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Africa’s Eswatini, one of the last absolute monarchies, holds an election without political parties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:27 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The small southern African nation of Eswatini held elections Friday to decide part of the makeup of its Parliament, even as its extremely wealthy king retains absolute power, political parties are banned and elected representatives can merely advise a monarch whose family has reigned supreme for 55 years.Eswatini, wedged between South Africa and Mozambique, is the last absolute monarchy in Africa and one of the few remaining in the world. King Mswati III, 55, has been the monarch since 1986, when he became ruler days after his 18th birthday. His father was king for 82 years before him, although Eswatini only gained independence from Britain in 1968.It was formerly known as Swaziland.Parliamentary elections are held every five years. Candidates for the lower chamber, the House of Assembly, and for the Senate cannot belong to political parties, which were banned in 1973, and are nominated at a local level before they face a popular vote.Mswati III appoin...

Russians and Belarusians allowed to compete as neutral athletes at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:27 GMT

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Russians and Belarusians will be allowed to compete as neutral athletes at next year’s Paralympics in Paris after avoiding a full ban from the event following the invasion of Ukraine.The International Paralympic Committee voted 74-65 at an assembly in Bahrain on Friday against suspending Russia’s membership entirely — which would have meant a full ban from the Paralympics — but then voted 90-65 in favor of “partially” suspending the country through 2025.The IPC said Russia’s national Paralympic committee was being partially suspended because of “breaches of its constitutional membership obligations.”Later Friday, the IPC said members similarly rejected a full ban for Russia ally Belarus and imposed a partial suspension.Russians “will be eligible to participate in an individual and neutral capacity” at the Paralympics and other IPC-governed sports events, the IPC said. It didn’t spell out the exact criteria, but said the athletes w...

Rush-hour storm floods New York City area, swamping streets and stranding people in traffic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:27 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A potent rush-hour rainstorm swamped the New York metropolitan area on Friday, shutting down parts of the city’s subway system, flooding streets and highways, and delaying flights into LaGuardia Airport.Up to 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain fell in some areas overnight, and as much as 7 inches (18 centimeters) more was expected throughout the day, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said.“This is a dangerous, life-threatening storm,” Hochul said in an interview with TV station NY1. “Count on this for the next 20 hours.” Traffic was at a standstill, with water above cars’ tires, on a stretch of the FDR Drive — a major artery along the east side of Manhattan. Some drivers abandoned their vehicles. Priscilla Fontallio said she had been stranded in her car, which was on a piece of the highway that wasn’t flooded but wasn’t moving, for three hours. “Never seen anything like this in my life,” she said. Photos and video posted on social media sh...

Palestinian security force deploys in school compound in Lebanon refugee camp following clashes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:27 GMT

SIDON, Lebanon (AP) — A Palestinian security force deployed Friday in a school complex in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp in the country’s south, replacing gunmen who had occupied it since fighting broke out in late July leaving more than 30 people dead.The deployment raises hopes that a nearly two-week cease-fire in the Ein el-Hilweh camp, near the southern port city of Sidon, will hold. On Sept. 14, members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah group and two Islamic militant factions, Jund al Sham and Shabab al Muslim, agreed to a cessation of hostilities. The complex includes eight schools. The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has been urging gunmen to evacuate the compound ahead of the school year that is supposed to start in early October.In the afternoon, the security force, consisting of 55 fighters from factions including Hamas, the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Asbat al-Ansar, took over the badly damaged compound. ...

New York man who served 18 years for murder acquitted at 2nd trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:27 GMT

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — A New York man who spent 18 years in prison for a murder he said he did not commit was found not guilty at a second trial.Paul Scrimo, 66, was acquitted on Thursday in Nassau County Court in the strangulation death of Ruth Williams in 2000, Newsday reported.Scrimo was convicted of murder in 2002, but an appeals court overturned the conviction in 2019, saying Scrimo had been denied a fair trial.The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal said in its ruling that DNA under the victim’s fingernails was not Scrimo’s.Scrimo said his acquittal after a trial that started on Sept. 18 will give him a chance to make up for lost time with his family.“I missed all of the graduations, all of the weddings,” Scrimo, a married father of three, said. “The kids always loved me. They never said, ‘Dad, you weren’t here.’ With my wife … she’s been hurt by this. But she’s a good girl, and I’m gonna make it up to her forever.”Scrimo was accused of strangling Williams inside her Long Isl...

