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Sri Lanka seeks $17 billion debt reduction by restructuring

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:38 GMT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president urged lawmakers Wednesday to approve a four-year International Monetary Fund program to restructure the country’s $17 billion in foreign debt. Parliament began a three-day debate Wednesday on President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s proposal to accept the IMF program. It will be followed by a vote. If approved, the plan would dictate how Sri Lanka’s crisis-stricken economy will be managed in the coming few years. A majority of lawmakers are expected to accept the IMF’s four-year bailout program. Under the plan, the international development lender will provide nearly $3 billion in stages. Sri Lanka announced last year that it was suspending repayment of its foreign loans because of a severe foreign currency crisis resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts by the central bank to stabilize the Sri Lankan rupee by by using scarce foreign reserves.Wickremesinghe said at the time he took over as president last July, the country...

Iran court issues $312.9M judgement against US amid tensions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:38 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian court issued a $312.9 million judgement against the United States over a 2017 Islamic State-claimed attack on Tehran, authorities said Wednesday, the latest judicial action between the nations amid their decadeslong enmity. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, in reporting the decision, offered no direct evidence to support the court’s allegation that American officials had any part in the June 2017 attack that killed at least 18 people and wounded 50 others. The assault saw gunmen attack Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s mausoleum and the country’s parliament, starting an hourslong siege. However, the court ruling comes after the United Nations’ highest court in March rejected Tehran’s legal bid to free up some $2 billion in Iranian Central Bank assets frozen by U.S. authorities. Meanwhile, U.S. judges have issued rulings that call for billions of dollars to be paid by Iran over attacks linked to Tehran, as well as tho...

Prosecutors now doubt imprisoned mother killed her children

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:38 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Prosecutors acknowledged to a government inquiry Wednesday that new scientific and genetic evidence left reasonable doubt that an Australian mother deliberately killed her four children 20 years after she was convicted of doing so.A retired judge is hearing final submissions over whether Kathleen Folbigg, now 55, should be pardoned for murder and manslaughter convictions by a jury in 2003. The children died separately over a decade, at between 19 days and 19 months old, and their mother insisted their deaths were from natural causes.New South Wales state Director of Public Prosecutions Sally Dowling made a written submission to the inquiry saying that was possible.Dowling wrote that “on the evidence now available, it is open to the inquiry to conclude there is reasonable doubt as to Ms. Folbigg’s guilt.”The lawyer appointed to assist former Justice Tom Bathurst in the inquiry, Sophie Callan, said she had also concluded that on the basis of the scientific a...

Iran says senior cleric on Assembly of Experts shot dead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:38 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A senior Shiite cleric in Iran was shot and killed Wednesday in an attack in a northern province along the Caspian Sea, authorities said.An attacker shot to death Ayatollah Abbas Ali Soleimani in Babolsar in Iran’s Mazandaran province, state television reported. Police later arrested the attacker, state TV said, without offering a motive for the shooting. Soleimani served on the Assembly of Experts, an 88-seat panel that oversees and appoints Iran’s supreme leader. He also once was the personal representative of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Iran’s restive Sistan and Baluchestan province. The Associated Press

Intensity of clashes eases amid Sudan truce, residents say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:38 GMT

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Sudanese in the capital of Khartoum and the neighboring city of Omdurman reported sporadic clashes early Wednesday between the military and a rival paramilitary force but said the intensity of fighting had dwindled on the second day of a three-day truce.Many residents of the capital emerged from their homes to seek food and water, lining up at bakeries or grocery stores, witnesses said. Some inspected shops or homes that had been destroyed or looted during the fighting. Others joined the tens of thousands who have been streaming out of the city in recent days.“There is a sense of calm in my area and neighborhoods,” said Mahasen Ali, a tea vendor who lives in Khartoum’s southern neighborhood of May. “But all are afraid of what’s next.” She said that despite the relative lull, the sound of gunfire and explosions could still be heard in the city.Clashes were centered in more limited pockets of Khartoum and Omdurman, residents said, mainly around the military’s he...

