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Highway bridge in northern China collapses due to flash floods and casualties are unknown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:13 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A highway bridge in northern China collapsed due to flash floods triggered by heavy rains, and two cars fell into the river, state media reported Thursday.There were no known casualties as of Thursday afternoon after the bridge collapsed along the Harbin-Mudanjiang Highway in Heilongjiang province, according to Beijing News.The bridge collapsed around 8:50 a.m. (0050 GMT) on Thursday, road authorities said.A rescue mission was ongoing, and a section of the highway had been closed, state media said.China is seeing floods triggered by heavy rains in several parts of the country. Weather authorities said the capital, Beijing, recorded its heaviest rainfall in at least 140 years over the past few days as remnants of Typhoon Doksuri deluged the region.The Associated Press

Adidas brings in $437 million from selling Yeezy shoes that will benefit anti-hate groups

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:13 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Adidas brought in 400 million euros ($437 million) from the first release of Yeezy sneakers left over after breaking ties with Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, as the German sportswear maker tries to offload the unsold shoes and donate part of the proceeds to groups fighting antisemitism and other forms of hate. The first batch of shoes sold in June helped the company reach an operating profit of 176 million euros in the second quarter, better than it originally planned, Adidas said in a statement Thursday. After Ye’s antisemitic and other offensive comments led the company to end its partnership with the rapper in October, Adidas has sought a way to dispose of 1.2 billion euros worth of the high-end shoes in a responsible way. “We will continue to carefully sell off more of the existing Yeezy inventory,” said CEO Bjørn Gulden, who took over in January. Adidas said it sold out the first batch of Yeezy shoes and launched a second release on...

Russian shelling hits a landmark church in the Ukrainian city of Kherson

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:13 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian shelling on Thursday damaged a landmark church in the city of Kherson that once held the remains of the renowned 18th-century commander who exerted Russian control through the southeast parts of modern Ukraine and annexed the Crimean Peninsula. Ukraine’s emergency service said that four of its workers were wounded in a second round of shelling as they fought the fire at St. Catherine’s Cathedral. Four other people were wounded in the first shelling attack, which also hit a trolleybus, the general prosecutor’s office said. The shelling followed the severe damage sustained by a beloved Orthodox cathedral in a missile strike last week in Odesa and underlined the war’s risk to the country’s cultural monuments.The Kherson church, dating from 1781, is one of the city’s most notable buildings. It once was the burial spot for Prince Grigory Potemkin, a favorite of Russian Empress Catherine the Great. The remains were removed l...

Tom Brady enters the world of soccer as minority owner of English club Birmingham

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:13 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — NFL great Tom Brady has become a minority owner of English second-tier soccer team Birmingham and wants to bring a winning mentality to an underperforming club.The seven-time Super Bowl champion has partnered with the club’s holding company, U.S.-based Knighthead Capital Management, and becomes chairman of a new advisory board, Brady and Birmingham said Thursday.“Maybe you are asking, ‘What do you know about English football, Tom?’” Brady said in a club video. “Well, let’s just say I’ve got a lot to learn. But I do know a few things about winning.”Birmingham said Brady will “apply his extensive leadership experience and expertise across several components of the club.” That includes working alongside the sports science department to advise on health, nutrition and recovery programs.“Birmingham is an iconic club with so much history and passion and to be part of the Blues is a real honor for me,” Brady said.Birmingham last play...

Israel’s Supreme Court hears case against a law protecting Netanyahu from being removed from office

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:13 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Supreme Court heard a petition on Thursday against a law that protects Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from being removed from office over claims of a conflict of interest due to his ongoing corruption trial. Netanyahu’s governing coalition passed a law in March that limits removing a prime minister from office to cases of medical and mental incapacitation. It would protect Netanyahu from being deemed unfit for office because of his ongoing corruption trial and claims of a conflict of interest. Critics say the law is tailor-made for Netanyahu and encourages corruption.A few dozen people protested outside Israel’s Supreme Court in Jerusalem as judges heard the petition by the Movement for Quality Government in Israel.The law passed earlier this year stipulates that a prime minister can only be deemed unfit to rule for health or mental reasons and that only the premier or the government can make that decision, not the attorney general. Netanyahu...

