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Hong Kong government to appeal against court’s refusal to ban popular protest song

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:45 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong government said Monday it was seeking to appeal against the court’s refusal to ban a popular protest song at its request, renewing worries over further erosion of freedom of expression in the city. The court’s decision on July 28 was a setback for Hong Kong leaders who are trying to crush dissidents after a massive pro-democracy movement four years ago pushed hundreds of thousands of people into the streets. Drama ensued after the popular “Glory to Hong Kong” — written during the 2019 protests with lyrics calling for democracy and liberty — was mistakenly played as the city’s anthem at international sporting events instead of China’s “March of the Volunteers.” The Department of Justice said in a statement that its secretary, who acted as “a guardian of public interest,” pressed for the ban on the basis of safeguarding national security. The court can decide whether to review or dismiss the request for an appeal.The department did not share furt...

3 injured in two-vehicle crash in Scarborough

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:45 GMT

Three people were injured in a two-vehicle crash in Scarborough on Sunday night.Toronto police say two vehicles collided near the intersection of Lawrence Avenue and Brimley Road around 10:15 p.m. and one of the vehicles rolled over.According to Toronto paramedics, a woman in her 30s was taken to a trauma centre in serious but non-life threatening conditions.Two others were also taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.The cause of the collision is being investigated and no further information about the victims is available at this time.

Stormy weather across northern Europe idles ferries and delays flights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:45 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Stormy weather across the Baltic Sea region Monday caused airport delays, suspended ferry service, minor power outages and lots of rain. Ferries linking Poland to Sweden, two German islands to mainland Germany and Norway to Denmark remained in harbor. Ferries and water taxis to the German islands of Hiddensee and Ruegen were canceled for Monday and Tuesday morning, and vacationers were asked to change their travels plans to Wednesday. Latvian television reported trees getting knocked over in wind gusts of up to 108 kilometers per hour (67 miles per hour). Meteorologists in Latvia also reported golf ball-sized hail in Apgulde, a village southwest of Riga, the capital.In Denmark, police in the northeastern part of the country said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that “the weather is still harsh.”The fire department for greater Copenhagen urged people to stay away from parks and forests, saying “the combination of rain-soaked ground and storms i...

Multinational force fights stubborn wildfire in Cyprus, including Lebanon, Greece and Jordan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:45 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A multinational force is helping Cyprus fight stubborn wildfires in the summer heat, with Lebanon joining Greece and Jordan in sending aircraft to fight a blaze that has scorched miles of mountainous terrain, officials said Monday.Cyprus Foreign Ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis told The Associated Press that neighboring Lebanon is expected to send a pair of choppers as the wildfire continues to reignite on several fronts. Two Greek Canadair aircraft have been dispatched to help douse the fire in the mountains about 11 miles (17 kilometers) north of the coastal town of Limassol. Jordan has sent three aircraft of its own, including two Super Puma helicopters and a Russian-made Mi26 helicopter. The multinational effort is battling a blaze that according to Agriculture and Environment Minister Petros Xenophontos scorched around 3.2 square miles (8.5 square kilometers) of land. Environment Ministry Secretary Andreas Gregoriou, who is coordinating firefighting ef...

Palestinian teenager dies after shot by Israeli troops in West Bank last week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:45 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — A Palestinian teenager who was shot by Israeli troops last week after throwing a firebomb at soldiers in the occupied West Bank died Monday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said. The teen’s death was the latest in a long string of violent incidents involving Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank in the last year and a half. It came after a bloody weekend in which a settler killed a Palestinian man and a Palestinian gunman killed an Israeli security guard in Tel Aviv.The Palestinian official news agency Wafa reported that Ramzi Hamed, 17, was shot near the West Bank settlement of Ofra, near his hometown of Silwad north of Ramallah.Fatehi Hamed, the boy’s father, told The Associated Press that his son was shot by Israeli troops early last Wednesday after throwing firebombs at soldiers operating near Silwad.The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Violence has surged across the northern West Bank with the rise of shooting att...

