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6 new countries to join BRICS

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:46 GMT

Leaders of the BRICS group have decided to invite six more countries to join their alliance.Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have all been invited to become members of BRICS, said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who hosted a three-day summit of the emerging markets group in Johannesburg this week.Their membership will take effect January 1, 2024.“We value the interest of other countries in building a partnership with BRICS,” Ramaphosa said. “We have tasked our Foreign Ministers to further develop the BRICS partner country model and a list of prospective partner countries and report by the next Summit.”The decision to broaden the grouping reflects a lack of progress in deepening the existing BRICS alliance, which despite representing a third of global GDP has diverging interests — ranging from China’s rise as a global superpower, to India’s nonalignment, to Brazil’s status as a farm exporter. Some of the new m...

Wagner allies react: OMG, they killed Yevgeny! You bastards!

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:46 GMT

Who’d shed a tear for Yevgeny Prigozhin? Well, the apparent death of the belligerent leader of the notorious mercenary Wagner Group in a plane crash Wednesday night has created an unexpected outpouring of grief inside Russia.In the 62-year-old oligarch’s home city of St. Petersburg, a candlelit vigil was set up outside one of the group’s now-shuttered recruiting centers. Well-wishers lay red roses, while others placed badges featuring Wagner’s macabre skull and crosshairs logo.Meanwhile, the office lights of Prigozhin’s former headquarters, a glass and steel tower in the heart of Russia’s second city, were switched on in the shape of a crucifix in mourning, photos posted online show.Online, Wagner’s social media mouthpieces were quick to suggest the light aircraft’s sudden crash — en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg with many of the group’s leadership on board — was no accident.“The fact that our best soldiers died in battle is the will of God,” wrote the pro-Prigozhi...

US Republican presidential candidates show deep divide over Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:46 GMT

The GOP divide on Ukraine was on full display during the debate, with Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis saying they would cut off funding to Kyiv while others defended U.S. aid to the embattled nation.“I find it offensive that we have professional politicians who will make a pilgrimage to Kyiv, to their pope, Zelenskyy, without doing the same for the people in Maui or the south side of Chicago,” he said, referring to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine.DeSantis was more hedging, saying that he would stop aid to Ukraine unless European governments stepped up to “pull their weight.”Those calls to stop Ukraine funding earned applause in the room, but were not shared by all candidates. Nikki Haley accused Ramaswamy of wanting to “hand Ukraine to Russia” and “let China eat Taiwan.”“You are choosing a murderer” over an ally of the U.S., Haley said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.“I wish you success on your future career on the boards of Lockheed and Raytheon,” Ramaswamy...

Movie tickets are just $4 on National Cinema Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:46 GMT

Moviegoers won’t find a better discount than National Cinema Day, when they can see a movie in a theater for a bargain-basement $4.The movie theater celebration happens Sunday, Aug. 27. At participating theaters, the $4 price is good for all movies, all formats – even IMAX and 3D screens – and all showtimes, including post-midnight screenings.More than 3,000 theaters across the nation are participating in National Cinema Day, which was launched last year by the Cinema Foundation, the nonprofit affiliate of the National Association of Theater Owners. The inaugural National Cinema Day saw an estimated 8.1 million moviegoers buy discounted tickets on Sept. 3, according to Cinema Foundation. The movie theater holiday set a single-day attendance record for 2022, according to Cineworld Group CEO Eduardo Acuna.Major movie theater chains are also joining in by offering concession deals. Regal is offering a $4 small popcorn and soft drink combo that day, while AMC Theatres is offering a simi...

A plane crash believed to have killed mercenary chief Prigozhin is seen as the Kremlin’s revenge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:46 GMT

Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and top officers of his private Wagner military company were presumed dead in a plane crash that was widely seen as an assassination, two months after they staged a mutiny that dented President Vladimir Putin’s authority.Russia’s civil aviation agency said that Prigozhin and six top lieutenants were on a business jet that crashed Wednesday, soon after taking off from Moscow, with a crew of three. Rescuers found all 10 bodies, and Russian media cited sources in Prigozhin’s Wagner company who confirmed his death.Police cordoned off the field where the plane crashed a few hundred kilometers (miles) north of Moscow, as investigators studied the site. Vehicles were seen driving in to take the bodies for forensic examinations.At Wagner’s headquarters in St. Petersburg, lights were turned on in the shape of a large cross. Prigozhin’s supporters brought flowers to the building in an improvised memorial. U.S. and other Western officials l...

