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Southern Europe suffers in heat wave, with record-high temperatures forecast

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:41 GMT

ROME — Swathes of southern Europe continue to experience extreme heat, with warnings that record-high temperatures could be reached in some places this week.In Italy, those record highs could come as soon as Tuesday, with Sicily and Sardinia forecast to reach 48 degrees C. Italy’s record temperature is 48.8 C, set two years ago. Some 60 percent of Italy is likely to top 40 C this week, with the government issuing a red alert for 20 of the country’s 27 main cities for Tuesday and warning of a risk to health, particularly for the elderly and vulnerable.  A study by the Institute of Global Health published in Nature Medicine journal found that 18,000 Italians died in the Europe-wide heatwave last summer, the most among the 35 countries studied. Hospital emergency departments and calls to emergency numbers have seen an uptick in use of around 20 percent in recent days, according to local media. Power outages hit parts of Rome on M...

More tourists caught defacing Rome’s ancient Colosseum

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:41 GMT

(CNN) — Two more tourists have been caught apparently defacing the Colosseum in Rome, following a similar incident in June.On Friday, a 17-year-old girl from Switzerland was spotted apparently carving her initials into a wall of the building by a tourist guide, a spokesperson for the local military police force, the Carabinieri of the Province of Rome, told CNN on Monday. The guide called security at the site, who then alerted the Carabinieri.The very next day, a 17-year-old student from Germany was caught allegedly doing something similar. This time, a security guard spotted the teen and reported him to the Carabinieri.Both teenagers risk a fine of up to €15,000 ($16,850) and up to five years in jail.This is the same punishment potentially faced by a 27-year-old British tourist who was filmed apparently carving his name into the wall of the ancient arena last month.The man, Ivan Dimitrov, later sent a letter of apology to the local prosecutor’s office, according...

Sinking tugboat releases thousands of gallons of diesel into the Tennessee River in Alabama, prompting calls for swimmers to get out of the water, police say

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:41 GMT

(CNN) — Thousands of gallons of diesel were released into the Tennessee River after a tugboat sank in northwest Alabama, prompting calls for swimmers to get out of the water after the fuel began washing up on nearby shores, authorities said Sunday.The tugboat sank near O’Neal Bridge and began to release roughly 3,000 to 5,000 gallons of diesel into the water, the Florence Police Department said in a news release.“Diesel fuel has began to wash up the beaches of McFarland Park,” the department added.People who were swimming at McFarland Park in Florence were asked to get out of the water, according to the release. The park is a popular destination for families that features a beach area, fishing piers, playgrounds and campsites, according to the city’s website.“Please stay out of the water and off the beaches until further notice,” the release read.A photo released by Florence police showed an iridescent sheen floating on the water near the bridge.No one was aboard...

Bruins sign trio of hopefuls

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:41 GMT

While the Bruins await a decision from Patrice Bergeron on his playing future and arbitration hearings for Jeremy Swayman and Trent Frederic, the club took care of some minor business on Monday.The B’s signed goaltender Michael DiPietro and defensemen Alec Regula and Reilly Walsh each to one-year, two-way contracts worth an NHL cap hit of $775,000.The 24-year-old DiPietro, obtained in the Jack Studnicka trade with Vancouver last season, appeared in 29 ECHL gams with Maine, recording a 19-9 record, 2.61 goals against average and .916 save percentage. At the moment, DiPietro appears to be fifth on the goaltending depth chart that begins with Linus Ullmark and Swayman in Boston and Brandon Bussi and Kyle Keyser in Providence.The 24-year-old Walsh, picked up in a trade with New Jersey for Shane Bowers this summer, is coming off back-to-back 40-point seasons for the Utica Comets of the AHL. The Harvard and Framingham product could be a darkhorse challenger for a spot on the Boston ...

1 found dead after East County structure fire

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:41 GMT

JULIAN, Calif. — One person was found dead Monday inside a structure that caught fire in rural East County, Cal Fire San Diego said.Around 4:50 a.m., crews responded to a fully-involved structure fire at 35450 Great Southern Overland Stage Route, near Julian.The fire posed no threat to the surrounding vegetation and crews were able to achieve a full knockdown of the blaze, Cal Fire said. Garage destroyed, power lines damaged by fire in Pacific Beach One person was found dead inside the structure, officials said. No further information regarding their identity was immediately available.The San Diego Sheriff's Department Bomb Arson Unit was called out to the scene to handle the investigation.No further information was immediately released regarding the circumstances that led to the fire.

