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Mutinous soldiers in Niger sever French military ties while ‘hostage’ president pleads for US help

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:24 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Niger’s military junta says it is severing military agreements with France, its former colonial ruler, firing some of the previous government’s key ambassadors and warning citizens of the West African nation to watch for foreign armies and spies. A regional delegation’s efforts at negotiation quickly deadlocked.The junta’s announcement on state television late Thursday deepens the post-coup isolation for what had been the United States’ and allies’ last major security partner in the Sahel, the vast region south of the Sahara Desert that various Islamic extremist groups have turned into the global center of terrorism.With two days remaining before a deadline set by the West African regional bloc to release and reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum or face possible force, Bazoum in a plea published in a Washington Post opinion piece said, “I write this as a hostage” and urged the U.S. and partners to help.Niger’s mutinous soldiers face a Sunda...

Egypt raises interest rates as it battles spiraling inflation and households struggle to keep up

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:24 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s Central Bank is hiking interest rates as the cash-strapped North African country continues to battle surging inflation and a depreciating currency.In an online statement late Thursday, the bank’s monetary policy committee said the most basic lending rate, the overnight deposit rate, was increased from 18.25% to 19.75%.Egyptians, particularly working class households, are struggling to keep up with rising prices, which have soared since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. The annual inflation rate reached 36.8% in June, up from 33.7% recorded in May, according to data released by the state-run Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics.The prices of basic items such as grains, meat, poultry, fish and fruit have risen drastically in recent months.“Given the balance of risks surrounding the inflation outlook, the MPC judges that a policy rate hike … is warranted in order to contain the inflationary pressures,″ Thursday’s statement said.Over the past year, E...

Breastfeeding Olympians want it all: Top careers and motherhood

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:24 GMT

PARIS (AP) — When Clarisse Agbégnénou won her sixth world judo title, confirming the reigning Olympic champion as one of the athletes to watch at next year’s Paris Games, the French star’s smallest but greatest fan was less wild about her mother’s newest gold medal than she was about her breast milk.After a peckish day of few feeds — because mum had been busy putting opponents through the wringer — 10-month-old Athéna made amends that night.“She didn’t let my boobs out of her mouth,” Agbégnénou says. “I was like, ‘Wow, okay.’ I think it was really something for her.”Breastfeeding and high-performance sports were long an almost impossible combination for top female athletes, torn for decades between careers or motherhood, because having both was so tough.But that’s becoming less true ahead of the 2024 Olympics, where women will take another step forward in their long march for equality, competing in equal numbers with men for the first time, and with pio...

Researcher warns against intervention as B.C. port workers conclude contract vote

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:24 GMT

VANCOUVER — A labour researcher says he hopes the federal government doesn’t rush to intervene in British Columbia’s port dispute, even if union members reject a tentative deal with employers today.The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada concludes the two-day vote at 6 p.m., after a tumultuous period that included a 13-day shutdown of more than 30 port terminals and other sites last month.McGill University associate professor Barry Eidlin says he hopes the federal government lets the dispute be resolved at the negotiating table, regardless of the vote’s outcome.He says the prospect of federal intervention represents “backsliding to a past era” when workers’ fundamental rights weren’t respected.The tentative contract between the union and the BC Maritime Employers Association was announced on Sunday, a day after federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to impose a deal or bindi...

Statistics Canada to release July employment figures this morning

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:24 GMT

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada is set to release its July jobs report this morning.The release will provide employment figures for last month as economists watch for signs of economic weakening.Canada’s unemployment rate has been rising for the previous two months, and high interest rates are expected to have pushed unemployment up further. In June, the unemployment rate was 5.4 per cent.Wage growth also slowed in June, rising 4.2 per cent year-over-year.RBC says it expects the economy added 25,000 jobs, but that strong population growth means the unemployment rate may have still risen.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 4, 2023.The Canadian Press

Wildfire impact on B.C. tourism varies by region, proximity and visibility of flames

