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Retrial ordered for US men convicted of killing Italian cop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italy’s highest court has ordered a retrial for two U.S. citizens who were convicted in the slaying of an Italian carabiniere during a sting operation gone bad.The Court of Cassation late Wednesday threw out the guilty verdicts against Finnegan Lee Elder, now 23, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 22, both convicted in the stabbing death of the 35-year-old officer during a plainclothes operation while the Americans, teens at the time, were on vacation in Rome in the summer of 2019.The court will issue its reasons for the verdict in the coming weeks, and instruct an appeals court on the issues to examine in a new trial. Elder’s lawyer, Roberto Capra, expressed satisfaction at the decision, saying a new trial would open the possibility of recalculating the sentence. The two men, friends from northern California, were sentenced to life in prison, Italy’s toughest penalty, in the initial trial. An appeals court upheld the verdict but lowered the sentence to 24 years for Elder and 22...

Israelis step up protests after Netanyahu rejects compromise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli protesters pressed ahead on Thursday with demonstrations against a contentious government plan to overhaul the judiciary, pushing back against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he rejected a compromise proposal that was meant to defuse the crisis.Despite the effort by the country’s figurehead president, Isaac Herzog, to seek a way out of the stalemate, the sides appeared to be further digging in. Netanyahu and his allies were set to barrel forward with their original plan despite weeks of mass protests and widespread opposition from across Israeli society and beyond as well as warnings by Herzog that Israel was headed toward an “abyss.”Protesters were kicking off a third day of disruption since the crisis began, with roads set to close to make way for demonstrators. Protesters in Jerusalem drew a red streak on the streets leading to the country’s Supreme Court and a small flotilla of boats was blocking the shipping lane off the coast...

After Cyclone Freddy, flood risk lingers for southern Africa

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

BLANTYRE, Malawi (AP) — After four days of destructive wind and rain, local communities and relief workers are now confronting the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy which has killed more than 250 people and displaced tens of thousands of others across Malawi and Mozambique and may still cause further damage. Cyclone Freddy dissipated over land late Wednesday, but weather monitoring centers warned that countries are still vulnerable to flooding and landslides.At least 225 people have been killed in southern Malawi, including within the financial capital of Blantyre, officials said. Around 88,000 people are still displaced and parts of the region remain inaccessible. Malawi’s president, Lazarus Chakwera, has declared a 14-day national mourning period. In Mozambique, authorities said at least 53 were killed since late Saturday, with 50,000 more still displaced. Scientists say human-caused climate change has worsened cyclone activity, making them more intense and more frequent. The rece...

Wind-Driver Rains Thursday; a look late March 70s

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

Multifaceted late winter storm to bring wind-driven rain here: sticking snow west/northwest of Chicago and severe weather to the deep southPredicted mid-afternoon snapshot ThursdayPredicted wind gusts Thursday afternoon: Widespread 30-40 mph gusts expected. Thursday severe weather outlookSevere weather, including damaging winds, large hail and isolated tornadoes expected in the far southern plainsU.S. Snow Cover mapWhile the Chicago area sits snow-free, winter remains alive and well in the Upper Midwest where a deep snowpack remains. Image of U.S. Snow cover map Snowfall (inches) on the ground:Colder pattern to dominate by and large the next 10+ days--Full day temperature departures from normal:

Is Bribery, The Political Currency Of Choice For Elected Officials?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

EU and Thailand relaunch trade negotiations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

The EU and Thailand announced the relaunch of negotiations for an ambitious, modern and balanced free trade agreement (FTA), with sustainability at its core. This announcement confirms the key importance of the Indo-Pacific region for the EU trade agenda, paving the way for deeper trade ties with the second largest economy in South-East Asia and further strengthening the EU's strategic engagement with this burgeoning region.The aim of the FTA will be to boost trade and investment by addressing a wide range of issues such as: market access for goods, services, investment and government procurement; swift and effective Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary procedures; the protection of intellectual property rights including Geographical Indications, and the removal of obstacles to digital trade and trade in energy and raw materials, thereby supporting the digital and green transitions. Sustainability will also be at the heart of this agreement, with robust and enforceable disciplines on Trade a...

Single family residence in San Jose sells for $2.2 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

1622 Monteval Court – Google Street ViewThe spacious property located in the 1600 block of Monteval Court in San Jose was sold on Feb. 23, 2023. The $2,150,000 purchase price works out to $842 per square foot. The house built in 1968 has an interior space of 2,554 square feet. The property features six bedrooms, four bathrooms, a garage, and two parking spaces. It sits on an 0.3-acre lot, which also has a pool.Additional houses have recently been purchased nearby:On Puerto Vallarta Drive, San Jose, in February 2023, a 1,670-square-foot home was sold for $1,800,000, a price per square foot of $1,078. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In November 2022, a 2,642-square-foot home on Via Campagna in San Jose sold for $2,100,000, a price per square foot of $795. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 2,124-square-foot home on the 1500 block of Monteval Lane in San Jose sold in September 2022 for $1,650,000, a price per square foot of $777. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.&...

2 Capitol Heights men arrested in connection to Silver Spring shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

Two Capitol Heights, Maryland, men have been arrested in connection to the shooting death of a man in Silver Spring earlier this month.On Wednesday, Montgomery County police reported that Kajohn and Ahmahd McCombs, both 22-years-old, are in custody following the death of Deandre Keith Ellis, 23.More Montgomery County NewsMore Crime NewsThe shooting took place in the 900 block of Bonifant Street.Around 10:15 p.m. on March 5, officers responded to the location for a welfare check call. When they arrived on the scene, officers discovered Ellis deceased in a car with an apparent gunshot wound.The two men are being held in the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit, but their bond information is unavailable.NBC Washington reported that a press conference occurred in the same area of this homicide three weeks before the shooting.  Leaders in Montgomery County were announcing new legislation aimed at improving late-night safety in Silver Spring.The proposed bill would require businesses...

Greek unions stage general strike over rail deaths

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A general strike in Greece called in response to a rail disaster last month grounded flights and extensively disrupted services, with protests in cities across the country planned for Thursday.The strike also kept ferries to the Greek islands at port, left public hospitals running with emergency staff, halted public transport services and led to class cancellations at state-run schools.Unions have rallied behind railway workers’ associations that have staged rolling walkouts since the head-on train collision in northern Greece on Feb. 28 that left 57 people dead and dozens injured.The government, which faces parliamentary elections before the summer, says rail services will restart on March 22 and be restored gradually through April 11, with additional staff to monitor safety and mandatory speed reduction rules along sections of the track.Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ center-right government has seen a strong lead in opinion polls reduced in recent weeks ...

UN nuclear watchdog: 2.5 tons of uranium missing in Libya

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:22 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Some 2.5 tons of natural uranium stored in a site in war-torn Libya have gone missing, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Thursday, raising safety and proliferation concerns. Natural uranium can’t immediately be used for energy production or bomb fuel, as the enrichment process typically requires the metal to be converted into a gas, then later spun in centrifuges to reach the levels needed. However, each ton of natural uranium — if obtained by a group with the technological means and resources — can be refined to 5.6 kilograms (12 pounds) of weapons-grade material over time, experts say. That makes finding the missing metal important for nonproliferation experts. In a statement, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said its director-general, Rafael Mariano Grossi, informed member states Wednesday about the missing uranium. The IAEA statement remained tightlipped though on much of the details. On Tuesday, “agency safeguar...