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Stock market today: Markets mostly higher after Biden-McCarthy deal on US debt

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

World shares were mostly higher Monday after President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached a final agreement on a deal to raise the U.S. national debt ceiling, though the measure requires approval by Congress. Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Sydney and Shanghai advanced while Hong Kong fell. Markets in London and Seoul were closed for a holiday and U.S. markets will be closed Monday for Memorial Day.The agreement on the U.S. debt eased what had been a potentially huge threat to markets worldwide. Biden and McCarthy worked over the weekend to try to ensure enough support in Congress to pass the measure before a June 5 deadline and avert a disruptive federal default.“Markets are so far reacting cautiously. Buoyed, but cautious,” Clifford Bennett, chief economist at ACY Securities, said in a commentary.“This agreement merely rolls the issue to potentially more politically friendly times post the Presidential election in two years. Nothing is certain in this regard, and it is po...

Websites linked to Iran’s presidency hacked with images of exile group’s leaders

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

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A series of websites linked to Iran’s presidency bore the images of two leaders of an exiled opposition group Monday, with others showing the pictures of Islamic Republic’s supreme leader and president crossed out. An internet account describing itself as a group of hackers claimed responsibility for allegedly taking down websites. The account GhyamSarnegouni, whose name in Farsi means “Rise to Overthrow,” previously claimed hacking websites associated with Iran’s Foreign Ministry earlier this month. Iranian state media and officials did not immediately acknowledge the apparent hack. However, Associated Press journalists accessing the sites found them defaced with images of Massoud Rajavi, the long-missing leader of the Iranian exile group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, and his wife Maryam, who is now the public face of the group.One site bore the slogan: “Death to Khamenei Raisi- Hail to Rajavi.” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Kh...

Authorities in Thailand seize more than a ton of crystal methamphetamine thought bound for Australia

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

BANGKOK (AP) — Law enforcement officials in Thailand said Monday they seized more than a ton of crystal methamphetamine in a southern province last week that they believed was bound for Australia.Officials from police and the Narcotics Control Board announced that the 1.2 metric tons (2,646 pounds) of the drug, also known as “ice,” likely came from Thailand’s northern border region, which is part of the Golden Triangle where the borders of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand meet. Myanmar is a major producer of methamphetamine, which over the past decade has become the dominant illegal drug in Southeast Asia for both domestic consumption and export, supplanting opium and its refined product, heroin. Decades of political instability have made Myanmar’s frontier regions largely lawless and exploited by drug producers and traffickers.The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime warned in a report in May last year that the production and trafficking of synthetic drugs such as methamphetamine is burgeoning...

Spanish prime minister calls early general election after battering in regional vote

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

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called a early general elections for July 23.Sánchez made the surprise announcement Monday, a day after his Socialist party took a serious battering in local and regional elections.Prior to Sunday’s debacle, Sánchez had insisted that he would ride out his four-year team, indicating that elections would be in December.The Associated Press

Hong Kong court rejects publisher Jimmy Lai’s bid to terminate his national security trial

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

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court on Monday rejected a jailed publisher’s request to terminate his national security trial, pressing ahead with a landmark case seen as part of Beijing’s crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement. Jimmy Lai, the 75-year-old founder of the now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily, faces up to life in prison if convicted under a Beijing-imposed national security law. His lawyers earlier filed an application to halt the trial, raising concerns that his case was being heard by three judges approved by the city’s leader, instead of a jury.When Hong Kong returned to China in 1997, it was promised that trials by jury, previously practiced in the former British colony, would be maintained under the city’s constitution. But in a departure from the city’s common law tradition, the security law allows no-jury trials for national security cases. On Monday, Judges Esther Toh, Susana D’Almada Remedios and Alex Lee unanimously rejected Lai’s r...

