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Real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin wins vote to become Thailand’s 30th prime minister

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:17 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — A populist Thai party linked to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra won a vote in parliament to lead the country, hours after the divisive former leader returned from years of self-imposed exile and began an eight-year prison sentence.Real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin’s victory, with 482 votes out of 727 lawmakers present, ends months of suspense, legal wrangling and horse trading that followed the May elections. The progressive Move Forward Party, which won the most votes in the national election, was blocked from taking power by conservative senators.Thaksin’s return was an emotional moment for supporters of the 74-year-old billionaire, who won the loyalty of millions with populist policies that directed attention, and funding, to the country’s largely rural, often impoverished, north.Hundreds of people gathered outside of the airport early in the morning, donning red clothes and holding sign with welcoming messages. They sang and chanted in antic...

Iran unveils armed drone resembling America’s MQ-9 Reaper and says it could potentially reach Israel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:17 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s Defense Ministry unveiled a drone on Tuesday resembling America’s armed MQ-9 Reaper, claiming that the aircraft is capable of staying airborne for 24 hours and has the range to reach the country’s archenemy Israel. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency published a photograph of the drone, called the Mohajer-10, on display at a conference marking Defense Industry Day with what appeared to be smoke-machine fog underneath it. “Mohajer” means “immigrant” in Farsi and has been a drone line manufactured by the Islamic Republic since 1985.IRNA said the drone is able to fly up to 24,000 feet with a speed of 210 kph (130 mph), carrying a bomb payload of up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds). It also said the drone could carry electronic surveillance equipment and a camera. Iran’s hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi, a protégé of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also viewed the drone on Tuesday.“Today, we can firmly introduce Iran as an adva...

Haiti and Dominican Republic brace for Tropical Storm Franklin as Harold approaches Texas coast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:17 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Franklin churned through the Caribbean Sea Tuesday as authorities in Haiti and the Dominican Republic warned residents to prepare for landslides and heavy floods.The storm was centered early Tuesday about 255 miles (415 kilometers) south of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, and had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph). It was moving northwest at 3 mph (5 kph) and was expected to turn northward. Franklin was expected to strengthen before making landfall early Wednesday in Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The storm is forecast to drop up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain in both countries, with up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) in isolated areas. Heavy rainfall is of great concern to Haiti, where severe erosion in many places often leads to dangerous flooding. More than 40 people died in June following a day of heavy rain from a thunderstorm.“The mudslide risk there is just awful...

Spain’s acting prime minister calls Women’s World Cup champions an inspiration for youth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:17 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spain’s acting prime minister greeted the country’s Women’s World Cup champions at the presidential palace on Tuesday.“You have achieved something very important. The girls who watch you see soccer as a place where they can develop athletically and personally,” Pedro Sánchez said while posing for a group photo with the soccer team.“The 21st century will be the century of women on all fronts, and the century of effective equality between men and women,” he added.Sánchez said the team members will be awarded Spain’s golden medal of sports achievement in honor of their victory.Players and staff landed late Monday in Madrid after a flight from Sydney, Australia, where Spain beat England 1-0 in Sunday’s final. They were greeted by thousands in the Spanish capital in a celebration that lasted until past midnight.Gender equality and women’s rights have been cornerstones of Sánchez’s leftist government. But Spain’s Wome...

Major wildfires in Greece, Spain’s island of Tenerife burn out of control, prompting evacuations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:17 GMT

ALEXANDROUPOLIS, Greece (AP) — Hundreds of firefighters struggled Tuesday to control major wildfires burning out of control for days in northeastern Greece and on Tenerife in Spain’s Canary Islands, with strong winds fanning the flames and prompting evacuations of villages and a city hospital in Greece. Hot, dry and windy conditions have seen dozens of wildfires break out across Greece, with the most severe entering its fourth day and encroaching on the northeastern port city of Alexandroupolis. On Monday, two people died and two firefighters were injured in separate fires in northern and central Greece.The fire risk level for several regions, including the wider Athens area, was listed as “extreme” for the second day Tuesday. Authorities have banned public access to mountains and forests in those regions until at least Wednesday morning and ordered military patrols.In Spain’s Canary Islands, firefighters battled to control a wildfire burning for a week on the popular tourist ...

