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In Jerusalem’s contested Old City, shrinking Armenian community fears displacement after land deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — A real estate deal in Jerusalem’s Old City, at the epicenter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has sent the historic Armenian community there into a panic as residents search for answers about the feared loss of their homes to a mysterious investor. The 99-year lease of some 25% of the Old City’s Armenian Quarter has touched sensitive nerves in the Holy Land and sparked a controversy extending far beyond the Old City walls. The fallout has forced the highest authority of the Armenian Orthodox Church to cloister himself in a convent and prompted a disgraced priest who is allegedly behind the deal to flee to a Los Angeles suburb.“If they sell this place, they sell my heart,” Garo Nalbandian, an 80-year-old photojournalist, said of the Ottoman-era barracks where he has lived for five decades among a dwindling community of Armenians. Their ancestors came to Jerusalem over 1,500 years ago and then after 1915, when Ottoman Turks killed an estimated 1.5 mill...

Zelenskyy commends troops after Bakhmut gains

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised Ukrainian troops on Monday (5 June) after his top ground commander said the country's forces continued to move forward near the long-contested city of Bakhmut in northern Donetsk."I am grateful to each of our soldiers, to all our defenders, men and women, who have given us today the news have been waiting for. Well done, soldiers in the Bakhmut sector!" Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.He did not provide further details. The commander of Ukraine's ground forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said earlier that his forces continued "moving forward" near Bakhmut. Russian fighters and officials said the situation there was "very difficult" for Moscow.Russia claimed late last month to have captured Bakhmut following what had become the war's longest and bloodiest battle, but Ukraine has insisted its forces retained a small foothold and denied that Moscow was in full control of the city.Zelenskyy said Russia was reacting "hysterically" to any action u...

Russia says it thwarted major attack in Ukraine but lost some ground

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

Moscow said on Monday (5 June) it had thwarted a major offensive against its forces in eastern Ukraine, although it was unclear whether the attack formed the beginning of Ukraine's long-anticipated counteroffensive.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was enigmatic in his nightly video, hailing "the news we have been waiting for" in Bakhmut in the east. But he did not refer directly to a counteroffensive, which he had said he was ready to launch in a Wall Street Journal interview published on Saturday.Ukrainian officials made no mention of any broad, significant new campaign or sidestepped questions on the matter.The Washington Post reported that some US officials thought the counteroffensive was under way, but White House national security spokesperson John Kirby declined to say whether he thought this was the case."I'm not going to be talking for the Ukrainian military. That's for them to speak to," he told a regular briefing, although he stressed the work the United States had...

La enviada especial de EE.UU. se declara preocupada por el presunto envenenamiento de casi 80 estudiantes en Afganistán

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

(CNN) — La enviada especial de Estados Unidos para las mujeres, las niñas y los derechos humanos en Afganistán declaró este martes que le preocupan las informaciones según las cuales se sospecha que cerca de 80 estudiantes fueron envenenadas durante el fin de semana.“Preocupada por las informaciones según las cuales casi 80 niñas han sido envenenadas en sus escuelas. Deben tomarse todas las medidas para garantizar la seguridad de todos los niños”, publicó Rina Amiri en Twitter.En Irán, los padres temen enviar a sus hijas a clases luego del envenenamiento de niñasUnicef Afganistán también manifestó este lunes su preocupación por el incidente.“@UNICEFAfg está preocupada al enterarse de un presunto incidente ocurrido ayer en el que unas 80 niñas y mujeres enfermaron en dos escuelas del distrito de Sanchark, en el norte de Afganistán”, publicó Unicef Afganistán en Twitter..@UNICEFAfg is concerned to hear of an alleged incident yesterday in which around 80 g...

Rapidly growing Denver picks Mike Johnston as new mayor amid mounting big-city problems

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Former Colorado state senator Mike Johnston claimed victory as opponent Kelly Brough conceded Tuesday night in a runoff election to become Denver’s next mayor.Unofficial results showed Johnston with 54.05% of the vote to 45.95% for Brough late Tuesday night. Johnston was ahead by 8,000 votes shortly after polls closed and that lead grew to nearly 11,000 votes as the night went on.Johnston will be the city’s first new mayor in more than a decade, replacing Michael Hancock, who was elected in 2011 and was term-limited.Brough, the former president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, told supporters Tuesday night that she had called Johnston and “wished him godspeed in the work ahead because our city is challenged and it needs a lot of work.” The two moderates were the top vote-getters in a 16-way race in April, sending the race to Tuesday’s runoff. Denver has become the tech and business hub of the Mountain West but now faces problems similar to t...

