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Ex-Prime Minister Thaksin enters prison in Thailand, with allies on cusp of forming a government

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:57 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra began an eight-year prison sentence Tuesday after returning from years of self-imposed exile, while his allies in parliament faced a vote on their bid to form a government together with military parties that have been their rivals for decades.It was an emotional day for supporters of the 74-year-old billionaire, who won the loyalty of millions with populist policies that directed attention, and funding, to the country’s largely rural, often impoverished, north. Hundreds of people gathered outside of the airport hours ahead of Thaksin’s 9 a.m. arrival, donning red clothes and holding sign with welcoming messages. They sang and chanted in anticipation, then raised a raucous cheer when he appeared at the terminal door.“I feel fulfilled that I traveled here today to pick him up. If possible I want to hug him. Everyone has tears, tears coming out of their eyes,” said Makawan Payakkae, a 43-year-old from Maha Sarakha...

North Korean plane takes off from Beijing in a sign Pyongyang is opening borders post-pandemic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:57 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — A North Korean commercial flight has taken off from Beijing in a sign that Pyongyang is opening its borders again after almost three years of severe COVID-19 restrictions. The Russian-made Air Koryo Tupelev Tu-204 jet with capacity for 210 passengers reportedly landed in the Chinese capital Tuesday morning and was filmed taking off shortly after 1:30 p.m. local time (0530 GMT).China has “approved the regular flight plan of North Korean Air Koryo Pyongyang-Beijing-Pyongyang and other passenger routes in accordance with the procedures,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.“The specific flight is subject to the arrangement of the airline in accordance with the approval of the Chinese competent authority,” Wang said. China is North Korea’s closest diplomatic ally and a key source of food and fuel aid for an economy beset by natural disasters and mismanagement. Little is known about conditions inside the country due to the ruling Workers Party’s complete...

Microsoft revamps deal for video game maker Activision Blizzard to meet UK demands

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:57 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Microsoft revamped its bid to buy video game maker Activision Blizzard on Tuesday to appease British competition regulators, who are the last major hurdle to closing one of the biggest deals in tech history.The Competition and Markets Authority said it has opened a new preliminary investigation into the updated transaction with a deadline for a decision due on Oct. 18. Xbox maker Microsoft has been on a quest to acquire Activision, maker of the popular Call of Duty game franchise since announcing the $69 billion deal in January 2022. The blockbuster deal has secured approvals from antitrust authorities covering 40 countries, including the European Union. But it has been held up in Britain, where authorities moved to block it earlier this year over worries about competition being stifled in the emerging cloud gaming market, where players can avoid buying pricey consoles and stream games to their tablets or phones. Under the restructured deal, Microsoft will sell the clo...

Maui confronts the challenge of finding more than 800 missing people after the deadly wildfires

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:57 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Two weeks after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century swept through the Maui community of Lahaina, authorities say more than 800 people remain unaccounted for — a staggering number that presents huge challenges for officials who are trying to determine how many of those perished and how many may have made it to safety but haven’t checked in.Something similar happened after a wildfire in 2018 that killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise, California. Authorities in Butte County, home to Paradise, ultimately published a list of the missing in the local newspaper, a decision that helped identify scores of people who had made it out alive but were listed as missing. Within a month, the list dropped from 1,300 names to only a dozen.“I probably had, at any given time, 10 to 15 detectives who were assigned to nothing but trying to account for people who were unaccounted for,” Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea said in a phone interview. “At...

Stock market today: World markets, Wall St futures rise ahead of Federal Reserve conference

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:57 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets and Wall Street futures rose Tuesday as traders waited for signs of interest rate plans from this week’s Federal Reserve conference.London, Shanghai, Paris and Tokyo rose. Oil prices declined.Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose Monday for its first gain in five days as tech stocks rallied.Traders hope officials at the Fed’s summer Jackson Hole, Wyoming, conference say they are finished raising interest rates that are at a two-decade high. But forecasters warn they might say inflation isn’t under control yet.Fed Chair Jerome Powell “may even mention that further rate hikes cannot be entirely ruled out,” said Clifford Bennett of ACY Securities in a report.In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London rose 0.2% to 7,274.01. The CAC 40 in Paris advanced 0.9% to 7,265.01 and the DAX in Frankfurt added 0.9% to 15,749.52.On Wall Street, the S&P 500 future was up 0.3%. That for the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0....

