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Rescues underway for migrants on board sailboats off the coast of western Greece and in Cyclades

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:13 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Two rescue operations were underway Wednesday for migrants crammed on board sailboats, one far off the coast of a western Greek island and the other off the coast of a Cycladic island near the Greek capital, the coast guard said.A group of 76 people were rescued from a sailing boat in distress 64 nautical miles (74 miles, 118 kilometers) southwest of the Ionian Sea island of Zakynthos in western Greece, the coast guard said. All were taken on board a passing Egyptian-flagged cargo ship, and there were no reports of any missing people.It was not immediately clear where the sailboat had set out from, but the area lies on the route often used by smuggling vessels carrying migrants from northern Africa to Italy.In the second incident, a rescue operation was launched for a “sizeable number” of people on board a sailboat near the northwestern coast of Kythnos island, one of the Cyclades to the southeast of the Greek capital.It was not immediately clear how many peopl...

Universities pull course info from public sites for safety, faculty want more say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:13 GMT

Several Ontario universities are removing course location and other information from their public websites as a safety measure, as faculty representatives look to be more involved in efforts to prevent harassment and hate crimes on campus.The move to pull some information from public pages comes after a triple stabbing at a University of Waterloo gender studies class in June, which police described as a hate-motivated attack.The school removed class locations and instructor names from its public websites after the stabbing and several other post-secondary institutions have either done the same or are considering the measure.In Toronto, York University and the University of Toronto said they were taking down course room locations from the public domain, while Toronto Metropolitan University said it does not publicly post any class scheduling information.“Based on consultations this summer and with security in mind, room information has been removed from the University’s publicl...

Greenpeace releases animated video in campaign against fossil fuel sponsorship of Rugby World Cup

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:13 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Environmental group Greenpeace released an animated video Wednesday showing a massive amount of oil flooding the field for the upcoming opening game of the Rugby World Cup in a campaign against fossil fuel sponsorship of big sporting events.The video takes aim at energy giant TotalEnergies, a sponsor of the event in France.The film shows the Stade de France seconds before the start of the first match of the tournament between France and New Zealand on Sept. 8. Oil spills out of TotalEnergies advertising boards hanging in the stadium.“The global fossil fuel industry extracts enough oil to fill a rugby stadium every 3 hours and 37 minutes,” Greenpeace said.The environmental group said Rugby World Cup Limited tried to block the release of the video on Tuesday on the eve of its release.“But we won’t be silenced,” said Edina Ifticene, a campaigner at Greenpeace France. “Fossil fuel companies like TotalEnergies sponsor events like the Rugby World Cup to distract everyone from...

176 global leaders and Nobel laureates urge Bangladesh to halt cases against Peace Prize winner

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:13 GMT

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — More than 170 global leaders and Nobel laureates have urged Bangladesh’s prime minister to suspend legal proceedings against Muhammad Yunus, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for pioneering the use of microcredit to help impoverished people.In an open letter, the leaders, including former U.S. President Barack Obama, former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and more than 100 Nobel laureates, said they were deeply concerned by recent threats to democracy and human rights in Bangladesh.“One of the threats to human rights that concerns us in the present context is the case of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus. We are alarmed that he has recently been targeted by what we believe to be continuous judicial harassment,” said the letter, dated Tuesday. “We are confident that any thorough review of the anti-corruption and labor law cases against him will result in his acquittal,” it said.Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina responded by...

Category 4 Hurricane Idalia projected to hit Florida with ‘catastrophic’ storm surge

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:13 GMT

CEDAR KEY, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Idalia strengthened to a dangerous Category 4 storm Wednesday morning as it steamed toward Florida’s Big Bend region and threatened to unleash life-threatening storm surges and rainfall.Florida residents living in vulnerable coastal areas were ordered to pack up and leave as Hurricane Idalia gained strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and authorities warned of a “catastrophic storm surge and destructive winds” when the storm moves ashore later Wednesday morning.Idalia was projected to come ashore as a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of at least 130 mph (209 kph) in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula. The result could be a big blow to a state still dealing with lingering damage from last year’s Hurricane Ian. It had grown into a Category 2 system on Tuesday afternoon and became a Category 3 just hours earlier Wednesday.The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idali...

