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China diplomat under fire in EU for questioning sovereignty of ex-Soviet countries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

France and the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are asking Beijing for answers after China’s top envoy to France questioned the independence of former Soviet countries like Ukraine. Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to France, said in an interview on Friday with French television network LCI that former Soviet countries have no “effective status” in international law.Asked whether Crimea belongs to Ukraine, Shaye said that “it depends how you perceive the problem,” arguing that it was historically part of Russia and offered to Ukraine by former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.“In international law, even these ex-Soviet Union countries do not have the status, the effective [status] in international law, because there is no international agreement to materialize their status as a sovereign country,” he said. The comments sparked outrage among Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia — three former Soviet countries. Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs said i...

Suspect arrested in German gym attack that left 4 wounded

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A suspect has been arrested over last week’s stabbing attack at a gym in the western German city of Duisburg in which four people were seriously wounded, authorities said Sunday.Prosecutor Jill Mc Culler said the man, a 26-year-old Syrian citizen, was arrested shortly after midnight, German news agency dpa reported. He was to be brought before a judge on Monday to determine whether he can be kept in custody pending possible charges.Further details weren’t immediately available.Police on Friday had released pictures of a man sought in the attack after obtaining footage from a surveillance camera located near the John Reed Fitness studio where the attack took place late Tuesday. Authorities offered a reward of 2,000 euros ($2,200) for information leading to his arrest. Officials have said the attacker appeared to have targeted the most seriously injured victim, a 21-year-old man. The other victims, also men, were two 24-year-olds and a 32-year-old.The Associa...

Governments race to rescue diplomats, citizens from Sudan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — The U.S. military airlifted embassy officials out of Sudan on Sunday and international governments raced to evacuate their diplomatic staff and citizens trapped in the capital as rival generals battled for control of Africa’s third-largest country for a ninth straight day.Fighting raged in Omdurman, the city across the Nile from Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, residents reported. The violence came despite a declared truce that was to coincide with the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.“We did not see such a truce,” said Amin al-Tayed from his home near state television headquarters in Omdurman. He said heavy gunfire and thundering explosions rocked the city. “The battles did not stop,” he said.Thick black smoke filled the sky over Khartoum’s airport. The paramilitary group battling the Sudanese armed forces claimed the military unleashed airstrikes on the upscale neighborhood of Kafouri, north of Khartoum. There was no immediate comment from the army. A...

Train hits car at crossing in Germany, 3 killed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A train hit a car at a crossing in northern Germany early Sunday, killing all three people in the car, police said.Police said that the regional train hit the car at full speed near Neustadt am Ruebenberge, outside the city of Hannover, German news agency dpa reported. The car’s 22-year-old driver was killed along with two women who were with him in the vehicle, aged 21 and 22. There were 38 passengers and four railway employees on board the train, and one person was slightly injured. The car apparently drove onto a crossing although the barriers, which didn’t cover the whole width of the road, were closed.The Associated Press

By HUD counts, St. Paul’s apartment construction permits fell 48% after rent control. Was it temporary?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

National apartment construction hit record highs last year not seen since the early 1970s, but the same did not hold true in Minnesota’s capital city.When it comes to construction of duplexes, triplexes and other forms of multi-family housing, St. Paul’s building permits plummeted by 48% last year compared with the year before, according to HUD, the federal department of Housing and Urban Development. The numbers of permitted units ended the year roughly on par with the city’s 10-year average, which was weighed down coming out of the Great Recession a decade ago. That’s fair, bad or really bad, depending upon how you slice it.Minneapolis, on the other hand, registered an average to above-average construction year, with a 16% increase in permitted multi-family housing units from the year before. That’s fair, good or really good by the same standards.“The slowdown is real,” said St. Paul City Council member Chris Tolbert, who chairs the city&#...

Word Game: April 23, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — CASEMENT (CASEMENT: KASE-ment: A hinged window.)Average mark 56 wordsTime limit 60 minutesCan you find 67 or more words in CASEMENT?TODAY’S WORD — CASEMENT came cane case cast caste cease cement cent cesta acme acne amen ament ante ascent same sane sate sateen scam scan scant scat scene scent seam seamen seance seat sect seem seen semen senate sent stamen stance steam stem ease east eaten enact encase enema mace mane mast mate mean meanest meant meat meet menace mesa meta mete name neat nest tame team tease teem teen tenseTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admi...

Ask Amy: She told me she’d see me in hell. Now she’s asking for my help.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

Dear Amy: I was abandoned by my mother and adopted by another family at 18 months old.Thirty years later, I located my birth parents. My father declined to meet. I met my birth mother and spent time getting to know her.In the years since reuniting, she has stolen from me, lied to me, and cut me with her cruelty.I reached a point where I decided that as much as I wanted a mother, I did not need or want a toxic relationship in my life, and I stopped communicating with her. I did explain to her why I was going to stop communicating.Her reply was, “I’ll see you in Hell.”Many months passed without any word from her.Over the last few days, I’ve heard from her several times. She apparently had a fall and is in a nursing home and needs help, because she wants to go home.I continue to struggle with a sense of responsibility toward her, even though I know that she is poison for me.Related ArticlesAdvice | Ask Amy: The other shopper stole a grocery bag. Should I have told on h...

Stormy Week Ahead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

Enjoy the sunshine while you can the rest of this weekend because while we will still see times of sunshine this upcoming week, there will be more clouds around along with a better chance for rain and thunderstorms as several disturbances in the mid levels of the atmosphere trek over Florida.This Sunday, expect mostly sunny skies much of the day, and with a land breeze during the morning hours at least, that will allow for temperatures to rise up and into the upper 80s once again. Then during the mid afternoon hours, a few showers and eventually thunderstorms are expected to develop inland and near the metro. Some of this activity will drift into the metro by the end of the day, especially in Miami-Dade County, but this activity looks fairly isolated.We can thank a weakening front helping to instigate these afternoon storms on Sunday and the front looks to hang around and stall out across southern Florida through Tuesday, helping to elevate rain chances.The first disturbance will mo...

Countries evacuating diplomats from Sudan as violence continues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

The U.S. said it has evacuated its embassy staff from Sudan, while France and other countries were evacuating diplomats on Sunday, following eight days of battles between rival military factions in the African country.U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement that Washington is “temporarily suspending operations at the U.S. Embassy in Sudan.” He reiterated calls for a ceasefire. “The belligerent parties must implement an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and respect the will of the people of Sudan,” Biden said. France’s ministry of foreign affairs and its defense ministry announced they are coordinating a “rapid evacuation operation for our diplomatic personnel and nationals in Sudan, in conjunction with all stakeholders and our European and allied partners.” The operation includes “nationals of these states” and European diplomatic personnel, the ministries said. The two warring side...

Baltics blast China diplomat for questioning sovereignty of ex-Soviet states

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

France and the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are asking Beijing for answers after China’s top envoy to France questioned the independence of former Soviet countries like Ukraine. Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to France, said in an interview on Friday with French television network LCI that former Soviet countries have no “effective status” in international law.Asked whether Crimea belongs to Ukraine, Shaye said that “it depends how you perceive the problem,” arguing that it was historically part of Russia and offered to Ukraine by former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.“In international law, even these ex-Soviet Union countries do not have the status, the effective [status] in international law, because there is no international agreement to materialize their status as a sovereign country,” he said. The comments sparked outrage among Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia — three former Soviet countries. Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs said i...