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Austria’s Putin ally says Russia better for holidays than Seychelles, Maldives

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:26 GMT

Former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl, who made headlines for dancing with Russian President Vladimir Putin at her wedding, is currently vacationing in the Russian hamlet of Petrushovo, a destination that she said Wednesday is better than the Maldives and Seychelles.“I love living here. I understand this world, I understood it when I was a girl,” Kneissl told Russian state-run news agency TASS. “Grandmothers, apples, summer, swim in the river. It’s a good life. I don’t need the Maldives or the Seychelles. It’s better.”Local media first reported Kneissl had been staying in the Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow, last week, arriving there shortly after the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. On Wednesday, Kneissl told TASS that she does not live in Petrushovo, but that she rented a “small house” there.While the Maldives is famous for its golden sandy beaches, glimmering turquoise waters and five-star resorts, tiny Petrushovo offers quiet count...

Two intoxicated US tourists ‘trapped’ overnight up the Eiffel Tower

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:26 GMT

Paris (CNN) — Two American men were discovered on Monday after spending a drunken night up the Eiffel Tower, the monument’s management told CNN on Wednesday.The two men, who had Sunday evening tickets for Paris’ famous iron tower, were “allegedly trapped there due to their excessive alcohol consumption,” the Paris prosecutor’s office told CNN.The tourists were found asleep early on Monday morning by Eiffel Tower security staff doing their rounds ahead of the monument’s opening, according to the prosecutor’s office and SETE (Société d’Exploitation de la tour Eiffel), the operator that runs the site.The tourists were then “quickly removed” and handed over to Paris police, SETE said in a statement to CNN. SETE will press charges for the intrusion, the operator said, although they admitted that the two men presented “no threat”.“As no damage was found, the fine for trespassing on a historic or cultural site was dismissed,” the Paris prosecutor’s office added.As a result o...

Trust claims prize on $25 million winning lottery ticket purchased in Somerville 

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:26 GMT

A Woburn-based lottery trust on Tuesday claimed Massachusetts’ largest instant “scratch and win” lottery prize in state lottery history in the form of a $25 million winning ticket, the Massachusetts State Lottery Commission announced. The Speedway at 709 McGrath Highway in Somerville sold the winning ticket and will receive a $50,000 bonus as a result. Trustee Marco Schiavo represented the Simmons & Schiavo Lottery Trust 2023-28 of Woburn to claim a one-time $16.25 million payment before taxes for the lottery winners. This week’s multi-million-dollar win came in the Massachusetts State Lottery’s “Billion Dollar Extravaganza” game, which launched earlier this year as the lottery’s first $50 instant ticket game. To date, the lottery commission said winners have claimed seven of 15 $1 million prizes, leaving eight such prizes unclaimed. There were also five $2 million prizes and two $25 million prizes still yet to be claimed as of Tuesday. 

President Joe Biden and first lady plan to visit Maui next week. Follow live updates

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:26 GMT

By The Associated PressFollow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii, killing dozens of people and destroying the historic town of Lahaina. The wildfires are the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. Videos showing downed power lines apparently sparking some of the early blazes have become key evidence in the search for a cause.President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Maui next week in the aftermath of the deadliest wildfires in the U.S. in more than a century, the White House announced Wednesday.The Bidens will meet Monday with survivors of the fires, as well as first responders and other government officials. They will “see firsthand the impacts of the wildfires and the devastating loss of life and land that has occurred on the island, as well as discuss the next steps in the recovery effort,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement Wednesday.Biden and White House officials have s...

The Dutch economy has slid into recession as inflation and interest rates hit exports and spending

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:26 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Netherlands has fallen into a recession after exports and household spending fell back amid rising interest rates intended to rein in inflation, the country’s statistics office reported Wednesday.The economy declined by 0.3% in the second quarter after shrinking 0.4% in the first three months of the year, Statistics Netherlands reported.The Netherlands, a small nation that has long punched above its weight in global trade, is now treading water after its robust rebound following the global COVID-19 pandemic, said the statistics office’s chief economist, Peter Hein van Mulligen.“After the coronavirus dip, the Dutch economy recovered much quicker and stronger than the rest of Europe. In the last year that has turned around,” he said.The economies in the Netherlands’ neighbors, France and Belgium, both grew in the last quarter while another neighbor, European economic powerhouse Germany, stagnated.Caretaker Economic Affairs Mini...

