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Back in the Arab League after 12 years, Syria urges group to invest in war-torn country

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:35 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria on Monday called on Arab countries to invest in the war-torn nation, now again a member of the Arab League. The appeal from Syria’s economy and trade minister came during an economic conference in Saudi Arabia, ahead of a league summit in the kingdom.The 22-member Arab League agreed earlier this month to reinstate Syria, ending a 12-year suspension and taking another step toward bringing Syrian President Bashar Assad, a long-time regional pariah, back into the fold.However, crippling Western sanctions against Assad’s government remain in place and could prevent oil-rich Arab countries from rushing to invest in Syria — or lead to a quick release of reconstruction funds in the war-battered country.“We invite you to participate in investing in Syria, where there are important opportunities and promising horizons,” said the Syrian minister, Mohammed Samer al-Khalil, as he addressed the opening session of the conference Monday in Jeddah. Saudi Finance Minister M...

Turkey appears headed for runoff in presidential race as Erdogan performs better than expected

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:35 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s presidential elections appeared headed for a runoff Monday, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pulling ahead of his chief challenger, but falling short of an outright victory that would extend his increasingly authoritarian rule into a third decade.The vote was being closely watched to see if the strategically located NATO country — which has a coast on the Black Sea to the north, and neighbors Iran, Iraq and Syria to the south — remains under the president’s firm grip or can embark on a more democratic course envisioned by his main rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.While Erdogan has governed for 20 years, opinion polls had suggested that run could be coming to end amid economic turmoil, a cost-of-living crisis and criticism over the government’s response to a February earthquake that killed more than 50,000 people. Western nations and foreign investors were particularly interested in the outcome because of Erdogan’s unorthodox leadership of the e...

Slovakia gets technocratic caretaker government until September’s early election

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:35 GMT

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s President Zuzana Caputova swore in on Monday a government of technocrats to lead the country to snap elections in September amid a political crisis.Ludovit Odor, the the former deputy governor of the central bank and a respected economist, will head the 15-member Cabinet. Career diplomat Miroslav Wlachovsky becomes the foreign minister, with Martin Sklenar, a former senior defense ministry official, as the defense minister. Odor, who comes from Slovakia’s Hungarian minority, is not affiliated with any political party. No member of his government will run in the forthcoming election.“We won’t work miracles but you can expect us to ensure the proper functioning of the state,” Odor said.Slovakia has been without a proper government since Dec. 15, when the coalition government led by Prime Minister Eduard Heger lost a vote of no confidence in parliament called by the opposition, following months of political crisis.Caputova initially as...

Trudeau to make first official visit to South Korea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:35 GMT

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to leave Monday for a weeklong trip to Asia, where he will make his first official visit to South Korea and attend the G-7 leaders’ summit in Japan.The trip comes at a time when the world is collectively facing security threats and economic uncertainty magnified by climate change.One of Canada’s top priorities will be strengthening ties between the allied countries to address the converging challenges.The prime minister is scheduled to be in Seoul between May 16 and 18, after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s visit to Ottawa last fall. Since then, both countries have released their Indo-Pacific strategies, which aim to counterbalance Chinese influence by increasing economic and military ties in the region.Canada is expected to seek the G-7 members’ co-operationon providing ongoing support to Ukraine, as well as addressing climate change.

Europe’s economic outlook brightens a little after avoiding recession. But inflation still squeezes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:35 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Union’s executive body raised its economic growth forecast, saying Europe had dodged a winter recession that was feared amid an energy crisis but warning that stubbornly high inflation is likely to keep hurting the economy by sapping people’s ability to spend. The outlook for the 20 countries using the euro currency improved to growth of 1.1% this year from 0.9% in February’s predictions, the European Commission said in its spring forecast Monday.Europe had faced expectations of a winter energy catastrophe after Russia cut off most of its supply of natural gas to the continent amid the war in Ukraine. Prices surged to record highs for gas needed to heat homes, generate electricity and power factories — fueling painful spikes in consumer prices.A mad scramble to line up new sources of natural gas — through more expensive supplies of liquefied gas coming by ship — along with mild weather and reduced use helped Europe get through...

