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2 Southern California firefighters and a pilot were killed after a midair collision, officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:28 GMT

CABAZON, Calif. (AP) — Three people were killed after two firefighting helicopters collided in Southern California on Sunday while fighting a blaze in Riverside County, emergency officials said.One of the helicopters landed safely. “Unfortunately, the second helicopter crashed and tragically all three members perished, which included one Cal Fire Division chief, one Cal Fire captain and one contract client pilot,” Cal Fire Southern Region Chief David Fulcher said during a news conference early Monday. Fulcher did not identify the victims.Cal Fire and Riverside County Fire Department resources were dispatched to a reported structure fire near the intersection of Broadway Street and South Ronda Avenue in the community of Cabazon, Fulcher said.Shortly after the arrival of the first engine company, the fire was reported to have extended into the vegetation and a full wildland fire dispatch was initiated, which included fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.While battling the blaze, the tw...

Rebel attack in northeastern Congo kills at least 11 people, a local official says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:28 GMT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A rebel group has killed at least 11 people in northeastern Congo, a local official said Monday.Jonas Pandanzi, president of a local civil society organization in the Central African nation’s North Kivu province, said the victims were shot and killed early Sunday by members of M23, a rebel group the United Nations says has links to neighboring Rwanda. Rwanda denies the accusation. M23 rose to prominence 10 years ago when its fighters seized Goma, eastern Congo’s largest city, located on the border with Rwanda. It derives its name from a March 23, 2009, peace deal that the group accuses Congo’s government of failing to implement.The Sunday morning attack took place following armed confrontations between M23 and local self-defense groups near the village of Bwito, where the bodies of the 11 civilians were found, Pandanzi said. The rebel group reportedly retreated into the area, killed residents, and stole valuables. According to civil society leader Pandan...

Tens of thousands of young scouts to evacuate world jamboree in South Korea as storm Khanun looms

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:28 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea will evacuate tens of thousands of scouts by bus from a coastal jamboree site as Tropical Storm Khanun looms, officials said Monday.The vehicles beginning Tuesday morning will move 36,000 scouts — mostly teenagers — from the World Scout Jamboree in the southwestern county of Buan, according to Kim Sung-ho, a vice minister at South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety.He said most of the scouts, who come from 158 countries, will be accommodated at venues in the capital city, Seoul, and the nearby metropolitan area. Officials were trying to secure spaces at government training centers and education facilities as well as hotels. Kim said it would take six hours or more to evacuate the scouts from the campsite, which organizers said will no longer be used for any event after they leave. The announcement came after The World Organization of the Scout Movement said it urgently called on South Korea to quickly move the scouts from the storm’s pa...

Troubled Toshiba announces buyout offer led by Japan businesses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:28 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Toshiba announced a 2 trillion yen ($14 billion) tender offer on Monday in a move that would take it private, as the scandal-tarnished Japanese electronics and energy giant seeks to turn itself around.The tender offer led by a buyout fund of major Japanese banks and companies called Japan Industrial Partners starts Tuesday and is priced at 4,620 yen ($32) a share. Chairperson Akihiro Watanabe asked shareholders to back the proposal, saying it is the only option for Toshiba Corp. to return to its former strength. “This move for Toshiba is great not only for Japan but also for the world,” he said. “I have faith in the revival of Toshiba.”Tokyo-based Toshiba also reported a 25 billion yen ($176 million) loss for the April-June quarter on 704 billion yen ($5 billion) in sales, down nearly 5% from the previous year.It did not give a full fiscal year profit projection, citing uncertainties in its computer chip business. If the proposal succeeds, it will be a major step in Tos...

Stock market today: Global benchmarks mostly slip after Wall Street’s losing week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:28 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares were trading mostly lower on Monday after U.S. employment data closed out a losing week for Wall Street. France’s CAC 40 slid 0.2% in early trading to 7,298.28, while Germany’s DAX lost 0.3% to 15,909.75. Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.5% at 7,526.42. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up 0.2% at 35,217.00. S&P 500 futures rose nearly 0.3% to 4,509.25. Investors were also closely watching earnings reports due later this week, including from Disney in the U.S., Alibaba Group in China and Sony and SoftBank in Japan.Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 recouped losses earlier in the day and gained 0.2% to finish at 32,254.56. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.2% to 7,309.20. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.9% to 2,580.71. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng changed little at 19,537.92, while the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.6% to 3,268.83. “Local stocks appear to be latching onto the U.S. downswing from Friday as investor...

