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Bomb kills 3, including provincial governor, in Afghanistan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A bomb killed a Taliban-appointed provincial governor and two others in Afghanistan’s Mazar-e- Sharif Thursday, a Taliban police spokesman said. The explosion killed Daud Muzmal and two others inside the governor’s office in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, according to Mohammad Asif Waziri, the Taliban appointed spokesman for local police chief. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group — known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province — is a key rival of the Taliban. The militant group has increased its attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021. Targets have included Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shiite minority.. The Associated Press

Seoul: Leaders of S. Korea, Japan to hold summit next week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The leaders of South Korea and Japan will hold a summit next week, Seoul officials said Thursday, days after South Korea announced a major step toward resolving strained bilateral ties stemming from Tokyo’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.President Yoon Suk Yeol is to visit Japan from March 16-17 at the invitation of the Japanese government. During this two-day trip, Yoon will hold a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Yoon’s office said in a statement.The announcement came three days after South Korea said it would raise local funds to compensate Koreans who performed forced labor during Tokyo’s 1910-45 colonial rule. The South Korean plan doesn’t require Japanese companies to contribute to the reparations.Bilateral ties suffered a major setback after South Korea’s top court in 2018 ordered two Japanese companies to compensate some of their former Korean employees for forced labor during the colonial rule. The companies and the Japanes...

Copernicus: Antarctic sea ice extent reaches all-time minimum in February – Second warmest winter on record in Europe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

Surface air temperature anomaly for February 2023 relative to the February average for the period 1991-2020.[1]Data source: ERA5. Credit: Copernicus Climate Change Service/ECMWF.The Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts on behalf of the European Commission with funding from the EU, routinely publishes monthly climate bulletins reporting on the changes observed in global surface air temperature, sea ice cover and hydrological variables. All the reported findings are based on computer-generated analyses using billions of measurements from satellites, ships, aircraft and weather stations around the world. February 2023 - temperature highlights: ·       February 2023 was the fifth warmest globally·       Most of Europe had above-average air temperatures, particularly northern Norway and Sweden, and the Svalbard region·    ...

Detached house sells in San Jose for $1.6 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

1511 Rojo Place – Google Street ViewThe property located in the 1500 block of Rojo Place in San Jose was sold on Feb. 16, 2023. The $1,640,000 purchase price works out to $941 per square foot. The house built in 1977 has an interior space of 1,742 square feet. The property features four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a garage, and two parking spaces. There’s also a pool in the backyard. The unit sits on a 6,000-square-foot lot.Additional houses have recently been purchased nearby:A 1,670-square-foot home on the 1000 block of Almarida Drive in San Jose sold in November 2022 for $1,730,000, a price per square foot of $1,036. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In September 2022, a 1,415-square-foot home on Whitehall Avenue in San Jose sold for $1,575,000, a price per square foot of $1,113. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. 

Raptors’ VanVleet heavily criticizes officiating after loss

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fred VanVleet tried to take a double breath before addressing reporters. But the Toronto Raptors guard was unable to suppress his frustration with referee Ben Taylor and his crew.VanVleet was extremely critical of Taylor after the Raptors’ 108-100 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night — not only for being called for a technical foul, but for the disparity in fouls and free throws.“I don’t mind it. I’ll take the fine. I don’t really care. I thought Ben Taylor was terrible tonight,” VanVleet said while using a profanity. “I think that most nights, you know out of the three, there’s one or two that just (mess) the game up. It’s been like that a couple of games in a row. Denver was tough, obviously. “You come out tonight, competing pretty hard and I get a (lousy) tech that changes the whole dynamic of the game, changed the whole flow of the game.”VanVleet, who is in his sixth year in the league, was called for his eighth technical...