Indictment ignored and Trump barely mentioned as GOP candidates pitch Iowa voters to challenge him

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:45 GMT

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) — Few even mentioned his name, and the new federal indictment he faces was completely ignored, as Republican candidates for president tried in Iowa Sunday to present themselves as Donald Trump alternatives.Over the course of two hours, seven GOP hopefuls took their turn on stage in front of about 800 party activists in the leadoff caucus state, all invited to speak at Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson’s fundraising barbecue at a Cedar Rapids racetrack. But in their pitches to challenge Trump for the 2024 nomination, it was as if his indictment Tuesday on federal charges accusing him of working to overturn the 2020 election results had never happened, even from the candidate who has suggested the former president quit the race. Instead, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has been a vocal Trump critic, touched only on the related Republican outrage with the Department of Justice, which many conservative activists allege has been politically biased in its inve...

Pope discusses health, his ditched peace prayer in Fatima and LGBTQ+ Catholics in airborne briefing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:45 GMT

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis said Sunday his recovery from his latest abdominal surgery is going well and stressed that he ditched speeches during his five-day trip to Portugal and spoke off-the-cuff not because he was tired or feeling unwell, but to better communicate with young people.Francis was asked about his health en route home from Lisbon, where he presided over World Youth Day festival. It was his first trip since he was hospitalized in June for nine days following last-minute surgery to repair an abdominal hernia and remove intestinal scar tissue.The trip, which came during a heat wave that sent temperatures to 40 degrees C (104F) in Lisbon, was notable because the 86-year-old pontiff deviated so often from his speeches, homilies and even prayers, which are usually drafted months in advance and crafted with specific events and audiences in mind.One of the most notable deviations was a prayer for peace that Francis was supposed to have delivered in the Portugu...

Liz Weston: When to repair or replace your appliances

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:45 GMT

When our 17-year-old refrigerator started wheezing, I fully expected we’d need a new one. I was shocked — and frankly a little disappointed — when a repair technician fixed it for less than $200. I had to postpone my dream of a shiny French-door replacement, but our no-frills Frigidaire is still working fine eight years later.Our experience illustrates that the decision about whether to repair or replace major appliances can be more complex than general guidelines may imply. Getting more useful years out of your existing appliances can save money and keep potentially dangerous components out of landfills, where they may harm the environment. But on the other hand, a replacement could be much more energy efficient, repairs sometimes can be expensive and prices for new appliances have been falling recently.All this makes the choice of repairing versus replacing a tricky one, says Dan Wroclawski, home and appliances writer for Consumer Reports, a nonprofit member organization that test...

B.C.’s low-income renters thought they’d get free AC units, but some face hurdles

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:45 GMT

VANCOUVER — Summer isn’t fun for Surrey, B.C., renter Inderjit Singh Ghuman.It means restless nights with his wife and son in an overheating ground-floor basement suite that lacks air conditioning. “It was really uncomfortable here in my unit. It was hot and my family couldn’t sleep in the nighttime,” Ghuman said, referring to July. “It’s tough here on hot days.”His 18-year-old son has been struggling to study in stifling conditions in recent weeks.Ghuman, 48, has been taking medication for anxiety and depression, and he worries that a lack of rest is making matters worse.When he heard the B.C. government was providing free air conditioners to vulnerable people, Ghuman thought his sleepless nights were over.Instead, he encountered a hurdle that is preventing some vulnerable people from accessing the program — the involvement of landlords.Advocates worry that requiring a landlord’s consent to obtain an air conditioner is putting up an unnecessary barrier.Health Mini...

Monday Forecast: Temps near 80 with lingering drizzle, showers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:45 GMT

CHICAGO — Mainly cloudy Monday with lingering drizzle and showers. Winds: N 10-15 G20. High: 79. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Mostly cloudy tonight. Winds: WSW 5-10. Low: 63.Tuesday Forecast: Partly cloudy, 30 percent chance of afternoon storms. Winds: W 5-10. High: 84.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog