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Saudi foreign minister visits Syria as relations thaw

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:38 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat arrived in the Syrian capital on Tuesday, the first official visit by an official from the kingdom in more than a decade, the Syrian government said. The visit by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to Damascus follows that of his Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mikdad, to Riyadh last week. Syrian state news agency SANA reported that after his arrival, the Saudi top diplomat was received by Syrian President Bashar Assad.A statement published by Saudi state media said that bin Farhan’s visit came “within the framework of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s keenness and interest to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis that would end all its repercussions and preserve Syria’s unity, security, stability, and Arab identity and restore it to its Arab surroundings.”The kingdom cut off diplomatic relations with Damascus in 2012, after the outbreak of Syria’s civil war. Syria and Saudi Arabia said last week they were moving to...

Stock market today: S&P 500 gains; earnings reports mixed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:38 GMT

TOKYO — Stocks are mostly higher on Wall Street Tuesday following a mixed set of earnings results from big companies and a stronger-than-expected report from the world’s second-largest economy. The S&P 500 was 0.3% higher in early trading. The Nasdaq also rose while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was slightly lower. Goldman Sachs dropped 3% after its revenue fell short of analysts’ forecasts, though earnings topped expectations. Lockheed Martin rose following a profit report that topped analysts’ expectations, up nearly 3%. China’s economy grew 4.5% from January to March compared to the same period in 2022, its fastest growth in the past year. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.U.S. markets are poised to open higher Tuesday as more corporate earnings pour in and China reported better-than-expected growth to start the year.Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.4% before the bell, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 0.1%.Johnson & John...

Uber Eats launches cannabis delivery service in Vancouver, Victoria

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:38 GMT

VANCOUVER — A partnership between Uber Eats and cannabis resource company Leafly means British Columbia residents are now able to order legal pot and have it delivered to their door.Uber Canada says, starting immediately, B.C. residents over the age of 19 can use the Uber Eats app to order marijuana from local, licensed retailers.The statement from Uber Eats says its delivery workers won’t be involved because certified staff from the cannabis retailer will instead deliver the order to the customer and verify the recipient’s age and sobriety.Thirteen retailers in Vancouver and Victoria are working with Uber Eats on the B.C. program.The Uber Canada statement doesn’t say when cannabis delivery could be expanded to other B.C. cities.Uber says the B.C. launch comes six months after it worked with Leafly to offer pot delivery in Ontario, the first time that delivery of the drug was available on a major third-party delivery platform, anywhere in the world. Aaron Sinnatham...

Review: ‘Pathogenesis’ offers different lens on history

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:38 GMT

“Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues,” by Jonathan Kennedy (Crown)Great historical changes are often conceived of as being brought about by the genius and tenacity of great men, or occasionally women, but Jonathan Kennedy argues in his book “Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues,” that germs are largely responsible for everything, from the decline of the Neanderthals to the current poverty of sub-Saharan Africa. His quick history of the world from the Paleolithic to the present day offers a different lens to view many of the big events of the past. Some of Kennedy’s conclusions are mere speculation, like his idea that deadly plagues in the Roman empire led to the swift rise of Christianity. In the midst of so much death, he argues, the new religion offered a more enticing view of the afterlife than paganism. Most of his observations are bolstered by more historical research and are more convincing. In showing how pathogens helped the Spanish c...

Spain frees up ‘bad bank’ houses to ease housing crisis

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:38 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s leftist coalition government on Tuesday approved a plan to make available around 50,000 houses for rent at affordable prices as part of measures aimed at curbing soaring rents and house prices. The apartments will come from the state-controlled SAREB “bad bank” that was set up in 2012 to manage and sell off troubled banks most toxic assets during the international financial crisis.The SAREB plan follows a much-hailed agreement last week between the coalition parties and their parliamentary supporters for what would be democratic Spain’s first-ever housing law.The bill, expected to get full parliamentary approval in the coming weeks, envisages putting a 3% cap on apartment rent increases in 2024 in so-called high-tension areas where rents increase most and restricting increases in future years.As of 2024, rent increases will no longer be linked to the country’s high inflation rate but rather to a new, lower index.Rents and house prices, alongside unemploym...

