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Police besiege gunman in Thailand who killed at least 3

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:00 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Police in Thailand said Wednesday they cordoned off a neighborhood in a city southwest of the capital and trapped a gunman inside his house after he shot dead at least three people and wounded several others.Thai television showed images of police taking positions on a quiet street in Phetchaburi, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) southwest of Bangkok, some carrying weapons and others with protective shields.Police confirmed that three people, including a motorcycle delivery driver, had been killed in the incident, which began early Wednesday afternoon. At one point, a body spotted by a police drone in front of the house could not be retrieved because it was in the line of fire.At least two injured people, one a local official who rushed to the site when he was notified of the shooting, were taken to a hospital.Police evacuated children from nearby schools and care centers and surrounded the gunman’s house while waiting for specially trained officers to try to resolve ...

Macron wants French pension plan implemented by end of year

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:00 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron said Wednesday that the pension bill he pushed through without a vote in parliament needs to be implemented by the “end of the year,” sticking to his decision to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 despite mass protests.Macron, who made the comments in an interview broadcast on national television, said the bill will “continue its democratic path.” The Constitutional Council needs to review the bill in the coming weeks, and it can only be turned into law after the body gives its approval. It was the first time that Macron spoke publicly since his government forced the pension bill through parliament last week, prompting scattered protests in Paris and across the country, some degenerating into violence. His government survived two no-confidence votes at the lower chamber of parliament on Monday.The 45-year-old president repeatedly said that he was convinced that France’s retirement system had needed to be modified to keep ...

Manitoba to raise minimum wage to $15.30 in October under inflation-tied formula

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:00 GMT

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government says the province’s minimum wage will rise to $15.30 an hour on Oct. 1.The government previously estimated it would hit $15 an hour or more, and has now determined the exact amount under a formula tied to inflation.The wage is currently $13.50 an hour and is set to rise April 1 to $14.15, as the Progressive Conservative government announced last fall.Labour and Immigration Minister Jon Reyes says the increase in October will put Manitoba in the top three provinces when it comes to minimum wages.Reyes says raising the minimum wage will help workers deal with the rising cost of living, and having it phased in will give employers time to adjust.Under a subsidy announced by the province last fall, businesses with up to 20 workers can apply for up to 50 cents an hour for each worker earning minimum wage.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 22, 2023The Canadian Press

Transgender youth: ‘Forced outing’ bills make schools unsafe

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:00 GMT

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Al Stone-Gebhardt worked hard in school to make sure he graduates in May, and he spent hundreds of dollars on commencement regalia, but he is fully prepared not to participate in the ceremony.The 17-year-old, who is transgender, said he fears his high school, Tulsa Union, might use his deadname — the name he was given at birth but no longer uses — on his diploma and during the ceremony instead of his legally changed name. He has had teachers call him by his birth name, sometimes inadvertently, and said he finds the experience traumatizing.“Being deadnamed just immediately makes you feel belittled, weak and insignificant,” Stone-Gebhardt said. “I didn’t want to be in the classroom. I didn’t trust the teacher.”After The Associated Press contacted the school about Stone-Gebhardt’s concerns, a spokesperson said the school will work with his parents to make sure his correct name is used.As hundreds of bills nationwide take aim at nearly every facet of transgender exis...

Ukrainian civilians killed by Russian missiles and drones

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:00 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s president posted video Wednesday showing what he said was a Russian missile slamming into an apartment building in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least one person, after Moscow’s forces launched exploding drones before dawn that killed another seven at a student dormitory near Kyiv.The video posted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Telegram appeared to be from CCTV cameras that captured the moment a missile hit the nine-story residential block by a busy road.Ukrainian media showed charred apartments on several stories of the affected buildings, with flames billowing from some of them. Two children were among the wounded, said Zaporizhzhia City Council Secretary Anatolii Kurtiev, adding that 25 needed hospital treatment, with three in critical condition.“Russia is shelling the city with bestial savagery,” Zelenskyy wrote to accompany the video. “Residential areas where ordinary people and children live are being fired at.”He a...

