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A blast killed 2 people and injured 9 in a Shiite neighborhood in the Afghan capital Kabul

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:46 GMT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An explosion in a mostly Shiite Muslim neighborhood in the Afghan capital Kabul killed two people and injured nine Thursday, a police spokesman said. The cause of the explosion wasn’t immediately known.Video from the scene shows part of a building with its windows blown out, flames billowing inside. Shattered glass and other debris are strewn across the street below.The Dashti Barchi area of Kabul has been targeted in the past by the Islamic State group affiliate in the country, which has carried out major, horrific assaults on schools, hospitals and mosques. The group has also attacked other Shiite areas of Afghanistan in recent years.IS has been waging a campaign of violence that has intensified since the Taliban took power in August 2021.Kabul police chief spokesman Khalid Zadran said the injured were transferred to a nearby hospital and that an investigation team has reached the scene to find out the cause of the blast.Local media outlet Tolo News...

Alberta Premier Smith says International Energy Agency ‘no longer credible’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:46 GMT

CALGARY — Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is calling one of the world’s premier energy research institutions “no longer credible” after it released a report saying fossil fuel demand is likely to peak this decade.Smith says the International Energy Agency no longer does analysis, it points to outcomes it wants and outlines paths to get there. She says she prefers to get her information from private-sector analysts.The International Energy Agency has 31 member countries and works with groups such as OPEC, the G20 and the United Nations in researching its reports, which make headlines around the world.It has conducted research into energy grids, oil markets, technologies and transportation.Its latest report, released earlier this week, concluded that under current government policies, renewables are likely to generate half the world’s electricity by 2030, with three times as much investment going into wind power than fossil fuel generation. Smith made the remark...

Prominent British lawmaker Crispin Blunt reveals he was arrested in connection with rape allegation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:46 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A prominent lawmaker within Britain’s governing Conservative Party revealed Thursday that he has been arrested in connection with a rape allegation.Crispin Blunt, 63, said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was arrested Wednesday and that he has twice been interviewed by police in connection with what he termed “this incident.”Blunt, who has been a lawmaker since 1997 and a former minister, said he was first interviewed three weeks ago when he “initially reported” his concern over an unnamed “extortion.” The second time, he said, was “earlier this morning under caution following arrest.”He added that the arrest was “unnecessary” and that he remains “ready to cooperate fully with the investigation that I am confident will end without charge.”“I do not intend to say anything further on this matter until the police have completed their inquiries,” he added.Blunt’s statement came soon after Surrey Police said they had arrested a man Wednesd...

New York governor dodges questions on who paid for her trip to wartime Israel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:46 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is refusing to disclose who paid for her to travel to wartime Israel last week for a self-described solidarity mission, a trip that her office said is still awaiting clearance from a state ethics board.The Democratic governor and a handful of staff and state police were in Israel between Oct. 18 and Oct. 20, meeting with government officials and families displaced by the conflict, while touring various parts of the country. Hochul, who as governor has no direct role in diplomatic affairs, has sidestepped multiple questions on who funded the trip, with her office saying only that a nonprofit group had pledged to cover the costs. She has said taxpayers paid for her state police detail. “I just said I have to get over there. Follow all the ethics rules and get me there,” Hochul said this week when asked about the trip’s funding, directing follow-up questions to a spokesperson. In an email, Hochul spokesperson Avi Small wrote, “...

‘I know who I am:’ Buffy Sainte-Marie calls Indigenous identity questions hurtful

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:46 GMT

Buffy Sainte-Marie, a musician known for decades of Indigenous activism, says she’s always been honest that she doesn’t know the identity of her birth parents ahead of a CBC report expected to question her First Nations ancestry. “I don’t know where I’m from or who my birth parents were, and I will never know. Which is why to be questioned in this way today is painful,” Sainte-Marie said Thursday in a statement.“To those who question my truth, I say with love, I know who I am.”Sainte-Marie, who’s in her early 80s, said she was contacted last month by CBC and called allegations about her identity “deeply hurtful.” CBC’s investigative show “The Fifth Estate” is scheduled to air an episode titled “Making an Icon” on Friday. A description of the episode does not name Sainte-Marie but says an icon’s “claims to Indigenous ancestry are being called into question by family members” and its investigation includes genealogical documentation and historical research.Chuc...

