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2 years ago, the Taliban banned girls from school. It’s a worsening crisis for all Afghans

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:03 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Two years after the Taliban banned girls from school beyond sixth grade, Afghanistan is the only country in the world with restrictions on female education. Now, the rights of Afghan women and children are on the agenda of the United Nations General Assembly Monday in New York. The U.N. children’s agency says more than 1 million girls are affected by the ban, although it estimates 5 million were out of school before the Taliban takeover due to a lack of facilities and other reasons.The ban triggered global condemnation and remains the Taliban’s biggest obstacle to gaining recognition as the legitimate rulers of Afghanistan. But the Taliban defied the backlash and went further, excluding women and girls from higher education, public spaces like parks, and most jobs.Here’s a look at the ban on girls’ education:WHY DID THE TALIBAN EXCLUDE GIRLS FROM HIGH SCHOOL?The Taliban stopped girls’ education beyond sixth grade because they said it didn’t comply with their i...

I will renegotiate Brexit deal, UK Labour’s Keir Starmer says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:03 GMT

LONDON — Keir Starmer will seek a major renegotiation of Britain’s relationship with the European Union if his opposition Labour Party wins the next election.In an interview with the Financial Times, the Labour leader — who polls suggest is on course to become Britain’s next prime minister — committed to pursuing a significant rewrite of the U.K.-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).That deal, struck by ex-PM Boris Johnson, is up for review in 2025.“Almost everyone recognizes the deal Johnson struck is not a good deal. It’s far too thin,” Starmer said. “As we go into 2025 we will attempt to get a much better deal for the U.K..”“I think there’s more that can be achieved across the board,” he added. Starmer cited security, innovation and research as areas where closer ties could be sought, the FT reported.Starmer was viewed as a key pro-Remain figure in his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet. Since becoming leader, he has stressed that he acce...

Erdoğan asks Elon Musk to build Tesla factory in Turkey

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:03 GMT

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked tech billionaire Elon Musk to build a Tesla electric vehicle factory in Turkey, according to Erdoğan’s office.During their meeting in New York, Erdoğan talked about Turkey’s “breakthroughs” in technology and invited Musk to Teknofest, the aerospace and technology festival that will take place in Izmir later this month.Erdoğan also touted future cooperation on artificial intelligence and between Turkey’s space program and Musk’s SpaceX.Turkish state media Anadolu Agency cited Musk as saying that many Turkish suppliers are already working with Tesla and that Turkey is among the top candidates for its next factory. Musk also reportedly said he wished to work with Turkish authorities to obtain the necessary license to offer Starlink satellite services in Turkey.Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.Tesla currently has six gigafactories — four in the United States, one in China and one in Ge...

On and off the field, top Red Sox prospect Kyle Teel has brought the noise

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:03 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine — Roman Anthony remembers things being somewhat stagnant in the Greenville Drive clubhouse. The Red Sox High-A affiliate was 53-49 and had gone 4-7 in its prior 11 games, and the vibe around the club was kind of low.Then, on Aug. 8, top Red Sox draft pick Kyle Teel was called up from rookie ball, and immediately everything changed.“It seemed like this guy came in and brought the energy that we needed,” said Anthony, one of Boston’s top prospects. “He’s clicked with every guy in every clubhouse, he’s really an awesome dude and he’s the type of guy you want to be around.”A highly regarded catcher out of the University of Virginia, Teel was selected No. 14 overall by the Red Sox in July’s MLB Draft and has made an immediate impression since debuting with the organization last month. The 21-year-old took off like a rocket in Greenville and was promoted again alongside Anthony to Double-A Portland barely three weeks la...

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi heads to Moscow after meeting with US national security adviser

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:03 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s top foreign policy official is heading to Russia for security talks after two days of meetings with U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser over the weekend in Malta.Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who simultaneously holds the ruling Communist Party’s top foreign policy post, will be in Russia from Monday to Thursday for a round of China-Russia strategic security consultations, the Foreign Ministry said in a brief statement.The U.S. and China are at odds over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China has refrained from taking sides in the war, saying that while a country’s territory must be respected, the West needs to consider Russia’s security concerns about NATO expansion. It has accused the U.S. of prolonging the fighting by providing arms to Ukraine, weaponry that the U.S. says is needed to defend against Russian aggression.China and Russia have grown closer in recent years as relations with the West have deteriorated ...

