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Greek election looks set to strengthen Mitsotakis’ power

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:57:54 GMT

ATHENS — Greece’s conservatives are set for a resounding victory in Sunday’s elections with leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis destined to return to the prime minister’s office in a far stronger position to advance investor-friendly reforms.After heading to polls on May 21, Greeks will now do it all over again. New Democracy last month notched up a double-digit lead over its main rival, the left-wing Syriza party, but fell short of achieving an outright majority. This time, a new electoral system will reward the leading party with up to 50 bonus seats. POLITICO’s Poll of Polls puts the backing for New Democracy on 42 percent support, more than twice the support for Syriza on 20 percent. “Mitsotakis will be dominant with a comfortable majority,” said Petros Ioannidis, political analyst founder of the firm About People. “Usually when you win elections for the first time you have a honeymoon period, in the second term you don’t. The paradox here is that, because the oppositi...

Lonzo Ball not expected to play for the Chicago Bulls in the 2023-24 NBA season: ‘If he comes back it would be great’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:57:54 GMT

Lonzo Ball’s absence from the basketball court is only growing longer.Executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas confirmed Thursday that Ball is not expected to play for the Chicago Bulls in the 2023-24 NBA season.Ball underwent a rare cartilage transplant in March, his third procedure to address a baffling knee injury that has kept him sidelined since January 2022. While Karnišovas said Ball is “recovering nicely” after moving off crutches in May, the team does not have any expectation for the point guard to return to the court this coming season.“Going into the offseason, our expectation is that he’s not coming back next season and he’s going to continue on his recovery,” Karnišovas said. “If he comes back, it would be great but we’re just going to treat this offseason and getting ready for the season that he’s not going to be back.”The Bulls have been committed to Ball&...

Malaysia says it will take legal action against Meta over harmful content on Facebook

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:57:54 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia’s government said Friday it will take legal action against Facebook’s parent company, Meta Platforms, for failing to remove undesirable and harmful content from its social media platform.The Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission said Facebook has recently been plagued by a “a significant volume of undesirable content” relating to sensitive issues on race, religion and royalty as well as defamation, impersonation, online gambling and scam advertisements. The commission said repeated efforts to reach out to Meta to remove harmful content were of no avail.“Meta’s response, which has been sluggish and unsatisfactory, has not met the urgency of the matter and has led to increasing public concern and scrutiny,” it said in a statement. “As there is no sufficient cooperation from Meta, MCMC has no option but to take definitive steps or legal action against Meta as a measure to ensure that people are secure and protected in the p...

The US has tons of leftover food. Upcycling seeks to turn would-be trash into ice cream and pizza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:57:54 GMT

LOS GATOS, Calif. (AP) — At Tyler Malek’s ice cream parlors, one cook’s trash is another chef’s frosty treat.The head ice cream maker at the Portland, Oregon-based Salt & Straw uses the whey leftover from yogurt makers in upstate New York to make his lemon curd flavor. For chocolate barley milk, he mixes in the remnants of rice and grains from beer brewing to give it a light and creamy taste.“Instead of calling this food waste, we need to call it wasted food and start decreasing how much wasting we’re doing,” Malek said.Malek’s ice cream chain is among those at the forefront of the upcycling movement, the process of creating high-quality products from leftover food. Malek’s shops from the Pacific Northwest to Miami now feature flavors like “Cacao Pulp & Chocolate Stracciatella Gelato,” which is made from leftover cacao pulp from chocolate production that otherwise would have gone to waste.It’s a trend gaining ground as consumers spend more...

Stock market today: Asian shares sink as central banks crank interest rates still higher

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:57:54 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares sank sharply Friday after several central banks around the world cranked interest rates higher in their fight against inflation. Hong Kong and Tokyo shed nearly 2% and most other regional markets declined. U.S. futures and oil prices also were lower. Japan reported its inflation rate was higher than expected, adding to expectations the central bank might adjust its policies to reflect upward price pressures, which have pushed the dollar’s value against the yen sharply higher. The Bank of Japan has kept its benchmark interest rate at minus 0.1% for a decade as policymakers keep credit cheap to encourage more investment and spending. The core inflation rate, excluding volatile energy and food prices, was 3.2% in May, above the official 2% target, the government reported. “We think there are signs of inflationary pressure building up on the supply side, but it is certainly not strong enough for the BOJ to bring about immediate tightening,” ING Economic...

