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La Nina, which worsens hurricanes and drought, is gone

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:21:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — After three nasty years, the La Nina weather phenomenon that increases Atlantic hurricane activity and worsens western drought is gone, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.That’s usually good news for the United States and other parts of the world, including drought-stricken northeast Africa, scientists said. The globe is now in what’s considered a “neutral” condition and probably trending to an El Nino in late summer or fall, said climate scientist Michelle L’Heureux, head of NOAA’s El Nino/La Nina forecast office.“It’s over,” said research scientist Azhar Ehsan, who heads Columbia University’s El Nino/La Nina forecasting. “Mother Nature thought to get rid of this one because it’s enough.”La Nina is a natural and temporary cooling of parts of the Pacific Ocean that changes weather worldwide. In the United States, because La Nina is connected to more Atlantic storms and deeper droughts and wildfires in the West, La Ninas often are more...

US stocks open modestly higher as worries linger on rates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:21:40 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are opening modestly higher on Wall Street as markets remain anxious about the prospect of more aggressive action by the Federal Reserve to fight inflation. The modest moves came after two days of testimony before Congress by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who said the central bank was prepared to continue making big interest rate increases if necessary. Investors fear the inflation-fighting policies may tip the economy into a recession and put many people out of work. The S&P 500 was up 0.3% early Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite aslo rose. Treasury yields pulled back.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street drifted modestly lower early Thursday amid increasing anxiety following Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s warning to Congress this week that rate hikes might accelerate because upward pressure on prices has been stronger than expected.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials...

Malaysia ex-PM Muhyiddin faces graft charges, vows to fight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:21:40 GMT

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia (AP) — Former Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was arrested Thursday and will be brought to court to face corruption charges, the anti-graft agency said.Muhyiddin, who led Malaysia from March 2020 until August 2021, will be the country’s second leader to be indicted after leaving office. Ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak was hit with multiple graft charges after he lost a 2018 general election and began a 12-year prison term in August after losing his final appeal in the first of several trials.The anti-graft agency said Muhyiddin, 75, will face charges Friday related to alleged abuse and money laundering linked to government projects awarded under his rule. It said Muhyiddin was detained shortly after he arrived at the agency for the second time in three weeks to answer questions about an economic stimulus program for ethnic Malay contractors during the COVID-19 pandemic.Muhyiddin was released on bail later Thursday and denied any wrongdoing. He told ...

14 dead, 54 rescued off Tunisia in migrant boat sinking

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:21:40 GMT

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — At least 14 Africans died and 54 were rescued when a boat in which they were trying to reach Europe sank off the coast of Tunisia, the Tunisian National Guard said Thursday.The 14 bodies were recovered overnight in the Mediterranean Sea off Tunisia’s central Sfax region, National Guard spokesperson Houssameddine Jbabli told the Associated Press. The National Guard said the migrants were from sub-Saharan Africa but did not release their nationalities.On the same night, coast guard vessels thwarted 14 other boats carrying a total of 435 migrants attempting a similar journey from central and southern regions of Tunisia, Jbabli said.People fleeing conflict or poverty routinely take boats from Tunisian shores toward Europe, even though the central Mediterranean is the most dangerous migration route in the world, according to the International Organization for Migration. Many are from sub-Saharan Africa, but Tunisians and people of other nationalities are also ...

At least 36 people killed by extremists in eastern Congo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:21:40 GMT

GOMA, Congo (AP) — At Least 36 people were killed by extremists in conflict-riddled eastern Congo, the military said on Thursday. The Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel militia with links to the Islamic State group, killed civilians in Mukondi village in North Kivu province, said Congo army spokesman in Beni town, Capt. Anthony Mwalushayi. “The enemy made the incursion into the chiefdom of Bashu and managed to kill 36 of our compatriots and burned some residents’ huts in the area,” he said. Several people were injured in Wednesday night’s attack and an investigation has been launched to search for the missing, he said.Conflict has been simmering in eastern Congo for decades as more than 120 armed groups fight for power, influence and resources and some to protect their communities. The ADF has been largely active in North Kivu province but has recently extended its operations into neighboring Ituri province and to areas near the regional capital, Goma. The ADF rebels are ...