Syrian president doubles public sector wages as national currency spirals downwards

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:26 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s president early Wednesday doubled public sector wages and pensions as the war-torn country’s national currency spiraled further downwards, reaching a new low for the year. President Bashar Assad issued the two decrees just before midnight Tuesday as the Syrian pound’s value against the U.S. dollar declined to a new all-time low, down from 7,000 at the beginning of 2023 to 15,000 pounds to the greenback. At the start of the conflict in 2011, the dollar was trading at 47 pounds.For over a year, Damascus has been restructuring its program of subsidies for gasoline, diesel for heating, and bread. At the launch of the restructure in February last year, Syrian Prime Minister Hussein Arnous said the move to scale back fuel subsidies would allow the program to target the poorest families more effectively as well as reducing the Syrian state’s deficit.Though wheat and bread subsidies have not been affected, the move has sparked rare protests in the country, as families ...

Dominican firefighters find more bodies as they fight blaze from this week’s explosion; 13 killed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:26 GMT

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Firefighters struggling to extinguish a blaze caused by a deadly explosion near the Dominican Republic’s capital this week found two more bodies Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 13, authorities said.The number of victims is expected to increase since responders have not been able to fully access the building where the explosion occurred Monday at a bakery in the city of San Cristobal, which lies just west of the capital of Santo Domingo.An additional 10 people remain missing, with anguished friends and family pacing outside hospitals and morgues in anger and frustration, saying no one has been providing them information.Jaissy Capellán, press coordinator for the Emergency Operations Center, told The Associated Press that the two additional bodies were pulled from the rubble early Wednesday.Meanwhile, authorities are probing what might have caused the explosion, vowing to crack down on any business that might not have been following regul...

Indonesia burns marijuana plantation that was discovered by drones

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:26 GMT

TEUPIN REUSEUP, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian authorities on Wednesday burned a marijuana plantation in the northern province of Aceh after it was discovered by drones.A joint team of the National Narcotic Agency, known as BNN, and the National Research and Innovation Agency using drones detected 4.5 hectares (11 acres) of land with an estimated 21,100 cannabis plants ready for harvest, said Wayan Sugiri, the deputy for eradication at BNN. The aerial operation was conducted from Aug. 3 to 13 in Teupin Reuseup village in North Aceh district.More than 150 officers from the police, customs and BNN were deployed to uproot the 20 tons of marijuana for burning Wednesday, Sugiri said.“This is a form of the government’s firmness against illegal drugs and their circulation,” Sugiri said. The burning was the fifth this year, he said. In March, authorities burned 43 hectares (106 acres) with an estimated 190,000 marijuana plants.Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, adaman...

Target Q2 sales ebb on inflation, Pride shopper backlash and it cuts profit outlook

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Target’s second quarter sales were hit by inflation and a negative reaction by some customers, widely publicized on social media, to its Pride merchandise.The Minneapolis retailer expects high interest rates, which makes credit cards more expensive to use, and higher prices on food to continue to put a strain on customers and on Wednesday, the chain cut its profit and sales expectations for the year. In lowering its forecast, Target also cited the end of the student loan moratorium, which had provided one-time college students a little more financial breathing room. Profit came in above expectations, however, as the Minneapolis chain brought inventories closer in line with cautionary spending on discretionary items by customers. Shares rose 8% in pre-market trading before the opening bell Wednesday despite trimming profit expectations for the year. Target is among the first major U.S. retailers to report quarterly financial results and the impact of rising pric...

Pickering casino dealer accused of cheating with players; 4 people charged

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:26 GMT

Four GTA residents are facing dozens of charges after a table dealer at a Pickering casino allegedly cheated with a group of players.The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) say a joint investigation with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) began on Aug. 3 after they were notified of allegations that a dealer at Pickering Casino Resort had colluded with patrons.Four people were charged as a result of the investigation.OPP say 24-year-old Sandeep Sogi from Scarborough is facing nine charges, including four counts of cheating at play and four counts of fraud over $5000.Three others are facing 12 charges each, including four counts of cheating at play, four counts of fraud over $5000 and four counts of property obtained by crime over $5000:Sukhvir Singh, 28, from MississaugaDeepak Kakkar, 30, from BramptonAnchhu Kumar, 24, from Brampton Police say the four suspects have been released from custody and are scheduled to appear in an Oshawa courtroom at a later date.The inv...