for tens of thousands of Sudanese to flee to safer areas and for foreign nations to evacuate thousands of their citizens by land, air and sea.Residents reported fierce clashes in Khartoum’s upscale neighborhood of Kafouri, where the military earlier had used warplanes to bomb its rivals, the Rapid Support Forces, in the area.Clashes were also reported around the military’s headquarters, the Republican Palace and the area close to the K...

Queen’s coronation recalled as UK prepares to crown her son

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:33 GMT

LONDON (AP) — In 1953, London was still recovering from World War II. The city was pockmarked with bomb damage, food supplies were tight and life was dull for children who had never eaten anything so exotic as a banana.But the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II helped lift the gloom. Central London buzzed with activity as workers built temporary stands along the 5-mile route of the queen’s procession. Giant crowns were suspended from arches that soared over The Mall approaching Buckingham Palace, and shopkeepers filled their windows with colorful banners and coronation-themed products.With Elizabeth’s son, King Charles III, set to be crowned on May 6, people are recalling his mother’s coronation 70 years ago, which was the last time the British public witnessed the ritual. “The whole of London was sort of a cauldron of people rushing to the area to look at what was happening,” said James Wilkinson, then an 11-year-old member of the Westminster Abbey choir, which sang durin...

Pakistan releases Chinese national charged with blasphemy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:33 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A Chinese national who was arrested in Pakistan on charges of blasphemy has been released from a high-security prison after a court granted him bail, a defense lawyer and local police said Friday.Atif Khan Jadoon, the lawyer for the man who has been only identified as Mr. Tian said the Chinese national was granted bail by a judge in the northwestern city of Abbottabad on Thursday. Tian was released after he filed a surety bond of 200,000 rupees ($700), Jadoon said. The latest development comes weeks after Tian, who worked on a dam project, was detained after hundreds of residents and laborers in the town of Komela in northwestern Pakistan blocked a key highway and demanded his arrest. They alleged that Tian used insulting remarks about Islam, a charge the man denies.Tian was part of a group of Chinese working on the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in Pakistan. He was accused of blasphemy on April 15 after he criticized two drivers working on the pr...

Prince’s Trust gala draws plenty of celebrities, donations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:33 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The star-studded Prince’s Trust Global Gala raised more than $1.7 million Thursday night at Casa Cipriani in New York City, as a wide range of grantees — past and present — explained how King Charles III’s charity has improved their lives.“Luther” star Idris Elba revealed that without a grant from The Prince’s Trust when he was 17, he would not have been able to join the National Youth Music Theatre, which launched his career. “One thing The Prince’s Trust gave me was confidence,” said Elba, who mingled among celebrities including actress Sienna Miller, supermodels Kate Moss and Winnie Harlow and fashion designers Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors among others. “It gave me the confidence to believe in what I do, who I am and what I can be.”The Prince’s Trust hopes to offer that kind of support in the United States, where it plans to further expand this year.“His Majesty couldn’t be with us this evening – I know he wanted to be,” said Charlotte Mensah, owner of the Hair...

Turkey’s Erdogan cancels third day of election appearances

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:33 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled his election appearances for a third day Friday after falling ill with what officials described as an intestinal infection.Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for two decades as prime minister and then president, is seeking a third presidential term in Turkey’s May 14 elections. He had been due to appear at a bridge opening and a political rally in the southern city of Adana, but his schedule changed to show he would attend the opening ceremony via video link.Erdogan became ill during a TV interview on Tuesday evening with what Health Minister Fahrettin Koca later said was a “gastrointestinal infection.” His election rallies planned for Wednesday and Thursday were canceled. He looked pale Thursday as he inaugurated a nuclear power plant via video in his first public appearance since his illness.Other officials sought to dispel concerns over the 69-year-old leader’s health ahead of next month’s presidential a...

Japan ocean policy vows tougher security amid China threat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:33 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan adopted a new five-year ocean policy on Friday that calls for stronger maritime security, including bolstering its coast guard’s capability and cooperation with the military amid China’s increasing assertiveness in regional seas.The new Basic Plan on Ocean Policy adopted by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet also says Japan must accelerate the development of autonomous underwater vehicles and remotely operated robots to bolster its surveillance capability.It cited a list of threats: Chinese coast guard ships’ repeated intrusions into Japanese territorial waters, growing unauthorized maritime activity by “foreign survey boats” inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, increasing joint military exercises by China and Russia, and North Korea’s repeated missile launches.“The situation in the ocean around Japan is increasingly tense,” Kishida said at a policy meeting Friday. “It’s time for us to unite our wisdom among the ind...

EU voices optimism on Ukraine grain transit deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:33 GMT

The European Union agriculture chief expressed optimism on Tuesday (25 April) that neighbouring countries will accept a deal allowing Ukrainian grain to be imported into their countries to export elsewhere.Last week, the European Commission proposed measures of emergency in relation to wheat, maize and sunflower seeds, as well as sunflower oil, after certain central European countries unilaterally banned imports from Ukraine.The Russian invasion of February 2022 forced Ukraine to abandon its Black Sea ports and export grain through Bulgaria, Hungary Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.The European Agriculture commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski stated that the transit agreement would only cover five products, representing 80-90% imports, and not eight other products, such as honey, poultry, or milk, which Ukraine's neighbors have also proposed.He told a press conference following a meeting in Luxembourg of the agriculture ministers that he believed they were very, very near to a good agreem...