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U.S. charity calls on Egypt to release hunger-striking poet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:35 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — A U.S. charity has called on Egypt to release a well-known poet and songwriter who is on a hunger strike against his incarceration, now entering its sixth year. Pen America demanded Thursday that Egyptian authorities release Galal al-Behairy, who was first detained in March of 2018 and later handed a three-year sentence for spreading false news and insulting Egypt’s military. In a leaked letter that coincided with the fifth anniversary of his arrest, al-Behairy said he would refuse food and medication until he secured his freedom.Al-Behairy wrote the lyrics to the hit Egyptian pop song, “Balaha,” sung by exiled pop star Ramy Essam. He was arrested a month after its release. ‘’I committed one crime, which is poetry,″ al-Behairy wrote in his letter, published across social media. “The strike will continue until I regain my freedom, alive or not.″The announcement comes a few months after a well-known imprisoned dissident, Alaa Abdel-Fattah, escalated his hunger...

Erdogan sets Turkey election date for May 14

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:35 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. who is seeking to extend his two-decades in power, on Friday formally set the country’s parliamentary and presidential elections for May 14 — a month earlier than scheduled despite last month’s devastating earthquake.The elections could be the country’s most significant vote in decades. It will determine whether the country will take a more democratic path or continue on the increasingly authoritarian course set by the strongman politician.Erdogan has ruled over Turkey since 2003 — first as prime minister and as president since 2014 — but this year’s elections could be his most challenging. The country is struggling with a troubled economy, soaring inflation and the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that killed more than 46,000 people and left hundreds of thousands of people across 11 Turkish provinces sheltering in tents or temporary accommodation.Many have criticized his government’s response to the earthquake and ac...

Beijing air quality plummets amid dust storm, pollution

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:35 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Skyscrapers in Beijing disappeared into the haze and air quality plummeted as China’s capital was enveloped in a dust storm and heavy pollution on Friday.Concentrations of the tiny PM2.5 particles that can reach deep into the lungs and bloodstream entered a dangerous range on air quality monitoring sites, with the IQAir website showing an air quality index of 1,093, a “hazardous” level, many times higher than what are considered “unhealthy” levels.Beijing was formerly notorious for its terrible air quality, but conditions had much improved in recent years as authorities took heavily polluting vehicles off the roads and moved coal-fired power plants and heavy industry to the surrounding provinces. The capital also used to be known for regular springtime dust and sandstorms caused by winds blowing in from the loess hills along the upper sections of the Yellow River to the west. Anti-desertification efforts have helped reduce both the frequency and intensity of the storm...

US trains West African militaries as jihadi threat spreads

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:35 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — As extremist violence in West Africa’s Sahel region spreads south toward coastal states, the United States military has launched its annual military training exercise aimed at helping armies contain the jihadi threat.Soldiers from several African countries are being trained in counter-insurgency tactics as part of the annual U.S.-led exercise known as Flintlock, that began this week.Some 1,300 military personnel from 29 countries are training in Ghana and Ivory Coast, amid surging jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that’s killed thousands, displaced millions and plunged countries into crises.While most of the extremist activity is concentrated in West Africa’s inland Sahel region in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, the violence is rapidly spreading to coastal states like Ghana, which is experiencing an upsurge in attacks by unidentified groups, which could have links to jihadis. Ghana had just one violent attack in 2021 but ...

DeSantis making long-anticipated 1st Iowa trip ahead of 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:35 GMT

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be in Iowa on Friday to introduce himself to an expectant audience of Republicans, making a long-awaited visit ahead of a likely 2024 presidential bid.DeSantis’ planned appearances in Davenport and Des Moines mark his first trip to the leadoff voting state and come as anticipation over his expected White House campaign has been building. With the Iowa caucuses less than a year away, Republicans in the state are ready to take a harder look at DeSantis, a top-tier presidential prospect viewed as a rival to former President Donald Trump.“A lot of people are excited with DeSantis — people that I talk to. There has been so much talk. The expectations are really high for him,” said Emma Aquino-Nemecek, an eastern Iowa county Republican committee member who is curious about DeSantis but feels deep loyalty to Trump.DeSantis is scheduled to appear with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday morning in Davenport and that evening in Des Moi...

