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Finland’s far right to enter government with conservatives

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:44 GMT

A coalition of four parties, including the anti-immigration Finns Party, will form Finland’s new government, according to conservative leader Petteri Orpo.“All the issues have been resolved,” said Orpo late Thursday, according to Finnish public broadcaster Yle, adding that the coalition’s program and the government’s composition would be announced at a press conference Friday afternoon.Orpo, as the head of the center-right National Coalition Party (NCP) which won the last general election without securing an outright parliamentary majority, is expected to be designated prime minister.The new, right-wing coalition government is supported by the NCP, the Finns Party, the Swedish People’s Party and the Christian Democrats, which together hold a majority of 108 out of the Finnish parliament’s 200 seats.The negotiations to form a coalition lasted 74 days, the second-longest in Finland’s history.After four years of government leadership from the S...

Pope Francis leaves Rome hospital 9 days after operation; surgeon says ‘he’s better than before’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:44 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Friday was discharged from the Rome hospital where he had abdominal surgery nine days earlier to repair a hernia and remove painful scarring, with his surgeon saying the pontiff is now “better than before” the hospitalization. Francis, 86, left through Gemelli Polyclinic’s main exit in a wheelchair, smiling and waving and saying “thanks” to a crowd of well-wishers, then stood up so he could get into the small Vatican car awaiting him. In the brief distance before he could reach the white Fiat 500, reporters thrust microphones practically at his face, and the pontiff seemed to bat them away, good-naturedly.“The pope is well. He’s better than before,” Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the surgeon who did the three-hour operation on June 7 told reporters after he said goodbye to Francis as the pontiff got into the car. Following the surgery, Francis will be a “strong pope,” said Alfieri, who along with the crowd surged toward the exitin...

Police say 5 suspected militants killed in gunfight with Indian troops in disputed Kashmir

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:44 GMT

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Indian soldiers killed five suspected militants in a gunfight along the highly militarized de-facto frontier in disputed Kashmir, police said Friday.The gunfight began early Friday after a joint team of police and army soldiers carried out an counterinsurgency operation in northwestern Kupwara district along the so-called Line of Control dividing the Himalayan region between nuclear-armed rivals Pakistan and India, police said in a post on Twitter. No other details were immediately released to media and there was no independent confirmation of the shootings.India and Pakistan each claim the divided territory of Kashmir in its entirety.Rebels in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.India insists the Kashmir militancy is Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. Pakistan denies the charge, and mos...

Finland’s center-right leader says program for new coalition, including far-right party, is ready

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:44 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The head of new NATO member Finland’s center-right conservative National Coalition Party is poised Friday to present a four-party agreement to form a governing coalition that includes a far-right anti-immigration party.NCP leader Petteri Orpo, who is expected to become the Nordic nation’s next prime minister, said that four parties had agreed to form a government. Besides NCP, they are the Finns who came in second in the elections, the Christian Democrats and the Swedish People’s Party of Finland. The parties hold 108 seats out of 200 in the Finnish parliament, Eduskunta.After weeks of sounding out all parties, Orpo said late Thursday that “we all realize that Finland is in a difficult situation, the economy and health care are in crisis, Russia’s war is ongoing, inflation and interest rates have increased.”“The problems are big, and we have to solve them together. The thoroughness of our program facilitates a faster transition,” he said, according t...

Cyclone Biparjoy kills 2, uproots power lines after landfall in India, churns toward Pakistan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:44 GMT

MANDVI, India (AP) — Cyclone Biparjoy knocked out power and threw shipping containers into the sea Friday in western India before aiming its lashing winds and rain at part of Pakistan that suffered devastating floods last year.A man and his son died trying to save their livestock in Gujarat state, where the storm came ashore late Thursday after more than 180,000 people took shelter in the two countries.The storm made landfall a night earlier, packing windspeeds of 85 kph (53 mph), gusting up to 105 kph (86 mph) through the coastal regions of western India’s Gujarat state. Pakistani authorities were on high alert after evacuating 82,000 people. The full extent of the damage in western India was not immediately known. In addition to the two deaths, three people were injured in nearby Devbhoomi Dwarka district, officials said. About 100,000 people evacuated in western India have been temporarily relocated to relief camps, authorities said.The storm did other damage upon landfall, inclu...

