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Azerbaijan taps former oil industry leader to head this year’s climate talks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

Azerbaijan has selected its minister of ecology — a former state oil executive — to helm the United Nations climate talks later this year, in a move that stands to fuel debate about the oil and gas industry’s role in international negotiations aimed at reducing fossil fuel use.Mukhtar Babayev worked for the country’s state-owned oil company SOCAR for nearly 25 years before taking his current post as minister of ecology and natural resources in 2018.It marks the second year in a row that an official with ties to the fossil fuel industry will oversee global climate negotiations, following the controversial COP28 presidency of Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber during the climate talks that ended last month in the United Arab Emirates.Al-Jaber, who leads the UAE’s state-run oil company, faced backlash from climate advocates and lawmakers who feared that his connections to the industry created a conflict of interest.COP28 ended with a broad agreement to transition away from oil, gas and coal, the fi...

US Supreme Court to take up Trump’s eligibility to run for president

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

Plunging into a political minefield, the Supreme Court has agreed to take up a case challenging Donald Trump’s eligibility to run for president.The court agreed Friday to consider whether states have the power to disqualify Trump from the ballot due to his attempts to upend the 2020 election and his role in stoking the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.In a brief order on the eve of the three-year anniversary of the Jan. 6 attack, the high court indicated it will review a Colorado Supreme Court decision that found Trump ineligible to run under a provision of the 14th Amendment that strips insurrectionists of the ability to hold U.S. government posts.The justices announced an accelerated timetable to hear the extraordinary election dispute, setting oral arguments for Feb. 8.The high court battle is the most explosive election-related fight the justices have waded into since the court’s 5-4 decision effectively handing George W. Bush the White House dur...

Death toll in Islamic State-claimed suicide blasts rises to 91

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The death toll from a suicide bombing in Iran claimed by the Islamic State group has risen to at least 91, state TV reported Saturday.The TV quoted Babak Yektaparast, a spokesman for the country’s emergency services, as saying an 8-year boy and a 67-year-old man who were wounded in the attack have now died.Yektaparast added that there are 102 people still being treated in hospitals, of whom 11 are in critical condition. In Wednesday’s attack, one suicide bomber detonated his explosives, then another attacked 20 minutes later as emergency workers and other people tried to help the wounded. The attack took place in Kerman, about 820 kilometers (510 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran. It targeted a commemoration for Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, killed in 2020 by a U.S. drone strike as he led its expeditionary Quds Force.The intelligence ministry said Friday that one of the two suicide bombers was a Tajik national and 11 people linked to the attack have been arr...

Myanmar confirms a key northeastern city on border with China has been seized by an ethnic alliance

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government has acknowledged that it withdrew its forces from a key city on the northeastern border with China after it was taken over by an alliance of ethnic armed groups it has been battling for months.The fall of Laukkaing late Thursday is the biggest in a series of defeats suffered by Myanmar’s military government since the ethnic alliance launched an offensive Oct. 27. It underlines the pressure the government is under as it battles pro-democracy guerrillas in the wake of a 2021 military takeover as well as ethnic minority armed groups across the country.Ethnic armed organizations have battled for greater autonomy for decades, but Myanmar has been wracked by what amounts to civil war since the army seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking nationwide armed resistance by pro-democracy forces.The Three Brotherhood Alliance that took Laukkaing is composed of the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Arm...

Show goes on in Vancouver after Gaza tensions scrap play’s Victoria run

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

Vancouver’s PuSh Festival is sticking to theatrical tradition that the show must go on, and will stage “The Runner” this month despite the play being cancelled in Victoria over tensions linked to the war between Israel and Hamas, say festival officials.Victoria’s Belfry Theatre dropped the Canadian play from its spring line up after receiving duelling petitions in recent weeks calling both for its cancellation and continued performance at the venue, which was spray-painted with graffiti that read “Free Palestine” last month following a tense community meeting.The timing isn’t right to stage “The Runner” by Christopher Morris, a Canadian playwright and actor, the Belfry said in a statement earlier this week. But the one-person play, which explores the reactions to an Israeli rescue volunteer’s decision to save a Palestinian woman accused of violence against a soldier from Israel, will run Jan. 24 to 26 in Vancouver.“Th...

