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Prague government opposes local performance by Russian soprano Anna Netrebko

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:15:13 GMT

PRAGUE (AP) — The local government in Prague said Monday that it “unequivocally” opposes a scheduled performance by Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko in the Czech capital while Russia wages war on Ukraine.Deputy Mayor Jiri Pospisil, who oversees culture in the city, said that all the members of Prague’s governing coalition shared the same view.“All the parties perceive that at a time when the war (in Ukraine) has been ongoing and we read every day about the victims of the Russian attacks in the media, it is insensitive for such a singer to perform here in Prague,” Pospisil said.The Czech Republic has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine during the war. The governing coalition in Prague is made up of the same political parties that comprise the Czech government.The view from City Hall does not necessarily mean Netrebko’s Oct 16 performance at Prague’s Municipal House won’t take place as planned. The management of the venue, which is a civic building as well as...

Pilot noticed loss of power before crash of Cold War plane at Michigan show

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:15:13 GMT

BELLEVILLE, Mich. (AP) — The pilot of a Cold War-era jet noticed it was losing power and decided to eject himself and a crew member before the Soviet fighter plane crashed during a weekend air show in suburban Detroit, an official said Monday.The pilot, who also owns the plane, had serious injuries but nothing life-threatening, while a second person aboard the MiG-23 had mild injuries after they parachuted to the ground, said John Brannen, senior air safety investigator at the National Transportation Safety Board.“It’s very fortunate, of course, that nobody on the ground was injured. … The plane traveled about 500 feet after the initial impact, went through some trees and wound up here next to the apartment building,” Brannen told reporters in Belleville.The MiG-23, which was built in the former Soviet Union in 1981, crashed Sunday during the Thunder Over Michigan Air Show, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Detroit.Brannen said the pilot talked to the Federal Aviation Adm...

Sudan’s top army general accuses rival paramilitary of war crimes in televised speech

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:15:13 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — In a rare televised speech Monday, the head of Sudan’s military accused the rival paramilitary force of committing war crimes as all-out civil war threatens to engulf the northeast African country.Sudan was plunged into chaos in April when months of simmering tensions between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open fighting in Khartoum and elsewhere.In a speech broadcast on Sudan TV, Burhan accused the RSF and Dagalo of committing violations under the falsehood of promising to restore democracy.“How can you bring about democracy by committing war crimes?” he said, in a speech celebrating Sudan’s annual armed forces day. Earlier this month, rights organization Amnesty International accused both sides of committing extensive war crimes, including deliberate killings of civilians and mass sexual assault. In its 56-page report, the group said almost all rape cases were b...

Federal judges review Alabama’s new congressional map, lack of 2nd majority-Black district

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:15:13 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A panel of federal judges on Monday began a review of Alabama’s redrawn congressional map which opponents argued defies the court’s mandate to create a second district where Black voters have an opportunity to influence the outcome of an election. The three-judge panel, which blocked the use of the state’s old map last year, will decide whether to let Alabama’s new districts go forward or step in and draw new congressional districts for the state. Alabama was forced to draw new district lines after the U.S. Supreme Court, in a surprise June decision, upheld the panel’s earlier finding that the state’s then-map — which had one Black-majority district out of seven in a state where more than one in four residents is Black — likely violated the federal Voting Rights Act. Lawyers for voters in the case argued Monday that the new plan, which maintains one majority-Black district, still discriminates against Black voters. They said it flouts the panel’s 2022 finding...

An accident at Germany’s biggest theme park injures 4 people, police say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:15:13 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Four people were injured in an accident on Monday at Germany’s biggest theme park, police said.The accident happened at the Europa-Park in the town of Rust, near the French and Swiss borders. Police said a structure from which people can jump into a pool appears to have collapsed, German news agency dpa reported.The park said that a mobile pool that was part of a “high-diving show” cracked during the show and the water flowed into an attraction called Atlantica SuperSplash. It said that one guest was slightly grazed but other visitors to the park were not affected. It was unclear who the other three injured people were. The attraction was set to reopen quickly.The park is a popular tourist attraction that drew more than 6 million visitors last year, mostly from Germany, France and Switzerland.It has areas with themes based on different European countries, and three based on fantasy settings. The park also hosts conferences and is a popular venue for events and te...