First-degree murder charge in connection with human remains found in Quebec City

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:27 GMT

QUEBEC — A Quebec man is facing a first-degree murder charge in connection with human remains that were found in the provincial capital area.François Bouchard, 31, was charged today at the Quebec City courthouse in the killing of Santiago Gaona.His co-accused, Cassandra Major, 31, and Jean-Phillipe Lamontagne, 44, were charged with conspiracy to commit murder.The three suspects were arrested on the evening of Sept. 17 in the Montreal-area Mohawk territory of Kahnawake and originally charged with committing an indignity to a body.Human remains were found Sept. 17 in the Quebec City area, but police have said the killing likely occurred between Sept. 8 and Sept. 16 some 200 kilometres away in Contrecoeur, Que., northeast of Montreal.The case returns to court in Quebec City on Nov. 24.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2023.The Canadian Press

Disney plus announces crackdown on password sharing in Canada

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:27 GMT

Password-sharing crackdowns are becoming more and more common in the streaming world today. And Disney Plus is following suit.In an email sent to the users in Canada earlier this week, Disney announced restrictions on Canadian subscribers’ “ability to share your account or login credentials outside of your household.”Disney Plus’ updated Canadian Subscriber Agreement says users cannot share a subscription outside their household unless permitted by their account tier — noting that violations could lead to Disney Plus limiting or terminating service.“Household” covers the collection of devices associated with a subscriber’s primary residence and used by the individuals who live there, per the streamer’s help center.These password-sharing restrictions are part of multiple updates to Disney Plus’ Subscriber Agreement set to go into effect for most Canadian users on Nov. 1. Annual subscribers in Quebec could see these changes a...

Is climate change bad for democracy? Future-watchers see threats, and some opportunities

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:27 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Instability driven by climate change could threaten democracies in the future, even though representative governments are best equipped to provide solutions, experts gathered at an annual conference have argued.The Athens Democracy Forum, an event backed by the United Nations, wrapped up in the Greek capital Friday with attention focused on the impact that rising temperatures and extreme weather could have on democratic stability.Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer warned that authorities globally are responding too slowly to damage caused by weather disasters despite a rise in their frequency.“As time goes on and on, the interval for recovery is shrinking,” said Oppenheimer, a professor of geosciences and international affairs and director at the Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment at Princeton. “We’re in a situation where the services that governments provide – and one of the key services is protection of life and l...

S&P/TSX composite flat, U.S. stock markets mixed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:27 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was essentially flat, while U.S. stock markets were mixed on the final trading day of what has been a difficult month for stock markets.The S&P/TSX composite index was up 1.36 points at 19,592.10.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 43.92 points at 33,622.42. The S&P 500 index was up 15.50 points at 4,315.20, while the Nasdaq composite was up 88.54 points at 13,289.82.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.94 cents US compared with 74.11 cents US on Thursday.The November crude contract was down US$1.02 at US$90.69 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down a penny at US$2.93 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was down US$4.70 at US$1,873.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up three cents at US$3.74 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD) The Canadian Press

Brazil’s President Lula enters a hospital to undergo hip replacement surgery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:36:27 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was admitted to a hospital Friday to undergo hip replacement surgery, a procedure likely to put a temporary halt to his frequent international trips but otherwise not disrupt his activities.Televised images showed the leftist leader’ s convoy entering the Hospital Sirio-Libanes complex in the capital, Brasilia. After the operation scheduled for Friday morning, Lula, 77, is expected to spend a few days in the hospital and to return to the presidential palace early next week, according to Andrea Cordeiro of the president’s press office.The government said Lula would remain president throughout instead of temporarily passing authority to Vice President Geraldo Alckmin.“The impact of Lula’s surgery will probably be small and should not affect the decision-making process or negotiations in a significant way,” said Paulo Calmon, a political science professor at the University of Brasilia. “It is very likely that Lul...