Pakistani rescuers try to free 6 kids and 2 men in a cable car dangling hundreds of feet in the air

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:17 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A cable car carrying six children and two adults dangled hundreds of meters (feet) above the ground in a remote part of Pakistan after it broke on Tuesday, trapping the occupants for hours before rescuers arrived in helicopters to try to free them. Army commandos could be seen on local TV trying to lower themselves on ropes from the choppers toward the cable car. An expert warned the rescue was incredibly delicate because the wind created by the helicopters’ blades could further weaken cables holding the car aloft.Relatives of those trapped prayed while anxiously watching the operation unfold. The rescue also transfixed Pakistanis across the country who watched on television.One of the cables snapped while the eight people were crossing a river canyon in Battagram district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Villagers frequently use cable cars to get to school, government offices or businesses in Pakistan’s mountainous regions, but the cars are often poor...

About 500 children have died from hunger in Sudan since fighting erupted in April, charity says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:17 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — About 500 children have died from hunger in Sudan — including two dozen babies in a government-run orphanage in the capital of Khartoum — since fighting erupted in the East African country in April, a leading aid group said Tuesday. Save the Children also said that at least 31,000 children lack access to treatment for malnutrition and related illnesses since the charity was forced to close 57 of its nutrition centers in Sudan. Sudan was plunged into chaos after monthslong tensions between the military and a rival paramilitary force exploded into open fighting on April 15. The conflict has turned Khartoum and other urban areas into battlefields. Many residents live without water and electricity, and the country’s health care system has nearly collapsed.“Never did we think we would see children dying from hunger in such numbers, but this is now the reality in Sudan,” said Arif Noor, Save the Children’s director for Sudan. “We are seeing children dying from entirely preven...

Conference realignment will mean longer trips and greater costs for traveling college football fans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:17 GMT

POND GAP, W.Va. (AP) — In seven decades of following West Virginia football, little has gotten in the way when Terry Keenan wants to see his beloved Mountaineers.Conference realignment promises to be a headache. College sports and the traveling fan are on course for a big reset in 2024. TV money has lured Southern Cal, UCLA, Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah will join the growing Big 12. And Oklahoma and Texas will head to the Southeastern Conference. Although a few regional rivalries have been created or preserved, longer trips will be the norm. How long? A one-way flight involving Oregon and Rutgers in the new Big Ten is 2,900 miles (4,667 kilometers) and slightly less for schools like Southern Cal, UCLA or Washington. That’s more than five hours on a plane.Time will tell whether football fans will embrace this new concept, or whether realignment will put a dagger into the heart of the road warrior for games that aren’t mar...

Free Disney World passes are latest front in war between Disney and DeSantis appointees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:17 GMT

Already involved in two lawsuits with Disney, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees to a board that oversees Disney World’s governing district on Monday launched a battle against the company on a new front — free passes and discounts for district employees.Board members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District submitted a complaint to the state Inspector General, claiming that the millions of dollars in season passes, as well as discounts on hotels, merchandise, food and beverages, that their Disney-supporting predecessors provided governing district employees amount to unethical benefits and perks.Last year alone, before the DeSantis appointees took over the governing board and it was still controlled by Disney backers, around $2.5 million in discounts and passes were given to district employees and their families, the board said in a news release.The arrangement was self-serving to the company because it funneled money back to Disney, with the district footing the bil...

Fake Arizona rehab centers scam Native Americans far from home, officials warn during investigations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:17 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Autumn Nelson said she was seeking help for alcohol addiction last spring when fellow members of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana suggested a rehabilitation center in Phoenix, far to the south.The 38-year-old said the center even bought her a one-way airline ticket to make the 1,300-mile (2,100-kilometer) journey. But Nelson said after a month, she was kicked out after questioning why there was one therapist for 30 people and no Native American staff despite a focus on Indigenous clients.“All of a sudden I was out in the 108-degree heat in Phoenix, Arizona,” said Nelson. “I was scared, and didn’t know where to go.”Now back on the Blackfeet reservation, Nelson is among hundreds of Native Americans who have been targeted by Phoenix-area scammers. The billing schemes often left clients homeless and in some cases financed lavish lifestyles for the fraudulent providers, authorities have said. Arizona has been defrauded in recent years out of hundreds of millions of do...