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Top officials from Turkey and Sweden in fresh attempt to overcome NATO membership concerns

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:58:46 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Senior officials from Sweden and Turkey arrived at NATO headquarters Thursday to examine Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s objections to the Nordic country joining the military alliance and to see what more, if anything, could be done to break the deadlock.NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is leading the talks, which will involve the countries’ foreign ministers, intelligence chiefs and national security advisers. Top officials from Finland, which joined NATO in April after addressing Turkey’s concerns, planned to take part.Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will be joined at the meetings by Erdogan’s chief adviser Akif Cagatay Kilic, Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akcapar and the intelligence chief, Ibrahim Kalin, according to a foreign ministry statement.As the officials entered NATO headquarters in Brussels, workers busied themselves inside a roped-off area where the national flags of the alliance’s 31 member countries fly and Sweden hope...

Belarus leader claims Wagner chief is in Russia, adding uncertainty about his fate after revolt

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:58:46 GMT

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — The mercenary leader who led a short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin is in Russia and his Wagner troops are in their field camps, the president of Belarus said Thursday, raising new questions about the deal that ended the extraordinary challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule.Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s claim could not be independently verified, and the Kremlin refused to comment on Yevgeny Prigozhin’s whereabouts. It was not clear if traveling to Russia would violate the deal, which allowed the Wagner chief to move to Belarus in exchange for ending the rebellion and a promise of amnesty for him and his troops.Few details of the agreement brokered by Lukashenko have emerged. Last week, Lukashenko said the mercenary leader was in Belarus. Russian media later reported he was seen at his offices in St. Petersburg, a sign that the deal may have allowed him to finalize his affairs in Russia.On Thursday, Lukashenko told internat...

Hong Kong police arrest another person accused of supporting overseas activists

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:58:46 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong police on Thursday arrested another person accused of supporting overseas activists who allegedly endangered national security, in a further expansion of a government crackdown on pro-democracy dissidents.Police detained the 24-year-old man at the city’s airport a day after four other people were arrested for allegedly using companies, social media and mobile applications to receive funds for the overseas activists. “Investigation revealed that the arrested person was suspected of having connection with the group of persons arrested yesterday,” police said in a statement. It did not identify the five suspects. Local media, including the South China Morning Post and pro-Beijing newspaper Wen Wei Po, identified the newly arrested man as Chu Yan-ho, a former member of the now-defunct pro-democracy party Demosisto, which was co-founded by British-based activist Nathan Law. They said the four others are also former Demosisto members, including ex-chairperson Iv...

GTA, Toronto to swelter through one more day of extreme heat

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:58:46 GMT

It’s another day of extreme heat and humidity in the GTA with some relief from the muggy conditions expected to come Friday.Most of Ontario remains under a heat warning with Environment Canada warning temperatures could once again creep towards 40 C when the humidity is factored in.It already felt close to 30 C in Toronto as most people were waking up for work on Thursday morning. CityNews 680 meteorologist Jill Taylor says we can expect scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon that will extend into the evening.“Some of these storms could be quite severe, especially for the north GTA and into cottage country,” says Taylor.The guaranteed high for Wednesday is 30 C, feeling closer to 40 with the humidex.Residents are being reminded to drink plenty of water and continually check on vulnerable individuals for symptoms of heat illness such as fainting, swelling, heat exhaustion and stroke. Young children, pregnant women, older adults, people with chronic ill...

Shell CEO calls it ‘irresponsible’ to cut oil production now

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:58:46 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The head of global energy giant Shell says it would be “irresponsible” to cut oil and gas production at a time when the world economy is still dependent on fossil fuels.In an interview with the BBC released Thursday, Shell CEO Wael Sawan also refused to rule out moving the company’s headquarters and stock market listing from Britain to the United States.“The reality is, the energy system of today continues to desperately need oil and gas,” Sawan said. “And before we are able to let go of that, we need to make sure that we have developed the energy systems of the future — and we are not yet, collectively, moving at the pace (required for) that to happen.”The comments conflict with the recommendations of climate scientists and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who has called on the fossil fuel industry to “drive, not obstruct” the transition to renewable energy. Burning fossil fuels is the biggest source of the carbon emissions blamed for global warming.Even Sulta...

