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Ukraine in last-ditch appeal for EU to end grain import curbs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:37 GMT

BRUSSELS — Ukraine has appealed to the European Union not to extend temporary import curbs on its grain and oilseeds that are due to expire on Monday, saying that doing so would play directly into the hands of Russia.The EU in late April effectively ratified import curbs imposed by a group of Eastern member countries led by Poland in an attempt to clear a massive supply glut that built up after Russia invaded Ukraine last year and blockaded the agrarian nation’s main export route to world markets via the Black Sea.The issue has driven a wedge through the EU, with heavyweight Germany accusing the Eastern states of threatening to “break Ukraine’s neck” with the import bans and demanding that Brussels get its act together and establish viable overland export routes so that Ukrainian exports can reach countries of the Global South where they are most needed.At a European summit in Moldova, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had urged the EU “to unconditionally l...

Silver Alert issued for missing Tyngsborough man with dementia who was last seen in Nashua, NH

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:37 GMT

Police in Massachusetts and New Hampshire are asking for the public’s help in finding a 66-year-old man who has not been seen since he stopped at a Costco in Nashua, NH.The Commonwealth Fusion Center (CFC) issued a Silver Alert for Michael Fairbrother on Friday as the Tyngsborough Police Department, along with state and local police in New Hampshire, continue to search for him.According to officials, Fairbrother, who suffers from dementia, was last seen at the Costco Wholesale store on Daniel Webster Highway in Nashua, NH, around 3:40 p.m. on Thursday, June 1.The CFC desribed Fairbrother as having a height of 5’10” and weighing 155 pounds. He is believed to have a skinny build and gray hair, and may be wearing a gray sweatshirt with an American flag on it, in addition to blue jeans and a tan Patriots hat.Fairbrother’s vehicle was listed as being a black 2017 Ford Escape with Massachusetts plates that read “5ZF435.”Anyone with information is asked ...

Deadly shooting in Barrio Logan prompts investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:37 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A deadly shooting in Barrio Logan has prompted a homicide investigation, authorities said. FOX 5's Elizabeth Alvarez is on scene at the intersection of 16th and Logan Avenue, where there's a heavy police presence and visible crime scene tape. Mayor says Coronado’s approach to homelessness works, but would it across the bay? Several roadways in the area, including portions of 16th and Commercial Streets, are currently blocked off as investigators probe the area. A police officer confirmed to FOX 5 that one person was fatally shot in front of what appears to be a green tent on a sidewalk in the area. That person's identity has not been released, but authorities say the deceased is no longer at the scene.Alvarez says there are several homeless encampments in the area and the shooting appears to have taken place in close proximity to Perkins K-8 School.Details surrounding the deadly shooting are limited at this time. FOX 5 is working to gather more information.This is a d...

North County 'Dump Day Cleanup' event approaching

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:37 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- For those still working on their spring cleaning, a "Dump Day" event is taking place in North County next week.The City of Oceanside has encouraged residents to participate in this upcoming cleanup opportunity to keep the community tidy. Held in collaboration with the coastal city's Neighborhood Services, Code Enforcement and the Green Oceanside Team, the annual event provides the following: Winning Powerball ticket worth over $1M sold at South Bay VONS -- Recycling services for e-waste, including household appliances, printers, TVs, computers, and other items cords or batteries.-- Multiple landfill dumpsters will be available for furniture, mattresses, barbeques, home goods and other items beyond reuse or repair.According to Oceanside's webpage explaining the "Dump Day" affair, the cleanup opportunity is a "first come, first served event" and will shut down when maximum capacity is reached.The spring "Dump Day" cleanup is scheduled for Saturday, June 10, from...

The search is suspended for 2 missing people after family fishing trip in Alaska leaves 3 dead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:37 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska fishing adventure became a nightmare for a family of eight when disaster struck one of the two boats they chartered over the Memorial Day weekend, leaving three people dead and two more missing despite a desperate search over hundreds of square miles of ocean.The tragedy tore the Tyau family apart: Two sisters and one of their husbands are dead, while the other’s partner and the boat captain remain missing off southeast Alaska four days after the boat was found partially submerged off an island. Authorities suspended a more than 20-hour search covering 825 square miles (2,100 square kilometers) on Monday and have no plans to resume it.The women’s parents, older brother and sister-in-law were on the other charter boat as part of a three-day trip to a destination fishery known for king salmon and groundfish.The sisters and their sister-in-law didn’t like fishing but joined the vacation to spend more time with a family that was usually split betwee...