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:24 GMT

VANCOUVER — British Columbia’s record wildfire season has affected travel bookings in some areas, but other regions have seen continued tourism demand despite their proximity to active blazes.Jason Upton, manager of the Lac Le Jeune Nature Resort south of Kamloops, says the resort is open but remains on evacuation alert, and maintaining bookings is difficult since the Ross Moore Lake fire is burning just a few kilometres away.Upton says the resort had been close to selling out for the entire upcoming long weekend, but the threat of the nearby fire has led to cancellations by all but three guests.Brian Cant, acting president at 4VI, a travel and tourism agency on Vancouver Island, says the closure in June of Highway 4 to Tofino caused a “small dip” in overall trips to the island that month.With no fires of note currently burning on Vancouver Island, Cant says in a statement that operators have indicated the August long weekend will remain “the busiest time of ...

Two hurt in overnight stabbing in downtown Austin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:24 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Police said two people were stabbed early Friday morning in downtown Austin. Austin-Travis County EMS said paramedics responded to the scene at Rio Grande and West 6th Streets around 2:20 a.m. They took two adults to the hospital. ATCEMS said both adults had serious, potentially life-threatening injuries. Police said the stabbing may been part of a fight involving a unknown number of people. Detectives were on the scene investigating and had no one in custody. This is a breaking story. Please stay with KXAN.com and KXAN News Today for the latest.

Daily horoscope for August 4, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:24 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid spending money or making important decisions from 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. EDT today (6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. PDT). After that, the Moon moves from Pisces into Aries.Happy Birthday for Friday, Aug. 4, 2023:You are a rebellious freethinker who is intelligent and progressive. You have the ability to enlighten and inspire others. This year is the beginning of a fresh new cycle for you. It’s important to stay flexible and courageous so you can explore new opportunities and open any door!ARIES(March 21-April 19)★★★★This is a better day! It’s also an excellent day for romance, especially this evening. Enjoy diversions, social outings, sports events, fun activities with kids as well as special quiet moments with a drink or a cup of coffee in a pleasing place. You deserve it. Tonight: You win!TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★★This is a great day to schmooze. Because you feel sympathetic to the needs of others, you will feel rewarded by working with a charitable organization...

Commission approves €1.5 billion French measure to support ProLogium in researching and developing innovative batteries for electric vehicles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:24 GMT

The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, a €1.5 billion French measure to support ProLogium Technologies (‘ProLogium') in researching and developing a new generation of batteries for electric vehicles.  The measure will contribute to the achievement of the strategic objectives of the European Green Deal and the EU battery strategy.The French measureFrance notified to the Commission its plan to support ProLogium's Prometheus research and development (‘R&D') project of solid-state batteries (‘SSB') for electric vehicles. SSB technology uses solid instead of liquid electrolyte to develop batteries that have a higher energy density and are safer for consumers than conventional lithium-ion batteries.Under the measure, the aid will take the form of a direct grant of up to €1.5bn that will cover the R&D project until the end of 2029.As part of the Prometheus project, ProLogium will (i) develop  ‘first generation' SSB to overcome the limitations of the cu...

Kazakhstan and Afghanistan explore the benefits of trade cooperation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:24 GMT

The Kazakh-Afghan Business Forum in Astana has brought together more than 300 business and government representatives. Despite the upheaval of the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul, Kazakhstan is the largest supplier of food to the Afghan market and sees major potential in a proposed rail link across Afghan territory, which would greatly improve Central Asia’s access to Pakistan and its ports, writes Political Editor Nick Powell.Afghanistan not only accounts for 70% of Kazakhstan’s flour exports, it offers a market worth $500 million for Kazakh food, petrochemicals, chemicals, metallurgical products and machine-making, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Integration, Serik Zhumangarin told the forum. He said in a press release that mutual trade turnover was nearer $1 billion and he could see it reaching $3 billion in future.Beyond Afghanistan and its 40 million people are the important markets of Pakistan and India, as well as the Middle East, which are of high trad...