In the news today: Challenging week ahead for crews battling B.C. wildfires

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:13 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Wind poses challenge in B.C. wildfire fightThe operations director at the BC Wildfire Service says firefighters are bracing for a “challenging week” as hot and dry conditions are expected to persist.Cliff Chapman says winds are gusting from 40 to 70 kilometres an hour in southern B.C., making it difficult to suppress and contain fires burning in the region.He says the conditions, coupled with steep terrain of fires, including the Downton Lake wildfire burning 110 kilometres northwest of Whistler, B.C., is also making it difficult to use heavy equipment and air fleet effectively.Chapman says crews working on the Downton Lake blaze, which has already destroyed at least a dozen homes around Gun Lake, will aim to steer the flames away from the community amid windy conditions. —Here’s what else we’re watching …UBC research blames ...

Trump returns to D.C. to face latest charges, steps from scene of Capitol Hill riots

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:13 GMT

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump is returning to the scene of the alleged crime.The former president is scheduled to appear in D.C. court today to confront new charges related to his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The hearing at the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse will play out just steps from Capitol Hill, where legions of Trump’s supporters stormed Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump faces four new charges: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. Tuesday’s 45-page indictment — the third against Trump in just four months — lays out in precise detail a multi-pronged effort to prevent Joe Biden from being confirmed as U.S. president. Trump is already facing 74 other charges, including 34 felony counts in New York tied to hush-money payments, and 40 more in Florida over classified documents he allegedly stored at his Mar-a-Lago s...

Wind gusting up to 70 km/h poses challenges in B.C. wildfire fight: fire service

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:13 GMT

VANCOUVER — The operations director at the BC Wildfire Service says firefighters are bracing for a “challenging week” as hot and dry conditions are expected to persist.Cliff Chapman says winds are gusting from 40 to 70 kilometres an hour in southern B.C., making it difficult to suppress and contain fires burning in the region.He says the conditions, coupled with steep terrain of fires, including the Downton Lake wildfire burning 110 kilometres northwest of Whistler, B.C., is also making it difficult to use heavy equipment and air fleet effectively.Chapman says crews working on the Downton Lake blaze, which has already destroyed at least a dozen homes around Gun Lake, will aim to steer the flames away from the community amid windy conditions. An evacuation order covering the more than 200 properties around the lake was issued Tuesday and quickly upgraded to critical, urging the seasonal and permanent residents to leave for Lillooet or Whistler.The Thompson-Nicola Regional...

Daily horoscope for August 3, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:13 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Pisces.Happy Birthday for Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023:You are charming, sensitive and sometimes dramatic. You are generous and an excellent networker. This year is the final year of a nine-year cycle, which means it’s time to let go of people and places that are holding you back. This is not loss. This is lightening up!ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★As this day begins, you might second-guess yourself. You might feel inadequate or slightly fearful. Life feels hard. (We all have these feelings.) Ironically, as the day progresses, you get happier and more confident! Like, what’s with that? Tonight: Patience.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★Earlier in the day, discussions with friends or members of a group might discourage you. Someone might criticize you. Discussions with romantic partners are likewise a drag. You also might be worried about your kids. Then, voila! Interaction with someone lift...

Commission approves €54 million Italian scheme to support companies in the region of Abruzzo in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:23:13 GMT

The European Commission has approved a €54 million Italian scheme to support small and medium-sized companies (‘SMEs') active in the region of Abruzzo in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine. The scheme was approved under the State Aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023 to support measures in sectors which are key to accelerate the green transition and reduce fuel dependencies. The new Framework amends and prolongs in part the Temporary Crisis Framework, adopted on 23 March 2022 to enable member states to support the economy in the context of the current geopolitical crisis, already amended on 20 July 2022 and on 28 October 2022.Under the scheme, the aid will take the form of direct grants up to a maximum of €600,000 per SMEs active in the region of Abruzzo and affected by the crisis due to certain circumstances, such as increases in energy costs, decreases in turnover and trade and interruption of existing contracts or projec...