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A year after Mariupol’s fall, Azovstal survivor recalls surrender with pain and a sense of purpose

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:50 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Mikhailo Vershinin was a shadow of the burly Mariupol policeman he was when he emerged after four months in Russian captivity.The head of Mariupol’s Police Patrol, he was among hundreds to surrender from the Russian siege of the Azovstal steel mill on the orders of the Ukrainian president a year ago and was close to death on the day he was exchanged for Russian prisoners of war.He experienced first-hand the day the final square of the besieged city fell and now recalls it with both deep sadness, but a sense of purpose for Ukraine’s future.The air strikes had been relentless for weeks, but the skies fell silent while Russian and Ukrainian officers negotiated terms of surrender. At the time, Vershinin said, it seemed like the only chance for both the men and women with him underground – and for Mariupol.Azovstal’s last stand also became a rallying point for many countries hesitating about support for Ukraine.“Beginning with Mariupol, the world started to wake up i...

G7 nations to ‘diversify’ their economies, but won’t part ways with China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:50 GMT

HIROSHIMA, Japan — The G7 leaders say their nations don’t plan to part ways with China or harm its economy.Instead, they plan to diversify their economies in order to reduce their dependencies on China. That’s according to their communiqué, a document that’s typically released on the final day of the summit that outlines the countries’ shared priorities.The communique also includes language on foreign interference, something a government official says Canada pushed for.The document calls on China to not conduct inference activities that aim to undermine the security and safety of G7 nations, or the integrity of democratic institutions and economic prosperity. The document was released ahead of schedule to accommodate an in-person appearance by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who arrived Saturday afternoon.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 20, 2023. The Canadian Press

Radio host jailed for sedition in Hong Kong finds a home and freedom in Canada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:50 GMT

VANCOUVER — Edmund Wan, recently released from a Hong Kong prison, says he feels at ease in Vancouver.He described the sense of familiarity that struck him in a Hong Kong-style café on Vancouver’s Cambie Street — the smell of baked pork chops on rice, the background noise of people joking in Cantonese.But there was something else that Wan says people in Hong Kong can no longer take for granted — the ability to talk freely and without fear in public.Wan, 55, is better known as the former Hong Kong radio personality Giggs, a prominent voice of support for the city’s pro-democracy protest movement.“I hear people chatting in Cantonese no matter where I go, especially in Richmond and Burnaby’s food courts where they say ‘hey’ after recognizing me,” Wan said in an interview in Mandarin, in which he is also fluent.“I am fully enjoying my life in Canada.”Wan moved to British Columbia last month after spending almost two years in Hong Kong̵...

‘I thought I was done’: Africans evacuated from Sudan conflict share their stories

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:50 GMT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Pauline Hungwe huddled in the bathroom of her apartment in Sudan, terrified and only peeking out of a window for a second to see the walls of nearby buildings disintegrate as they were hit by artillery fire.She was convinced her building was next and she was going to die. The only thing she thought to do was call her son back home in Zimbabwe.“I thought I was done,” she said. “I told my son, ‘I am gone.’”Teacher Owen Shamu was preparing children at a school in Khartoum for an exam when gunfire rang out meters away from their classroom, throwing him into a panic, he said, let alone the kids. But having kept himself and his family safe through the first days of fighting, Shamu, also a Zimbabwean, had to think about a plan to get them out of Sudan with hardly any money and no immediate help from his home country. He didn’t know how they would survive, he said.Amina Balarabe walked for several days with her six children to various points in Khar...

Daily horoscope for May 20, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:50 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Gemini.Happy Birthday for Saturday May 20, 2023:You are intuitive and sensitive and can form close bonds with others. You are warm and caring because you identify with others. This is a year of change, which means you should stay flexible so that you can seek out new opportunities or suddenly go in a new direction. Travel is likely.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★It’s a tricky day! Be careful of ego battles and aggressive moves, especially in sports or issues related to kids. (It’s too easy to go overboard today.) This also applies to your relations with your kids. This is a day that requires moderation and patience so that there are no regrets. Tonight: Discussions.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★The gloves are off, and difficulty with authority figures, bosses, parents and the police are likely today. This also might mean conflict at home, within the family or with people related to yo...

