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Ukraine fires 6 deputy defense ministers as heavy fighting continues in the east

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Six Ukrainian deputy defense ministers were fired Monday following the dismissal two weeks ago of Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov in a corruption scandal, officials said, as heavy fighting continued in the east.Deputy defense ministers including Hanna Maliar, Vitalii Deyneha and Denys Sharapov, as well as the state secretary of the Ministry of Defense, Kostiantyn Vashchenko, were fired, according to the Telegram account of Taras Melnychuk, permanent representative of the Cabinet of Ministers.Melnychuk provided no explanation of the firings, but the government has been investigating accusations of corruption in the military related to purchasing equipment. Rustem Umerov, a Crimean Tatar lawmaker who took over as defense minister, did not immediately issue a statement.Reznikov was removed earlier this month after a scandal involving the defense ministry’s procurement of military jackets at three times their cost. Reznikov denied the allegations but resigned.The ...

Underwater teams try to recover a firefighting helicopter that crashed in Turkey, killing 3 aboard

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — Underwater teams are trying to recover a helicopter that crashed in a lake over the weekend, killing three crew members, while fighting a forest fire in western Turkey, state media reported Monday.Four crew members were aboard the firefighting aircraft when it fell into the waters of the Tahtali dam while battling a blaze in Izmir’s Menderes district.One pilot, a national of Kyrgyzstan, swam to safety following the accident late Saturday. The bodies of three other crew members – a Turk and two Kyrgyz personnel – had been found underwater, according to state-run Anadolu news agency.The recovery resumed Monday following Sunday’s unsuccessful efforts, Anadolu said. The night vision-equipped helicopter, which was collecting water to drop on the flames when it crashed, is reported to be stuck in mud 12 meters (36 feet) below the surface.The fire was extinguished Sunday. Summer wildfires are common in Turkey, where dry vegetation and high temperatures and winds creat...

The Red Cross: Badly needed food, medicine shipped to Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — The International Committee of the Red Cross said Monday that it shipped badly needed flour and medical supplies to an ethnic Armenian region within Azerbaijan that has been suffering under a road blockade since late last year. The region, Nagorno-Karabakh, has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces, backed by Armenia, since the end of a separatist war in 1994. They also took control of sizable areas outside Nagorno-Karabakh itself, but Azerbaijan regained those territories in a six-week war in 2020. That war left Nagorno-Karabakh with only a single road connection to Armenia. Since December, Azerbaijan largely blocked the road amid allegations that Armenia was using it for illicit weapons shipments and mineral extraction.The closure caused severe food shortages for Nagorno-Karabakh’s approximately 120,000 people. Azerbaijan proposed using a road that reaches the region from the opposite direction, but Nagorno-Karabakh authorities resisted, cl...

Nigel becomes a hurricane but poses no immediate threat to land as it swirls through Atlantic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — A rapidly intensifying storm in the Atlantic has developed into a hurricane. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Monday Nigel is a fast-spaced storm that is expected to strengthen into a major hurricane. It poses no immediate threat to land.At 6 a.m. EDT, Hurricane Nigel was about 935 miles (1,510 kilometers) east-southeast of Bermuda. The hurricane center said there were no coastal watches or warnings in effect. The storm was not expected to make landfall.The storm had maximum sustained winds of nearly 80 mph (130 kph) and was expected to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane on Tuesday. It was moving northwest at 12 mph (19 kph).A gradual weakening trend could start late Wednesday.The Associated Press

Human rights in Russia have ‘significantly’ worsened since Ukraine war began, UN-backed expert says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — The rights situation in Russia has “significantly deteriorated” since President Vladimir Putin launched his war against Ukraine in February last year, an expert commissioned by the U.N.’s top human rights body said in her first report on the country on Monday. Mariana Katzarova, the special rapporteur on Russia’s rights situation mandated by the Human Rights Council, chronicled the domestic crackdown that has largely targeted critics of Putin’s war as well as other opposition voices in Russia. Her report, made public on Monday, is separate from another probe by U.N.-backed investigators that has accused Russia of war crimes in Ukraine. Never before has the council authorized a rights expert to examine rights issues in one of the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council: Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.The report cited figures last month from OVD-Info, which tracks human rights violations, indicating that more than 20,000 people we...