Man allegedly kills 3 children and wounds woman in shooting at Ohio home, report says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:44 GMT

MONROE TOWNSHIP, Ohio (AP) — A man allegedly shot and killed three children and wounded a woman at an Ohio home Thursday afternoon, according to a news station.Police responded to the home in Monroe Township shortly before 4:30 p.m., WKRC-TV reported.Officers found three boys, ages 3, 4 and 7, outside the home with gunshot wounds and performed life-saving measures but the children died at the scene, the station reported.Police said a 34-year-old woman, who was not immediately identified, was outside the home suffering a gunshot to the hand and was transported to hospital, WKRC reported.Chad Doerman, 32, was taken into custody at the scene and was believed to be the father of the children. He was charged with three counts of aggravated murder, WKRC reported.A pair of 911 calls reported children had been shot and a girl was running down the street saying her father was killing people, the station reported.The Clermont County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a message fr...

Top Russian officer killed in Ukrainian counteroffensive

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:44 GMT

A top Russian officer has been killed in a Ukrainian missile strike during Kyiv's counteroffensive against Russian forces, a Russian-backed official in Ukraine said on Tuesday (13 June), offering his condolences.Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed official in part of the southern Zaporizhzhia region which is under Moscow's control, said Major-General Sergei Goryachev, Chief of Staff of Russia's 35th Army, had been killed on the Zaporizhzhia front on Monday where Ukrainian forces have been retaking some territory.There was no immediate confirmation of the news from the Defence Ministry, which was first reported by "Voenkor Z," a Russian war correspondent and blogger.Rogov, writing on his official channel on the Telegram messaging application, said: "The army has lost one of its brightest and most effective military commanders, who combined the highest professionalism with personal courage. Deepest and most sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased!"Goryachev, 52, ...

National Salvation Day as the foundation of the historic Shusha Declaration

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:44 GMT

To ensure the stable and sustainable development of our country in light of the political and economic cataclysms that span the world today, we have to turn and take a look back at the history of the modern democratic Azerbaijan Republic that gained its political independence in the 1990s and to remember the indispensable role of prominent political figures who inscribed their names in golden letters in the history of Azerbaijan - writes Mazahir Efendiyev Member of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan.There are a number of events in our history that have deep and eternal value in the national consciousness of the nation and the ideology of Azerbaijanism.June 15—National Salvation Day—is one of the days that played a great and significant role in the destiny of the Azerbaijani people. On that very day, Azerbaijan made its way out of the recession and embarked on a path of progress. From this day forward, Azerbaijan began to pursue an independent policy and took a worth...

Belgium bar belle to defend cocktail championship honour

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:44 GMT

Julie Nullens (pictured), who is expecting her second child in a few weeks, now has something else to celebrate this summer.She will defend Belgium for the second time in a row during the IBA (International Bartenders Association) World Cocktail Championship in Rome from 28 November to 2 December.During the contest, 64 bartenders representing the 64 countries member of the IBA will be competing for the title of IBA World Champion.Julie was selected at the 60th Union of Belgium’s Bartenders national cocktails competition which took place on 12 June at the The Dominican in Brussels. The best bartenders in the country competed for the title of Champion of Belgium 2023.Julie, of Le bar à Ju at Sprimont, was adjudged to be Belgium’s Best Bartender for the year.The first runner-up was Edwin Fernando Bravo Vega, of The Dominican, Brussels, while the second runner-up was Daniel Papageorgiou, of La Fourmilière in Brussels.The 2023 national competition was completely redesigned and upgra...

Leading airline flies for the flag for sustainability

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:44 GMT

Emirates’ plans to upgrade the entire interior cabins of 120 Airbus A380 and Boeing 777 aircraft is really taking off.The ambitious project, representing a multi-billion dollar investment to ensure Emirates’ customers “fly better” for the coming years, aims to be “environmental friendly” and also includes plans for a 4th cabin class, called Premium Economy.The target is to completely retrofit four Emirates aircraft from start to finish every month, continuously for over 2 years. Once the 67 earmarked A380s are refreshed and back in service, some 53 777s will undergo their facelift.This will see nearly 4,000 brand new Premium Economy seats installed, 728 First Class suites refurbished and over 5,000 Business Class seats upgraded to a new style and design when the project is complete in April 2025.The new Premium Economy cabin class, which offers luxurious seats and more legroom, is currently available to Emirates customers travelling on popular A380 routes to London, Paris, Sydney. I...