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Brazil’s Lula pitches his nation — and himself — as fresh leader for Global South

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — “Brazil is back.” That has been Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s refrain for the better part of the last year, with the president deploying the snappy slogan to cast Brazil — and himself — as a leader of the Global South no longer content to abide the world’s outdated workings.Last year, Lula thwarted the reelection bid of the far-right Jair Bolsonaro, who showed little interest in geopolitics or diplomacy during his four years in office. Lula, by contrast, has crisscrossed the globe and visited 21 countries in recent months, from the United States to China, Italy to India, Argentina to Angola. He has sought to boost Brazil’s cred with each state visit and speech, one multilateral forum after another. On Tuesday, his address at the U.N. General Assembly marked his return to that rostrum for the first time since 2009, the last year of his previous presidency’s second term.“Brazil is reencountering itself, the region, the world and multilateralism,” ...

Man accused in deaths of nearly two dozen elderly women in Texas killed by his prison cellmate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — A man accused of killing nearly two dozen older women and who was convicted last year in the slayings of two was killed Tuesday morning by his cellmate at a Texas prison, an official said.Billy Chemirmir, 50, was found dead in his cell, said Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Hannah Haney. She said that Chemirmir’s cellmate, who is serving a sentence for murder, was identified as the assailant. She said she could not the cellmate’s identity or how Chemirmir was killed.The first capital murder trial of Chemirmir for the slaying of Lu Thi Harris, 81, ended in mistrial in Dallas County. He was later convicted in a second trial for Harris’ death and convicted of a second killing in the death of Mary Brooks, 87.Authorities said Chemirmir preyed on older women, killing them and stealing their valuables. Chemirmir, who maintained his innocence, was serving two sentences of life without the possibility of parole.He was caught after a 91-year-old woman...

Tracy Byrd toasts Great Frederick Fair for ‘Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo’ before doing ‘Watermelon Crawl’ home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

Hear our full chat on my podcast “Beyond the Fame with Jason Fraley.” toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews Tracy Byrd at the Great Frederick Fair (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); Country music star Tracy Byrd joins Jo Dee Messina at the Great Frederick Fair in Frederick, Maryland, this Friday.Together, they’ve had so many hits that, to steal a phrase, I lost count and started counting again.“We...

Man accused of killing nearly two dozen older women has been killed in prison by his cellmate, Texas officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — Man accused of killing nearly two dozen older women has been killed in prison by his cellmate, Texas officials say.Source

United Auto Workers threaten to expand targeted strike if there is no substantive progress by Friday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

The United Auto Workers union is stepping up pressure on Detroit’s Big Three by threatening to expand its strike unless it sees major progress in contract negotiations by Friday.In a video statement late Monday, UAW President Shawn Fain said workers at more factories will join those who are now in the fifth day of a strike at three plants.“We’re not going to keep waiting around forever while they drag this out … and we’re not messing around,” Fain said in announcing the noon Friday deadline for escalating the strike unless there is “serious progress” in the talks.Ford, General Motors and Stellantis said they want to settle the strike, and they held back from directly criticizing the escalation threat.Mark Stewart, the North American chief operating officer of Stellantis, the successor to Fiat Chrysler, said the company is still looking for common ground with the UAW.“I hope that we’re able to do that by Friday,” Stewart said on CNBC. GM said in a printed statement,...

India expels Canadian diplomat, escalating tensions after Trudeau accuses India in Sikh’s killing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India expelled a senior Canadian diplomat on Tuesday and accused Canada of interfering in its internal affairs, ramping up a confrontation between the two countries over accusations that the Indian government may have been involved in the killing of a Sikh activist. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada wasn’t looking to escalate tensions, but asked India to take the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar seriously after India called accusations that the Indian government may have been involved “absurd.”“India and the government of India needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness,” Trudeau told journalists outside Parliament Tuesday. “We are doing that. We are not looking to provoke or escalate. We are simply laying out the facts as we understand them and we want to work with the government of India to lay everything clear and to ensure there are proper processes.”Trudeau said Monday that his government was investigating allegations that India was connected ...