Nigeria bus crashes into train; 6 dead and dozens injured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:21:40 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Six people were killed and dozens injured when a train crashed into a passenger bus in Lagos, Nigeria on Thursday, said the emergency response agency.The bus was taking government staff to work when it collided with the intra-city train in the Ikeja area of Lagos, said Ibrahim Farinloye, head of Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency in the state. “So far, 84 people were rescued alive and taken to the hospital … (and) the total deaths so far is six including those who died at the hospital,” said Farinloye. All of the injured people were from the bus, no one on the train was hurt, he said. Train and truck accidents are common in many Nigerian cities where traffic regulations are usually not adhered to, say local residents. They are a serious problem in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city and commercial hub, despite tough penalties introduced by authorities in recent years to try to curb the crashes.The bus driver involved in Thursday’s crash disobe...

Facing uproar, Tunisian president denies he’s stoking racism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:21:40 GMT

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s president has rejected accusations that he is stoking anti-Black racism, saying that he has sub-Saharan African friends and that his comments last month targeting migrants were misinterpreted by his enemies.President Kais Saied drew international criticism and concern with those comments, in which he ordered a crackdown on sub-Saharan African migrants and lashed out at a perceived plot to erase Tunisia’s identity. The comments fanned racist abuse targeting Black people in Tunisia, and prompted some African countries to evacuate their citizens.On Wednesday evening, at a meeting with the president of Guinea-Bissau, Saied denounced what he called a “malicious interpretation’’ of his comments, and issued a “blatant denial’’ that he is racist.“I am African, and proud to be so,” he said in televised comments. He said some of his family members are married to sub-Saharan Africans and that he had friends in law school who were Africans. He also describe...

Greece: 3 more rail officials charged over deadly collision

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:21:40 GMT

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Three more Greek rail officials were charged on Thursday in connection with a train crash that killed 57 people, as protests continued and the government promised to overhaul rail safety. Two station managers and a supervisor were charged with endangering rail safety leading to the loss of life, a senior official involved in the investigation told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, citing judicial policy. The three have been summoned to provide additional testimony and have not been detained.The charges are similar to those filed against a 59-year-old station manager who was arrested in the wake of the Feb. 28 crash in northern Greece and is currently in pre-trial detention.Protests in Athens and other cities continued Thursday, following large rallies and strikes nationwide a day earlier to protest the government’s response to the head-on collision along Greece’s main rail route, outside the northern town of Tempe.The disaster involving a pa...

Funeral services held Thursday for fallen Chicago officer Andres Vasquez Lasso

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:21:40 GMT

CHICAGO — A Chicago police officer who was killed in the line of duty will be laid to rest Thursday.Officers from across the country are expected to be present for the funeral of Officer Andrés Vásquez Lasso.32-year-old Andres Vasquez-Lasso, courtesy CPDA funeral procession will begin at 9:30 a.m., leaving from Blake-Lamb Funeral Home in Oak Lawn, located at 4727 West 103rd Street. The processional will head to St. Rita of Cascia Shrine Chapel at 7740 South Western Avenue, where a funeral mass service will be held.The 19th Ward alderperson is asking the community to line the streets during the procession to honor the fallen officer.Vasquez-Lasso, 32, was killed last week while responding to a domestic violence call in the city's Gage Park neighborhood. Memorial services begin Wednesday for fallen Chicago officer He was a Chicago police officer for five years, working on the third watch based out of the Eighth District.Wednesday night, first responders wrapped around the ...

Man accused of battering CTA employee, damaging attendant booth

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:21:40 GMT

CHICAGO — A man was arrested Wednesday for allegedly battering a CTA transit employee and damaging an attendant booth on the West Side.Curtis Washington was arrested at around 1:20 a.m. in the 3200 block of West Lake Street.Moments earlier, police accused Washington of battering a 40-year-old CTA employee and also damaging the attendant booth at the Kedzie Green Line station. Police: Rideshare passenger shot on South Side Washington was charged with aggravated battery against a transit employee and criminal damage to property.He is due in bond court on Thursday.