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Moscow court rules US journalist Evan Gershkovich must stay in jail until late August

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:52 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — A Moscow court on Thursday ruled that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich must remain in jail on espionage charges until at least late August, rejecting the American journalist’s appeal to be released.The 31-year-old U.S. citizen was arrested in late March while on a reporting trip. A Moscow court ruled last month to keep him in custody until Aug. 30, but his lawyers had challenged the decision.Gershkovich, wearing a black T-shirt and light blue jeans, looked tense and paced inside a glass defendant’s cage while waiting for the hearing to begin at the Moscow City Court. Then other journalists in the courtroom were asked to leave and the proceedings took place behind closed doors.The ruling was broadcast to reporters, who watched it on two large TV screens in a separate room in the courthouse.While waiting for the judge, Gershkovich smiled and chatted to his parents, who were present. U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy also attended.“Evan continued to show remarkable...

Decisions made after fiery Ohio train derailment will be examined at NTSB hearing

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:52 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Some of the key decisions made in the aftermath of February’s fiery derailment of a Norfolk Southern train in eastern Ohio will be examined at a hearing Thursday.The National Transportation Safety Board is holding a rare field hearing in East Palestine, Ohio, over the next two days. Thursday’s hearing will focus on the emergency response to the derailment and the crucial decision officials made days later to release the toxic vinyl chloride in five tank cars and burn it to keep those cars from exploding.That decision sent a towering plume of black smoke over the town near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border and prompted the evacuation of about half of East Palestine’s 5,000 residents. Officials have defended that decision as the best option when faced with the prospect of an explosion that would have sent shrapnel into the town.But residents have been left with many questions about possible lingering health effects even though state and federal officials say tests ...

Remotely operated vehicles join subsea search for missing Titanic submersible

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:52 GMT

The United States Coast Guard says two more remotely operated vehicles have joined the search for a submersible that lost contact with surface vessels on Sunday as it was diving to reach the wreck of the Titanic with five people aboard.The First Coast Guard District in Boston confirmed this morning on Twitter that the French ROV L’Atalante was being prepared to enter the water about 700 kilometres southeast of Newfoundland.Meanwhile, the coast guard also confirmed that the Canadian vessel Horizon Arctic had deployed an ROV that reached the ocean floor and was searching for the Titan, a carbon-fibre and titanium submersible operated by U.S.-based OceanGate Expeditions.The search has intensified as the company has stated that the minivan-size submersible has an air supply that can last four days, which means the supply could run out as of today.American authorities say “banging sounds” have been detected in the search area, though the cause remains unclear.Recordings...

Foes of Myanmar’s military regime applaud new US sanctions, but want action to block gas revenues

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:52 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Opponents of Myanmar’s military government applauded fresh financial sanctions imposed by the United States on the Southeast Asian nation but called Thursday for further measures to pressure its ruling generals to restore peace and democracy. The U.S. Treasury Department announced Wednesday it was imposing the sanctions on Myanmar’s Defense Ministry and two state-owned banks, the Myanma Foreign Trade Bank and the Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank.The move freezes any assets of the sanctioned entities that are in the United States or controlled by a U.S. person. It also prohibits all transactions by U.S. persons or carried out within or transiting the United States that the targeted entities would benefit from. That would make it difficult to carry out transactions through financial institutions involving U.S. dollars.The sanctions are the latest by the Biden administration against Myanmar’s military-installed government, after army overthrew the elected civilian g...

Tornadoes tear through northwest Texas town, killing 4 people and causing widespread damage

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:52 GMT

MATADOR, Texas — A line of severe storms produced what a meteorologist calls a rare combination of multiple tornadoes, hurricane-force winds and softball-sized hail in northwest Texas, killing at least four people and causing significant damage around the town of Matador.A supercell developed about 8 p.m. Wednesday near Amarillo before striking Matador, killing four people, injuring nine and causing widespread damage, said senior forecaster Matt Ziebell with the National Weather Service in Lubbock.The storm later produced 109 mph (175 kph) winds at Jayton in addition to the 4-inch (10.2-centimeter) or larger hail, according to Ziebell.“That is certainly rare to see all at the same time, killer tornadoes, hurricane-force winds and softball-sized hail,” Zeibell said.Wednesday “was definitely a rare combination of high-end wind shear and storms of extreme instability,” according to Ziebell.There were widespread power outages across the region, with more than 900 customers w...