African Union says its second phase of troop withdrawal from Somalia has started

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The second phase of the African Union troop withdrawal from Somalia has started, the bloc said Monday. The pullout follows a timeline for the handover of security to the country’s authorities, which are fighting al-Qaida’s affiliate in East Africa — the Somalia-based al-Shabab.Last year, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved a new African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, known as ATMIS, to support the Somalis until their forces take full responsibility for the country’s security at the end of 2024.The mission is targeting to pull out at least 3,000 more troops by the end of the month, out of the originally 19,626-strong AU force. In the first phase, some 2,000 AU troops drawn from various member states left Somalia in June, handing over six forward operating bases.On Sunday, the Burundian contingent handed over the Biyo Adde forward operating base in the south-central Hirshabelle state, near the capital of Mogadishu, to the Somali nationa...

Indian lawmakers attend their last session before moving to a new Parliament building

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian lawmakers sat in the last session before moving to a new Parliament building, responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call Monday that saw him lauding India’s parliamentary history and the recently concluded Group of 20 summit.Major opposition parties in May boycotted the inauguration of the new Parliament, calling it extravagant, in a rare show of unity against Modi’s Hindu nationalist ruling party, which has governed for nine years and is seeking a third term in next year’s elections.The new triangular-shaped building was built at an estimated cost of $120 million. It’s part of a $2.8 billion revamp of British-era offices and residences in central New Delhi that will also include blocks of buildings for government ministries and departments, as well as Modi’s new private residence. The entire project, called the “Central Vista,” is spread over 3.2 kilometers (1.9 miles).The lawmakers will move into the new building on Tuesday, Speaker Om Bi...

Man who disappeared after driving wife to work found trapped in truck in Maine woods

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

SANFORD, Maine (AP) — A man from Maine who was reported missing was found after being trapped for two days in his pickup truck in a muddy, wooded area, authorities said.Robert Brown, 65, of Sanford, Maine, drove his wife to work about 15 miles (24.1 kilometers) away in Rochester, New Hampshire, on Thursday. Brown’s wife called police early Friday and said she hadn’t seen him since then. Investigators said they pinged his cellphone, but it had died. Brown, who was found Saturday afternoon, had been driving in nearby Dover, New Hampshire, when his vehicle went off an embankment into a wooded area and became stuck in mud behind a sand pit, trapping him inside, police said.“This is generally not accessed by people from the public,” Dover Fire Department Lt. Patrick Simmons told WMUR-TV. He said the area is normally used by city workers and others for dumping sand and dirt. “I don’t know how he got out here.”Two hunters spotted the truck while they were walking in...

A truck-bus collision in northern South Africa leaves 20 dead, most of them miners going to work

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A head-on collision between a truck and a bus ferrying workers to a mine in South Africa’s northern Limpopo province left 20 people dead, authorities said Monday. Construction company Murray & Roberts Cementation said 17 of its workers, who were being transported to the Venetia mine in Musina close to the Zimbabwe border, died in the accident on Sunday. Four other workers were injured. The company said it was offering support to the families of the deceased.The workers were reportedly going to work on an underground project at a mine owned by mining giant De Beers.Traffic officials were still on the scene of the accident on Monday to investigate the cause. Provincial Transport Minister Florence Radzilani, who visited the crash site Monday, lamented the state of some of the trucks that travel on the roads. “We always talk to our law enforcement officers and send out messages to these drivers to say they must make sure the vehicle is roadworthy, so that you don...

National Hurricane Center monitoring system off Carolinas; Nigel now a hurricane

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:26 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) - The National Hurricane Center is monitoring an area for potential tropical development off the Carolinas.As of the initial outlook, meteorologists are forecasting a 20% chance of development over the next seven days.The low likelihood for development is typical this far in advance, as the system is not expected to become organized until later this week.However, if trends continue, the likelihood of development is expected to increase, according to WNCN Meteorologist Lance Blocker.What does it mean for Central North Carolina?As of now, the two primary forecast models are signaling very different outcomes. The latest American GFS forecast model shows a potential tropical storm developing northeast of Florida, and then moving inland over South Carolina. That scenario would generate widespread rain Friday night through Sunday morning in Central North Carolina.However, the European ECMWF forecast model shows a "non-tropical" low forming just offshore of South Carol...