Millennial Money: The credit-building road with alternative credit cards could be bumpy

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:58:46 GMT

Getting a first or second chance to build credit with a credit card has been easier in recent years because financial technology companies have created alternative options.These new cards often evaluate applications differently from traditional credit cards, with algorithms and proprietary methods that may put less emphasis on credit scores while looking at factors such as your income or bank account balances. Lower costs tend to be a hallmark, too: Some of these products advertise no security deposit, no annual fee and no APR.“Many fintechs are really focused on offering products to people that otherwise would not qualify for them at a major institution,” says Nick Roberts, chief marketing officer at Grow Credit, a financial technology company based in California. “There is a lot of focus with certain fintechs to expand the market.”But while many of these relative newcomers can indeed help you build credit, it’s worth noting that the journey might sometimes be bumpy as the company ...

Dutch museums will return art and artifacts that were looted from Sri Lanka and Indonesia

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:58:46 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Two Dutch museums are handing hundreds of cultural artifacts back to Indonesia and Sri Lanka — from a richly decorated cannon to precious metals and jewelry — that were taken, often by force, in the colonial era.The government announced the planned restitution of 478 “cultural objects” Thursday. Some Western nations are returning looted artifacts and other objects as part of a reckoning with their often brutal colonial histories.A Berlin museum announced in January it is ready to return hundreds of human skulls from the former German colony of East Africa. In 2021, France said it was returning statues, royal thrones and sacred altars taken from the West African nation of Benin. And last year, Belgium returned a gold-capped tooth belonging to the slain Congolese independence hero Patrice Lumumba.“This is a historic moment. It is the first time that, based on the advice of the Advisory Committee on the Return of Cultural Objects from Colonial Context, we ...

Prosecutors charge Swedish man for putting dead companion in a freezer and cashing in her pension

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:58:46 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Prosecutors on Thursday charged a 55-year-old Swede with fraud and falsifying records for allegedly putting his dead companion in a freezer and cashing in her pension. The Swedish Prosecution Authority said the man, who was not identified, carried out “systematic” fraud involving about 1.3 million kronor ($119,500).The man had told investigators that he had put the Norwegian woman in a freezer after he finding her dead in their home. The two lived in Arjang, which is about 340 kilometers (211 miles) west of Stockholm.The man had told family and friends that the woman was still alive.“It must have been very stressful for family and friends to learn in this way that the woman had been dead for a long time,” said prosecutor Linda Karlsson.“The man also used the freezer for other purposes, which I believe means that the deceased’s grave peace was violated every time the man opened and closed the freezer and constitutes an aggravating circumstance,” Karlsson ...

Thursday Forecast: Muggy and humid with a slight chance for showers

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:58:46 GMT

CHICAGO — Muggy and humid conditions Thursday with a 20% shower chance. Winds: N 5-10 G20, cooler lakeside. High: 78/72. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Partly cloudy tonight. Winds: NW 5-10. Low: 61.Friday Forecast: Mostly sunny Friday, cooler lakeside. Winds: E 5-10. High: 80/73.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

Quadruplets born on Fourth of July in Los Angeles

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:58:46 GMT

(KTLA) -- A family in Los Angeles grew by four Tuesday, welcoming quadruplets just in time for the Fourth of July.Sara Kahengutovich gave birth to two girls and two boys at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, hospital representatives said.Sara Kahengutovich gave birth to two girls and two boys at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles on July 4, 2023. (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center)The four babies each weighed more than four pounds and are currently "doing well" and resting at the Guerin Children’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. JFK grandson goes viral for anti-restaurant rant Dr. Steven Rad delivered the quadruplets via C-section, Cedars-Sinai officials said. The babies were born at about 34 weeks, the hospital said.Kahengutovich and her partner, Rabbi Yisrael Gutovich, also have a 3-year-old son at home, ready to meet his new siblings. Sara Kahengutovich and her partner, Rabbi Yisrael Gutovich, welcomed quadruplets at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles on July 4, 2023. (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center)Q...