Sudan’s army and rival paramilitary force resume peace talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:46 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — The Sudanese army and its rival paramilitary force resumed peace talks Thursday in a new push to end the nearly seven-month conflict between Sudan’s warring factions, Saudi Arabia said.The revived talks between representatives from the Sudanese army, led by Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Force paramilitary, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, are underway in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, the kingdom’s foreign ministry said in a statement. The talks are being brokered by both Riyadh and Washington, the statement said.The RSF and the army both confirmed on Wednesday that they would participate in the talks.Sudan was plunged into chaos in mid-April, when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare in the capital, Khartoum, and other areas across the east African nation.The conflict has reduced the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields, wrecking the country’s already dilapidated infrastructu...

Rogers shuts down CityNews Ottawa radio station, lays off newsroom staff

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:46 GMT

Rogers Communications Inc. is closing its CityNews Ottawa radio station and laying off newsroom staff, citing dwindling audiences and regulatory challenges.Rogers Sports & Media spokeswoman Charmaine Khan said the closure of the station, formerly known as 1310NEWS, is “due to low audiences, declining revenue and restrictive regulatory policies for AM radio.”In a statement, she called it a “difficult decision.”“We deeply appreciate and thank our listeners, and all the employees and contributors for their dedication over the years,” Khan said.The number of employees cut is less than 10. Khan said the layoffs were effective Thursday.Khan said the outlet would maintain an online presence supported by two digital reporters, allowing audiences to get news, traffic and weather updates through the CityNews Ottawa website and its social media channels.No other CityNews radio or television stations are affected by the closure.“The station had ongo...

Maine passed a law to try to prevent mass shootings. Some say more is needed after Lewiston killings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:46 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Barely four years before a gunman’s deadly rampage in Maine, a state that is staunchly protective of gun rights, the governor signed a law aimed at preventing a mass shooting like the one Wednesday night that claimed at least 18 lives.It was called a “yellow flag” law, different from the “red flag” laws cropping up in other states to seize weapons from gun owners viewed as a threat. In a sign of the pro-Second Amendment mindset in Maine, a gun-rights group helped write the law, and critics said that, while it was a first step toward stronger gun safety measures, the state could save more lives by doing more — like passing a red flag law.The yellow flag law and permissive gun measures in Maine are coming under greater scrutiny in the aftermath of a massacre that authorities say was carried out by a man who was committed to a mental health facility for two weeks this past summer and had reported “hearing voices and threats to shoot up” a military base.It w...

Suspected accomplice charged in St. Charles home invasion that left 1 dead, 1 wounded

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:46 GMT

ST. CHARLES, Ill. — A second person wanted in connection with a January home invasion that left one man dead and another injured is now in police custody, officials said Thursday. Jose Melendez was arrested Wednesday, Oct. 25, more than 10 months after the Jan.14 double shooting-home invasion in the 100 block of Walnut Drive. Melendez is charged with several felonies, including first-degree attempted murder, two counts of home invasion and unlawful use of a weapon by a convicted felon.In January, Kane County prosecutors also implicated 26-year-old Panagiotis Koutroumbis with similar charges for his alleged role in the attack. RECENT ST. CHARLES NEWS: St. Charles police arrest 5 in human trafficking case in suburbs, ChicagoInvestigators conclude that Melendez, Koutroumbis and 26-year-old James Gherardini entered the St. Charles-area apartment through an unlocked sliding glass door. Once inside, the group reportedly zip-tied the hands of several occupants and demanded undisc...

17-year-old boy dies after accidental fall in Round Lake Beach backyard: police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:46 GMT

ROUND LAKE BEACH, Ill. — A 17-year-old boy has died after an accidental fall in his own backyard in Round Lake Beach.It happened just after midnight Thursday in the 2000 block of Evergreen Lane. According to police, the teen appears to have been climbing a fence in the backyard of his home when he fell.Residents of the home, as well as neighbors, heard a loud crash and investigated the incident — then called 911. Police said lifesaving measures were performed on the teen, but he was pronounced dead shortly after. 17-year-old killed in Carpentersville triple shooting Preliminary investigation indicates the boy's fall was accidental in nature and not suspicious.