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Russia aims missiles at Ukraine’s farm storage after days of hitting port facilities

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:07 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian cruise missiles, flying low and hugging the terrain to dodge Ukrainian air defenses, destroyed farm storage buildings in the Odesa region early Friday, Ukrainian officials said, as the Kremlin’s forces expanded their targets following three days of bombardment of the region’s Black Sea port infrastructure.Hours later, seven Russian missiles also damaged what officials described as an “important infrastructure facility” southwest of the port city of Odesa, in what appeared to be part of an ongoing Kremlin effort to cripple Ukraine’s Black Sea food exports. Officials did not immediately provide details of that attack.During the night, two missiles struck the agricultural storage facility, starting a fire, and while workers fought to put it out another missile hit, destroying farm and firefighting equipment, the southern Odesa region’s Gov. Oleh Kiper said.The attack injured two people and destroyed 100 metric tons of peas and 20 metric tons of barley, acco...

Swiss order hang gliders to stay away, closing air space as firefighters battle forest inferno

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:07 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Swiss authorities have temporarily shut the airspace over a small part of southwestern Switzerland because recreational gliders have endangered the work of emergency teams battling a persistent forest fire in the area.The Federal Office of Civil Aviation said Friday that the restriction in an airspace of up to 8,000 feet (about 2,400 meters), over a wooded mountainside near the town of Bitsch, will last a week.The measure affects civil aircraft and drones and is aimed “to protect the ongoing activities of response teams on the ground and in the air,” the office said on its website.Office spokesman Christian Schubert, in an email to The Associated Press, said the closure affects about 40-50 square kilometers (about 15-20 square miles) in an area that is popular with recreational gliders.The heads of local helicopter crews and firefighting squads requested the closure because of the dangers presented by the gliders to what was already risky work, Schubert said. No incide...

Cyprus court finds Briton who killed his ailing wife guilty of manslaughter, not premeditated murder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:07 GMT

PAPHOS, Cyprus (AP) — A Cyprus court on Friday found a British man who killed his ailing wife in their home guilty of manslaughter, saying that the prosecution didn’t prove beyond reasonable doubt that the 76-year-old man committed premeditated murder. In a unanimous decision, the three-judge bench said that David Hunter’s decision to suffocate his 74-year-old wife Janice as she was sitting in a recliner was a spur-of-the-moment decision because he snapped as he could no longer stand her weeping in pain. The court accepted witness testimony that Janice feared her blood ailment would develop into full-blown leukemia and had repeatedly pleaded with her husband to take her life because she didn’t want to share the fate of her sister who died of the disease. Hunter attempted to take his own life by consuming a large amount of pills after “closing his hands over his wife’s mouth and nose,” the court heard, but medical staff saved his life.The court cited expert testimony that Janice Hunt...

After decades of struggle in Israel, dozens of African Hebrew Israelites face deportation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:07 GMT

DIMONA, Israel (AP) — For two years, Toveet Israel and dozens of other residents of the Village of Peace have lived in fear.Dimona, a city on the edge of the nation of Israel’s Negev Desert, has been her home for 24 years. Her eight children were born here and know no other country. Now, she and 130 other undocumented members of the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem face deportation.Receiving the order to leave two years ago was a “moment of disbelief” for Israel, 53. “I feel like the government has been merciless to me and my children,” she said.The Hebrew Israelites, as the spiritual community’s members are commonly known, first made their way to Israel from the United States in the 1960s. While members do not consider themselves Jewish, they claim an ancestral connection to Israel.Around 3,000 Hebrew Israelites live in remote, hardscrabble towns in southern Israel. The Village of Peace, a cluster of low-slung buildings surrounded by vegetable patches and immaculate gar...

Albanian Parliament legalizes medical cannabis despite harsh opposition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:07 GMT

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The Albanian Parliament on Friday legalized cannabis for medical purposes in a country once known as a European crossroads for marijuana trafficking.The Parliament voted 69-23 to allow limited and controlled growth of cannabis plants, a move harshly contested by the opposition.It was not clear how the medical cannabis will be regulated. The government believes that allowing limited production of cannabis can boost tax revenue. Marijuana growing flourished in Albania in the past as drug traffickers exploited a lack of strong governance in the post-Communist country.After coming to power in 2013, the left-wing Socialist Party government of Prime Minister Edi Rama set destroying cannabis plants as a main target.Over the next two years it destroyed millions of cannabis plants with an estimated market value of 7 billion euros ($8.5 billion), more than two-thirds of the country’s annual gross domestic product at that time.In 2014, a police officer was fatally shot d...

