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South Korea’s defense chief vows retaliatory strikes on ‘heart and head’ of North Korea if provoked

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s defense minister on Friday vowed massive retaliatory missile strikes on “the heart and head” of North Korea in the event of provocation, as the rivals escalate their rhetoric over their respective spy satellite launches in recent days.The South Korean warning — unusually fiery rhetoric by Seoul directed at Pyongyang — came as the top security advisers from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan gathered in Seoul for talks to discuss North Korea’s evolving nuclear threats and other issues.During a visit to the army’s missile strategic command, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Wonsik ordered command officers to maintain a readiness to fire precision-guided and powerful missiles at any time, according to his ministry.Shin said the main role of the command is “lethally striking the heart and head of the enemy, though the types of its provocations can vary,” a ministry statement said.Animosities between the two Koreas deepened after North Korea la...

German rail workers begin 24-hour strike as pay talks stall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A union representing Germany’s train drivers began a 24-hour strike Thursday night, causing widespread rail cancellations and travel disruptions across the country.The strike by the GDL union began on Thursday at 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) for passenger services and will continue until 10 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Friday. For freight trains, the strike began at 6 p.m. Thursday.Deutsche Bahn, the German railway, said approximately 20% of its long-distance trains would still run on Friday but urged customers to delay unnecessary travel where possible. The disruptions follow a major snowstorm snarled transit in Munich and parts of southern Germany earlier in the week. This week’s strike came after negotiations between GDL and Deutsche Bahn broke down after only two rounds of talks. GDL is seeking a pay increase, a one-time payment to help counter inflation, and the reduction of weekly working hours from 38 to 35. Deutsche Bahn has said it made an offer that amounts to an 11% raise.Limit...

Six Palestinians are killed in the Israeli military’s latest West Bank raid, health officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli forces stormed into a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on Friday to arrest suspected Palestinian militants, unleashing fighting with local gunmen in which six Palestinians were killed, health officials said.Among the dead were a 14-year-old boy and the founder of the Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade, an armed offshoot of the secular nationalist Fatah party, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. Thousands of men poured into the streets for their funeral, chanting with the bodies held aloft while masked militants opened fire into the air. Israeli undercover forces sneaked into the Faraa camp near the northern town of Tubas on Friday morning and set up sniper positions on top of buildings, residents said. They described Israeli soldiers trading staccato gunfire with Palestinian militants and young boys throwing stones at armored vehicles and setting tires on fire in the streets. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the operation,...

Six French teens await a verdict over their alleged roles in Islamic extremist killing of a teacher

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A French juvenile court is handing down a verdict Friday for six teenagers accused of involvement in the killing of teacher Samuel Paty, who was beheaded by an Islamic extremist after he showed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad to his class for a debate on freedom of expression.Paty, a history and geography teacher, was killed on Oct. 16, 2020, near his school in a Paris suburb by an 18-year-old of Chechen origin who had become radicalized. The attacker, Abdoullakh Anzorov, was then shot dead by police.Paty’s name was disclosed on social media after a class debate on free expression during which he showed prophet caricatures published by the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. The publication had triggered a deadly extremist massacre in the Charlie Hebdo newsroom in 2015. All those on trial were students at Paty’s school. If convicted, they face up to two-and-a-half years in prison.Five of the defendants, who were 14 or 15 at the time of the attack, are accused of stak...

Macron visits Notre Dame, marking 1-year countdown to reopening after the 2019 fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron visited Notre Dame Cathedral on Friday, one year before its scheduled reopening in 2024.After a blaze burned through the roof and spire on April 15, 2019, Macron’s visits have become a tradition, with Friday marking his sixth to highlight the rebuilding progress. Huge oak beams have been hoisted skyward so the cathedral can be re-roofed. The spire, reconstructed from its previous design by the famed 19th-century French architect Viollet-le-Duc, stands at 96 meters (315 feet), crowned with a rooster and cross.Macron will pay tribute to Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin, a key figure in the reconstruction and who died in August, by etching the general’s name into the wood of the spire. Macron will also survey improvements in the cathedral’s nave and choir and discuss future projects, including a new museum and contemporary stained glass windows to memorialize the restoration period itself.The French leader’s visit also underscores a personal...

