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China won’t require COVID-19 testing for incoming travelers starting Wednesday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:02 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China will no longer require a negative COVID-19 test result from incoming travelers starting Wednesday.It is a milestone toward ending the virus restrictions imposed in China since early 2020.Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin announced the change at a briefing Monday.The Associated Press

Migrant boat sinking off Greek island leaves 4 dead, 18 rescued

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:02 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities said that four people died and 18 were rescued Monday after a boat carrying migrants apparently sank northeast of the Greek island of Lesbos, which lies near the Turkish coast.The coast guard said one of its vessels collected the 18 survivors and four people found unconscious and transported them to the island’s main port of Mytilene.Over the weekend, the coast guard has said it has picked up dozens of people from boats near eastern Aegean Sea islands, part of an increase in new arrivals over the past two months.For decades Greece has been one of the preferred entry points into the European Union for people fleeing conflict or poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia and hoping for a better life in Europe.More than 14,000 people have reached Greece by land and sea so far this year, according to United Nations figures. That’s about a tenth of the total successful Mediterranean crossings, most of which — about 104,000 — were to Italy. Arrival...

Typhoon Saola lashes northern Philippines and heads toward Taiwan, southern China

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:02 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A typhoon dumped heavy rain in the northern Philippines but didn’t make landfall as it moved toward southern Taiwan and is aiming at China’s southern coast. Flooding in low-lying villages displaced more than 2,300 people, most of whom sought shelter in government evacuation centers, disaster-response officials in the northern Philippines said. No casualties have been reported. Weather authorities warned of the risk of further floods and landslides, especially in mountainous areas that had seen heavy rains over the past few days.The typhoon advanced with maximum winds of 155 kph (96 mph) and gusts of up to 190 kph (118 mph), according to the Philippine weather bureau. Inter-island ferries and cargo vessels were barred from leaving ports in some areas of the northern Philippines. The Chinese port city of Xiamen, across the strait from Taiwan, suspended ferry services starting on Tuesday.Typhoon Saola was expected to further weaken and may hit the sout...

A Russian who worked at a US consulate is accused of collecting information for US diplomats

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:02 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s top domestic security agency said Monday that a detained former employee of the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok is accused of collecting information about Russia’s action in Ukraine and related issues for U.S. diplomats.Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, the country’s main domestic security agency, said Robert Shonov is suspected of “gathering information about the special military operation, mobilization processes in Russian regions, problems and the assessment of their influence on protest activities of the population in the runup to the 2024 presidential election.”The FSB, the top KGB successor, said it has served summonses to question two U.S. diplomats who allegedly instructed Shonov to collect the information.Shonov’s arrest was first reported in May, but Russian authorities provided no details at the time. The U.S. State Department has condemned his arrest.Shonov was charged under a new article of Russian law that criminalizes “coopera...

European Health Union: Commission authorises first vaccine to protect infants from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:02 GMT

The Commission has authorised Abrysvo, the first vaccine to protect older adults and infants up to six months of age against the lower respiratory tract disease caused by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). This type of vaccines is particularly important bearing in mind the increased RSV infections in the EU last winter. The vaccine, which is now authorised throughout the EU, will help strengthen the immune response to the virus. The authorization follows a stringent evaluation under EMA's accelerated assessment mechanism. Considering that prevention of RSV infection in children is of major public health interest, the Commission accelerated the authorisation of the vaccine.Health and Food Safety Commissioner Stella Kyriakides (pictured) said: “This is our first EU-authorised RSV vaccine that not only protects older adults but also infants, already from birth. Ahead of the upcoming Autumn and Winter seasons, this vaccine can help preventing serious RSV consequences for some of our...

NextGenerationEU: Sweden submits request to modify recovery and resilience plan and add a REPowerEU chapter

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:02 GMT

On 24 August, Sweden submitted a request to the Commission to modify its recovery and resilience plan, to which it also wishes to add a REPowerEU chapter.The REPowerEU chapter coversmeasuresrelated to the energy efficiency of buildings and the streamlining of authorisation processes for the construction of electricity grids. One new reform,as well as two existing measures which have been scaled up are included in the chapter to deliver on the REPowerEU objectives. Sweden's proposed modification of the plan, which will now be assessed by the Commission, also foresees the modification of one planned measure.Sweden's request to modify its plan is based on the need to factor in the downward revision of its maximum Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) grant allocation, from €3.29 billion to €3.18bn. The revision is part of the June 2022 update to the RRF grants allocation key and reflects Sweden's comparatively better economic outcome in 2020 and 2021 than initially foreseen.Swede...

Mountain community still recovering a week after Tropical Storm Hilary

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:02 GMT

Much of Southern California made it through Tropical Storm Hilary without much damage but our desert and mountain communities suffered incredible loss.Homes and cars were destroyed, and loved ones are still unaccounted for.Nicole Celeste-Fay hiked through the affected areas of her hometown in Seven Oaks, a small community in the San Bernardino mountains.“Even though we were there, and we saw it with our own eyes, we walked on it, we touched it, it’s still not real. It still feels like a dream." Celeste-Fay said.Her mother-in-law, Sandy Drolet, was one of 30 people stranded on a riverbank after the main bridge was wiped out. She was airlifted to safety. In Angelus Oaks, 74-year-old Christie Rockwood was inside her home when it was overwhelmed by river water and swept away. Missing elderly SoCal woman was swept away during Tropical Storm Hilary Rockwood's daughter, Tracey Monteverde, says she's grateful for the crews who continue to search for her mom, but she fears the worst may ha...

Dear Abby: I’m sick of explaining I have a plain phone, not an expensive toy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:02 GMT

DEAR ABBY: Can people in this society please stop assuming that everyone has a smartphone?Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: She sat in our backyard and refused to join us for dinner Advice | Dear Abby: I never thought the driver would be so stupid, but I was stuck with him Advice | Dear Abby: Do I owe an apology to the restaurant owner after this blow-up? Advice | Dear Abby: Was it illegal what she did with my brother’s body? Advice | Dear Abby: My husband says I ruin his fun at parties, but I’m mortified by what he does Not everyone is willing — or able — to spend $1,000-plus for one. Some of us carry older, less expensive phones that receive calls and text messages and that’s it.I just got off a really annoying phone call with the secretary at my elderly mother’s doctor’s office, who said she was “sending a link” for a video conference on her phon...

Review: Metallica sets this amazing concert record during SoCal show

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:02 GMT

Metallica topped Taylor Swift, the Super Bowl and every other event at SoFi Stadium as it drew nearly 80,000 fans to the SoCal venue on Friday night.It was the biggest crowd in the nearly history of the venue, which opened in September 2023.The Bay Area band — consisting of vocalist-guitarist James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo — then basically tied their own record by drawing a similar-sized capacity crowd on Sunday.Metallica was able to accomplish that feat — twice — due in part to the “in-the-round” setting, where the stage was placed at the center of the field. This allowed promoters to sell more tickets than usual, as fans could be seated on all sides of the stage and still see what was taking place. Typically, such as in the case of Swift, thousands of seats aren’t sold because the big stage sets would block the views.Furthermore, Metallica’s in-the-round stage was actually holl...

The Foreign Ministry says China will drop its COVID-19 testing requirement for entry starting Wednesday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:54:02 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — The Foreign Ministry says China will drop its COVID-19 testing requirement for entry starting Wednesday.Source