IAEA team in Japan for final review before planned discharge of Fukushima nuclear plant water

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

TOKYO (AP) — An International Atomic Energy Agency team arrived in Tokyo on Monday for a final review before Japan begins releasing massive amounts of treated radioactive water into the sea from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant, a plan that has been strongly opposed by local fishing communities and neighboring countries.The team, which includes experts from 11 countries, will meet with officials from the government and the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, and visit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant during their five-day visit, the economy and industry ministry said.Japan announced plans in April 2021 to gradually release the wastewater following further treatment and dilution to what it says are safe levels. The release is expected to begin within a few months after safety checks by Japanese nuclear regulators of the newly constructed water discharge facility and a final report by IAEA expected in late June.The plan has faced fierce protests from loc...

UN agencies warn of starvation risk in Sudan, Haiti, Burkina Faso and Mali, call for urgent aid

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

ROME (AP) — Two U.N. agencies warned Monday of rising food emergencies including starvation in Sudan due to the outbreak of war and in Haiti,Burkina Faso and Mali due to restricted movements of people and goods.The four countries join Afghanistan, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen at the highest alert levels, with communities that are already facing or projected to face starvation or otherwise risk a slide “towards catastrophic conditions.”The report by the World Food Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization calls for urgent attention to save both lives and jobs. Beyond the nine countries rating the highest level of concern, the agencies said 22 countries are identified as “hotspots’’ risking acute food insecurity.“Business-as-usual pathways are no longer an option in today’s risk landscape if we want to achieve global food security for all, ensuring that no one is left behind.” said Qu Dongyu, FAO Director-General.He called for immediate action in the agricultural se...

Shen boys capitalize off errors to win Section2 title

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

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Shenendehowa Plainsmen used timely hitting and defense to defeat Saratoga Springs 3-1 in game three of the Section2 Class AA baseball series. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The Plainsmen scored off three errors committed by the Blue Streaks in each inning they scored, starting in the bottom of the first. With Thomas Hall threatening at third, Austin Caldwell hit a single to the infield, and it bounced off the second baseman, which allowed Hall to come home for the game's first score.Saratoga didn't panic and responded at the top of the third. Camden Rhude smacked a long ball to deep center, and it fell as the center fielder was attempting to make a play on the ball. Raul Rodriguez came home and scored to tie the game at one.After that, the Plainsmen's offense took off. In the bottom of the fourth, Brendan Gonzalez sent a hopper to the infield that ricocheted off the second baseman. Ethan Farina...

Celine Dion cancels rest of world tour due to medical condition

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

Celine Dion, a Canadian pop singer, announced Friday, 26 May, that she would cancel the European leg of her tour scheduled to resume in this summer due to a health condition that made it difficult for her perform.Four months ago, the 55-year old Quebecoise singer revealed that she had been diagnosed with a rare neurologic disorder called stiff-persons syndrome which causes muscle spasms. The disorder caused her to cancel some European dates on her 'Courage World Tour'.The singer, best known for Titanic's theme song My Heart Will Go On, wrote on Instagram Friday: "I am so sorry that I have disappointed you all once again.The European leg of the tour would have consisted of 42 shows in seven cities between late August and early October, followed by 17 more cities in spring 2024. Dion announced that ticket holders will receive refunds.The condition causes muscle stiffness and an increased sensitivity to sounds, touch and emotions that can cause spasms. The condition caused the Grammy-w...

Ask Amy: I don’t like the way his Facebook posts make me feel

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

Dear Amy: I am a 45-year-old divorced woman with a fairly active social media presence.After my divorce, I first dated someone with no social media.After that ended, I met someone through a friend. He immediately suggested that we connect on Facebook.We’ve been out quite a few times and it’s been great, but he’s dating other people. That’s fine – and I’m open to seeing other people, too.But, though I’m not even sure of my feelings for him, seeing posts about his various dates and his active social life makes me uncomfortable.I can tell who else he’s dating from his posts. It makes me curious and jealous in a way that I don’t like.What do people these days do about social media when they’re dating, but not settled? Should I mute him? Not connect with people on social media until the relationship is serious?I know people talk about social media being toxic to teenagers, but I think the age range should be extended!What’s the protocol? Ho...