Washington sparks Arizona St. in win over Oregon St.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Warren Washington scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Arizona State slugged out a 63-57 win over Oregon State on Wednesday night in the first round of the Pac-12 Tournament.The sixth-seeded Sun Devils play No. 3 seed Southern California on Thursday.Desmond Cambridge Jr. and DJ Horne scored 13 points apiece for Arizona State (21-11) which survived 39.7% shooting, a 5-for-21 shooting effort from 3-point range and seven missed shots in 19 attempts from the foul line.Glen Taylor Jr. scored 17 points for 11th-seeded Oregon State (11-21), Jordan Pope 12 and Tyler Bilodeau 11. The Beavers, which entered having won four of their last seven first-round games in the Pac-12 Tournament, made 34% of their shots, went 3 for 18 from deep and stayed close with the help of 18-for-22 shooting from the foul line.Washington’s jump shot with 12:47 left broke a 36-all tie and started a 10-0 Sun Devils run and they rode that spurt to wrap it up from there. Oregon State go...

South Korea, Japan to hold summit next week to expand ties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The leaders of South Korea and Japan will meet next week for a summit expected to focus on expanding ties, both governments said Thursday. The announcement comes days after South Korea unveiled a major step toward resolving strained bilateral ties stemming from Tokyo’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.President Yoon Suk Yeol is to visit Japan from March 16-17 at the invitation of the Japanese government. During this two-day trip, Yoon will hold a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, according to the South Korean and Japanese governments. Yoon’s office said in a statement the summit would be “an important milestone” in the development of Korea-Japan relations. It said South Korea hopes the two countries will “overcome an unfortunate past” and expand cooperation on security, economy and other sectors as a result of the visit.Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Tokyo’s invitation for the South Korean leade...

6 books compete for nonfiction ‘winner of winners’ prize

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Books that explore subjects from William Shakespeare and The Beatles to the lure of Mount Everest and life inside one of the world’s most secretive states are competing to be named the best-ever winner of Britain’s leading nonfiction book prize.The Baillie Gifford Prize is marking its 25th year with a Winner of Winners prize. Three American writers, two from Canada and one from Britain are on the shortlist announced Thursday for the 25,000 pound ($30,000) trophy.The prize was launched in 1999 to reward English-language books from any country in current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts.Judges have chosen six of the 24 past winners of the award — known until 2015 as the Samuel Johnson Prize — as finalists for the one-off accolade. The winner will be announced April 27 at a ceremony in Edinburgh, Scotland.The eclectic shortlist includes cultural kaleidoscope “One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time” by Craig Brown, ...

Global stocks lower after Wall St steadies amid rate fears

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Major global stock markets were mostly lower Thursday amid worries about more U.S. interest rate hikes.London, Shanghai and Frankfurt declined. Tokyo advanced. Oil prices were lower.Wall Street futures were lower following Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s warning that rate hikes might speed up because upward pressure on prices is stronger than expected.Investors worry the Fed and other central banks look increasingly likely to tip the global economy into at least a brief recession to extinguish stubborn inflation. U.S. inflation edged up in January to 5.4%, well above the Fed’s target of 2%.“The risks of a higher and faster hike trajectory have risen,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a report. He said the Fed might be motivated by “mounting criticism” that it has “fallen behind the inflation curve.”In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London lost 0.6% to 7,884.12 and the DAX in Frankfurt retreated 0.2% to 15,601.90. The CAC 40 i...

In The News for March 9 : Just how much do Canadians owe in credit card debt?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 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 March 9 …What we are watching in Canada …Canadian credit card debt soared in the last three months of 2022 amid rising interest rates and stubbornly high inflation with younger Canadians in particular relying on credit to make ends meet.Credit monitoring agency Equifax says Canadians’ credit card debt increased by more than 15 per cent from the same period a year earlier and totalled more than $100 billion for the first time. In its latest quarterly credit trends report, the agency says overall consumer debt rose in the fourth quarter of 2022, with total debt at $2.37 trillion, up more than six per cent from the same period in 2021.Equifax says the effects of higher interest rates are yet to be fully felt on homeowners as many have not yet renewed their mortgages, but younger Canadians are feeling the pinch of inf...