Already breaking Usain Bolt’s youth records, teen sprinter Erriyon Knighton on fast track to success

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:57 GMT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — From cars to race times, 19-year-old sprinter Erriyon Knighton has an appreciation for all things fast.He’s combining his two passions to provide extra fuel: Should Knighton achieve Olympic glory, he’s treating himself to a black McLaren supercar. One thing he can’t speed away from are the inevitable comparisons to retired Jamaican sensation Usain Bolt, which Knighton only welcomes as he gears up for the world championships.Because really, slow and steady is more Knighton’s speed in his evolution as a sprinter. He feels patience will get him to the summit as he chases American teammate Noah Lyles, the two-time defending world 200-meter champion and recently crowned 100-meter title-winner.“We’re not in a rush to be great,” Knighton said in an interview with The Associated Press in the lead-up to the first round of the 200 on Wednesday. “I mean, greatness doesn’t come overnight. Knowing this, we’re just taking everything step-by-step.”His ste...

A major wildfire in northeastern Greece has forced the evacuation of villages and a city hospital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:57 GMT

ALEXANDROUPOLIS, Greece (AP) — A massive wall of flames raced through forests toward a port city in northeastern Greece overnight, prompting authorities to evacuate another eight villages and a city hospital as firefighters battled dozens more wildfires across the country on Tuesday.Gale-force winds and high summer temperatures have hampered the efforts of hundreds of firefighters backed by dozens of water-dropping aircraft as they tackle wildfires breaking out across Greece.The fire risk level for several regions, including the wider Athens area, was listed as “extreme” for the second day Tuesday. Authorities have banned public access to mountains and forests in those regions until at least Wednesday morning and ordered military patrols.On Monday, the blazes left two people dead and two firefighters injured in northern and central Greece.About 65 of the more than 100 patients in the Alexandroupolis hospital in northeastern Greece were transported to a ferry boat docked in the city’...

Champions Week: Christian Brothers Academy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:57 GMT

ALBANY, NY (NEWS10) -- It's officially the best time of the year: football season. Capital Region high school football teams took to the field Monday for their first week of official practices. With that first week of practice, we're calling this week "Champions Week" at NEWS10. We're going to preview the upcoming season for each of last year's Section 2 champions. We begin with the big guns in Class AA: Christian Brothers Academy. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! "We want to make it special to be a CBA football player," said head coach Bob Burns. "I think it is right now. It's a special thing a lot of people want to be a part of."If you want to be a part of winning, CBA has been the place to be over the past few seasons in Section 2 Class AA. In each of the Brothers' first two years under head coach Bob Burns, CBA has brought home the Section 2 championship. Entering year three, Burns has built the program's culture to his liki...

Fukushima nuclear disaster: Japan to release treated water within 48 hours

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:57 GMT

Japan will start releasing treated radioactive water from the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, despite opposition from its neighbours.In 2011, a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake flooded three reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The event is regarded as the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.Shortly after, authorities set up an exclusion zone which continued to be expanded as radiation leaked from the plant, forcing more than 150,000 people to evacuate from the area. Some 1.34 million tonnes of water have accumulated since the 2011 tsunami destroyed the plant.The plan to release water from the plant has caused alarm across Asia and the Pacific since it was approved by the Japanese government two years ago.It was signed off by the UN's nuclear watchdog in July, with authorities concluding the impact on people and the environment would be negligible.But many people, including fishermen in the region, f...

Ask Amy: Must I put up with the name she’s selected for me?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:45:57 GMT

Dear Amy: My legal given name is a shorter form of another common name (think “Jan” and “Janet”).I have always used “Jan,” and my family and friends call me by that name. It is the only name I’ve ever known.There is a woman living in my town who always calls me “Janet,” even though my daughter and I have told her many times what my real name is.Yesterday in a grocery store she called me “Janet” twice, and I didn’t answer because my back was turned so I didn’t see her and – hello – it’s not my name.She then came up to me, addressed me as “Janet,” and asked me a question.This really bothers me!Should I remind her again, or just put up with it?– Bugged in a Small TownDear Bugged: I wonder if you’ve ever told this person that your name is not short for anything else. She may know a Jan/Janet, and reflexively revert to a name that isn’t yours.The next time this happens, be patient: “You always call me Janet, but I get confused because...