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Rishi Sunak demands ECHR reform ahead of Council of Europe summit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:57 GMT

LONDON — Rishi Sunak will make the case for reforming the European Court of Human Rights’ power to arbitrarily block U.K. deportation flights, at a Council of Europe summit Tuesday.Ahead of his arrival in Iceland for the European summit — and a bilateral meeting with the court’s President Síofra O’Leary — No. 10 said that the British prime minister will say the “current international [migration] system is not working”. “We need to do more to cooperate across borders and across jurisdictions to end illegal migration and stop the boats,” Sunak will say, according to pre-released remarks.He will take aim at the Strasbourg court, which has used the Rule 39 regulation to block deportations to Rwanda since the U.K. unveiled its Rwanda scheme in 2022.Some of Sunak’s most hard-line Conservative backbenchers have made the case for withdrawing from the court, venting their fury at Strasbourg judges who they feel are a block on U.K. efforts to “stop th...

China recovery faces pressure after April activity weak, youth unemployment rises

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:57 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leaders face pressure to shore up a slowing economic recovery and generate jobs after consumer spending and other activity in April were weaker than expected and a survey found 1 in 5 young workers in cities was unemployed.Retail sales accelerated following the end of anti-virus restrictions in December but were below forecasts, official data showed Tuesday. Factory output edged down compared with March.Chinese economic activity has improved while the U.S. and European economies are cooling after interest rate hikes to extinguish inflation. But consumers, uneasy about possible job losses, are returning to shops and restaurants less quickly than expected.“The pace of recovery has slowed sharply,” said Larry Hu and Yuxiao Zhang of Macquarie in a report.Growth in retail sales accelerated to 18.4% over last year’s depressed level in April, but that was below private sector expectations of up to 35%.Factory output rose 5.6% over a year ago but was off 0.5 per...

Court orders South Korean agency to compensate adoptee over his mishandled adoption to US

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:57 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A court on Tuesday ordered South Korea’s biggest adoption agency to pay 100 million won ($74,700) in damages to a 48-year-old man for mishandling his adoption as a child to the United States, where he faced legal troubles after surviving an abusive childhood before being deported in 2016.However, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed Adam Crapser’s accusations against the South Korean government, which he saw as responsible for creating an aggressive, profit-driven adoption industry that carelessly removed thousands of children from their families during a 1970s-’80s child export frenzy.The civil case, tried for over four years, was the first in which a South Korean adoptee sued the country’s government and a domestic adoption agency over fraudulent paperwork and screening failures. In reading out the verdict, Judge Park Jun-min did not elaborate why the court refused to hold the government accountable in Crapser’s case. His lawyers said they will revi...

Council of Europe summit in Iceland seeks to hold Russia to account for Ukraine war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:57 GMT

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Leaders from across the continent were heading toward Iceland early Tuesday for a rare summit of the 46-nation Council of Europe that will once more step up support for member state Ukraine and condemn expelled Russia for inflicting war on its neighbor. And after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stocked up on promises of military hardware throughout a long weekend of diplomatic hobnobbing with the continent’s major leaders, the two-day summit of Europe’s main human rights body will be centering on providing legal and judicial means to go after the Kremlin. By Wednesday’s conclusion, leaders at the summit want to have the outlines of a system in place that will set up a register of all the damage already caused by Russian forces, so Moscow can be held liable for compensation to the victims later. They are hoping that the United States, which has observer status at the summit, will also back that initiative.“The register is just one o...

Pakistani police say tribal clashes over coal mine rights killed 15 in remote northwest region

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:57 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Clashes between two Pakistani tribes feuding over the ownership of a coal mine in the country’s remote northwest left 15 men dead and several wounded, police said Tuesday. The fighting erupted on Monday between the Sunny Khel and Zarghun Khel tribes in Dara Adam Khel, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the border with Afghanistan. According to local police official Munawar Khan, the men were armed with handguns and assault rifles and the fighting lasted for hours. Security forces were summoned to bring the situation under control and Khan said order was later restored. The two tribes have been fighting over the ownership rights for the mine since 2019. Khan said it was unclear what triggered the latest clashes, and officers were still investigating.Tribal clashes are rare in Pakistan, especially over coal mines, which employ tens of thousands of workers. Most of the country’s coal mines are located in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa...