Harriette Cole: I’m a 50-year-old woman with fun hair, and I don’t appreciate the scorn

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:50 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently dyed my hair a fun color, and one of my girlfriends criticized me for trying to look younger than I am.I am a 50-year-old woman, and I work in the arts. She works in a corporate job, wears a conservative hairstyle and has let her hair go gray.I have the freedom to do what I want and look how I want, so I decided to have some fun with my hair. I didn’t appreciate her criticism.I don’t want to come off as overly sensitive, but I do want her to know that I feel perfectly comfortable and happy with my playful hair. I don’t judge her for how she wears hers.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: My friend is too lenient in her parenting, but she thrusts advice on me Advice | Harriette Cole: My friend wouldn’t pay when I forgot my wallet. Do I confront her? Advice | Harriette Cole: My boss may be losing her memory, and it’s causing chaos Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m g...

Miss Manners: Would the wedding gift my husband suggested be an insult?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:50 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: We received a last-minute virtual invitation to a wedding from a family from out of state with whom we used to be close.They had previously advertised the wedding on social media, including the date, and we wondered if we would be invited. We weren’t, which was totally fine because of our limited budget.Then, two weeks before the wedding date, we received an email inviting us to watch it virtually. We already had plans that night, but because we care for this family, we tried to bend things so we could watch it. Unfortunately, the video feed for the reception was all goofed up. We couldn’t really see it, and then we just got a replay reel at the end.What would you say the suggested gift amount is in that situation?Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: I tried to fix the shoddy bouquet and ended up embarrassing my friend. Was I in the wrong? Advice | Miss Manners: I want to talk about my problems, not listen to theirs Ad...

Dear Abby: My mom dressed me funny, and it screwed me up for years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:50 GMT

DEAR ABBY: Throughout my childhood, my mother was controlling in many ways. One of them was my clothes.She dressed me in ridiculous outfits that I found humiliating. If I expressed an opinion about anything, I was treated as being “bad.” It affected my mental health, which resulted in me hating the way I look.I went through multiple eating disorders and addiction, and I had plastic surgery 15 years ago. After many years of therapy, I am now doing better emotionally.I also endured many years of heart-shattering infertility, but I am finally a mother, working hard to give my child a better life than I had.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: This woman moved into my house, and now I’m not allowed to go downstairs Advice | Dear Abby: Our new neighbor is trouble, and my girlfriend thinks he’s great Advice | Dear Abby: The man I was cheating with won’t apologize for cheating on me Advice | Dear Abby: ...

Estos son algunos de los “500 estadounidenses” a los que Rusia prohíbe la entrada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:50 GMT

(CNN) — El expresidente de Estados Unidos Barack Obama, el presentador de televisión Stephen Colbert y Erin Burnett, de CNN, son algunos de los “500 estadounidenses” a los que Rusia ha prohibido entrar al país.Rusia anunció el viernes que prohibiría la entrada en el país a “500 estadounidenses”, muchos de ellas figuras destacadas del poder ejecutivo estadounidense, “en respuesta a las sanciones regulares antirrusas impuestas por la administración de Joe Biden”, según un comunicado del Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores ruso.La lista incluye a Obama, al exembajador estadounidense Jon Huntsman, a varios senadores estadounidenses y a quien se prevé que sea el próximo presidente del Estado Mayor Conjunto, Charles Q. Brown Jr.También incluye a los presentadores estadounidenses de late night TV Jimmy Kimmel, Colbert y Seth Meyers.El comunicado dice: “La ‘lista-500’ adjunta también incluye a aquellos en el gobierno y en las agencias...

Focus on coalition horse-trading as Greek election looks unlikely to deliver a strong winner

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:50 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Sunday’s Greek parliamentary election looks likely to be a dress rehearsal for a new round of voting in the busy summer tourist season — barring a surprise coalition deal by dissonant opposition parties.Opinion polls indicate that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ center-right New Democracy could rake in about 35%, some 6 percentage points ahead of leftwing former prime minister Alexis Tsipras’ Syriza party.But ND still wouldn’t have enough to govern alone, and sharp divisions between the two main contenders and the four smaller parties forecast to enter parliament all but preclude a functioning coalition under either ND or Syriza.A second election on July 2 seems likely. It would be held under a new electoral law giving the winner a boost of up to 50 of Parliament’s 300 seats, which the current system doesn’t. With the economy rebounding after the 2009-2018 financial crisis, military tensions with neighboring Turkey — whic...