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Dozens of flights canceled after fire tears through a parking garage at London’s Luton Airport

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:26 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of travelers faced disruption as all flights were suspended on Wednesday at London’s Luton airport after a fire tore through a newly built parking garage, destroying vehicles and partially collapsing the structure.Four firefighters and an airport employee were treated in hospitals for smoke inhalation after the fire, which erupted on Tuesday evening.All flights were suspended until at least 3 p.m. on Wednesday, the airport said in a statement, and would-be passengers were asked to stay away because emergency crews were still on the scene.Luton, about 56 kilometers (35 miles) north of central London, is a hub for easyJet, Ryanair and other budget airlines running flights to destinations in the United Kingdom and Europe.Some passengers had to wait at the nearby railway station because the airport was closed.Nikodem Lesiak, a university student trying to return to Poland, said he had spent the night at the station.“When we got here, we found out Luton is b...

Apartment fire in northwestern Spain kills 4 people, including 3 children

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:26 GMT

VIGO, Spain (AP) — A fire in an apartment building that was reportedly occupied by squatters in Spain’s northwestern city of Vigo killed four people, including three children, municipal authorities said Wednesday.Emergency services initially said that all four victims were between 9 and 14 years old, but Vigo Mayor Abel Caballero later confirmed one of the victims was an adult.Medics evacuated nine other people to hospitals, emergency services for the Galicia region said. Three injured people, including a child, were in serious condition, they said.The town declared three days of mourning for the victims, Caballero said.The building in central Vigo had several apartments that were occupied by squatters, Spanish state television RTVE reported, but it was unclear if the victims were squatters or residents.The Associated Press

Some Israelis abroad desperately try to head home – to join reserve military units, or just to help

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:26 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — At the most harrowing of times, some Israeli citizens living overseas aren’t running from the war at home, but to it. From Athens to New York, they’re rushing to airports and diving into online chat groups for help, desperate to make their way to the country after Hamas militants attacked. Some of these Israelis abroad are yearning to serve, whether that means fighting in a military reserve unit or volunteering to shuttle supplies to those in need, even as the war has already claimed at least 1,800 lives and shows no signs of abating. On Tuesday, Israel’s military expanded its mobilization of reservists to 360,000, according to the country’s media, as it ramped up its retaliation for the surprise attacks. Yaakov Swisa, a 42-year-old father of five, said nobody called and asked him to return to Israel to fight, but he feels he has no choice. He served for 15 years, and he said he learned his army roommate was among at least 260 killed at a music f...

French troops are starting to withdraw from Niger following the July coup as extremist attacks rise

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:26 GMT

COTONOU, Benin (AP) — French troops have started leaving Niger more than two months after mutinous soldiers toppled the African country’s democratically elected president, the military said Wednesday. The French didn’t specify how many troops were departing or where they were headed.Late Tuesday, Niger’s state television broadcast images of a convoy leaving a base in Ouallam in the country’s north, saying it was bound for neighboring Chad, to the east. French military transport aircraft were also shown departing from an airbase in the capital, Niamey. The departure comes weeks after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France will end its military presence in Niger and pull its ambassador out of the country as a result of the coup that removed President Mohamed Bazoum in late July. Some 1,500 French troops have been operating in Niger, training its military and conducting joint operations.Since seizing power, Niger’s military leaders have leveraged anti-French sentiment a...

Norway activists renew protest against wind farm on land used by herders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:26 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Dozen of activists protested Wednesday at Norway’s parliament to express frustration over the Norwegian government’s failure to shut down a wind farm they say endangers the way of life of Sami reindeer herders.At the center of the dispute are the 151 turbines of Europe’s largest onshore wind farm, which is located in central Norway’s Fosen district, about 450 kilometers (280 miles) north of Oslo. The activists say a transition to green energy shouldn’t come at the expense of the rights of Indigenous people. They have demonstrated repeatedly against the wind farm’s continued operation since the Supreme Court of Norway ruled in October 2021 that the construction of the turbines had violated the rights of the Sami, who have used the land for reindeer for centuries.”The trust of Sami in the state is at a breaking point,” activist Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen said Wednesday. “It is absurd, because the reindeer owners of Fosen won in court. The gov...