Russia halts landmark deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain at time of growing hunger

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:41 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Russia on Monday halted a breakthrough wartime deal that allowed grain to flow from Ukraine to countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat and high food prices have pushed more people into poverty.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Black Sea Grain Initiative would be suspended until demands to get Russian food and fertilizer to the world are met.“When the part of the Black Sea deal related to Russia is implemented, Russia will immediately return to the implementation of the deal,” Peskov said.While Russia has complained that restrictions on shipping and insurance have hampered its agricultural exports, it has shipped record amounts of wheat since last year.The suspension marks the end of an accord that the U.N. and Turkey brokered last summer to allow shipments of food from the Black Sea region after Russia’s invasion of its neighbor worsened a global food crisis. The initiative is credited with helping lower soaring price...

Cairo’s BBC staff begin a three-day strike, calling for equal pay with other Mideast colleagues

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:41 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — BBC’s staff in Cairo went on a three-day strike Monday to demand equal pay with other colleagues in the Middle East as Egypt’s economic crisis deepens further. According to Khaled el-Bashey, the strikers’ spokesperson and head of Egypt’s journalism union, the 75 staff members from the broadcaster’s Cairo bureau are demanding to be paid in dollars — like other BBC employees in the region, including in Beirut and Istanbul. The walkout is to end on Wednesday.Over the past year, the Egyptian pound has lost over 50% of its value against the dollar, with annual inflation reaching 36.8% in June, up from 33.7% recorded in May. The country’s economy is reeling from years of government austerity measures, the coronavirus pandemic and fallout from the Ukraine war. Egypt is a top wheat importer from Russia and Ukraine. El-Bahsey posted on Facebook that the BBC staff in Egypt consider the disparity in pay as a form of “systematic discrimination.” They had earlier asked for the...

Canadian meat industry urges MPs to reject U.K. membership in trade deal

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:41 GMT

CALGARY — Canadian beef and pork farmers are calling on members of Parliament to vote against the U.K.’s membership in a major Asia-Pacific trade group.The farmers, as well as Canadian meat processors, are angry about Saturday’s announcement that the U.K. has been granted accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).The CPTPP is a trading bloc that includes Canada and ten other nations, encompassing 500 million people and 15 per cent of the world’s economy.But Canada’s meat industry says the U.K. should not be able to join, since Canadian beef and pork producers don’t have fair access to the U.K. market.One sticking point is that the U.K. refuses to accept beef treated with growth hormones, a common practice in Canada.The meat industry says the federal government must reject the U.K.’s membership in the trading bloc through a vote in Parliament, or compensate farmers and processors for the financia...

Meta faces $100K daily fine from Norway regulator over privacy concerns in user advertising

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Meta will face a hefty fine over advertising practices that violate user privacy, Norway’s data protection authority said Monday, unless the Facebook and Instagram owner takes action to comply with the law.Norwegian regulator Datatilsynet says that behavioral advertising — a common marketing model that profiles users by collection information like their physical locations, among other data — without consent is illegal. Because of this, Datatilsynet imposing a “temporary ban” of such practices on Facebook and Instagram.During the ban, which starts August 4, Meta risks a fine of up to 1 million Norwegian kroner (nearly $100,000) each day. The ban will “last for three months, or until Meta can show that it complies with the law,” Datatilsynet said.This decision “does not ban Facebook or Instagram in Norway,” Tobias Judin, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority’s international department head, stated in a release. “The purpose is rather to ensure that ...

Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra turns 10, training over 1,200 for music careers

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Teen musicians from the National Youth Orchestra of the USA walked onto the Carnegie Hall stage and acted in unison, much like string sections following their leaders: They pulled out cell phones and took selfies.Carnegie Hall’s initiative to train the next generation turned 10 this year. After arriving July 1 for intensive instruction that began the following day at suburban Purchase College, performers gathered at America’s premier concert hall to play for conductor Andrew Davis in a 2,800-seat auditorium filled with many family members and friends.“I learned how the orchestra itself is a living creature,” said Yuri Lee, a 19-year-old violinist from Tuckahoe, New York, who served as an apprentice composer last year. This year’s orchestra gives eight concerts on a tour through July 28, with performances in Groton, Massachusetts; Joliette, Quebec; Nashville, Tennessee; Dallas; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Stanford, California; and San Diego.There are 108 members this year ...