Libya was mired in chaos and corruption. For years, warnings the Derna dams may burst went unheeded

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:03 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — The warnings were clear but went unheeded.Experts had long said that floods posed a significant danger to two dams meant to protect nearly 90,000 people in the northeast of Libya. They repeatedly called for immediate maintenance to the two structures, located just uphill from the coastal city of Derna. But successive governments in the chaos-stricken North African nation did not react. “In the event of a big flood, the consequences will be disastrous for the residents of the valley and the city,” Abdelwanees Ashoor, a professor of civil engineering, wrote in a study published last year in the Sabha University Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences.The warnings came true in the early hours of Sept. 11, when residents of Derna woke up to loud explosions before floodwaters pounded the Mediterranean city. They found that two dams had broken, unleashing a wall of water two stories high that wreaked destruction and swept entire neighborhoods out to sea.The deluge proved deadly ...

Underwater teams search for a helicopter that crashed while fighting a forest fire in western Turkey

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:03 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — Underwater teams are searching a lake for a helicopter that crashed over the weekend while fighting a forest fire in western Turkey, state media reported Monday.Four crew members were aboard the firefighting aircraft when it fell into the waters of the Tahtali dam while battling a blaze in Izmir’s Menderes district.One pilot, a national of Kyrgyzstan, swam to safety following the accident late Saturday. Three other crew – a Turk and two Kyrgyz personnel – remain unaccounted for.The search resumed Monday following Sunday’s unsuccessful efforts, state-run Anadolu news agency said. The night vision-equipped helicopter, which was collecting water to drop on the flames when it crashed, is reported to be stuck in mud 12 meters (36 feet) below the surface.The fire was extinguished Sunday. Summer wildfires are common in Turkey, where dry vegetation and high temperatures and winds create ideal conditions for deadly blazes.The Associated Press

In the news today: Parliament resumes, with focus on housing and food prices

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:03 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…Housing, food prices on agenda as MPs returnMPs are returning to the House of Commons today determined to find relief for Canadians feeling the pinch of inflation.While some of the most heated debates this fall will surround bail reform, gun restrictions and climate change, it is housing costs and grocery bills that will likely dominate the agenda. Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne will get things moving this morning when he meets with the heads of Canada’s biggest grocery chains, seeking a plan to curb the growing cost of food.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the heads of Loblaws, Sobeys, Metro, Costco and Walmart Canada have until Thanksgiving to show a plan to lower prices or the government may step in to force the issue.—Here’s what else we’re watching …Arguments slow ‘Freedom Convoy’ organizers’...

Film ‘Bones of Crows’ hits small screen with more story as five-part miniseries

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:03 GMT

TORONTO — It was soon apparent to writer and director Marie Clements that a limited miniseries would not be enough to contain the multigenerational tale of an Indigenous family at the heart of her latest project, “Bones of Crows.”The Vancouver-born Dene/Métis filmmaker says the sweeping story was initially envisioned as a four-part TV venture, but plans grew to a five-part miniseries, and then again to a five-part miniseries plus a feature film.That two-hour feature premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival one year ago, and this week the small screen version for CBC and CBC Gem fleshes out characters and relationships for a more fulsome look at an Indigenous family over some 90 years.While the movie focused on the turbulent life of Cree matriarch Aline Spears, Clements says each hour-long TV episode delves into the myriad trials faced by Aline’s siblings and family members, offering an opportunity to explore new layers to the impact of decades of systemic racism.“T...

Officers warned about harassment before former Saskatchewan police chief’s exit: memo

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:03 GMT

PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — Officers with a beleaguered Saskatchewan police force were warned about harassing behaviour in the weeks before their police chief accused members of personal attacks and character assassination, internal documents show.Jonathan Bergen announced he was retiring as chief of the Prince Albert Police Service last May saying he was the subject of “cowardly” attacks. “What I don’t expect from my service and the community I trust and value is the level of aggression, aggressive personal attack and character assassination on me and my leadership team, and the cruel and misdirected emotional assault on my family,” Bergen told media on May 18.Bergen alleged that his wife and daughter had to clean up offensive posters that were put up around the city 138 kilometres north of Saskatoon. He also alleged his daughter was followed by police members.On May 1, a memo was sent to all employees of the force in Saskatchewan’s third-largest city. “It was brought to our notice that...