Winding road takes runner Abdihamid Nur from Somalia to the starting line at worlds for the US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:46 GMT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The path for Abdihamid Nur to get to the starting line of the 5,000 meters has been both winding and filled with crossroads.Winding, because he and his family relocated several times, including fleeing Somalia when he was little. Crossroads, because his path didn’t even include running until it was recommended for recovery after he was involved in a serious car accident.Sometimes, the 25-year-old American citizen takes a quick moment to reflect on the journey that brought him here, to Budapest, and another world championships.“It’s like, ‘Wow, this is my life.’ It’s pretty crazy,” said Nur, who begins the 5,000 meters on Thursday. “I never thought running would bring me all of this.”Nur is the second-youngest in his family, with three older brothers and three older sisters, along with a younger sister. They’re all on their own unique and rewarding paths now — thanks to mom.She wanted a safer life for her family so she made the decision to leave Mogadis...

A rockslide near the Dead Sea in Israel injures at least 7, including small children

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:46 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — An avalanche of rocks tumbled down a hillside in Israel near the Dead Sea on Thursday, Israeli medics said, injuring at least seven people, including children.Israel’s rescue service said the victims ranged from 4 to 40 years old, including a 5-year-old boy in critical condition. A 4-year-old girl was in moderate condition and others were less seriously injured after layers of mud and rocks slammed into the desert hiking trail.It was not immediately clear what caused the rockslide, which typically occurs when torrential rains or earthquakes create fissures in a rocky hillside.The Israel-based volunteer emergency medical service United Hatzalah said numerous others were still trapped under the rubble and rescue teams were trying to reach them. Military helicopters were flown in for the evacuation. The rockslide took place in the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve on the western shore of the Dead Sea, a popular tourist site in the country. The Associated Press

Amber Alert issued for 3-month-old girl abducted by father: OPP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:46 GMT

An Amber Alert has been issued across Ontario for a three-month-old girl who provincial police say was abducted by her father.Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have identified the girl as Jazmine Gill-Bissonnette. She was last seen on Wednesday evening in Roseneath, Ont., a small community 30 kilometres northeast of Cobourg.Jazmine is described as white, two-feet tall, 11 lbs., with brown hair.The suspect is identified as 23-year-old Jacob Bissonnette, who is described as a white male, five-foot seven inches tall, and 132 lbs. with short brown hair. He was last seen wearing grey sweatpants, a black t-shirt with rapper ’50 Cent’ on it, a red and black Chevrolet ballcap, and sandals.The suspect may be in possession of a black baby car seat and a grey diaper bag.No vehicle information has been released. Investigators believe the suspect is on foot or may have been picked up by someone in the area.Police say if anyone sees Bissonnette they should call 911 immediately.pic.twitt...

Palestinian authorities say an explosion at a Hamas site in Gaza has killed 1 militant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:46 GMT

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — An explosion ripped through a Hamas militant site in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday, Palestinian authorities said, killing one militant and seriously wounding another. The Gaza-based interior ministry did not reveal the cause of the blast but said it killed Ashraf Hussein, a member of Hamas’ military wing, the Qassam Brigades. The Qassam Brigades acknowledged that Hussein was killed in what the group described as an accidental explosion.There was no information about what kind of militant facility was affected in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, or about the extent of damage caused. Gaza’s Hamas rulers have a number of training sites and underground facilities used for manufacturing weapons and storing raw rocket material. Accidental explosions have been reported in the past at bomb laboratories and munitions storehouses. Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007, prompting Israel and Egypt to impose a blockade on the territory, largely to prevent...

In Japan’s neighbors, fear and frustration are shared over radioactive water release

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:46 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Seoul office worker Kim Mijeong says she intends to stop eating seafood because she deeply mistrusts the safety of Japan’s release of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea from its crippled nuclear power plant.“We should absolutely cut back on our consumption of seafood. Actually, we can’t eat it,” Kim said. “I can’t accept the Japanese plan because it’s too unilateral and is proceeding without countermeasures.”The International Atomic Energy Agency and many foreign experts already assessed the water discharge will cause negligible impact on the environment and human health. But ahead of the discharge of the wastewater starting Thursday, public fears and frustrations were being shared in its Asian neighbors, where many still bear strong resentment against Japan’s wartime aggression.China summoned Japan’s ambassador in Beijing earlier this week to register its complaints, and a government spokesperson called the discharge plan “extremely selfish ...