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Turkey’s Erdogan faces tough election amid quake, inflation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:32:00 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Early in his political career, a devastating earthquake and economic troubles helped propel Recep Tayyip Erdogan to power in Turkey. Two decades later, similar circumstances are putting his leadership at risk.The highly divisive and populist Erdogan is seeking a third consecutive term as president on May 14, after three stints as prime minister, which would extend his rule into a third decade. He already is Turkey’s longest-serving leader.The presidential and parliamentary elections could be the most challenging yet for the 69-year-old Erdogan. Most opinion polls point to a slight lead by his opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who heads the secular, center-left Republican People’s Party, or CHP. The outcome of the presidential race could well be determined in a runoff vote May 28. Erdogan is facing a tough test in this election because of public outrage over rising inflation and his handling of the Feb. 6 earthquake in southern Turkey that killed over 50,000 people,...

King’s coronation draws apathy, criticism in former colonies

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:32:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) — When King Charles III is crowned on Saturday, soldiers carrying flags from the Bahamas, South Africa, Tuvalu and beyond will march alongside British troops in a spectacular military procession in honor of the monarch. For some, the scene will affirm the ties that bind Britain and its former colonies. But for many others in the Commonwealth, a group of nations mostly made up of places once claimed by the British Empire, Charles’ coronation is seen with apathy at best.In those countries, the first crowning of a British monarch in 70 years is an occasion to reflect on oppression and colonialism’s bloody past. The displays of pageantry in London will jar especially with growing calls in the Caribbean to sever all ties with the monarchy.“Interest in British royalty has waned since more Jamaicans are waking to the reality that the survivors of colonialism and the holocaust of slavery are yet to receive reparatory justice,” the Rev. Sean Major-Campbell, an Anglican priest in ...

Sudan migrants in Israel worry over future, fighting at home

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:32:00 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Omer Easa is watching the violence roiling his native Sudan with deep trepidation. The further Sudan sinks into chaos and violence, he fears, the longer he is likely to remain an unrecognized asylum-seeker in Israel, where he has few protections. Backers of migrants like Easa say their rights will likely come under greater threat if Israel’s government, its most right-wing ever, moves ahead on a contentious plan to overhaul the judiciary. The plan, if it passes in its original form, could lead to legal measures that would embitter the everyday lives of the migrants and, critics say, make their stay in Israel intolerable.“My heart is there. My head is there. It is just that my body is here,” said Easa, 31, who said he fled the war-torn region of Darfur in 2012 over concerns for his life. “We live here often thanks to the graces of the Supreme Court.”Proponents of the legal overhaul say the migrants are a main reason the plan must move ahead.African migrants, m...

Australia PM to give allegiance to king but wants president

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:32:00 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Friday he would declare his allegiance to King Charles III at the monarch’s coronation despite believing that Australia should have its own head of state.Albanese voted in a failed referendum in 1999 for an Australian citizen to replace the British monarch as the country’s head of state. He said he accepted that a majority of Australians chose for the country to remain a constitutional monarchy instead of becoming a republic and would reflect that sentiment when he attended the king’s coronation Saturday in London.“I haven’t changed my position on that and I’ve made that very clear. I want to see an Australian as Australia’s head of state,” Albanese told Australian Broadcasting Corp.“That doesn’t mean that you cannot have respect for the institution, which is the system of government that we have,” he said. “And I believe, as the Australian prime minister, I have a particular responsibility to rep...

Closing arguments near in stepmom’s murder trial in Colorado

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:32:00 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Closing arguments are expected Friday in the trial of a woman accused of killing her 11-year-old stepson in Colorado, putting his body in a suitcase and then dumping it over a bridge in Florida. Authorities allege Letecia Stauch killed Gannon Stauch by stabbing and shooting him a few hours before reporting him missing on Jan. 27, 2020, while his father was on a National Guard deployment. Stauch was charged with first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body and tampering with physical evidence.Attorneys for Stauch, who has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, countered that by claiming she suffered a “major psychotic crack” as a result of childhood trauma when she killed Gannon. The state mental hospital concluded that Stauch was sane at the time Gannon was killed, The Gazette reported. Under Colorado law, that means understanding the difference between right and wrong and being able to form the intent to commit a crime.However, the defense’s main...

