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Swedish foreign minister optimistic Turkey will drop objections to NATO membership

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:05 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Sweden’s foreign minister expressed optimism on Monday that Turkey will drop its objections to Swedish NATO membership, saying the Nordic’s country’s accession is a question of when, not if.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson were expected to meet later Monday in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, ahead of a two-day NATO summit.Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström told public broadcaster SVT that he expects Turkey will eventually signal that it will let Sweden join the alliance, though he couldn’t say whether that would happen at the annual summit.“What we are counting on, of course, is to reach a point where we get a message back from President Erdogan that there will be what you might call a green light … a message that the ratification process in the Turkish Parliament can start,” Billström said.Turkey has stalled Sweden’s NATO accession, saying it needs to do more to crack do...

A Russian airstrike during an aid distribution at a southern Ukraine school kills 4

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:05 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian airstrike on a school in southern Ukraine killed four adults as people gathered to receive humanitarian aid, the governor of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region said Monday, branding the incident “a war crime.” Three women and a man, all in their 40s, died in Sunday’s attack in the town of Orikhiv, Gov. Yuriy Malashko said. A guided aerial bomb caused an explosion at the school, Malashko said, without providing evidence. Eleven other people were wounded in the attack, he said.Overall, Russia fired on 10 settlements in the province over the course of a day, he said.Moscow denies it targets civilian locations. Russia has been accused numerous times of doing so and committing other war crimes since its full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of ch...

Investigation finds Clarence Thomas accepted more undisclosed gifts from wealthy friends through elite association

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:05 GMT

(The Hill) - A New York Times investigation revealed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was brought access to the wealthy through relationships he built with members of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans.The Times reported that just months after Thomas joined the bench in 1991, he was welcomed into the Horatio Alger Association, a nonprofit scholarship organization, where he forged relationships with a select group of largely wealthy conservatives. This organization granted him access to wealthy friends who gifted Thomas with vacation retreats and V.I.P. tickets to sporting events, as well as invited him to parties, according to The Times.The Times’s investigation discovered that Thomas received benefits from the members of the association and large donors to conservative causes. Among many of the contacts he made through the group was David Sokol, an investor and former executive at Berkshire Hathaway, who hosted Thomas and his wife Ginny at their ranc...

Sunak says UK part of a convention that discourages use of cluster munitions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:05 GMT

Britain is signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Saturday after the United States said it was planning to supply Ukraine with them."We will continue to do our part to support Ukraine against Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion," Sunak told reporters.

Brussels resto scores top marks – for equality as well as food

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:05 GMT

One Brussels-based businesswoman is flying the flag for gender equality - as well as food quality.Katia Nguyen is a firm believer in equality but the “gender policy” she employs in her successful restaurant business is also a definite nod to culinary traditions in her native Vietnam.In Vietnam, it is quite typical to find women, rather than men, beavering away in the kitchen so a (mostly) “all-female team” at her Brussels restaurant - L’Orchidee Blanche – in a way continues a long-standing Vietnamese tradition.That is not to say there are no males working here – there are but they are usually in the actual kitchen with the wonderfully-clothed females looking after thing front of house. There can be few customers, surely, who are not taken aback by the sheer delight of being served by staff in such gear.The female staff are turned out in stunningly beautiful traditional South Vietnamese tunics, each specially brought to Belgium from Vietnam, often when one of them retu...

Horoscopes July 10, 2023: Sofia Vergara, embrace new concepts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:05 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Jessica Simpson, 43; Adrian Grenier, 47; Sofia Vergara, 51; Arlo Guthrie, 76.Happy Birthday: Take everything in stride this year. Look at the pros and cons of every situation before you take a risk with your profession, partnerships or reputation. Work on personal growth, educational pursuits and making a difference. Choose kindness and consideration when dealing with friends, relatives and colleagues. Embrace new concepts, but disagree with anything that will jeopardize your lifestyle or position. Your numbers are 6, 10, 17, 27, 38, 44, 47.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Get along with your peers. The relationships you build will help you get ahead. Don’t hesitate to work extra hours or sign up for events that encourage camaraderie. Enthusiasm will pay off, but don’t take on more than you can handle. 3 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Be upfront about how you feel and the plans you want to put into motion. Listen to what others plan to contribute,...

Ask Amy: How do I save myself from a cruise with these pretentious women?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:05 GMT

Dear Amy: Recently, I went on a five-day cruise with three high school friends.We do not live near each other. I had not seen “Bobbie” in 57 years. I am in frequent contact with “Christine,” and the third woman was out of touch for 50 years, but we became connected again seven years ago.Bobbie told us all about her career, marriages, family and extensive deluxe travel. She came across as pretentious. Christine joined in with her own pretentious stories. The third friend also shared a lot about herself.My way of participating was to ask follow-up questions to learn more about them. As it turned out, they loved my interest in them but never asked me even one question about myself!Therefore, I never talked about my husband, family and career of 25 years. I have three college degrees that are varied and intriguing.When I said goodbye to Bobbie, I realized she did not learn one thing about me.The group’s enthusiastic consensus was to get together again within the year. How do I gracefull...

Harriette Cole: This B-list celebrity is a drag on our event

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:05 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am a producer for a major multimedia company, and I’m currently in a tricky situation.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: Is it a red flag that he wants me to ride a bus to our first date? Advice | Harriette Cole: People are saying my friend’s bad news is just a scam to get money Advice | Harriette Cole: She fought my sentimental claim to my mom’s table. Now we don’t speak. Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m starting to believe the rumor about my ex Advice | Harriette Cole: We posted a vacation TikTok, and this guy flipped out My team and I were tasked with producing a special event that features several high-profile celebrities, and one of our guests isn’t up to par with the others. The guest is a friend of one of my co-producers, so he was able to finesse his way onto the show. I don’t think my co-producer should be allowed to tarnish the quali...

Inmate facing murder charge escapes California medical center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:05 GMT

(CNN) — California authorities have launched a manhunt after an inmate accused of murder escaped a medical center in Placer County early Sunday morning.Roseville police are urging people to “exercise extreme caution” if they see Eric J. Abril, who was shirtless and “believed to be wearing orange jail pants” when he went on the run from the Sutter Medical Center.The 35-year-old is facing murder, attempted murder and kidnapping charges related to an April incident at a Roseville park, the sheriff’s office and Roseville police said Sunday.“Suspect Abril was last seen on video surveillance walking in the area of Rainier Ct. in Rocklin at approx 3:39 a.m. and continuing Northbound in the area of Saddletree Ln.,” Roseville police said in a Facebook post. “We ask the immediate public to exercise extreme caution and to call 911 immediately if Abril is seen.”Abril is facing “charges of murder, kidnapping causing bodily harm, and attempted murder on a police officer, among other charges as it...

The planet is getting hotter fast. This is what happens to your body in extreme heat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:05 GMT

(CNN) — The Earth recently recorded its hottest day ever – a record experts warn will likely be repeatedly broken as the climate crisis drives temperatures higher and higher.And it’s happening fast: a new report found last month was the planet’s hottest June by a “substantial margin,” meaning the nine hottest Junes have all occurred in the last nine years.Extremely hot days – what could be considered the hottest days of the summer – are more frequent now than in 1970 in 195 locations across the US, according to the research group Climate Central. Of those locations, roughly 71% now face at least seven additional extremely hot days each year.The effects have been devastating.In one Texas county, at least 11 people died in just over a week during an unrelenting June heat wave. In Mexico, soaring temperatures have killed at least 112 people since March. A recent heat wave in India killed at least 44 people across the state of Bihar.Here’s what happens to your body in extreme heat, what...