Rights group denounces Tanzanian government for detaining critics and urges freedom of expression

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:28 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An international human rights group denounced Tanzania’s government on Monday for detaining critics and urged it to respect freedom of expression and the right to protest.Human Rights Watch said 22 people have been detained since June for criticizing a government decision to have a foreign logistics company manage Tanzania’s ports.The ports agreement was approved by Tanzania’s parliament on June 10, triggering protests in which a number of people were arrested.An opposition politician, Mdude Nyagali, who is a vocal critic of the plan to give control of the country’s ports to the United Arab Emirates company was also arrested after he criticized the agreement at a news conference.“The Tanzanian government’s suppression of its critics is a troubling sign of its low tolerance for dissenting views,” Oryem Nyeko, a Tanzania researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement Monday.Tanzania has made some reforms since the death in 2021 of autocratic Presiden...

Medical center attacks show why health care is one of the nation's most violent fields

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:28 GMT

Word spread through an Oregon hospital last month that a visitor was causing trouble in the maternity ward, and nurses were warned the man might try to abduct his partner's newborn.Hours later, the visitor opened fire, killing a security guard and sending patients, nurses and doctors scrambling for cover.The shooting at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center in Portland was part of a wave of gun violence sweeping through U.S. hospitals and medical centers, which have struggled to adapt to the growing threats.Such attacks have helped make health care one of the nation's most violent fields. Data shows American health care workers now suffer more nonfatal injuries from workplace violence than workers in any other profession, including law enforcement.“Health care workers don’t even think about that when they decide they want to be a nurse or a doctor. But as far as actual violence goes, statistically, health care is four or five times more dangerous than any other profession,”...

10.9% increase in employment in sport in 2022 in the EU

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:28 GMT

In 2022, 1.51 million people were employed in the sports sector in the EU, representing 0.8% of total employment. This represents an increase of 10.9% in the number of people employed in the sports sector compared with 2021 (1.36 million). The sports sector includes economic activities and occupations such as in sport teams and clubs, trainers, independent athletes, fitness centres and activities for the promotion and management of sport events.Among the EU members, Sweden had the highest share of people working in the field of sport (1.4% of total employment), followed by Finland, Denmark (both 1.2%), Spain and France (both 1.1%). In contrast, the lowest shares of people employed in the sports sector were registered in Romania (0.2% of total employment), Bulgaria (0.3%), Poland and Slovakia (both 0.4%), and Croatia and Lithuania (both 0.5%).Source dataset: sprt_emp_sexMen outnumber women in employment in sportFor employment in the sports sector, more men were represented than women...

Harriette Cole: How do I tell my friend I won’t support her custody request?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:28 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: A close friend of mine has approached me, asking for my support as she fights for custody of her children. However, as much as I care for her, I have reservations about whether she truly deserves full custody.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: My co-workers are being mean, but I can’t report the whole staff to HR Advice | Harriette Cole: My son is emulating a misogynist YouTuber, and it has upset our household Advice | Harriette Cole: How do I rein in my friend, the rookie rebel? Advice | Harriette Cole: My girlfriend’s teeth have me worried Advice | Harriette Cole: Their comments about my baby are hurtful While I don’t want to betray her trust, I also want what’s best for the kids. How can I handle this situation delicately and responsibly without jeopardizing our friendship?Sticky SituationDEAR STICKY SITUATION: Sometimes being a good friend means risking y...

Ask Amy: This bizarre wedding shower was a disaster, and the bride is furious

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:28 GMT

Dear Amy: My family maintains fairly simple tastes. My stepbrother got engaged to “Sharon.” Her family had a similar background to ours, but business success means they now live very extravagantly, and Sharon never lets us forget it.My mother and I were invited to her wedding shower. The invitation stated: “Do not bring gifts.” Unless I’ve been asleep my whole life, I thought one major point of a shower was the gifts. That’s the “shower” part, right?We tried to get a clarification from Sharon, but she acted very mysterious.At the shower venue, my mother and I walked into a nearly silent room of people, in the center of which was a large table heaped with very expensive items: china, crystal, sterling silver, a $400 pen, a $4,500 tennis bracelet and a $2,000 cappuccino machine.Sharon gave us each a pad of stickers and a pen. She explained that we were to “browse” the table and put our name on a sticker to “affix to whatever gift we wished to give.”There were more “sign-up” sheets for...