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New Zealand jury finds mom guilty of killing her 3 young daughters in a case that shocked the nation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:21 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A New Zealand jury on Wednesday found a mother guilty of murdering her three young daughters in a case that shocked the nation.Lauren Dickason, 42, had earlier admitted killing her 2-year-old twin daughters Maya and Karla, and their 6-year-old sister Lianè, at their home in the town of Timaru nearly two years ago. But she had pleaded not guilty to murder, arguing she was mentally disturbed at the time of the killings and didn’t know that what she was doing was wrong.Prosecutors, however, pointed to Dickason’s troubling phone messages and online history in the weeks before the killings, including comments about wanting to kill her children and Google searches for “most effective overdose in kids.” Dickason and her husband Graham Dickason, both qualified medical professionals, had moved from South Africa to New Zealand just days before the murders, seeking a more stable lifestyle away from the turmoil in their home country. Lauren Dickason at...

Germany’s Cabinet is set to approve a plan to liberalize rules on cannabis possession and sale

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:21 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s Cabinet is set to approve a plan to liberalize rules on cannabis, setting the scene for the European Union’s most populous member to decriminalize possession of limited amounts and allow members of “cannabis clubs” to buy the substance for recreational purposes. The government’s approval, expected on Wednesday, is billed as the first step in a two-part plan and will still need approval by parliament. But it’s a stride forward for a prominent reform project of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s socially liberal coalition, though significantly short of the government’s original ambitions.Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is to give details of the finalized legislation on Wednesday. His most recent public proposal foresees legalizing possession of up to 25 grams (nearly 1 ounce) of cannabis for recreational purposes and allowing individuals to grow up to three plants on their own. German residents who are 18 and older would be allowed to ...

IndiGo gets DGCA nod to operate flights to Almaty, Kazakhstan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:21 GMT

IndiGo aims to introduce three daily flights to Almaty, as it continues to strengthen its international network. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted approval to IndiGo, the largest low-cost carrier in India, to commence operations between Delhi and Almaty, Kazakhstan, starting from 5 September this year, according to reliable sources. In line with its expansion plans, IndiGo aims to introduce three daily flights to Almaty, as it continues to strengthen its international network. The airline currently serves 26 international destinations, and with the upcoming additions, this figure will grow to 32. Furthermore, the airline has a robust pipeline of other international routes in development. This is in addition to the 78 cities the airline already serves domestically within India. To meet the rising demand for international travel, IndiGo recently announced the addition of 174 new weekly international flights from June to September 2023. The new services will ...

Bonmati wants another championship soccer trophy for Spain. This time a Women’s World Cup title.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:21 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Aitana Bonmati remembers the moment Andres Iniesta scored at the 2010 World Cup clearly, even though she was only 12 years old.Iniesta’s extra-time goal in the championship match against the Netherlands at Johannesburg gave Spain a 1-0 win for its first and only men’s World Cup trophy.Bonmati says it’s time for a new Spanish champion, this time at the Women’s World Cup. Spain will learn its opponent in the final on Wednesday night, when England plays hosts Australia in the other semifinal.The championship match is set for Sunday in Sydney. “I hope we can repeat the history with our team,” she said. Spain advanced to the final with a 2-1 victory over Sweden on Tuesday, a game that saw all three goals come in the final 10 minutes. Bonmati calls Iniesta and teammate Xavi her idols. Iniesta, 39, now plays with Emirates in the UAE Pro League. He celebrated La Roja’s victory on social media, proclaiming “Enormous!”Spain broke thro...

EU observers came under fire on Azerbaijan border, officials report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:21 GMT

YEREVAN — Observers with the EU’s civilian monitoring mission in Armenia were caught up in a firefight along the country’s border with Azerbaijan on Tuesday, their operational headquarters confirmed.In a statement posted on social media, the EU mission in Armenia said one of its patrols “has been present to the shooting incident in our area of responsibility.” Some 100 unarmed staff have been deployed under the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy to observe the tense frontier in the wake of a brief war between the two South Caucasus countries last year.The confirmation came after Armenia’s defense ministry reported that gunfire from Azerbaijani positions had “targeted the EU observers” patrolling close to the border village of Verin Shorzha and their vehicle. But in a bizarre twist, the confirmation came only after the EU mission categorically denied the Armenian claim, going as far as to publish a graphic branding the in...