More companies help with fertility care, but it is still out of reach for many

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:57 GMT

Jessica Tincopa may leave the photography business she spent 14 years building for one reason: to find coverage for fertility treatment. After six miscarriages, Tincopa and her husband started saving for in vitro fertilization, which can cost well over $20,000. But the pandemic wiped out their savings, and they can’t find coverage for IVF on their state’s health insurance marketplace. So, the California couple is saving again, and asking politicians to help expand access. “No one should ever have to go through this,” Tincopa said.Infertility, or the inability to get pregnant after a year or more of trying, is a common problem. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that it affects nearly one in five married girls or women between the ages of 15 and 49. Yet coverage of fertility treatments can be hard to find in many corners of health insurance even as it grows briskly with big employers who see it as a must-have benefit to keep workers. It’...

APD SWAT team at north Austin apartment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Police said its SWAT team was called out to a north Austin apartment just after midnight Tuesday morning. According to Austin Police, officers were called to the apartment complex on 8800 North Interstate 35 just after 9 p.m. Monday. According to Google, that address matches the Starburst Apartments located on the south side of the interstate just north of US 183. Police said the SWAT team was called out around 12:30 a.m. Police did not say how many people were inside the apartment unit. Austin Police said officers will provide media with an update.

After two late comebacks, Twins lose “frustrating” game to Dodgers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES — In a town never lacking in entertainment options, the Twins and Dodgers put on a heck of a show for the announced crowd of 49,749 fans on Monday night at Chavez Ravine.There was a little bit of everything — clutch hits, late-inning heroics, blown calls — but in the end, it was a bases-loaded walk that spelled the end of perhaps the Twins’ most compelling game of the season thus far.The Twins, rather than face former MVP Freeman or Max Muncy, who had homered twice already in the game, decided to intentionally walk the pair, setting up a bases loaded — Chris Taylor, the automatic runner was already on —  matchup with outfielder Trayce Thompson, hitless since April 17.But their preferred matchup didn’t give them the ending they were seeking. After getting ahead 1-2, Jorge López threw three straight balls, walking in the game-winning run in the Dodgers’ 12-inning 9-8 win over the Twins on Monday night at Dodger Stadium.“Bases loaded, tried to throw a strike right here. Mis...

Thoughtful gift ideas for graduates at each stage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:57 GMT

Graduation is an extra special milestone – the end of one phase of life, an accomplishment, and the precipice of an unknown future, all rolled into one. Loved ones know their graduates best and these gift suggestions will show your support and encouragement.A candy and cash lei is a fun graduation gift idea for young children. (Photo by Darleene Powells/MediaNews Group)Elementary and middle schoolConsider making a candy-and-cash lei. Flower lei are now ubiquitous at high school and college graduations, but the cost of fresh tropical flowers for such lei can make them less suitable for young children. DIY lei with candy, cash, satin ribbons, charms, or other age-appropriate items are much more fun for kids.Clear, poly plastic tubing that will hold your candy of choice can be difficult to find, but there are sellers on eBay who are reliable and won’t force you to buy 1,000 feet at a time. Clear gift cellophane and saran wrap can also work in a pinch. Any type of snack-size candy packa...

German railway union calls off planned 50-hour strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:57 GMT

The German railway union EVG has called off a 50-hour planned strike that was to occur from Sunday (14 May) to today (16 May). This announcement came after state train operator Deutsche Bahn took the matter before a court.Deutsche Bahn filed an urgent application with a Frankfurt-am-Main labour court on Saturday, arguing that the planned strike is disproportionate and harmful to non-involved parties.Deutsche Bahn released a statement after the hearing that the EVG ended the strike, and both parties agreed to continue negotiations.The EVG is negotiating for 230,000 workers including 180,000 at Deutsche Bahn. They are seeking a 12% increase in wages or an extra 650 euros per month.Deutsche Bahn offers 10% to workers with lower and middle-incomes and 8% to those who earn more, but will phase these increases in over time.