Survey shows employers, workers might be aligning on hybrid work

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:15:13 GMT

TORONTO — New data from recruiting company Robert Half shows just over half of hiring managers see a team’s ideal working location to be a combination of remote and in-office workers.The survey found 54 per cent of hiring managers asked said a hybrid arrangement was the ideal situation.The result compared with 49 per cent of professionals surveyed who said they believed the ideal situation was a combination of remote and in-office workers.The survey also found 38 per cent of hiring managers saw everyone working in office as the ideal situation, while 28 per cent of professionals saw it as ideal.Everyone working remotely was seen as ideal by eight per cent of hiring managers and 22 per cent of professional surveyed.The report was based on an online survey of 1,373 hiring managers between May 4 and May 13 and 1,148 workers between May 4 and May 30.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2023.The Canadian Press

Judge sides with young activists in first-of-its-kind climate change trial in Montana

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:15:13 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana judge on Monday sided with young environmental activists who said state agencies were violating their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment by permitting fossil fuel development without considering its effect on the climate.The ruling in the first-of-its- kind trial in the U.S. adds to a small number of legal decisions around the world that have established a government duty to protect citizens from climate change.District Court Judge Kathy Seeley found the policy the state uses in evaluating requests for fossil fuel permits — which does not allow agencies to evaluate the effects of greenhouse gas emissions — is unconstitutional.Judge Seeley wrote in the ruling that “Montana’s emissions and climate change have been proven to be a substantial factor in causing climate impacts to Montana’s environment and harm and injury” to the youth.However, it’s up to the state Legislature to determine how to bring the policy into compliance....

Argentine peso plunges after rightist who admires Trump comes first in primary vote

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:15:13 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The Argentine peso plunged Monday after a 52-year—old anti-establishment candidate who admires former President Donald Trump came first in primary elections that will help determine the country’s next president. Javier Milei rocked Argentina’s political establishment Sunday by receiving the biggest share of primary votes for presidential candidates in the October general election to determine who leads a nation battered by economic woes.Milei wants to replace the peso with the dollar, and says that Argentina’s Central Bank should be abolished, and that he thinks that climate change is a lie. He has characterized sex education as a ploy to destroy the family, and has said that he believes that the sale of human organs should be legal. He also has said that it should be easier for Argentines to own handguns.Argentina’s government decided to devalue the local currency by 20% early Monday morning after the surprising showing that turned Argentina int...

Smash hit musical ‘Chicago’ to return to Toronto for holiday run

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:15:13 GMT

TORONTO — The smash Broadway hit “Chicago” will return to Toronto at the end of the year.Mirvish Productions says the musical will play at the CAA Ed Mirvish Theatre from Dec. 27 to Jan. 6.The show is touring to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its 1996 Broadway revival, with other stops set for Boston and Denver.This will be the show’s eighth time in Toronto, having made its Canadian premiere in 1977. The show’s revival also stopped in Toronto in 1998 with a 10-week sold-out run, which brought the performance back several times over the following decades.Tickets for the production are on sale Thursday.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2023.The Canadian Press

Quebec government says it is open to studying whether to relaunch nuclear reactor

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:15:13 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec Energy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon says he agrees with Hydro-Québec’s decision to study a possible reopening of the province’s only nuclear power plant.Fitzgibbon reacted today to recent news that the power utility is looking into restarting the Gentilly-2 reactor in Bécancour, Que., as a response to growing energy demand.The minister told reporters in Montreal that as Quebec moves away from fossil fuels, all sources of renewable energy should be studied.But he warns that new energy projects should be both acceptable to the public and profitable.The provincial government closed Gentilly-2 in 2012, in part because of the high cost of refurbishing the plant, which opened in 1983.Hydro-Québec’s announcement last week was met with criticism from environmental group Greenpeace Canada and from opposition politicians, who called on the government to launch a national discussion on Quebec’s energy future.This report by The Canadian Press was first pu...