Finland expels 9 Russian diplomats suspected of spying

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

The Finnish government announced Tuesday it was going to expel nine staff members of the Russian embassy in Helsinki who are suspected of spying for the Kremlin.“Finland will expel nine persons working at the Embassy of Russia who are members of intelligence personnel,” the government said in a statement. “Their actions are in breach of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations,” it added.European security services have cracked down on alleged Russian spies since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February. Around 400 Russian intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover — about half the total number active in Europe — have been expelled, according to Western intelligence officials who have have spoken to POLITICO on condition of anonymity.In March, Poland said it had broken up an entire Russian spy network, arresting several foreign nationals.

Two winning tickets sold for Tuesday’s $70 million Lotto Max jackpot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

TORONTO — Two lucky lottery ticket holders in British Columbia and Ontario will split the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot.There were 15 available Maxmillion prizes of $1 million each, and five winning tickets were drawn.Two of the tickets are each shared between two winners, splitting the money, while one ticket will claim the entire $1 million prize.Three of the Maxmillion winners are in Ontario, one is in B.C. and the other is in Quebec.The jackpot for the next draw on June 9 will be an estimated $22 million.The Canadian Press

Air India plane flying to San Francisco lands in Russia’s Siberia after engine problem

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — An Air India plane flying from New Delhi to San Francisco landed in Russia after it developed an engine problem, officials said on Wednesday.The plane, a Boeing 777 carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew members, landed safely at Russia’s Magadan airport in Siberia in the country’s far east on Tuesday, Air India said in a statement.The flight “developed a technical issue with one of its engines,” the statement said, adding that the aircraft was undergoing safety checks and the passengers were being provided support on the ground.Vedant Patel, a U.S. State Department spokesman, said that American citizens were likely on the flight but could not immediately confirm how many. He said his understanding was that Air India would be sending a replacement aircraft to Russia so the passengers could continue their travel to the U.S.“We are continuing to monitor the situation,” Patel said.Girvaan Kaahma, 16, was traveling on the flight with his uncle and brother. He s...

Persistent inflation, rising interest rates will weigh on global economy, OECD predicts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The global economy must steer through a precarious recovery this year and next as inflation keeps dragging on household spending and higher interest rates weigh on growth, banks and markets. That was the takeaway Wednesday from the latest economic outlook by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The group, made up of 38 member countries, raised its growth forecast this year to 2.7% from an estimated 2.2% in November and foresaw only a tiny acceleration to 2.9% next year.The rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic and energy price spike tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is likely to be weak by past standards, with average growth of 3.4% recorded in the pre-pandemic years 2013-2019. The path ahead is fraught with risks, from escalation of Russia’s war in Ukraine — with a dam collapse Tuesday that the sides blamed on each other — to debt troubles in developing countries and rapid interest rate hikes having unforeseen ...

In Kenya, lions are speared to death as human-wildlife conflict worsens amid drought

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:48 GMT

MBIRIKANI, Kenya (AP) — Parkeru Ntereka lost almost half of his goat herd to hungry lions that wandered into his pen located near Kenya’s iconic Amboseli national park.The 56-year-old’s loss made headlines in the east African country as it led to the spearing to death of six lions in retaliation by the Maasai people, who have co-existed with wild animals for centuries.The killings highlighted the growing human-wildlife conflict in parts of east Africa that conservationists say has been exacerbated by a yearslong drought.At the same time, the predator population within the parks has increased. Hunger and thirst can send them into communities.Ntereka said losing 12 goats is a huge loss for his large family.“I sell these livestock in order to afford school fees. I don’t know how I will afford secondary school fees for some of my children,” said the father of eight.The Big Life Foundation, which runs conservation programs in the area, has been offering compensation to herders who lose t...