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European Union home affairs chief appeals for release of Swedish EU employee held in Iranian prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:37 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s home affairs commissioner made an impassioned appeal Monday for the release of a Swedish employee of the EU’s diplomatic corps who spent a second birthday in an infamous Iranian prison.Sweden said last week that Johan Floderus, who worked for the European Union’s External Action Service, was arbitrarily detained in Iran last year. He has been in custody for more than 500 days and turned 33 on Sunday. Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said Floderus was part of her Cabinet for almost two years but had asked to work for the EU delegation in Afghanistan before he was detained in Iran.“I’m very sad. I’m very worried,” Johansson told journalists Monday. “This has been with me for such a long time now. Of course, my feelings, my worries, are nothing compared to the situation of Johan or the worries that his closest family are living with every day.”Johansson said it was up to the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs t...

Lithuania to issue special passports to Belarus citizens staying legally in the Baltic country

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:37 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Belarusian emigrants in Lithuania who were stripped of the right to get new passports by Minsk, will be able to receive special Lithuanian travel documents, authorities in the southernmost Baltic state said Monday.Such passports will be issued to Belarusian citizens who have the right to reside in Lithuania but do not have a passport or a corresponding travel document, the Interior Ministry said. It will allow them to leave and enter Lithuania, which shares a 679-kilometer (422-mile) border with Belarus. “A foreigner’s passport is valid for more than one year but perhaps that term could be longer if the parliament would extend it,” deputy Interior Minister Arnoldas Abramavicius said.Last week, Minsk announced that its diplomatic missions would no longer issue passports to citizens permanently residing abroad in a move considered a blow to the Belarusian emigrant communities in Europe. The ban could force those who fled the country amid growing repression to...

Dutch court sentences former Pakistani cricketer to 12 years over a bounty for a far-right lawmaker

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:37 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A Dutch court on Monday sentenced a former Pakistani cricketer to 12 years in prison over allegations that he incited people to kill firebrand anti-Islam lawmaker Geert Wilders.Khalid Latif, 37, stood accused of offering a bounty of some 21,000 euros ($23,000) to anybody who killed Wilders. Latif did not appear in the high-security courtroom near Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport for the trial and he was not represented by a lawyer.He’s believed to be in Pakistan, which has no extradition agreement with the Netherlands.Throughout the trial, Latif was not identified by name, but prosecutors said in a statement that a video posted online in 2018 showed a famous Pakistan cricketer offering the money for killing Wilders. Wilders himself identified the suspect as Latif.“The court has now ruled that a long-term unconditional term of imprisonment is the only suitable punishment for these types of offenses,” a statement said.Dutch lawmaker Wilders, who was present f...

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts after nearly two months of quiet

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:37 GMT

HONOLULU (KHON) — Kilauea, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, began erupting Sunday after a two-month pause, displaying glowing lava that is a safe distance from people and structures in a national park on the Big Island.The Hawaii Volcano Observatory said the eruption was observed in the afternoon at the summit of Kilauea.The observatory said gases released by the eruption will cause volcanic smog downwind of Kilauea. People living near the park should try to avoid volcanic particles spewed into the air by the eruption, the observatory said.Visitors to the Big Island’s Hawaii Volcanoes National Park were advised of potential for a dusting of powdery to gritty ash due to the composition of volcanic glass and rock fragments.The volcano’s alert level was raised to warning status and the aviation color code went to red as scientists evaluate the eruption and associated hazards.In June, Kilauea erupted for several weeks, displaying fountains of red lava without threatening a...

Lee remains a major hurricane, unleashes heavy waves on northern Caribbean

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:37 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (WFLA) — Hurricane Lee barreled over open waters Monday morning just northeast of the Caribbean, unleashing heavy swell on several islands as it regained some strength and expanded in size.The Category 3 storm is not forecast to make landfall and is expected to stay over open waters through Friday. Late Sunday, it was centered about 340 miles north of the northern Leeward Islands. Its maximum sustained winds were clocked at 120 mph, and it was moving northwest at 7 mph.(WFLA)Last week, Lee strengthened from a Category 1 storm to a Category 5 storm in just one day.“We had the perfection conditions for a hurricane: warm waters and hardly any wind shear,” said Lee Ingles, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in San Juan.By Saturday night, it had slowed to a Category 2 hurricane but began restrengthening Sunday. Lee is expected to strengthen further in the upcoming days and then weaken again, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Hurricane Lee r...