EU okays $1.61 billion for Dutch government to buy out farmers, reduce nitrogen

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:32:00 GMT

The European Commission on Tuesday (2 May) said it had approved two Dutch plans worth a combined €1.47 billion to buy out livestock farmers to reduce nitrogen pollution, saying they are permissible under state aid rules.The Dutch need to reduce excess nitrogen levels, caused in part by decades of intensive farming, a problem that has led to courts blocking important construction projects until the issue is resolved.Discontent over government plans to address the problem until now date led to a major defeat for Prime Minister Mark Rutte's governing coalition in regional elections in March.Farm buyouts are seen as an important step toward a comprehensive plan to address the issue.In the schemes approved by the European Union's executive body on Tuesday, the Netherlands reserved the money to compensate farmers who voluntarily close farms located near nature reserves.The plans will have "positive effects that outweigh any potential distortion of competition and trade in the EU," the Com...

Proposals for sanctions against corrupt oligarchs welcomed but EU institutions still excluded

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:32:00 GMT

On 3 May, the European Commission presented a series of proposals on tackling corruption in Europe. It is essential the EU takes the fight against corruption seriously, particularly, in the wake of the Qatargate scandal and the scale of Russian money in Europe exposed following the invasion of Ukraine. The Greens/EFA Group are calling for strengthened legal framework and investigative tools, greater cooperation between competent authorities and an increased role for the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO). Daniel Freund MEP, Greens/EFA member of the Civil Liberties Committee and Constitutional Affairs Committee, said: "The EU cannot continue to be the go to getaway spot for criminals, corrupt officials and their dodgy money. That's why it’s welcomed that the Commission is taking action to crack down on corrupt cash in Europe. “However, if the Commission is serious about the fight against corruption, they should also make far greater use of the rule of law mechanism and better...

JaMychal Green stepped up big in Game 2, and the Warriors may need more of it against Lakers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:32:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — About two hours before tip-off, the Warriors coaching staff got some bad news. Kevon Looney was sick and could only play about 20 minutes. Someone else would have to start in his place and eat a few of his minutes, too.So a surprise twist: JaMychal Green got the starting nod, only his second start with the Warriors this year.The spur-of-the-moment decision helped unlock the Warriors’ offense en route to a 127-100 beatdown of the Los Angeles Lakers to even the Western Conference Semifinals at 1-1 — and Green’s performance was a reward for his sacrifice throughout a turbulent season.“It feels good to be able to do this after the year I had,” Green said. “It’s been a rough one. I haven’t been through anything like this before. I feel like this is a year of growth for me. I feel like if I can get through this, I can get through anything.”Green’s postseason thus far has mimicked his regular season — h...

Serbian state television says suspect in killing of 8 people has been arrested

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:32:00 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian state television says suspect in killing of 8 people has been arrested.Source

LPGA Hanwha LIFEPLUS Internationl Crown Team Match Play Scores

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:32:00 GMT

ThursdayAt TPC Harding ParkSan Francisco, Calif.Purse: $2 millionYardage: 6,845; Par: 72Round Robin Day OnePool ATeamPtsWLT(4)Sweden 02200(1)USA 01110(8)China 01110(5)England 00020Pool B(6)Thailand 02200(7)Austria 02200(2)Korea 00020(3)Japan 00020First RoundPatty Tavatanakit/Atthaya Thitikul (THA) def. Yuka Saso/Ayaka Furue (JPN), 1 upMoriya Jutanugarn/Ariya Jutanugarn (THA) def. Nasa Hataoka/Hinako Shibuno (JPN), 2 upAnna Nordqvist/Caroline Hedwall (SWE) def. Bronte Law/Jodi Ewart Shadoff (ENG), 4 and 3Madelene Sagstrom/Maja Stark (SWE) def. Liz Young/Alice Hewson (ENG), 5 and 4Minjee Lee/Steph Kyriacou (AUS) def. Hye-Jin Choi/In Gee Chun (KOR), 2 and 1Hannah Green/Sarah Kemp (AUS) def. Hyo Joo Kim/Jin Young Ko (KOR), 2 upLilia Vu/Nelly Korda (USA) def. Ruoning Yin/Xiyu Lin (CHN), 2 and 1Ruixin Liu/Yu Liu (CHN) def. Danielle Kang/Lexi Thompson (USA), 1 upSource