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

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:46 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. But Russian media have reported he was recently seen at his offices in St. Petersburg.It was not clear if Prigozhin’s presence in 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. But the reports signaled that the deal may have allowed him to finalize his affairs in Russia.If that’s true, it could suggest the threat posed by Prigozhin has not yet been fully defused and that the Kremlin...

Earth hit an unofficial record high temperature this week – and stayed there

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:46 GMT

Earth’s average temperature on Wednesday remained at an unofficial record high set the day before, the latest grim milestone in a week that has seen series of climate-change-driven extremes.The average global temperature was 17.18 Celsius (62.9 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the University of Maine’s Climate Reanalyzer, a tool that uses satellite data and computer simulations to measure the world’s condition. That matched a record set Tuesday, and came after a previous record of 17.01 Celsius (62.6 degrees Fahrenheit) was set Monday.While the figures are not an official government record, “this is showing us an indication of where we are right now,” said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist Sarah Kapnick. And NOAA indicated it will take the figures into consideration for its official record calculations.Scientists generally use much longer measurements — months, years, decades — to track the Earth’s warming, but the daily highs are an indication that cl...

Authorities make arrest in San Marcos apartment complex fire that killed 5

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:46 GMT

SAN MARCOS, Texas (AP) — An arrest has been made nearly five years after a fire intentionally set in a housing complex killed five people and displaced 200 more in San Marcos, Texas, the city announced Wednesday.The July 20, 2018, blaze damaged the Iconic Village and Vintage Pads apartments in San Marcos, a city of almost 70,000 people southwest of Austin. The city fire marshal said days after the fire that four bodies were found in a single apartment building, which did not have sprinklers since it was built in 1970 and was code-compliant when constructed. Later that year, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said the fire had been set on purpose, and the five deaths were ruled homicides.Authorities gave little other details, including the name of the suspect. They planned to say more Thursday during a press conference.The Associated Press

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts lower again with new jobs data arriving over the next 2 days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:46 GMT

BANGKOK — Wall Street headed lower for a second day and markets in Europe and Asia fell as well with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in China Thursday attempting to lower tensions between the world’s two largest economies. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5%. Share prices have soared recently with more evidence that the U.S. economy is churning along, fending off recession so far despite high interest rates. A hot economy is not what the Federal Reserve needs right now in its fight against inflation. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting released Wednesday showed that some central bank officials wanted to raise rates in mid-June, though in the end they voted unanimously to keep rates steady. The threat of further rate hikes has been weighing on investor sentiment. One area the Fed is watching closely is the U.S. jobs landscape. The Labor Department releases weekly jobs numbers Thursday, along with a report on job o...

Zendaya tennis drama ‘Challengers’ to open Venice Film Festival

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:46 GMT

The Venice Film Festival is serving up one of the year’s buzzier films as its opening night selection in Luca Guadagnino’s “Challengers.” The romantic tennis drama starring Zendaya, “West Side Story’s” Mike Faist and “The Crown’s” Josh O’Connor will have its world premiere out of competition at the 80th edition of the festival in September, organizers said Thursday.“Challengers” stars Zendaya as a tennis prodigy whose past collides with her present when her husband, played by Faist, faces off against a competitor who was once his best friend and her boyfriend. A spicy and suggestive teaser trailer that debuted recently quickly became a popular meme on social media.“It’s a modern bold story of youthful energy, love and power,” Guadagnino said in a statement. “I can’t wait for the Lido audience to dance across the notes of the soundtrack of Trent (Reznor) and Atticus (Ross) at the opening night of the 80th edition of the Mostra.”The Italian director has had several films premiere at t...

Death toll from 2 weeks of monsoon rains in Pakistan rises to 43 amid fears of floods, officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:46 GMT

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — The death toll from two weeks of monsoon rains rose to at least 43 on Thursday after four people died in weather-related incidents in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore amid fears of floods, authorities said.Lahore witnessed a record-breaking downpour the previous day, flooding many streets and disrupting normal life. Since Wednesday, 11 people have died in the city due to collapsing roofs and electrocution, officials said. Pakistan’s weather forecast agency warned of more rain to hit the city.Heavy rain also continued to lash the rest of the impoverished nation, overflowing the main rivers in the Punjab province, Jhelum and Chenab, prompting the disaster management agency to be on high alert for fear of flash floods. The rains have returned to Pakistan a year after the climate-induced downpour swelled rivers and inundated at one point one-third of Pakistan, killing 1,739 people. The floods also caused $30 billion in damage in cash-strapped Pakista...

More Americans apply for jobless benefits, but layoffs are not rising significantly

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:46 GMT

The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits rose last week, but remains at healthy levels despite the Federal Reserve’s attempt to cool the labor market by raising interest rates.U.S. applications for jobless claims rose by 12,000 to 248,000 for the week ending July 1, from 236,000 previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week moving average of claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week volatility, fell by 3,500 by 253,250.Jobless claim applications are seen as a proxy for the number of layoffs in a given week.Overall, 1.72 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended June 24, 13,000 fewer than the previous week.Matt Ott, The Associated Press

German government puts off vote on a contentious heating plan until September

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:46 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s governing coalition has put off until September a vote on contentious legislation to encourage the replacement of fossil fuel heating systems after the country’s top court shot down plans to push the bill through parliament this week.The Federal Constitutional Court’s last-minute ruling on Wednesday night was awkward for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition, denying it the chance to move on quickly from a lengthy dispute over a central climate policy plan that has dragged it down in polls.The government had hoped to get the legislation passed Friday, the last day before parliament’s summer recess. But the court blocked lawmakers from considering it this week, issuing an injunction sought by a conservative opposition member who argued that not having time for more detailed consideration would violate his rights.Top coalition lawmakers conferred Thursday and then announced they would seek a vote in early September, when parlia...

Chloe confirms Gabriela Hearst is leaving, as eyes look toward Fendi show to cap couture

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:46 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Fashion whispers have finally been confirmed: Gabriela Hearst is stepping down as the creative director of Maison Chloé after a brief but impactful three-year tenure. Hearst, the first female designer with multicultural roots (Uruguay and United States) to lead a Parisian fashion house, has been a transformative force at Chloé since her appointment in December 2020.Here are some highlights of the last day of fall couture shows on Thursday that will include Fendi later in the day: GABRIELA HEARST BIDS ADIEU TO CHLOÉ, LEAVING A GREEN LEGACYDespite the relative brevity of her tenure, Hearst leaves an indelible imprint on Chloé. She ushered the house into a new era of sustainability, turning it into the first European luxury fashion house to secure a B Corp certification. Hearst’s sustainability agenda included innovative initiatives such as the integration of eco-friendly materials, a ground-breaking resale program and collections focusing on climate-forward solutions.Her ...

Day six of B.C. port strike as management calls for binding arbitration

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:46 GMT

VANCOUVER — The organization that represents employers at roughly 30 strikebound ports in British Columbia says binding arbitration could end the six-day-old dispute. More than 7,000 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union walked off the job on Canada Day after voting overwhelmingly to strike against the BC Maritime Employers Association. Talks stalled Monday and business groups are increasingly demanding federal legislation to end the disruption, while CP Rail, now known as CPCK Ltd., says it has issued temporary embargoes on rail traffic to the Port of Vancouver. The latest statement from the employers association says binding arbitration could bring the dispute to a swift close, something it first proposed in mid-June in the weeks before workers went off the job. Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan discussed the strike with his B.C. counterpart, Labour Minister Harry Bains, on Wednesday, but O’Regan has so far resisted calls to legislate the stri...