EU agrees to boost green fuels for aviation, cut emissions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:38 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — New rules requiring airlines to use more sustainable fuels across the European Union have been agreed by negotiators from member countries and the EU Parliament in a bid to help decarbonize the sector. The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, said Wednesday that the deal reached by member states and the European Parliament demands that suppliers blend sustainable aviation fuels with kerosene in growing amounts from 2025.The move is expected to reduce aircraft carbon emissions by two-thirds by 2050 compared to “a ‘no action’ scenario, and provide climate and air quality benefits by reducing non-CO2 emissions,” the Commission said. The aviation sector accounts for 13.9% of transportation emissions in the EU, making it the second biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the sector after road transport, the Commission says. If global aviation were a country, it would rank in the top 10 emitters.The political agreement is part of the EU ’s “Fit ...

Sweden raises key interest rate again to target inflation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:38 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s central bank on Wednesday raised its key interest rate, saying inflation “is still far too high and underlying inflation has been much higher than expected.”Riksbanken raised its policy rate by half a percentage point to 3.5% and added that it will ”probably” be raised further by a quarter-point in June or September.”The high inflation affects in particular households that have small margins to begin with, but the development is negative for the whole economy,” the central bank said in a statement. Annual inflation last month hit 10.6%, down from 12% in February.“Low and stable inflation is a necessary condition for good economic development. It is important for confidence in the inflation target that inflation falls clearly this year,” the bank said. “With the monetary policy conducted, inflation is expected to fall back this year and to stabilize close to 2% during 2024.”Following Wednesday’s increase, the policy rate is at the highest level since O...

NYSP: Troy man drives over 100 MPH to flee police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:38 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Troy man was arrested on Tuesday after a car chase ensued, where he allegedly drove over 100 miles per hour (MPH) in a work zone to flee law enforcement, according to the New York State Police. Michael Casseus, 34, faces several charges. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! On Tuesday, around 11:20 a.m., police pulled over a car on I-87 in Wilton for vehicle and traffic law violations. While pulled over, police identified the driver as Casseus. Police say while he was pulled over, Casseus failed to follow their instructions and fled the scene which led to a chase. Casseus allegedly drove over 100 MPH in a work zone and was eventually stopped just south of exit 16 in Wilton. Trial opens in E. Jean Carroll’s rape lawsuit against Trump He was taken into custody. While being taken into custody, police say Casseus had multiple felony-weight narcotics on him. Charges:Second-degree criminal possession of a...

Bethlehem battles past Burnt Hills

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:38 GMT

BURNT HILLS, NY (NEWS10) -- The Burnt Hills girls lacrosse team entered Tuesday night with a Suburban Council record of 5-0. They put that unbeaten record on the line at home against another team without a loss in the Suburban, Bethlehem. The Eagles entered with a league record of 3-0. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The Eagles flew out to an early 5-0 lead. Burnt Hills responded with four straight goals to cut the deficit to one. But Bethlehem took over from there, on their way to a 16-7 win. The Eagles move to 4-0 in the Suburban Council, while the Spartans drop to 5-1.

Belgian town organizes seagull imitation championship

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:46:38 GMT

The Belgian coastal city of De Panne hosted the third European Seagull Screeching Championship on Sunday (23 April), where jurors crowned the most accurate imitation of the bird’s distinctive shriek.The contest was attended by around 50 participants, including both first-timers as well as returning participants. The professional jury awarded each participant 15 points based on how well they were able to imitate the sound of the seagull and 5 points for their behavior.Yarmo won the award for the best seagull noise. She is a 21-year-old architecture student from Eindhoven in the Netherlands.The public often dislikes seagulls because of their aggressive behaviour. This contest aims to change their perception.Jan Seys (President of the Jury and Head of Communications of the Flanders Marine Institute) said that they wanted to show more sympathy because seagulls are a part of the coast. "There is no coast without them."