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Romania accuses Russia of war crimes over Danube grain port bombing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:32 GMT

Romania’s president has condemned Russia’s attacks on ports on the Danube as unacceptable and war crimes. On Wednesday morning, Russia attacked Ukrainian grain ports at Izmail on the River Danube, a short distance from Romania. A grain warehouse, a passenger building and an elevator for loading grain were damaged, the BBC reported. No casualties were reported.The attacks were “unacceptable,” Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said on social media. “These are war crimes and they further affect UA’s [Ukraine’s] capacity to transfer their food products towards those in need in the world.”“The world must respond. When civilian ports are targeted, when terrorists deliberately destroy even grain elevators, it is a threat to everyone on all continents. Russia can and must be stopped,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram.Russia has launched a series of air strikes against the Danube riverports after pulling out ...

Zelenskyy urges cool heads as Poland lashes out at Ukraine in gratitude spat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:32 GMT

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stepped in to call for restraint late Tuesday in an effort to end an escalating diplomatic spat with Ukrainian ally Poland.Earlier on Tuesday, Kyiv had summoned Warsaw’s envoy after a senior Polish official suggested Ukraine should be more grateful for the support it has been receiving from Poland since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion last year.“We greatly appreciate the historical support of Poland, which together with us has become a real shield of Europe from sea to sea. And there cannot be a single crack in this shield,” Zelenskyy said.“We will not allow any political instants to spoil the relations between the Ukrainian and Polish peoples, and emotions should definitely cool down,” the president added.Poland has been one of Kyiv’s most vocal supporters since Moscow’s aggression ramped up in 2022. But in recent months, its relations with Kyiv have been hurt by Warsaw’s d...

Another Winner

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:32 GMT

How about a little bit of a chill this morning? If you woke up early enough and headed out the door this morning, it was apparent that a flash of Fall was in the air as temps bottomed out in the upper 40s and low 50s for many outside the city. That low humidity and crisp air in place stays through the day as afternoon highs recover into the upper 70s inland and low to mid 70s at the coast. Sunny skies this morning mix in with some scattered afternoon cumulous clouds that bubble up. We stay dry. Tomorrow, we’ll dial up the temps a notch or two, in additional to a bit of humidity by late-day. Overall, it’s still a comfortable summer’s day with the numbers running close to early August averages. As humidity increases tomorrow night into Friday, it’ll start to feel quite muggy again. The increased moisture, combined with a front sliding in, with allow for quite a few showers and storms to fire up. It looks unsettled Friday, especially in the afternoon, into the ...

Drought-stricken Mexico is turning to a controversial technology to make it rain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:32 GMT

(CNN) — As an extreme drought grips Mexico, leading to crop losses, a lack of water and higher food prices, the government is trying to bring desperately-needed rain by turning to a controversial technology: cloud seeding.In July, the country kicked off the latest phase of a cloud seeding project that aims to artificially stimulate rainfall. It is targeting 62 municipalities clustered in its north and northeast, with the aim of “combating the effects of drought and contributing to the recharge of aquifers,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture.Cloud seeding is a technology first discovered in the 1940s. Since then, it has been used in around 50 countries, including in the United States and China. Mexico has been experimenting with weather modification for more than seven decades.However, some scientists remain very cautious about the effectiveness of cloud seeding and warn that it is not a solution to drought.“It has a con...

Raise Up Not Taking Minimum Wage Hike to 2024 Ballot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:32 GMT

Supporters of a minimum wage increase have opted not to pursue a ballot question in 2024.Raise Up Massachusetts spokesman Andrew Farnitano, whose group had been weighing an initiative petition to secure another minimum wage hike, confirmed the coalition’s decision to the News Service on Tuesday afternoon.The influential alliance of organized labor, community groups and faith-based organizations for months had been publicly mulling an effort to get voters to boost the minimum wage, which ended a years-long climb to $15 in January and will not rise again without additional action.Instead, Raise Up will continue to support legislation filed by Reps. Tram Nguyen and Daniel Donahue and Sen. Jason Lewis (H 1925 / S 1200). Those bills would increase the minimum wage $1.25 per year until it reaches $20 in 2027, plus boost the minimum wage for tipped workers to $12 per hour in 2027, and link both to the consumer price index so they continue to automatically grow apace with in...