Death toll from western Japan earthquakes rises to 126 as rain and snow imperil already shaky ground

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

WAJIMA, Japan (AP) — Aftershocks threatened to bury more homes and block roads crucial for relief shipments, as the death toll from the earthquakes that rattled Japan’s western coastline this past week rose to 126 on Saturday. Among the dead was a 5-year-old boy who had been recovering from injuries after boiling water spilled on him during Monday’s 7.6 magnitude earthquake. His condition suddenly worsened and he died Friday, according to Ishikawa prefecture, the hardest-hit region.Officials warned that roads, already cracked from the dozens of earthquakes that continue to shake the area, could collapse completely. That risk was growing with rain and snow expected overnight and Sunday.The death toll on Saturday rose to 126. Wajima city has recorded the highest number of deaths with 69, followed by Suzu with 38. More than 500 people were injured, at least 27 of them seriously.The temblors left roofs sitting haplessly on roads and everything beneath them crushed flat. Roads were warpe...

Daily horoscope for January 6, 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Scorpio.Happy Birthday for Saturday Jan. 6, 2024:You are spiritual and philosophical about life. You try to see the good in others. You work hard. (Sometimes you’re shy.) This year is a time of service, perhaps service to family. Therefore, it’s important to take care of yourself so you can be a resource to others. Is it time for a makeover?ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★This is a good day to check out banking details and anything connected with inheritances, taxes or debt. On the whole, things should favor you, especially your dealings with authority figures. Nevertheless, it looks like something unexpected might catch you off guard. Do your homework. Pay attention. Tonight: Check your finances.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★Your dealings with partners and close friends will be successful today. People are happy to see you! Discussions about unusual subjects, philosophy, religion an...

Miss Manners: It was a horrifying thing to say at the funeral

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: As family gathered after the funeral of my beloved husband, an in-law with little connection to him insisted I collect hair from his hairbrush.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: My brother demanded the fish, but I feel like it was my father’s Advice | Miss Manners: She’s threatening to end our friendship over a rummage sale dispute Advice | Miss Manners: If party guests arrive early, can I make them wait in the car? Advice | Miss Manners: We saw what was happening and fled the New Year’s party. Was that rude? Advice | Miss Manners: Which fork should I use on rude people? “It’s not too late to get a DNA analysis and ensure that he was really as much of a [specific ethnic group] as he said he was,” she told me. When I demurred, she said she’d do it herself.My spouse would never have agreed to such a thing, and his near relatives were horrifie...

5 pasos para vivir un 2024 menos solitario

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

(CNN) — La conexión que proporcionan los amigos, la familia y la pareja no solo es agradable, sino que es crucial.Casi uno de cada cuatro adultos de todo el mundo ha declarado sentirse muy o bastante solo, según una encuesta de Meta-Gallup 2023.“Durante demasiado tiempo, la soledad ha permanecido en la sombra, oculta e infravalorada, provocando enfermedades mentales y físicas”, declaró en noviembre el Dr. Vivek Murthy, director general de Sanidad de Estados Unidos.La soledad es un problema a la hora de obtener ayuda, y las relaciones sólidas son una solución.Las experiencias sociales positivas no solo afectan al nivel de estrés y la capacidad de una persona de afrontar las situaciones, sino que también son marcadores de la salud física, según un estudio de marzo de 2023.Puede parecer difícil ampliar tus conexiones, pero aquí tienes cinco pasos significativos que puedes dar para hacerlo en 2024.1. Empezar poco a pocoYa sea para hacer nuevos amigos, acercarte a los q...

North Dakota State visits Eastern Washington after Erikstrup’s 32-point game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

North Dakota State Bison (7-8, 0-1 Summit League) at Eastern Washington Eagles (7-7, 2-0 Big Sky)Cheney, Washington; Saturday, 5 p.m. ESTFANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Eagles -9; over/under is 149.5BOTTOM LINE: Eastern Washington faces the North Dakota State Bison after Dane Erikstrup scored 32 points in Eastern Washington’s 93-79 win against the South Dakota Coyotes.The Eagles have gone 4-0 in home games. Eastern Washington ranks sixth in the Big Sky at limiting opponent scoring, allowing 72.5 points while holding opponents to 43.1% shooting.The Bison have gone 2-5 away from home. North Dakota State is third in the Summit League with 24.8 defensive rebounds per game led by Boden Skunberg averaging 4.1.Eastern Washington makes 48.0% of its shots from the field this season, which is 2.4 percentage points higher than North Dakota State has allowed to its opponents (45.6%). North Dakota State has shot at a 47.3% rate from the field this season, 4.2 percentage points greater than the 4...