What to know on 5th day of latest Israel-Palestinian war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:26 GMT

The war between Israel and the militant group Hamas raged for a fifth day on Wednesday, as Israeli warplanes hammered neighborhood after neighborhood in the Gaza Strip, reducing buildings to rubble and sending people scrambling to find safety.As authorities in Gaza warned that rescue teams were unable to reach many areas and that electricity supplies would run out within hours, humanitarian groups pleaded for the creation of corridors that would allow them to deliver aid.The war, which has claimed at least 2,100 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate.Israel has vowed an unprecedented offensive against Hamas, after the Islamic militant group’s fighters broke through the border fence and stormed into the country’s south on Saturday, gunning down hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival.The Israeli military said more than 1,200 people, including 155 soldiers, have died in Israel since Saturday’s incursion. In Gaza, 950 people have...

FTC proposes a ban on ‘junk fees’ and says hidden charges push up prices

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:26 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday proposed a rule to ban any hidden and bogus “junk” fees, which can mask the total cost of concert tickets, hotel rooms and utility bills.President Joe Biden has made the removal of these fees a priority of his administration. The effort has led to a legislative push and a spate of initiatives aimed at helping consumers. Administration officials have said these additional costs can inflate prices and waste people’s time.“The proposed rule would prohibit corporations from running up the bills with hidden and bogus fees, requiring honest pricing and spurring firms to compete on honesty rather than deception,” said FTC Chair Lina Kahn on a call with reporters. “Violators will be subject to civil penalties and be required to pay back Americans that they tricked.”The FTC proposal is being coupled with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announcing that it will block large banks from charging junk fees in order to provi...

Columbia, Bethlehem battle to draw in state ranked matchup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:26 GMT

EAST GREENBUSH, NY (NEWS10) -- A battle between state ranked boys soccer teams in Section 2 Class AA took place at Columbia High School on Tuesday night. The 12th ranked Blue Devils played host to the 5th ranked Bethlehem Eagles. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Columbia's Cameron Mingle sent a beautiful through ball to Cody Hamilton, who tallied the game's first goal to give the Blue Devils the lead. Mingle also set up the Blue Devils' second goal, which was shrouded in controversy. Mingle hit a free kick off of the crossbar, which was then headed in by Freshman Aiden Graber. The Eagles argued that the ball not only hit the crossbar of the soccer goal, but also skimmed off of the football crossbar, which is out of play. However, it was ruled a goal and Columbia took a 2-0 lead.The Eagles responded later in the first half, with Marcello Michel finding the back of the net off an indirect kick. It was 2-1 Columbia at the half, an...

Commission publishes template for compliance report under the Digital Markets Act

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:26 GMT

The Commission has published the template for the compliance report that designated gatekeepers will need to submit under theDigital Markets Act (‘DMA').The compliance reports must include in a detailed and transparent manner all relevant information needed by the Commission to assess the effective compliance of designated gatekeepers with the DMA. They must cover all core platform services listed in the relevant designation decision.Designated gatekeepers will need to submit compliance reports within six months from designation and update them at least once per year. The gatekeepers designated on 6 September 2023 will need to submit the first reports by 7 March 2024. The Commission will then publish a non-confidential summary of each compliance report.The Commission has also published (i) the replies to the consultation on the draft template for compliance reports that were received between 6 June and 5 July 2023; and (ii) other relevant templates that designated gatekeepers will n...

EU’s foreign policy chief calls on Israel ‘to respect international law’ while some EU member states want the EU to show more solidarity with Jerusalem

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:59:26 GMT

"Israel has the right to defend itself, but it has to be done according to the right of international law, humanitarian law. Some decisions are against this international law," declared EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.Speaking in Muscat, Oman, at a press conference following a special informal meeting of EU Foreign Ministers on the situation in Israel, Borrell“Some of the actions [by Israel]— and the United Nations has already said it — cutting water, cutting electricity, cutting food to a mass of civilian people is against international law so yes, there are some actions that are not in accordance with international law."Earlier, Borrell and EU Foreign Ministers  had a meeting with the Gulf Cooperation Council member states to discuss about their co-operation "but also about the dramatic moments that we are living since last Saturday, when Hamas attacked Israel, with mass murders of civilians and kidnapping people".In his statement to reporters, Borrell said: "I can say tha...