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Millions of Shiite Muslims across the world commemorate the mourning day of Ashoura

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:11:23 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Millions of Shiite Muslims in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and around the world on Friday commemorated Ashoura, a remembrance of the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein, that gave birth to their faith. In Afghanistan, the Taliban cut mobile phone services in key cities holding commemorations for fear of militants targeting Shiites, whom Sunni extremists consider heretics. Security forces in neighboring Pakistan as well stood on high alert as the commemorations there have seen attacks in the past. Not all Shiites, however, were to mark the day Friday. Both Iraq and Lebanon planned their remembrances for Saturday, which will see a major suburb of Beirut shut down and the faithful descend on the Iraqi city of Karbala, where Hussein is entombed in a gold-domed shrine. Shiites represent over 10% of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims and view Hussein as the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein’s death in battle at the hands of S...

Exclusion zone set up around Greek military base after wildfires trigger powerful explosions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:11:23 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Authorities are maintaining an exclusion zone around an air force base in central Greece where wildfires have triggered powerful explosions at an ammunition depot.The blasts late Thursday at the 111th Combat Wing base facilities — among the largest in the country — shattered windows in nearby towns and prompted an evacuation of more than 2,000 people, while fighter jets nearby were moved to another base.A civilian traffic ban and evacuation order remained in effect in a 3-kilometer (2-mile) radius of the blast site.Fueled by successive heat waves and strong gusts of wind, wildfires have raged around Greece and other Mediterranean countries over the past two weeks, scorching dozens of square kilometers of land outside Athens, on the island of Rhodes and elsewhere.The ammunition depot blasts were broadcast live on local television reports, near the central city of Volos, one showing a ground-shaking fireball emerging from a mountainous area.After the evacuations ...

Biden will sign an executive order in Maine encouraging new inventions to be made in the US

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:11:23 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden plans to sign an executive order while visiting Maine on Friday to encourage companies to manufacture new inventions in the United States.Biden is going to Maine for the first time of his presidency, packaging his signing of the executive order with a speech at a textile factory and a fundraiser later in the town of Freeport. The Democrat won three out of the state’s four electoral votes in 2020 and is seeking to shore up his support in the state. Maine allocates its electoral votes by congressional district, and he lost the vote in the state’s second district, which provided the only electoral vote in New England for then-President Donald Trump, a Republican.“We’re talking about bringing manufacturing back to the country and creating jobs — good-paying jobs,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday as she previewed the trip.The White House outlined the executive order being signed by Biden, which would improve t...

Biden orders changes to the military code of justice for sexual assault victims

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:11:23 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Friday will sign an executive order giving decisions on the prosecution of serious military crimes, including sexual assault, to independent military attorneys, taking that power away from victims’ commanders.The order formally implements legislation passed by Congress in 2022 aimed at strengthening protections for service members, who were often at the mercy of their commanders to decide whether to take their assault claims seriously. Members of Congress, frustrated with the growing number of sexual assaults in the military, fought with defense leaders for several years over the issue. They argued that commanders at times were willing to ignore charges or incidents in their units to protect those accused of offenses and that using independent lawyers would beef up prosecutions. Military leaders balked, saying it could erode commanders’ authority.The change was among more than two dozen recommendations made in 2021 by an independe...

ValleyCats secure sweep of Slammers; sit 0.5 game out of first

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:11:23 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Tri-City ValleyCats (39-24) collected their third sweep of the season, second at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium after defeating the Joliet Slammers (27-36) 8-3 on Thursday. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Tri-City opened the scoring for the first time in the series against Joliet. Pavin Parks greeted Ricky Castro with a single in the first. Cito Culver then walked. Juan Kelly laced an RBI double, and Culver went to third. Ian Walters followed suit with a two-run single to provide the ValleyCats with a 3-0 advantage.Joliet responded in the second. Phillip Steering and Lane Baremore had back-to-back singles off Jhon Vargas. Matt McGarry picked up an RBI double. Tyler Depreta-Johnson plated a run with a groundout to cut the deficit to 3-2.The Slammers tied the game at 3-3 in the third after Matt Warkentin hit a solo homer.Tri-City retook the lead in the fourth. Lamar Briggs led off with a single, and stole seco...

Cyber Resilience Act: MEPs back plan to boost digital products security 

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:11:23 GMT

New cyber resilience rules adopted on Wednesday (26 July) will establish a uniform set of cybersecurity requirements for all digital products in the European Union. The draft cyber resilience act approved by the Industry, Research and Energy Committee aims to ensure that products with digital features, e.g. phones or toys, are secure to use, resilient against cyber threats and provide enough information about their security properties.MEPs propose more precise definitions, feasible timelines, and a fairer distribution of responsibilities. The draft rules put products into different lists based on their criticality and the level of cybersecurity risk they pose. MEPs suggest expanding this list with such product as identity management systems software, password managers, biometric readers, smart home assistants, smart watches and private security cameras. Products should also have security updates installed automatically and separately from functionality ones, MEPs add.They also empha...

Ask Amy: Is it too late to complain about our neighbor’s annoying habit?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:11:23 GMT

Dear Amy: We live in a quiet cul-de-sac. Our homes are spread apart, and noise has never been an issue.Our next-door neighbor is a sweet widow.When the pandemic hit, her thirtysomething son “Brad,” who worked in the restaurant industry, moved in with her to make ends meet after his restaurant was shut down.He has a car that has been modified to be very, very loud. You can hear it coming from almost a mile away.Their garage is right next to our master bedroom. Brad has a habit of starting the car and sitting for up to 30 minutes before he leaves the driveway.He will also sit for an extended period before he turns off the car when he arrives home, which – because of his shift – is often in the middle of the night.We didn’t say anything initially, believing Brad’s tenancy was only temporary.But it’s been three years now, and he recently purchased another vehicle – one that is louder than the first!Because we have waited so long, I feel bad saying something, and struggle with what...

Harriette Cole: His new girlfriend ruined a trip I was looking forward to

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:11:23 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: My best friend goes to college in Europe and always spends his holidays over there with his family. Due to this, I get to see him for only two weeks in the winter when he comes home.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: I thanked her for the gift — then I found out it wasn’t a gift Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m just a kid, and my parents left this heavy decision to me Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m so anxious about my home that I check on it every few hours Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m tempted to follow my friend’s lead in fixing my boring life Advice | Harriette Cole: My roommate doesn’t realize she’s causing a big problem We planned a trip this summer to go backpacking across Europe with his parents and little brother, but after a messy breakup with his girlfriend, he rushed into a new relationship and the plans completely changed. Instead...

Portland General Electric: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:11:23 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland General Electric Co. (POR) on Friday reported second-quarter net income of $39 million.On a per-share basis, the Portland, Oregon-based company said it had profit of 39 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 44 cents per share.The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 47 cents per share.The electric utility posted revenue of $648 million in the period.Portland General Electric expects full-year earnings in the range of $2.60 to $2.75 per share._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on POR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/PORSource

Eni SpA: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:11:23 GMT

ROME ITALY, Italy (AP) — ROME ITALY, Italy (AP) — Eni SpA (E) on Friday reported net income of $320 million in its second quarter.The Rome Italy, Italy-based company said it had profit of 17 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $1.24 per share.The energy company posted revenue of $21.57 billion in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on E at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ESource