Iran releases 1 Danish, 2 Austrian citizens in operation involving Oman, Belgium

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:37 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Iran has released one Danish and two Austrian citizens, the European countries said Friday, thanking Oman and Belgium for their help in getting the trio freed.Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said he was “very relieved” that Kamran Ghaderi and Massud Mossaheb were being brought home after “years of arduous imprisonment in Iran.” Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Løkke Rasmussen, said that he was “happy and relieved that a Danish citizen is on his way home to his family in Denmark after imprisonment in Iran.” He didn’t name the person, saying their identity was “a personal matter” and he couldn’t go into details.Schallenberg thanked the foreign ministers of Belgium and Oman for providing “valuable support,” without elaborating on what form it took. Løkke Rasmussen also thanked Belgium and said that Oman ”played an important role.”Last week, a prisoner exchange between Belgium and Iran returned to Tehran an Iranian diplomat convicte...

Justice Department says it won’t charge Pence over handling of classified documents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Department of Justice has informed former Vice President Mike Pence ‘s legal team that it will not pursue criminal charges related to the discovery of classified documents at his Indiana home.The department sent a letter to Pence’s attorney on Thursday informing him that, after an investigation into the potential mishandling of classified information, no criminal charges will be sought.The news comes days before Pence plans to launch his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination for president — a campaign that would put him in direct competition with former President Donald Trump.Attorney General Merrick Garland had named a special counsel to oversee the Justice Department’s investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents, as well as Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, just three days after Trump formally launched his latest campaign. A Justice Department official confirmed the authenticity of the ...

Festival at Greece’s ancient theaters dedicated to Maria Callas and century since her birth

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:37 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The music from “Madame Butterfly” and other major operas is known to Greek audiences largely through the recorded performances of Maria Callas, the U.S.-born Greek artist who died in 1977 and is still revered here. For theatergoers in Athens, watching the tragic story of the young geisha Cio-Cio-San unfold in Puccini’s emotionally charged classic has become a familiar favorite at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the stone theater the Romans built at the foot of the Acropolis more than 1,800 years ago. Late Thursday, it hosted an open-air performance of “Madame Butterfly” to launch Greece’s main summer theater and arts festival, dedicated this year to Callas and the century since her birth in Manhattan on Dec. 2, 1923. She died of a heart attack at her home in Paris at age 53. Officially known as the Athens-Epidaurus Festival, the summer concerts and plays are also held at the ancient theater of Epidaurus, the UNESCO world heritage site in southern Greece. Mu...

Bug in Chase Bank online banking causing double transactions, fees

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Customers of Chase’s online banking services were seeing double transactions, fees and/or payments in their accounts, with the situation not immediately being resolved as of late morning on Friday.Numerous Chase customers were posting on social media that their rent or bill payments were taken out of their accounts twice and reporting hold times with customer service approaching more than an hour. “We’re sorry that some customers are seeing duplicate transactions and fees on their checking account,” a Chase spokesperson said. “We’re working to resolve the issue and will automatically reverse any duplicates and adjust any related fees.” Online banking services, while usually reliable, sometimes spectacularly fail or have temporary outages that tend to spook their customers. Banks typically will resolve an error in their services within hours, and no customer is liable for any errors in their accounts that occur when these happen. Ken Sweet, The...

Australian PM Albanese stresses need for diplomacy, guardrails in dealing with China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:37 GMT

SINGAPORE (AP) — As tensions grow between the United States and China in the Asia-Pacific, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a gathering of top defense officials Friday that open channels of communication are critical for preserving peace, while also advocating effective deterrence.Albanese, who has been expanding Australia’s military power in response to China’s growing military assertiveness in the South China Sea, the South Pacific and the East China Sea, said he has also been working to stabilize the country’s diplomatic relations with China. “We recognize there are fundamental differences in our two nations’ systems of government, our values and our world views,” he said in his keynote address to the annual Shangri-La dialogue. “But we begin from the principle that whatever the issue, whether we agree or disagree, it is always better and it is always more effective if we deal direct.” Both U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and China’s new de...