Inflation and economic crises strain pilgrims in this year’s Hajj, putting it out of reach for some

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:57:54 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Saudi Arabia is hosting its biggest Hajj pilgrimage in three years, starting Monday. But for many pilgrims, and for many others who couldn’t make it, global inflation and economic crises made it more of a strain to carry out Islam’s spiritual trip of a lifetime.Mohammed, a university professor in the Egyptian capital Cairo, said it was an annual tradition for him to apply to go on Hajj. But not this time.To afford the pilgrimage, “usually you’re able to sacrifice something. But this year it was too expensive,” he said. After a number of recent major family expenses, the increased price of a Hajj package put it out of reach. Mohammed asked for his surname not be used out for fear of reprisal, given the sensitivities around talking about Egypt’s economic woes.Global inflation has hiked prices for Hajj dramatically, with costs mounting for airlines, transportation, food and accommodation in and around the holy city of Mecca. On top of that, multiple countries — including s...

Interstate 95 set to reopen less than two weeks after deadly collapse in Philadelphia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:57:54 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Interstate 95 was set to reopen to traffic Friday less than two weeks after a deadly collapse in Philadelphia shut down a heavily traveled stretch of the East Coast’s main north-south highway.Workers were putting the finishing touches on an interim six-lane roadway that will serve motorists during construction of a permanent bridge. Crews worked around the clock and were poised to finish ahead of schedule. The interstate was scheduled to reopen at noon, according to the governor’s office.The elevated section of I-95 collapsed early on June 11 after a tractor-trailer hauling gasoline flipped on an off-ramp and caught fire. State transportation officials said the driver, who was killed, lost control around a curve. There were no other deaths or injuries.The closure of an important commercial artery snarled traffic in and around Philadelphia and threatened to raise the cost of consumer goods as truckers were forced to detour around the area. State and federal ...

The latest on the Titan submersible tragedy and what’s next in the recovery efforts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:57:54 GMT

Associated PressThe desperate search to find the missing Titan submersible turned into a recovery effort Thursday after officials announced that the vessel imploded sometime this week, killing all five aboard, near the Titanic shipwreck.Deep-sea robots will continue to search the sea floor for clues about what happened deep in the North Atlantic. The pilot and four passengers died in the catastrophic implosion.The Titan, owned by undersea exploration company OceanGate Expeditions, had been chronicling the Titanic’s decay and the underwater ecosystem around the sunken ocean liner in yearly voyages since 2021.Many questions about what occurred underwater remain: Exactly when and why did the implosion occur? Will the victims’ bodies ever be found? How could this tragedy have been prevented?Here’s what we do know so far: WHEN AND WHERE DID THE TITAN GO MISSING?The craft submerged Sunday morning, and its support vessel lost contact with it about an hour and 45 minutes l...

Police search for abducted Fontana toddler and suspect mother

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:57:54 GMT

Police are searching for a missing toddler abducted out of Fontana on Thursday. Fontana Police have identified the suspect as Alexus Gonzalez, 24, and the missing boy as Sebastian Sanchez, 5. Gonzalez is the missing child’s mother, police said.According to officers, an unknown person entered a home on the 15700 block of Paine Street between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.Once inside the residence, the unidentified person kidnapped Sanchez. The boy was last seen wearing a red Marvel Avengers shirt and beige cargo shorts. Alexus Gonzalez and Sebastian Sanchez in photos from the Fontana Police Department.Gonzalez also has a warrant from the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Child Abduction Unit on unrelated charges for kidnapping her one-and-a-half-year-old son, Mateo, three weeks earlier.“Detectives have been following up on several leads but have no suspects at this time,” authorities said.Details remain limited, but officials said, so far, the case does not meet the criteria for an Amber ...

Toddler narrowly escapes gunfire in Pasadena, 3 others wounded

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:57:54 GMT

Police in Pasadena are investigating after three people were injured, and a toddler narrowly escaped harm, in two separate shooting incidents last weekend.  Both shootings occurred on June 17, with officers from the Pasadena Police Department responding to the first incident near the intersection of Peoria Street and Fair Oaks Avenue just after 9 p.m. Law enforcement was notified of the shooting by a ShotSpotter gunshot detection alert.  At the scene, officers found evidence of a shooting and were later notified that two male adults were treated at a local hospital for non-life-threatening gunshot wounds sustained on Peoria Street.  Just 30 minutes later, officers responded to yet another ShotSpotter alert near the intersection of Marengo Avenue and Painter Street. At that scene, authorities discovered an adult male suffering from a gunshot wound, who was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Metro bus driver stabbed in Venice During the investigation, Robbe...