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Cyprus holds military drill with France, Italy and Greece to bolster security in east Mediterranean

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:52 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — The Cypriot president said Thursday that joint military maneuvers with three other European Union member states underway in the Eastern Mediterranean underscore the bloc’s readiness to ensure security and stability in the region. President Nikos Christodoulides said the drill with France, Italy and Greece is of “particular geostrategic significance” for the 27-member bloc and others, including the United States.Christodoulides said his government is putting a “special emphasis” on upgrading the island’s military installations in order to take full advantage of its geographical location at the southeasternmost corner of Europe and close to the Middle East and Africa.He spoke ahead of a visit to the French frigate Chevalier Paul, which is taking part in the drill, and stressed that the show of strength is not turned against any other country — a veiled allusion to Turkey, with which Cyprus shares a violent past, including a 1974 Turkish invasion brought on...

Deepa Mehta’s documentary ‘I Am Sirat’ allows subject Sirat Taneja to be seen

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:52 GMT

TORONTO — Star wattage may be amped down at the Toronto International Film Festival this year, but it doesn’t feel that way for Sirat Taneja. The subject and co-creator of Deepa Mehta’s new documentary “I Am Sirat” landed in the city on Tuesday night, having travelled from her home in New Delhi, and got something of a celebrity treatment. She was greeted with a flood of social media messages from people who attended advance screenings of the film held for LGBTQ+ community members. “They’ve all become such good friends of hers in Toronto,” Mehta said in an interview the day before the film’s world premiere Thursday, translating for Taneja, who was sitting to her left. “They’re Instagramming her and telling her, ‘when you come, you can borrow our jewelry.’ They’re all coming to the screening and they all wanted to come to the airport yesterday. She has never met them and they’ve become so close.”...

German prosecutor files murder charges against Syrian citizen accused of ‘Islamist-motivated’ attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:52 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office said Thursday it had brought charges of murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm against a Syrian citizen in connection with two “Islamist-motivated” knife attacks. The suspect is accused of stabbing a man to death in the city of Duisburg in April, and of a second attack a few days later in which five people at a gym suffered knife wounds. The man, identified only as Maan D. in line with German privacy rules, is a follower of the Islamic State group, the prosecutor’s statement alleged. He was charged on Aug. 30, the statement said.He is accused of first stabbing to death a man he met by chance in the early hours of April 9 this year in Duisburg’s old city.He allegedly stabbed the victim at least 28 times in the abdomen, head and neck area with a knife. The victim died on the same day.On April 18, he allegedly went to a gym in Duisburg to kill as many of the people he considered “infidels” as possible. Pro...

Fox names Lawrence Jones as fourth host of its morning ‘Fox & Friends’ franchise

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The curvy couch is making room for one more: Lawrence Jones will join the daily “Fox & Friends” morning show as a fourth host beginning on Monday.Fox News said Thursday that Jones will join Steve Doocy, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade on the morning news and talk show, which airs from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. Eastern. He’s familiar to the show’s viewers as an enterprise reporter there.Jones is losing the Saturday evening show he has hosted, making room for a new show with talk host Mark Levin.Jones, 30, has been with Fox News since 2018 and said “Fox & Friends” is where he made his first national television appearance.“It is truly a privilege to inform our audience every day and I can’t wait to do so each morning,” he said.The Associated Press

‘From sensationalism to science’: NASA says new techniques needed to better understand UFOs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:52 GMT

NASA said Thursday that the study of UFOs will require new scientific techniques, including advanced satellites as well as a shift in how unidentified flying objects are perceived.The space agency released the findings after a yearlong study into UFOs.In its 33-page report, an independent team commissioned by NASA cautioned that the negative perception surrounding UFOs poses an obstacle to collecting data. But officials said NASA’s involvement should help reduce the stigma around what it calls UAPs, or unidentified anomalous phenomena.NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the agency wants to shift the conversation about UAPs “from sensationalism to science.” Nelson added the panel found no evidence that UAPs had extraterrestrial origin.The 16-member panel noted that artificial intelligence and machine learning are essential for identifying rare occurrences, including UFOs.“NASA will do this transparently,” Nelson said.RELATEDWhistleblower tells Congress the U.S. is concealing ‘multi-d...

