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Lebanese lawmakers convene in another attempt to elect president, end power vacuum

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:20 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese lawmakers convened Wednesday in another attempt to elect a president and break a seven-month power vacuum that has roiled the tiny Mediterranean country.The meeting comes after 11 previous sessions by the parliament — the last of which was held in January — failed to pick a replacement for President Michel Aoun, an ally of the powerful militant Hezbollah group, whose term ended in late October.The two main candidates officially in the running are former Cabinet minister Sleiman Frangieh, who is backed by Hezbollah and some of its allies, and Jihad Azour, a former finance minister and senior official with the International Monetary Fund, who is supported by the opposition to Hezbollah and some of its nominal allies.Azour also has the backing of the country’s largest Christian political parties, the Free Patriotic Movement, which has been allied with Hezbollah since 2006, and the Lebanese Forces party, an opponent to Hezbollah. Under Lebanon’s complex power-shar...

India, Pakistani coasts on high alert a day before Cyclone Biparjoy is expected to make landfall

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:20 GMT

MANDVI, India (AP) — The coastal regions of India and Pakistan were on high alert Wednesday with tens of thousands being evacuated a day before Cyclone Biparjoy was expected to make landfall.The India Meteorological Department said the cyclone was now packing maximum sustained winds of up to 145 kilometers per hour (90 mph). It is projected to make landfall near Jakhau port in the Kutch district of India’s Gujarat state on Thursday.Residents living within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of the coast in Gujarat were evacuated, and those living within 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) may also have to move out, officials have said. Four people have been killed so far in incidents related to the cyclone, including three boys who drowned off Mumbai’s coast and a woman who was killed due to an accident caused by strong winds in Gujarat. Search and rescue operations are still ongoing to find one more person who drowned in the seas off Mumbai.Experts say climate change is leading to an increase in cyclones...

In The News for June 14 : More help on the way for crews battling Canada’s wildfires

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:20 GMT

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of June 14 …What we are watching in Canada …More firefighters from abroad are expected to arrive today to help battle Canada’s worst wildfire season of the 21st century. Quebec’s public safety minister says more reinforcements are to come from Portugal and Spain.François Bonnardel said Tuesday the fire effort has also been bolstered by the arrival this week of two contingents of firefighters from the United States. Storms across the country could bring much needed rain, but meteorologists say it’s not enough to stop the wildfire threat. A rainy forecast in Quebec was bringing hope for progress in battling the blazes, as more than 7,200 people remained out of their homes due to fires. Rain is also in the forecast for a large portion of Western Canada, but thunderstorms and a risk of lightning come along with it....

At least 15 people killed and dozens injured in bus crash in Mali

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:20 GMT

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — At least 15 people were killed and dozens injured when two passenger buses collided with a truck in Mali, the government said.The accident occurred Tuesday morning between Fana and Konobougou cities in the country’s south, said Mama Djenepo, the secretary general for Mali’s ministry of transport. “The accident involved two passenger coaches bound for Mopti, which collided with a 10-ton truck carrying livestock traveling in the opposite direction,” he said, adding that the cause is believed to be speeding by tired drivers.While traffic accidents are common in Mali, especially during the rainy season, this is the worst in the West African nation this year, the government said. More than 680 people were killed last year in road accidents and some 8,200 were injured. Baba Ahmed, The Associated Press

Chinese navy ship pays port call to Philippines in goodwill tour of region

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:20 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Chinese navy training ship with hundreds of cadets made a port call in the Philippines on Wednesday, its final stop on a goodwill tour of four countries as Beijing looks to mend fences in the region.Cadets in dress whites stood at attention on deck of the Qi Jiguang as they were welcomed at the port in Manila by Philippine military officials on shore, while artists in dragon costumes performed a traditional dance and onlookers waved Chinese and Philippine flags.China’s ambassador to the Philippines was on hand for the ceremony but neither he nor any of the Philippine officials made any comment to the media. It was a rare visit for a Chinese naval ship to the Philippines, whose new government under Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been strengthening ties with the United States, including more joint military exercises and in February granting the American military greater access to the country’s military facilities.China, meantime, has become increasingly assertiv...