Austin Chronicle holds 33rd annual Hot Sauce Festival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:37 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – The Austin Chronicle held its 33rd annual Hot Sauce Festival on Sunday in South Austin. According to the Chronicle, Fantastic Fuego won the most awards (3) in the commercial bottlers category. Tacodeli won most (3) in the restaurant category. Bindu Bites won three awards in the People's Choice category. Here's a list of all the winners. Attendees at the 33rd annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival. (KXAN: Frank Martinez) The festival at The Far Out Lounge and Stage featured music and hot sauce samples from 20 commercial bottlers, according to the Chronicle.The Chronicle said the festival, which began as a contest in 1990, serves as major fundraiser for the Central Texas Food Bank. It said the festival has raised over 1 million meals.

Hoosick Falls state of emergency lifted

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:37 GMT

HOOSICK FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The state of emergency declared on Friday in the Village of Hoosick Falls has been lifted as of 3 p.m. on Sunday. Power and power poles have been restored, roads are opened, and the most pressing clean-up has been completed, according to Mayor Robert Allen. Get the latest news, weather, and sports delivered right to your inbox! At the time when the state of emergency was declared, the Rensselaer Street Pump Station and its generator were offline, resulting in water pressure issues that persisted in the Snow Street area of the Village. Many trees came down on power lines, resulting in the loss of power.

SCSO investigating Great Sacandaga Lake drowning

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:37 GMT

EDINBURG, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Saratoga County Sheriff's Office is investigating a drowning that happened at Great Sacandaga Lake around 12:35 Sunday afternoon. Deputies say a 40-year-old man died after trying to swim from the shore to a boat, who went under the water and did not resurface. Get the latest news, weather, and sports delivered right to your inbox! Deputies say the unidentified 40-year-old was approximately 40 yards from the boat. He was later found by SCUBA divers from the South Glens Falls Fire Department who tried to resuscitate him but were unable to do so. Several area fire departments and EMS companies assisted the Sheriff’s Office. Deputies will not release further information pending notification to the next of kin.

Ask Amy: When the welcome mat becomes a doormat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:37 GMT

Dear Amy: I’m a 53-year-old woman. Because of a stressful job I’ve had for the last 20 years, I have some friends, but making new ones can be a struggle when I’ve had to work 14- to 17-hour days.More recently, I’ve tried to reach out to two women I’ve known for a while. Sadly, they both have kept their distance — one actually waited until the day after I asked her to lunch, apologizing for “missing my text.”I was stung by the brush-off, but tried to give her the benefit of the doubt and waited to see if she might reciprocate the invitation. She didn’t.I finally decided that I needed to change my lifestyle, sold my old house and am buying a small place in a very sunny popular tourist town I’ve always loved.My friends have been congratulatory and supportive, including the two women who have been brushing me off.They’ve both reached out (separately, they’re not friends with one another) with sincere questions about when I can host them and their families for a visit.Amy, I haven’...

NextGenerationEU: Commission receives first payment request from Ireland for €323.8 million under the Recovery and Resilience Facility

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:51:37 GMT

This first payment request relates to 36 milestones and five targets. These cover numerous investments, for instance in the area of jobs and skills through a work placement experience programme, a programme for green skills, and strengthening the capacity of Technological Universities. Investments also concern the digital transition, through the digitalisation of public administration and the connection of schools to the broadband network. In terms of the green transition, they cover the preparation and the start of work on the rehabilitation of peatlands, the electrification of public transport in Cork, investments in the energy-efficiency of public buildings, and the upgrade of wastewater treatment plants.The payment request also includes a series of reforms, including to support decarbonisation with a reform of carbon taxation, to reduce regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship by introducing an ‘SME test' for new legislation, as well as to address the digital divide and enhance d...