Biden heads to Las Vegas to showcase $8.2B for 10 major rail projects around the country

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is heading to Las Vegas to showcase $8.2 billion in funding for 10 major passenger rail projects across the country, including to spur work on high-speed, electric train routes that could one day link Nevada and California, as well as Los Angeles and San Francisco.The administration says the 218-mile (350.8-kilometer) train route linking Las Vegas and Rancho Cucamonga, California, about 40 miles (65 kilometers) east of downtown Los Angeles, may one day serve more than 11 million passengers annually. The administration hopes the investment through federal and state partnership programs will help to boost prospects for the long-discussed project, which supporters say could revitalize travel in the American West and critics argue is too costly. Another electric rail line getting funding has been billed as the nation’s first high-speed route and is eventually planned to traverse California’s Central Valley and extend to San Francisco and...

Hudson Police offering reward to help find missing man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

HUDSON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A $2,500 reward is being offered for anyone that can provide information leading directly to finding Robert Coons. Coons was first reported missing back in July. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Coons was last seen on Thursday, July 6, around 10:30 a.m. near 325 Columbia Street in Hudson by Columbia County Mental Health. Coon's mother notified police on July 9 he was missing, and expressed her concern saying it was highly unusual that she did not see or hear from her son. Coons was last seen wearing a blue t-shirt, blue jeans, and work boots, according to police. He's known to frequent Hudson, Albany, and Schodack. The Hudson Police Department can be reached at (518) 828-3388.

Commission welcomes provisional agreement on improving classification, labelling and packaging of hazardous chemicals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

The Commission welcomes the provisional agreement reached today between the European Parliament and the Council on the revision of the regulation on the classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals (CLP). While improving the functioning of the EU market regarding products containing hazardous chemicals, the new measures will better protect consumers, workers, and the environment. The revised text will also accelerate the identification of hazardous substances and mixtures at EU level. The revision will improve communication about hazardous chemicals including for chemicals sold online. It also lays down rules on refill sales and provides more flexibility on how to use the labels.Clearer rules and labels on hazardous chemicals to better protect consumers and the environmentThe revision of the CLP Regulation will lead to the following improvements:Updated rules for classifying complex substances (substances containing more than one constituent, known as ‘MOCS'). The Parliament...

The fault lines of the European project deepen

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

Far-right politicians across European countries have a knack for not letting a good crisis go to waste, writes CFACT Policy Analyst Duggan Flanakin.While the revival of sovereignty is at the fore in a Europe torn by tensions at the very foundations of its solidarity, the instrumentalization of extreme politics undermines the European project and deepens the fault lines even further.Take, for example, Austria’s Chancellor Karl Nehammer (pictured) wielding his nation's veto power to block Romania and Bulgaria accession to the Schengen Area, despite both countries meeting the necessary criteria for accession.His sole vote against each country’s accession (and in support of Croatia’s accession) to the Schengen Area has not only disturbed the good relations between Vienna, Bucharest, and Sofia but also drained Nehammer’s credibility across Europe.Nehammer used invented and self-serving statistics, then recycled his predecessor, Sebastian Kurz’ migrant crisis rhetoric with far less effect...

Bridge: Dec. 8, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

Test your dummy play in today’s deal. Cover the East-West cards. You’re declarer at a modest contract of 1NT. West leads the ten of diamonds, and East takes the ace and returns the queen — a propitious start for you, it seems.How do you play to win seven tricks (before the defenders win seven)?In real life, South took the king of diamonds and started the clubs. West grabbed the ace and led a third diamond. When South took the jack and led another club, East won and led a heart. West took the ace, cashed two diamonds and led a heart to East’s king. Down one.WINNERSSouth must lose the lead twice in clubs to set up seven winners, so he is at risk of losing three diamonds plus four top tricks in clubs and hearts. Since no shift will help the defense, South loses nothing by letting East’s queen of diamonds win the second trick. When East must shift, South has time to get the club trick he needs.Did you find the correct and winning play at the second trick?DA...