Wildlife unseen casualty as forests burn in worst wildfire season of the century

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:20 GMT

As wildfires from coast to coast scorch large swaths of forest, sometimes changing it irreversibly, experts have zeroed in on an often overlooked casualty of the blazes: wildlife.Spring fires, such as the ones now burning across the country, are unusual and will possibly affect several species, said Karen Hodges, a biology professor at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus.“If the tree with a nest burns, those eggs or chicks obviously will not survive. The adults may be able to escape the fire, but the chances that they would reproduce again somewhere else is unlikely for this year. I think one immediate impact is that many individuals will fail to breed this year. Some will die,” she said in a recent interview.“Obviously, animals that can move away ahead of the fire will do so. But that depends how fast the fire is moving — whether the animals can outrun it. It’s really difficult to gauge that one.”Emergency Preparedness Minister B...

Government sought out ‘impartial’ military college review board members

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:20 GMT

OTTAWA — The majority of the board tasked with reviewing Canada’s military colleges will be people who have not attended one of the schools and have not publicly expressed a strong opinion on their future, according to a recruitment posting.A job posting on the Department of National Defence’s LinkedIn page states that the seven-member board will include five people who are not members of the public service or National Defence and two members “from the defence team.”The five external recruits will include people with expertise in adult education, young adult development and cultural evolution and organizational change, the posting says.The board was created in response to a report from former Supreme Court Justice Louise Arbour in May 2022. As part of her review of sexual misconduct in the Canadian Armed Forces, Arbour examined the culture at the two military colleges in Kingston, Ont., and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.“The governance structure at the ...

More foreign firefighters expected to arrive today to help Canada battle wildfires

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:20 GMT

More firefighters from abroad are expected to arrive today to help battle Canada’s worst wildfire season of the 21st century. Quebec’s public safety minister says more reinforcements are to come from Portugal and Spain.François Bonnardel said Tuesday the fire effort has also been bolstered by the arrival this week of two contingents of firefighters from the United States. Storms across the country could bring much needed rain, but meteorologists say it’s not enough to stop the wildfire threat. A rainy forecast in Quebec was bringing hope for progress in battling the blazes, as more than 7,200 people remained out of their homes due to fires. Rain is also in the forecast for a large portion of Western Canada, but thunderstorms and a risk of lightning come along with it. About 14,000 people remained out of their homes in Alberta.This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 14, 2023.The Canadian Press

Daily horoscope for June 14, 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:20 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Taurus.Happy Birthday for Wednesday, June 14, 2023:Your confidence makes you want to get involved and take charge of a situation. This is because you are a natural leader and you see solutions quickly. Take inventory of your life this year. It’s time to let go of people, places and things from the past that have held you back. Take time to commune with nature.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★This is a poor day to discuss money, earnings or cash flow, as well as expenditures related to children, vacations or social events. People are sensitive and emotional today, and these topics will be particularly touchy. Steer clear of them. Tonight: Stay mum.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★Once again, the Moon is in your sign; however, today it is at odds with Venus and Mars, which is poor for socializing. It makes dealings with others a bit strained and possibly defensive or guarded. Don’t push issue...

'Massive missile attack' by Russia kills at least three in Ukraine's Kryvyi Rih

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:20 GMT

Russia launched a "massive missile" attack overnight on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing at least three people and wounding 25 and damaging civilian infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said early on Tuesday (13 June).Rescue operations were under way in a burning five-storey apartment building and in a destroyed warehouse, Serhiy Lysak, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region where Kryvyi Rih is located said on the Telegram messaging app."There are still people under the rubble of a building. There was a fire there," Lysak said, giving the preliminary casualty figures, and posting a photograph of the apartment block with smoke pouring out of some of the blown out windows.City mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said at least seven people were believed to be trapped under the rubble, without providing more details. Reuters could not independently verify the report.Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy who was born in Kryvyi Rih, also condemned the attack on his hometown."Russian k...