Tropical Storm Bret barrels toward eastern Caribbean at near-hurricane strength

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:52 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A hurricane watch was issued for St. Lucia as Tropical Storm Bret barreled toward the eastern Caribbean Thursday at near-hurricane strength.The storm was located about 200 miles (320 kilometers) east of Barbados on Thursday morning and was moving west at 15 mph (24 kph). It had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph), just below the 74 mph (119 kph) winds of a Category 1 hurricane.Airports, businesses, schools and offices were closing in St. Lucia and Dominica as forecasters warned of torrential downpours, landslides and flooding.“Protect your lives, property and livelihoods,” urged St. Lucia Prime Minister Philip Pierre.A tropical storm warning was in effect for Dominica, St. Lucia and Martinique, while a tropical storm watch was issued for Barbados and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The storm was expected to start affecting islands in the eastern Caribbean late Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.Andre Joyeux, director of...

Bank of England rate hike is bigger than expected. That means pain for borrowers

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England raised borrowing costs Thursday by more than anticipated as it seeks to combat stubbornly high inflation, a move that will hit borrowers hard.In a statement, the bank said its nine-member Monetary Policy Committee decided to lift its main interest rate by half a percentage point to a fresh 15-year high of 5%. The increase, which was the bank’s 13th in a row, was somewhat of a surprise, with most economists predicting a smaller quarter-point hike.The committee warned of further increases to come.“If there were to be evidence of more persistent pressures, then further tightening in monetary policy would be required,” it said.Clearly rate-setters have been spooked by the failure of inflation in the U.K. to come down as fast as predicted. Figures on Wednesday showed U.K. inflation unexpectedly holding steady at 8.7%, fueling concerns over the outlook for prices after predictions for a modest decline to 8.4%.“There has been significant upside news ...

Lean green flying machines take wing in Paris, heralding transport revolution

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:52 GMT

LE BOURGET, France (AP) — Just a dot on the horizon at first, the bug-like and surprisingly quiet electrically-powered craft buzzes over Paris and its traffic snarls, treating its doubtless awestruck passenger to privileged vistas of the Eiffel Tower and the city’s signature zinc-grey rooftops before landing him or her with a gentle downward hover. And thus, if all goes to plan, could a new page in aviation history be written.After years of dreamy and not always credible talk of skies filled with flying, non-polluting electric taxis, the aviation industry is preparing to deliver a future that it says is now just around the corner. Capitalizing on its moment in the global spotlight, the Paris region is planning for a small fleet of electric flying taxis to operate on multiple routes when it hosts the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games next summer. Unless aviation regulators in China beat Paris to the punch by green-lighting a pilotless taxi for two passengers under development t...

China’s president orders safety campaign after explosion at barbecue restaurant kills 31 people

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:52 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — China’s president ordered a national safety campaign on Thursday after a massive cooking gas explosion at a barbecue restaurant in the northwest killed 31 people and injured seven others on the eve of a long holiday weekend.The blast tore through the restaurant at around 8:40 p.m. Wednesday on a busy street in Yinchuan, the capital of the traditionally Muslim Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, as people gathered ahead of the Dragon Boat Festival, the official Xinhua News Agency said.The explosion left many people unconscious and they needed to be carried out of the shop, according to the online news site The Paper, which quoted a member of the search and rescue team. Victims included elderly people and high school students, it said.An hour before the explosion, employees noticed the smell of cooking gas and discovered that a gas tank valve was broken, according to Xinhua. The blast occurred while an employee was replacing the valve.Chinese President Xi Jinping dem...

Turkey’s central bank sharply raises interest rates. That could signal an economic turnaround

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:52 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s central bank delivered a large interest rate hike Thursday, signaling a shift toward more conventional economic policies to counter sky-high inflation following criticism that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s approach has made a cost-of-living crisis worse.The bank raised its key rate by 6.5 percentage points, boosting it to 15%.The increase — a significant jump from the current 8.5% — is the first since March 2021 and comes after Erdogan appointed two internationally respected officials to head the bank and the finance ministry.The rate hike is an indication that the country is moving away from Erdogan’s unorthodox belief that lowering interest rates fights inflation.Traditional economic theory says just the opposite, and central banks around the world have rapidly raised rates to combat spikes in consumer prices — including several decisions across Europe on Thursday, ranging from the Bank of England to Switzerland.Erdogan — a self-declared “en...