Poland building electronic barrier on border with Russia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:38 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland has begun building a state-of-the-art electronic barrier at its land border with Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave to monitor and counteract any illegal activity, the Polish interior minister said Tuesday. The barrier, which will be equipped with 24-hour monitoring cameras and motion detectors, will run for 210 kilometers (130 miles) and is due to be completed in the fall. “We will have full monitoring of the border with Russia,” Mariusz Kaminski told a news conference.“I am sure that this will be the best secured EU border,” he said. Last year, Poland, which is an EU member, built a wall on its border with Belarus, a Russian ally, to stop a massive illegal inflow of migrants. Warsaw said the crossings were organized by the Belarus and Russian authorities to destabilize Poland and the rest of the EU. Poland’s eastern borders with Russia and Belarus, which are also EU external borders, will be “perfectly prepared for any type of illegal activities that a...

Swiss charge Gambia ex-minister with crimes against humanity

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:38 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Swiss prosecutors said Tuesday they have charged a former interior minister of Gambia with crimes against humanity for his alleged role in years of repression by the west African country’s security forces against opponents of its longtime dictator.Ousman Sonko was Gambia’s interior minister from 2006 to 2016 under then-President Yahya Jammeh. He applied for asylum in Switzerland in November 2016 and was arrested in January 2017.The attorney general’s office said the indictment, which was filed Monday in Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, covers alleged crimes between 2000 and 2016. Sonko “is accused, in his various capacities and positions, of having supported, participated in and failed to prevent systematic and generalized attacks as part of the repression carried out by the Gambian security forces against all opponents of the regime,” the office said in a statement.Jammeh, who seized control in a 1994 coup, lost Gambia’...

China’s military chief vows to bolster ties with Russia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:38 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — The Chinese defense chief vowed Tuesday to take military cooperation with Moscow to a new level, a statement that reflects increasingly close Russia-China ties amid the fighting in Ukraine.Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu after attending a meeting Sunday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.“The armed forces of China and Russia will implement the agreements reached by the heads of state and expand military cooperation, military-technical ties and arms trade,” Li said in opening remarks at Tuesday’s meeting with Shoigu. “We will certainly take them to a new level.”Li’s trip follows last month’s three-day state visit to the Russian capital by Chinese leader Xi Jinping, reflecting China’s strengthening engagement with Russia. Moscow and Beijing have closely aligned their policies in attempt to reshape the world order to diminish the influence of the United States and its Western alli...

Man charged after allegedly shooting 51-year-old in head, beating woman to death on South Side

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:38 GMT

CHICAGO — A 55-year-old man has been charged with two counts of murder after a man and woman were killed early Sunday morning in an apparent domestic-incident.Steven Hawthorne, 55, was arrested just before 2 a.m. in the 2200 block of East 83rd Street on Sunday.Minutes earlier, police allege he chased down a 26-year-old woman in the 8200 block of South Paxton and then beat her to death with a blunt force object.Prior to that, Hawthorne allegedly walked into a residence in the 8300 block of South Luella and shot a 51-year-old man in the head, killing him. Previous: 2 dead, person in custody, after dispute on South Side Police allege Hawthorne also opened fire on a 63-year-old man, but he was not injured.He faces two counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and resisting arrest. Hawthorne is due in bond court on Tuesday.

Teen gets stuck in claw machine at North Carolina theme park

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:38 GMT

CHARLOTTE (WJZY) – A 13-year-old boy climbed inside a claw machine at a North Carolina amusement park and got stuck over the weekend, a spokesperson for the theme park confirmed.Staffers at the Carowinds theme park in Charlotte were notified of the odd occurrence just before 2 p.m. on Sunday, the spokesperson said. The boy had climbed inside the machine — the Cosmic XL Bonus Game located in the Thrill Zone — in the hopes of stealing a toy, according to the park representative.The park's crew extricated the boy from the machine, after which medical staffers attended to him. He was stuck for about 17 minutes, the park said.The teen was released to his guardian after medical treatment. He has since been banned from the park for one year due to attempted theft, a park representative told the Associated Press. Are these the best theme parks in the US? Photos of the boy stuck in the machine have been published to a Carowinds fan account on Facebook, where commenters appeared equally amu...