Transportation Safety Board report on sinking says fishing boat needed stability test

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:00 GMT

HALIFAX — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says in a report released today that a scallop dragger that sank off Nova Scotia should have been tested for stability, given major changes made to the boat.The 2020 sinking of the Chief William Saulis, which resulted in five deaths, prompted an investigation that found a stability assessment would have likely given the crew knowledge of the risks they faced.The report says Yarmouth Sea Products Ltd. had added a heavy A-frame to the top of the dragger, a protective stern plate at the back of the boat, and installed covers to close the holes that allow water to flow off the deck.On Dec. 15, 2020, the modified vessel capsized in the Bay of Fundy during a gale as it returned to its home port in Digby, N.S.The report says it had 2,700 kilograms of scallops stacked almost two metres high on its deck, which likely contributed to the boat’s instability by sliding around and potentially blocking drainage.The bodies of Eugene (Geno) M...

Behind massive seaweed belt headed for some Atlantic beaches

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A 5,000-mile seaweed belt lurking in the Atlantic Ocean is expected in the next few months to wash onto beaches in the Caribbean Sea, South Florida, and the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt — as the biomass stretching from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico is called — contains scattered patches of seaweed on the open sea, rather than one continuous blob of sargassum. It’s not a new occurrence, but satellite images captured in February showed an earlier start than usual for such a large accumulation in the open ocean.Once it washes ashore, sargassum is a nuisance — a thick, brown algae that carpets beaches, releasing a pungent smell as it decays and ensnares humans and animals who step into it. For hotels and resorts, clearing the stuff off beaches can amount to a round-the-clock operation.Here’s a look at this year’s sargassum seaweed bloom:WHAT IS SARGASSUM? A leafy brown seaweed festooned with what look like berries....

Israeli, Polish foreign ministers meet, seeking to mend ties

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:00 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The Israeli and Polish foreign ministers are meeting Wednesday as the two nations work to resolve a dispute that has led to a cancellation of Israeli youth trips to Poland, one of several issues behind a years-long chill between the two countries.The visit by Foreign Minister Eli Cohen is the first at that level since 2018, and Poland’s Foreign Ministry says it will be followed by Israeli President Isaac Herzog attending observances next month for the 80th anniversary of the World War II Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Herzog’s office had no comment.Wednesday’s meeting, particularly if followed by a visit from Herzog, would signal a thawing in ties after years of tensions marked by a withdrawal of ambassadors and Poland’s prime minister canceling a planned visit to Israel in 2019. Israel has since returned an ambassador to Poland, but there is still no Polish ambassador in Israel.The two allies have seen ties deteriorate in recent years due to d...

World Bank approves $7 billion loan to support Egypt reforms

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:00 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — The World Bank said Wednesday it approved a $7 billion loan to support Egypt’s push to empower the private sector and enhance its efforts to combat the impacts of climate change.The loan, approved Tuesday by the World Bank’s board of executive directors, is separate from a bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund, which Egypt secured in December.In a statement, the World Bank said funds will be delivered over the next five years and would help Egypt generate “more and better” private sector jobs. It will also improve Egypt’s health and education services and social protection programs, it said.“We are proud to continue our strategic partnership with Egypt and we are committed to supporting ongoing efforts dedicated to improving the quality of life for Egyptians,” said Marina Wes, the bank’s country director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti.Wes said the World Bank’s partnership with Egypt supports the country’s efforts “to build back better by creating ...

UK opens inquiry into unlawful killing claims in Afghanistan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:24:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A senior judge launched an independent inquiry Wednesday to investigate whether U.K. military police covered up or did not properly probe allegations of unlawful killings by British armed forces in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2013.Britain’s government ordered the inquiry after lawyers brought legal challenges on behalf of the families of eight Afghans who were allegedly killed by British special forces during nighttime raids in in 2011 and 2012.Senior judge Charles Haddon-Cave said his team would “get to the bottom” of whether investigations carried out by the Royal Military Police were adequate. “It is clearly important that anyone who has broken the law is referred to the relevant authorities for investigation. Equally, those who have done nothing wrong should rightly have the cloud of suspicion lifted from them,” Haddon-Cave said Wednesday. “This is critical, both for the reputation of the armed forces and the country.” The inquiry into tw...