Death toll from Legionnaires’ disease rises to 16 in southeast Poland close to Ukraine border

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:13 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The death toll from Legionnaires’ disease in Poland has risen to 16 with another 140 people infected in the southeastern region close to the border with Ukraine, health authorities said Wednesday. The region of Rzeszow, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the border, is a key transit hub for international military support for Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion last year. Some 10,000 U.S. troops are stationed in the area.Fatalities from the disease were among elderly people who also suffered from other health issues like cancer, authorities said.Laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of Legionnaires’ disease germs in the city’s water pipeline system. Authorities are still looking for the source of the infections, the numbers of which were unprecedented in the region. The Internal Security Agency was also checking for any signs of malicious action.Experts say it could come from rarely used plumbing, where the germs could have spread in high...

USA rolls past Jordan 110-62. Now Round 2 of Basketball World Cup awaits

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:13 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Another game, another blowout for the U.S. at the Basketball World Cup. And now the competition figures to get considerably tougher.Anthony Edwards scored 22 points and the Americans completed an easy march through the group stage Wednesday, beating Jordan 110-62 to improve to 3-0 and finish atop Group C. Second-round play for the U.S. starts Friday against Montenegro.Bobby Portis scored 13 for the U.S., which led by 19 after one quarter and 62-33 at the half. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 12 and Jalen Brunson added 10.Rondae Hollis-Jefferson — the only player with any NBA experience on Jordan’s roster — led his team with 20 points and seven rebounds. Jordan finished group play 0-3 and will play in the classification round for non-second-round teams starting Thursday.The U.S. improved to 8-0 overall this summer, counting five exhibitions played on the way to Manila. They’re one of three teams that won all three group-stage games by at least 20 points — jo...

Ex-official under Belarus President Lukashenko to face Swiss trial over enforced disappearances

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:13 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — A former member of Belarus President Aleksander Lukashenko’s special security forces is set to face trial in Switzerland next month for the forced disappearances of political opponents in the late 1990s, according to human rights and victims advocacy groups Wednesday.Activists and opponents called it a “watershed moment” in international justice that could trigger prosecutions abroad of other Belarus officials — including its strongman leader.The case against Yuri Harauski, a former member of a military unit known as SOBR, is set to take place Sept. 19-20 in the northern Swiss regional court of St. Gallen and centers on the enforced disappearances of three people in 1999. An extract of the court filing, obtained by The Associated Press, indicated that prosecutors planned to seek a three-year prison sentence — of which two would be suspended — against Harauski for his alleged role in the disappearances.Harauski lives in Switzerland, where he applied for asylum in ...

Ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio will be sentenced for seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6 attack

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:13 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio is set to be sentenced on Wednesday for a failed plot to keep Donald Trump in power after the Republican lost the 2020 presidential election, capping one of the most significant prosecutions in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.Prosecutors are seeking 33 years behind bars for Tarrio, who had already been arrested and ordered to leave Washington, D.C., by the time Proud Boys members joined thousands of Trump supporters in storming the Capitol as lawmakers met to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. But prosecutors say Tarrio organized and led the group’s assault from afar, inspiring followers with his charisma and penchant for propaganda.Tarrio was a top target in one of the most important Capitol riot cases prosecuted by the Justice Department. He and three lieutenants were convicted in May of charges including seditious conspiracy — a rarely brought Civil War-era offense that t...

Belgium imposes a ban on shelter for single men seeking asylum to make place for families

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:13 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The Belgian government said Wednesday it is imposing a ban on providing shelter for single men seeking asylum, arguing its insufficient reception capacity should be freed for families, women and children first. Aid organizations condemned the move as reneging on international commitments. Belgium has long come under criticism for failing to provide enough shelter to the thousands of people who are seeking protection from persecution back home and long lines of tents along streets outside the main processing center in Brussels have become a stain on Belgium’s reputation.On Wednesday, Asylum State Secretary Nicole de Moor said increasing pressure on asylum housing was expected over the coming months and she “absolutely wants to avoid that children will end up in the streets this winter.” Instead, single men will have to fend for themselves. The move was met with scathing criticism from human rights organizations. “We thought we’d seen it all, but no. The Belgian ...