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Honduran president begins first visit to China since breaking off ties with Taiwan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:54 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Honduran President Xiomara Castro arrived in Shanghai on Friday on her first visit since China established ties with Honduras, pulling it away from former diplomatic ally Taiwan.Castro, whose visit extends until June 14, will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping “to jointly plan for the future development” of ties, China’s official Xinhua News Agency said.Honduras established formal relations with China in March, becoming the latest in a string of former diplomatic allies to break ties with Taiwan. China sees self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province, to be retaken by force if necessary, and prohibits its diplomatic partners from having formal ties with Taipei.Beijing has intensified its battle for diplomatic recognition against Taiwan since independence-leaning Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016. Since then, China has managed to lure away nine of Taiwan’s former allies with a campaign involving billions of dollars of investments.Beiji...

Italian court convicts Swiss billionaire in asbestos deaths

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:54 GMT

An Italian court on Wednesday (7 June) sentenced a Swiss billionaire to 12 years in jail after convicting him on charges of aggravated manslaughter related to the death of hundreds of people from exposure to asbestos.Judges in the city of Novara issued the verdict after more than seven hours of deliberations, according to multiple Italian media reports, which said prosecutors had asked for life imprisonment.Stephan Schmidheiny was found guilty of causing the death of 392 people, including more than 60 workers and around 330 residents in the northern town of Casale Monferrato, where he his Eternit firm was based.Defence lawyer Astolfo Di Amato told the Adnkronos news agency that he would appeal, but said his team was already "very pleased" that the court's manslaughter verdict meant that his client cannot be considered an "intentional murderer".Schmidheiny's factories had used asbestos in the production of cement between the 1970s and the 1980s. They closed in 1986, but workers and l...

For the Green transition, Azerbaijan seeks solidarity and partnership with Europe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:54 GMT

As part of the EU’s Green Week 2023, the Sustainable Energy Hub brought together in Brussels decision makers from Azerbaijan, the European Union and beyond. They discussed how a country that’s become one of the EU’s most important sources of oil and gas is also leading the way towards a green transition and becoming a sustainable energy supplier, writes Political Editor Nick Powell.“We can mitigate climate change through solidarity and partnership”, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to the EU, Vaqif Sadiqov, told an EU Green Week event that focussed on the potential for collaboration and growth through sustainable investment in his country. A reliable supplier of energy to Europe, accounting for some 5% of both the EU’s oil and its gas, Azerbaijan’s main priorities include sustainably growing a competitive economy and being green growth country with a clean environment.Henrik Hololei, from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships, argued that the transforma...

Sale closed in San Jose: $3.2 million for a three-bedroom home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:54 GMT

2116 Jonathan Avenue – Google Street ViewA 1,362-square-foot house built in 1950 has changed hands. The property located in the 2100 block of Jonathan Avenue in San Jose was sold on May 26, 2023, for $3,165,000, or $2,324 per square foot. The property features three bedrooms, one bathroom, a garage, and two parking spaces. It sits on a 6,954-square-foot lot, which also has a pool.These nearby houses have also recently been sold:On Ellen Avenue, San Jose, in September 2022, a 1,529-square-foot home was sold for $1,600,000, a price per square foot of $1,046. The home has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In May 2023, a 2,257-square-foot home on Coastland Avenue in San Jose sold for $2,100,000, a price per square foot of $930. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 1,794-square-foot home on the 2000 block of Ellen Avenue in San Jose sold in April 2023, for $1,969,000, a price per square foot of $1,098. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. 

A dam collapses and thousands face the deluge — often with no help — in Russian-occupied Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:54 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — For days, the Ukrainian teenager has waited in the attic, just down the street from the cemetery of her flooded town, marking time with her 83-year-old grandfather and two other elderly people and hoping for help to escape the deluge of a catastrophic dam collapse.But help is slow in coming to Oleshky, a Russian-occupied town across the Dnieper River from the city of Kherson with a prewar population of 24,000, according to those stranded and their desperate Ukrainian rescuers. Russian forces are taking rescuers’ boats, they say. Some say the soldiers will only help people with Russian passports. “Russian soldiers are standing at the checkpoints, preventing (rescuers) from approaching the most-affected areas and taking away the boats,” said one volunteer, Yaroslav Vasiliev. “They are afraid of saboteurs, they suspect everyone.”So 19-year-old Yektarina But and the three elderly people with her simply wait, along with thousands of others believed to be trappe...