How Bill O’Brien’s offense is helping the Patriots offense and defense in training camp

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:32 GMT

FOXBORO — Last weekend, Patriots safety Jalen Mills intercepted Bailey Zappe during a red-zone drill late in one training camp practice.Mills later explained the play by saying he had recognized the receivers’ route combination from his tape study of an earlier practice and jumped it. According to fellow safety Adrian Phillips, Mills would be lucky to see that same look again.Because in describing what new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien has brought to the Patriots, Phillips, a 10th-year veteran, pinpointed one thing.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patirots extra points: Potential cause for Hunter Henry’s training camp breakout New England Patriots | Patriots training camp Day 7: Mac Jones’ best practice yet, a rising linebacker and more WR woes New England Patriots | Patriots claim rookie wide receiver from Bears, place Jalen Hurd on retired list New England Patriots | Patriots must g...

Deaths from IS bombing at Islamist rally in Pakistan rise to 63 after more wounded people die

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:32 GMT

KHAR, Pakistan (AP) — The death toll from the weekend suicide bombing at a rally of a pro-Taliban Islamist party in Pakistan jumped to 63, doctors said Wednesday, in the wake of one of the country’s worst attacks in recent years.The tally from Sunday’s explosion rose after a bomber struck an election campaign rally of supporters of a pro-Taliban cleric Fazlur Rehman in Bajur, where the Pakistani military spent years fighting the Pakistani Taliban before declaring the district clear of militants in 2016. But Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema Islam party has remained a potent political force closely linked to the Afghan Taliban.Some 123 people who had been wounded in Sunday’s attack near the Afghanistan border are being treated, according to a hospital official. Nearly 200 people were wounded and 80 have been discharged. “I can confirm that so far 63 people have died in the suicide bombing,” Liaquat Ali, a spokesman for the state-run hospital in Bajur, said Wednesday. He said so...

Thousands without power after residential fire in Burlington

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:32 GMT

Thousands are without power in Burlington after a fire broke out in a residential area on Wednesday morning.Fire crews responded to some townhomes under construction near Appleby Line and Dundas Street around 4:30 a.m.. Crews were still working to put out hot spots as of 7:30 a.m.Police say the impacted homes were unoccupied and no injuries have been reported. The cause of the fire is not known.Burlington Hydro says approximately 2,850 customers are without power due to the fire. Hydro crews are also on scene to determine the extent of the damage.The estimated time of restoration is 9:30 a.m.We are aware of an outage in the Tansley/Orchard area affecting approx. 2,850 customers as the result of a fire. Crews are on-site determining the extent of the damage to the equipment (some pictured below). Follow our outage map for updates: https://t.co/djEgY1RdHH pic.twitter.com/7v9DaxeyZH— Burlington Hydro (@BurlingtonHydro) August 2, 2023

A powerful typhoon pounds Japan’s Okinawa and injures more than 30 people as it moves toward China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:32 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A powerful typhoon slammed Okinawa and other islands in southwestern Japan Wednesday with high winds injuring more than 30 people as it moved west making its way toward mainland China.The Japan Meteorological Agency said the typhoon is heading to the East China Sea, but may change course and head back to Japan later this week.Typhoon Khanun, which means jackfruit in Thai, was heading west at speeds of 15 kph (9 mph), packing surface winds of up to 162 kph (100 mph). It was at sea southwest of Okinawa’s main island, according to the agency.Thirty-four people were injured, with three seriously hurt, according to the Okinawa prefectural government. The typhoon damaged several homes and forced transportation to halt and stores to close as it slowly moved west. Many hospitals were only receiving emergency cases.The storm also left nearly 200,000 homes, or about 30%, of those in Okinawa, without power, according to the Okinawa Electric Power Company. In the Ogimi village in n...

Reformist Thai party is excluded from coalition to form the next government, runner-up party says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:32 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The progressive political party that won the most seats in Thailand’s general election has been excluded from a coalition to form the next government, its former ally said Wednesday. Conservative lawmakers strongly oppose the party over its proposed reform of a law banning criticism of the country’s monarchy.Thailand has struggled for nearly three months to form a government and select a new leader since its election in May. Move Forward Party, the surprise winner, pulled together an eight-party coalition with 312 seats in the 500-member House. However, under the military-enacted constitution, confirming a new prime minister requires a majority vote by both the elected House and the 250-member Senate, which was appointed by a previous military government.An initial bid last month by Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat fell short by more than 50 votes, largely because only 13 senators backed him. His second attempt the following week was blocked by a procedural...