UK inquiry: Migrants awaiting deportation are kept ‘in prison-like’ conditions at a detention center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A British inquiry reported Tuesday that migrants awaiting deportation suffered physical and verbal abuse at a government-run detention center, and recommended that no one be kept in such “prison-like” conditions for more than 28 days.Inquiry chairwoman Kate Eves said migrants suffered “shocking treatment” at the Brook House Immigration Removal Center near Gatwick Airport, south of London.Eves said the facility had a “toxic” staff culture, and migrants faced racist and derogatory language, dehumanizing comments and the inappropriate use of force.“The most serious of these incidents involved the application of pressure to a detained man’s neck while he was in extreme distress,” her report said.“If you are going to detain people in immigration removal centers, you have to do so humanely,” Eves said.Noting that the government had ignored previous calls for reform, she urged officials to heed her recommendations, especially the “incredibly important” 28-day detention limit....

Dutch caretaker government unveils budget plan to spend 2 billion per year extra to fight poverty

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The caretaker Dutch government announced Tuesday that it will spend an extra 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) per year to tackle poverty in this nation where the gap between rich and poor is shaping up as a major campaign theme ahead of a November general election.The announcement came on Prince’s Day, when the monarch reads a speech outlining government plans for the coming year and the finance minister unveils the annual budget.The policy plans were restrained because the governing coalition is in caretaker mode after quitting in July over the four parties’ failure to agree on a package of measures to rein in migration. An election is scheduled for Nov. 22 and will be followed by possibly lengthy negotiations to form a new coalition.Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the country’s longest-serving premier, has said he will quit politics once a new coalition is formed.While the Dutch economy remains healthy, many households on lower incomes have been ...

AUTO RACING: Hamlin declares himself the man to beat in NASCAR. Sainz ends Verstappen’s win streak

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

All Times EasternNASCAR CUP SERIESAutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400Site: Fort Worth, Texas.Schedule: Saturday, practice, 12:35 p.m., and qualifying, 1:20 p.m.; Sunday, race, 3:30 p.m. (USA).Track: Texas Motor Speedway.Race distance: 267 laps, 400 miles.Last year: Tyler Reddick won after starting fourth.Last race: Denny Hamlin took the lead off pit road and led the final 135 laps at Bristol, beating Kyle Larson by 2.462 seconds in the first elimination race of the Cup Series playoffs.Fast facts: Defending series champion Joey Logano, retiring Kevin Harvick, Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Michael McDowell were eliminated from the playoffs. Logano is the first defending champ not to make it out of the first round the following year. … Bubba Wallace and Reddick, who drive for the 23XI Racing team co-owned by Hamlin and Michael Jordan, also advanced in the playoffs. … Pole sitter Christopher Bell led a race-high 187 laps. … Hamlin led 142 laps in all, and T...

Segundo Simulacro Nacional en México: a qué hora es, dónde y para qué sirve

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:20 GMT

(CNN Español) — Este martes 19 de septiembre se realiza el segundo Simulacro Nacional en México en los 32 estados del país. Se espera que participen millones de personas y por primera vez habrá cuatro hipótesis para distintas regiones del país.Estos escenarios servirán como ejercicio de evaluación de los protocolos de preparación y respuesta, de los tres niveles de gobierno, ante una emergencia.El escenario hipotético será el de dos sismos y dos huracanes.El primer Simulacro Nacional de 2023 en México se realizó el 19 de abril para fomentar la cultura de la protección civil en la población y reforzar las capacidades de reacción de las autoridades, los ciudadanos y los cuerpos de rescate ante una emergencia o desastre, según las autoridades.Esto es lo que debes saber.¿Quién puede participar en el simulacro?Así como en el primer Simulacro Nacional, para esta ocasión puede participar cualquier persona que se encuentre en su casa, negocio, oficina, escuela o trabajo. Lo único que ...