Social media and duct tape are helping people make DIY air purifiers that filter out wildfire smoke

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Social media users are sharing a surprisingly effective way to protect yourself indoors from the toxic wildfire smoke blanketing much of the East Coast: a box fan, four air filters and a whole lot of duct tape.As searches for “air purifiers” spike on Google, people are posting on TikTok and Facebook about how to build the DIY air purifier. The technique, known as the Corsi-Rosenthal method, has gained attention in recent years amid the pandemic and raging western U.S. wildfires.Some East Coast residents are learning about the box fan method for the first time, unlike their West Coast counterparts who are accustomed to wildfire smoke. Seattle resident Angel Robertson, 34, posted a video on a New Yorker’s TikTok demonstrating how to put it together. In her video, which has amassed more than 600,000 views, Robertson duct tapes four 20-by-20 air filters into a box shape and attaches the fan on top. The whole apparatus costs under $100. “It works extremely well and will s...

DC air quality minimally improving as region shifts to Code Orange

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:54 GMT

The U.S. Capitol is barely visible from the Washington Monument on Thursday, June 8, 2023 as smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed the D.C. area for the third straight day. (WTOP/David Andrews)(WTOP/David Andrews) The U.S. Capitol is barely visible from the Washington Monument on Thursday, June 8, 2023 as smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed the D.C. area for the third straight day. (WTOP/David Andrews)(WTOP/David Andrews) The air quality in the D.C. area shifted into Code Orange early Friday morning, and is expected to remain unhealthy for some groups throughout the day. Here’s what you need to know.What is a Code Orange Air Quality Alert?While Code Red means some members of the public may experience h...

Ticket sales top 1 million for Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:54 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — More than 1 million tickets have been sold for the Women’s World Cup kicking off in Australia and New Zealand next month, with soccer’s international governing body saying the tournament is on track to be the most attended standalone women’s sporting event in history. FIFA President Gianni Infantino issued a statement saying 1,032,884 tickets had been sold up to Friday morning local time in Sydney, surpassing the pre-tournament sales for the 2019 edition in France.Co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the 2023 edition features an expanded field of 32 teams, up from 24 in France. There are 64 total matches during the tournament.“Delighted to share with the world that FIFA has passed one million tickets sold,” Infantino said. “This means that with over one month to go before kick-off … 2023 is on track to become the most attended FIFA Women’s World Cup in history. The future is women — and thanks to the fans for supporting what will be the greatest FI...

Los jóvenes en China están tan preocupados por la economía que piden una intervención divina

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:54 GMT

(CNN) — Se suponía que la reapertura de China tras la crisis del covid-19 iba a ser el estímulo que el mundo necesitaba. Pero tras un primer estallido de actividad, el crecimiento de la segunda economía mundial parece estancarse.Desilusionados por el deterioro de las perspectivas económicas, los jóvenes acuden en masa a los templos budistas y taoístas para pedir la intervención divina a fin de conseguir trabajo, ingresar en buenas escuelas o hacerse ricos de la noche a la mañana.Los datos publicados esta semana muestran que las exportaciones chinas cayeron un 7,5% en mayo con respecto a hace un año, mucho más de lo esperado, debido al debilitamiento de la demanda mundial. La actividad de las fábricas volvió a contraerse el mes pasado, y el desempleo juvenil se sitúa en máximos históricos.La incertidumbre económica ha disparado las visitas a templos y el turismo, según analistas y sitios web de viajes.“No ir a la escuela, no trabajar duro, solo quemar incienso” ha s...

Erdogan appoints former US bank executive as Turkish central bank chief, in sign of policy change

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:54 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday appointed a former U.S.-based bank executive to head Turkey’s central bank, in another sign that his administration might pursue more conventional economic policies.Erdogan named Hafize Gaye Erkan, a former co-chief executive officer of the First Republic Bank, as governor, according to an announcement in the Official Gazette. The Princeton-educated Erkan, 41, becomes the Turkish central bank’s first woman governor.Erdogan won a third presidential term in elections last month as the country grapples with a cost-of-living crisis fueled by inflation that peaked at a staggering 85% in October.Critics blame the turmoil on Erdogan’s policy of lowering interest rates to promote growth. The approach runs contrary to conventional economic thinking that calls for rate increases to combat inflation.On Saturday, Erdogan reappointed Mehmet Simsek, a respected former banker, finance minister and deputy prime minister, to the ...