Chorus of disapproval: National anthems sung by schoolkids at Rugby World Cup out of tune with teams

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:52 GMT

The project was commendable: Get choirs selected from a group of 7,000 French schoolkids from diverse backgrounds to sing each country’s national anthem before games at the Rugby World Cup.Less than a week into the tournament, however, the plan has been scrapped.Following a backlash by fans and commentators and the awkward sight of players being completely out of sync with the choirs, organizers bowed to pressure Thursday by saying the children’s voices from the “Melee des Choeurs” will be boosted by “instrumental elements” when anthems ring out around stadiums in the second week of the World Cup.France, which plays Uruguay on Thursday, is among the nations to have already agreed to the modified version of its anthem. Organizers hope “final confirmation from all teams (can) be achieved in the next 48 hours.”A passionate rendition of a national anthem can be seen as a final rallying cry by rugby teams before matches, with players seen shaking and even crying while singing them over t...

Stock market today: Wall Street ticks higher as stocks worldwide climb

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are ticking higher on Wall Street Thursday after a blizzard of reports suggested the U.S. economy is still humming, though inflation may be too. The S&P 500 was up 0.5% in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 137 points, or 0.4%, at 34,712, as of 9:40 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher.Some of the strongest action was in the bond market, where Treasury yields swung up, down and back again following the mixed economic data. One report said U.S. shoppers spent more at retailers last month than economists expected. Such spending has been a linchpin keeping the economy out of a recession, but it could also be encouraging retailers to keep trying to raise prices further.The strong spending is a result of a remarkably resilient job market, which has remained solid despite a steep jump in interest rates since early last year. A separate report Thursday morning said fewer workers applied for unemployment benefits last wee...

Transat reports profit for first time since 2019, beating expectations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:52 GMT

MONTREAL — Transat AT Inc. reported its highest net income ever for a third quarter, as it turned a profit for the first time since 2019, prompting a sunnier financial forecast for the year.The travel company, which owns Air Transat, said revenue in the three months ended July 31 were nearly seven per cent above 2019 levels despite seat capacity sitting 14 per cent below — an indication of price hikes on tickets to Europe across airlines.Chief executive Annick Guérard said healthy demand for leisure travel boosted revenue per passenger by 29 per cent compared with 2019.As a result, Transat raised its margin target on adjusted earnings for the year to between 7.5 and eight per cent from a previous guidance of 5.5 to seven per cent.“Early bookings are ahead of last year which, combined with firm pricing, bode well for the start of the new fiscal year,” Guérard said in a release.The tour package company also plans to expand capacity by nearly a quarter next year.“So f...

Cubs announce presale opportunity for 2023 playoff tickets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:52 GMT

CHICAGO — While the team still has business to take care of on the field to make sure they get there, the Cubs have already begun to look ahead to potential playoff games at Wrigley Field. That starts with giving fans the opportunity to purchase tickets to potential contests in the first two rounds of the postseason.The Cubs have announced a presale opportunity for fans to purchase tickets to potential Wild Card and National League Division Series games at Wrigley Field..Fans can register for the opportunity to purchase tickets beginning Thursday at 10 a.m. central time..@WGNNews pic.twitter.com/VTWS83bVXQ— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) September 14, 2023The team announced their "Fly The W" presale opportunity on Thursday morning, which will allow fans to register to purchase a limited amount of tickets for potential Wild Card Series and National League Division Series games at Wrigley Field. Fans can begin to register on Thursday at 10 a.m. central time on the team's website f...

WATCH LIVE | Trial day 4 of two former DCFS workers in connection with the 2019 death of 5-year-old AJ Freund

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:52 GMT

MCHENRY COUNTY, Ill. — The trial for two former Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) workers accused of child endangerment enters its fourth day Thursday.The multiple felony charges filed in Sept. 2020 against Andrew Polovin and Carlos Acosta stem from the April 2019 death of five-year-old Andrew “AJ” Freund of Crystal Lake. They are accused of having known Freund’s life was in danger four months earlier yet not taking action.WGN plans to livestream the trial within this story beginning at approximately 9:30 a.m. The livestream will pause when the court takes its lunch break, but will resume within this story following that break. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Cross-examination continues on Day 3 of AJ Freund’s death, DCFS workers’ trial The bench trial began on Monday with the McHenry County State’s Attorney providing an opening statement for the prosecution, and separate attorneys providing statements for each of the defendants. Defense attorneys spent most of Wednesday's proc...