Syria’s Aleppo airport resumes flights days after airstrike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:35 GMT

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Flights at Syria’s international airport in Aleppo resumed Friday, three days after it was put out of service by a suspected Israeli airstrike, the country’s head of civil aviation said. Bassem Mansour told the pro-government Sham FM radio station that flights to and from the airport of Syria’s largest city resumed Friday morning after repairs were completed. The suspected Israeli airstrike early Tuesday left multiple craters on the airport runway, satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press showed Thursday.Since the Feb. 6 earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria killing more than 50,000 people, including over 6,000 in Syria, the airport has been a main entry point for jets carrying aid into the war-ton country. Authorities said after the strike that relief flights had been diverted to airports in Damascus and Latakia.The attack on Aleppo airport comes after Israel struck the airfield as part of an Israeli campaign to disrupt Iranian weapons transfers into ...

Winter Weather Advisory until 7 a.m. Friday morning for Chicago area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:35 GMT

CHICAGO — A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect Thursday from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. Friday for the Chicago area.Counties include Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake and McHenry.In Kane and McHenry counties, the advisory went into effect at 3 p.m. Thursday. Slushy roadways are expected until 7 a.m. Accumulating wet snow is expected with 2-7 inches possible. Highest totals near Illinois/Wisconsin line. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Northwestern parts of the state will see the worst conditions between 3-9 p.m. Northeastern parts of the state will see the worst conditions between 5-11 p.m.Wet and slushy snow, mainly near and north of Interstate 80 and Interstate 88 could lead to hazardous travel.Allow extra time and drive with caution into Friday morning as the travel impact could linger in some areas.In Chicago, the Department of Streets and Sanitation has deployed more than 200 salt spreaders to treat the roads. According to the department, they wi...

Girl Scouts 'extremely disappointed' with cookie baker amid inventory, supply chain problems

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:35 GMT

(The Hill) - The Girl Scouts organization is “extremely disappointed” with one of its two primary cookie bakers, as it continues to face inventory and supply chain problems, according to reports. The Little Brownie Bakers (LBB), which produced cookies for the Girl Scouts’ annual fundraiser, suffered weather-induced power outages at its factory in Louisville, Ky., last weekend, further worsening previous production problems. Girl Scout cookie shortage sparks resale market “We are extremely disappointed that LBB is again having challenges with managing their production,” a Girl Scouts spokesperson said, per CNBC. “We will address these issues with our baker partner in the future and we are keeping all options open to do right by our girls.”LBB previously faced mechanical problems with its Samoa cookie production and has reportedly experienced production issues over the last three years, CNBC reported. Girl Scouts receives its cookies from both LBB and ABC Bakers for the popular...

Americans were happier than ever in 2020. Then came COVID.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:35 GMT

In January 2020, a long-running Gallup poll found 90 percent of American respondents broadly satisfied with their lives, the highest quotient of contentment in nearly a half-century of polling.  And then, the pandemic hit. Much has been said about the pall of ennui that settled over the nation in the months after that midwinter poll as COVID-19 upended society. By the spring of 2020, a benchmark University of Chicago survey found American happiness at the lowest ebb in five decades. Taken together, the two polls suggest a remarkable narrative: In the span of a few months, America’s collective happiness plummeted from a historic high to a record low. “We were doing fairly well before the pandemic,” said Fallon Goodman, an assistant professor of psychology at George Washington University who studies human resilience. “We had the start of a new year. There was a renewed sense of hope ... And then those things were taken away from us.” The pandemic interrup...

Virginia judge uses slavery law to rule frozen embryos are property

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:35 GMT

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Frozen human embryos can legally be considered property, or “chattel,” a Virginia judge has ruled, basing his decision in part on a 19th century law governing the treatment of slaves.The preliminary opinion by Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Richard Gardiner – delivered in a long-running dispute between a divorced husband and wife – is being criticized by some for wrongly and unnecessarily delving into a time in Virginia history when it was legally permissible to own human beings."It's repulsive and it’s morally repugnant,” said Susan Crockin, a lawyer and scholar at Georgetown University’s Kennedy Institute of Ethics and an expert in reproductive technology law.Solomon Ashby, president of the Old Dominion Bar Association, a professional organization made up primarily of African American lawyers, called Gardiner’s ruling troubling.“I would like to think that the bench and the bar would be seeking more modern precedent,” he said. Prosecutors signal Trump may ...