Minor league host families, once a pillar of pro baseball, phased out by new CBA

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:35 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Long before David Peralta was a veteran outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers, he was an 18-year-old kid from Venezuela who didn’t speak much English playing minor league baseball in Johnson City, Tennessee.To call it culture shock would be quite the understatement.“Even little things, like going to the grocery store, were a challenge,” Peralta said. “That’s why it was so great to have TeriAnn helping.”TeriAnn Reynolds and her family were part of a little-known but vital piece of baseball’s minor leagues that dates back decades: host families. Players at the lower levels of the minor leagues in places like Johnson City or Lake Elsinore, California, often stayed at the homes of local families instead of apartments or hotels — a way to save money for low-wage players as they transitioned into their lives as pro athletes. Host family programs were suspended during the coronavirus pandemic over health concerns. Now, they may never return. When minor lea...

Sudan’s military chief freezes bank accounts of rival paramilitary group amid truce attempts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:35 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s military chief has ordered the freezing of all bank accounts belonging to a rival paramilitary force. The two sides have battled for weeks across Sudan, pushing the troubled country to the brink of all-out war. The decree, issued on Sunday by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, will target the official accounts of the Rapid Support Forces in Sudanese bank, as well as the accounts of all companies belonging to the group, the state news agency SUNA reported.It remains unclear what immediate effect the freezing would have on the RSF and how Burhan’s orders are to be enforced.The military chief also announced the replacement of the governor of Sudan’s Central Bank, a move likely tied to the freezing decree. Over the past decade, the RSF amassed great wealth through the gradual acquisition of Sudanese financial institutions and gold reserves.Since mid-April, the Sudanese army, led by Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, have been locked in a power struggle t...

Kelly Clarkson responds to report claiming daytime talk show a toxic workplace

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:35 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kelly Clarkson has responded to a Rolling Stone report accusing her daytime talk show of being a toxic workplace.Clarkson issued a statement on her Instagram page Saturday. She addressed the allegations after 11 current and former employees complained about being overworked and underpaid on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” and also called their work “traumatizing to their mental health” in the magazine’s Friday report.In the report, the anonymous employees called Clarkson “fantastic” but said show producers were “monsters” who made their lives “hell.”Clarkson said she loves her team.Kelly Clarkson performs during a tribute to Icon award winner Pink at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday, March 27, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Clarkson has responded, Saturday, May 13, to a Rolling Stone report accusing her daytime talk show of being a toxic workplace. She addressed the allegations after 11 current and former employees complained...

Here's what could happen to the military if the US defaults on its debt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:35 GMT

(The Hill) - As the United States stares down the barrel of a deadline to raise the national debt ceiling, past and current Pentagon leaders are sounding the alarm on how such an event could be deeply damaging to the country and those who keep it safe.  Disrupted pay for service members, late benefits checks for veterans and a hit to U.S. national security are only a glimpse into what could come.  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made that much clear this week, telling lawmakers that the Pentagon “won't, in some cases, be able to pay our troops with any degree of predictability,” should a default come to pass. And Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair Gen. Mark Milley said such an event could also “embolden China and increase risk to the United States.”  The debt limit, is the dollar figure up to which the Treasury Department can borrow to pay for congressionally approved spending decided through the annual appropriations process. The Biden administr...

Man killed in deadly shooting, APD says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:35 GMT

Editor's note: An earlier version of the article reported information from Austin Police that the woman had been shot in the shoulder. It has since been updated. AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Police said a man died in southeast Austin early Monday morning in the city's 29th homicide of 2023. According to police, officers went to Springfield Drive near William Cannon Drive and McKinney Falls Parkway just after 2:50 a.m. Police said a woman called from the area saying she believed her friend was dead. Police said other callers reported hearing gunshots. According to police, the man was pronounced dead at the scene and woman was transported to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries. Police said the exact nature of her injuries was not known. Police said no one was in custody.