Sri Lankan president’s visit to India signals growing economic and energy ties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:07 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Sri Lanka and India signed a series of energy, development and trade agreements on Friday, signaling growing economic ties between the neighboring countries.Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe arrived in New Delhi a day earlier for the official visit, his first since taking up the top job last year after an economic meltdown forced his predecessor to flee. On Friday, he held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the two leaders unveiled agreements on technology, renewable energy and greater connectivity designed to deepen bilateral relations between India and Sri Lanka. “My visit to India has provided an opportunity to review our bilateral relationship, leverage the strength of geographical and civilizational links, reinforced trust and confidence for our future prosperity in the modern world,” Wickremesinghe said. Modi said the two leaders adopted a vision to boost their economic cooperation, including strengthening martime, air and energy connec...

Some top US sports leagues have specific anti-hazing policies, others do not

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:07 GMT

The biggest professional sports leagues in the United States have dealt with a smattering of hazing issues over the past decade, ranging from NFL offensive lineman Richie Incognito’s bad behavior to Major League Baseball cracking down on rookies dressing up as women.In response, some of the leagues have crafted dedicated anti-hazing policies, while others haven’t.As Northwestern’s football program faces a barrage of hazing allegations, The Associated Press asked all four major U.S. pro leagues about their anti-hazing policies.Baseball appears to have the most extensive anti-hazing and anti-bullying policy, which was first released in 2016. The NBA said hazing was prohibited in its operations manual. The NFL and NHL don’t appear to have specific guidelines, instead saying they believe any potential hazing issues are covered in personal conduct or anti-discrimination policies.While former Northwestern players say hazing was so rampant in the football program it...

Dome of Hot Air May Expand Northward Into Midwest Next Week—Possible Near 100° in Chicago?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:07 GMT

NORTHWEST UPPER WINDS HOLDING MOST INTENSE SOUTHERN HEAT AT BAY IN CHICAGO FOR NOW—BUT HEAT AND RISING HUMIDITIES COMING NEXT WEEK IF CURRENT FORECAST TRENDS VERIFY—COULD SEE TEMPS SURGING WELL INTO THE 90s, POTENTIALLY FLIRTING WITH 100° WED/THU; IN THE SHORT TERM: THE "NW" UPPER WINDS DUE TO LINGER THROUGH THE WEEKEND AND INTO MONDAY SETTING THE STAGE FOR SCATTERED WEEKEND T-STORM DEVELOPMENTWarm summer temps are to continue in Chicago. But the northwest UPPER AIR FLOW currently in place—and expected to continue through the coming weekend—is to deliver cool temps aloft. Daytime warming beneath this cool air will destabilize the atmosphere, especially this weekend.When meteorologists use the term "destabilize", we refer to an atmosphere in which temps drop more quickly than usual with height. Such a set-up encourages air, once heated in the lower atmosphere, to become buoyant and begin to rise. We'll see the impact of this instability in the formation of cottony summertime cumulus ...

Tornado damage to North Carolina Pfizer plant could worsen drug shortages

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:07 GMT

(The Hill) - A tornado that damaged a Pfizer manufacturing facility in North Carolina is sparking concerns about worsening drug shortages in U.S. hospitals and highlighting the vulnerability of the domestic supply chain.Pfizer said its facility in Rocky Mount, N.C., makes nearly 25 percent of the company's sterile injectable medicines used in U.S. hospitals. It sustained serious damage Wednesday by an EF-3 rated tornado, according to the National Weather Service.Pfizer said it was still assessing the damage to determine the impact on production, but all staff were able to evacuate. "We already have teams on the ground assessing the damage and supporting our colleagues, and we are working urgently to determine the best way to get back online as quickly as possible, while ensuring the safety of our people," CEO Albert Bourla tweeted on Thursday. The site is one of the largest sterile injectable facilities in the world, with more than 1.4 million square feet of manufacturing ...

Isolated weekend storms amid ongoing heatwave

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:07 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Today is expected to be our 6th-straight day of meeting or matching the daily record, a mark we've only reached in Austin once before.Afternoon highs will return to the low 100s in most areas today. Austin's forecast high of 105° is likely to tie the record we set just last year. Mainly sunny skies, dry conditions and muggy conditions can be expected areawide.In case you missed it: Austin set an all-time record for number of consecutive days with highs of 105°+. The streak is now at 11 days, but we may drop below that magical number by the end of this weekend.Heat Advisories have been extended through Friday at 8 p.m. These heat alerts will likely be further extended into the weekend and beyond. Excessive Heat Warnings have been dropped (for now).Heat Advisory in effect for most of the area until 8 p.m. FridaySlim rain chances return for the weekend, but only a few will be lucky enough to see rain. Isolated storms are possible late Saturday and Sunday as a boundary ...