Clashes between rival militias in Libya leave 27 people dead, authorities say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:21 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Clashes between rival militias in Libya’s capital killed at least 27 people and left residents trapped in their homes Tuesday, unable to escape the violence, medical authorities said. The fighting appears to be the most intense to shake Tripoli this year. In addition to the 27 deaths, over 100 people were injured in the fighting, Libya’s Emergency Medicine and Support Center, a medical body that is deployed during humanitarian disasters and wars, said early Wednesday.The clashes erupted late Monday between militiamen from the 444 brigade and the Special Deterrence Force, according to local media. Tensions flared after Mahmoud Hamza, a senior commander of the 444 brigade, was allegedly detained by the rival group at an airport in Tripoli earlier in the day, the reports said. It is unclear how many of the dead were militiamen or civilians. The Red Crescent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Throughout the fighting Tuesday, the Health Ministry urged the w...

UK inflation falls to 17-month low of 6.8% but unlikely to derail another interest rate rise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:21 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The rate of inflation in the U.K. fell sharply in July to a 17-month low largely on the back of lower energy prices, official figures showed Wednesday, a welcome development for hard-pressed households struggling during the cost of living crisis. The Office for National Statistics said the annual rate of inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, was 6.8% in July, its lowest level since February 2022, the month Russia invaded Ukraine and sent energy prices surging. The decline from June’s 7.9% rate was in line with economists’ expectations.The statistics agency said the fall was largely driven by lower energy prices as last year’s sharp increases fell out of the annual comparison. It said that food price inflation, which also spiked sharply in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, eased too. Though the decline in the headline rate of inflation will be welcome news for hard-pressed households, it’s unlikely to derail market exp...

Nigeriens prepare for war against regional countries threatening to invade, 3 weeks into the coup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:21 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Nigeriens are preparing for war against regional countries threatening to invade, three weeks after mutinous soldiers ousted the nation’s democratically elected president.Residents in the capital, Niamey, are calling for the mass recruitment of volunteers to assist the army in the face of a growing threat by the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, which says it will use military force if the junta doesn’t reinstate the deposed President Mohamed Bazoum. ECOWAS has activated a “standby force” to restore order in Niger after the junta ignored a deadline to reinstate and release Bazoum. The initiative, spearhead by a group of locals in Niamey, aims to recruit tens of thousands of volunteers from across the country to register for the Volunteers for the Defense of Niger, to fight, assist with medical care, and provide technical and engineering logistics among other functions, in case the junta needs help, Amsarou Bako, one of the founders, told The ...

Warmth and Sunshine Wednesday; Heat Dome Building

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:21 GMT

The rain tallies are in from Monday's storm system from across the Chicago metro area. The spread in totals with Monday storms was even evident between the big airports here in the city. MIDWAY recorded 2.81" reports Frank Wachowski, veteran National Weather Service observer responsible for the measurements there. On the city's Northwest Side at O'Hare, the city's official weather observation site, the Monday tally was 1.00". Oak Park reported nearly 4" of rain while DeMotte, Lowell and Wheatfield, Indiana had rains measured in hundredths of an inch—typical of the wide spread in warm season rains which are so common.A period of showers and possible t-storms next reaches the area Thursday morning—but should sweep across the area expeditiously. Drier air and a beautiful Thursday afternoon and Friday follow.Temps warm nicely Wednesday with the generous sunshine predicted to return to the 80s after morning lows Wednesday in the mid 50s inland and 60 here in the city.The majority of mode...

BBC Travel: A road trip through Kazakhstan's immense landscapes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:21 GMT

Photographer Yulia Denisyuk returned to the land of her birth to discover how Kazakhstan's endless steppes and rugged mountains tell the nation's rich story. "Sipping black tea with milk from a blue-and-white piala ceramic bowl, I felt like a child again. We'd arrived at Saty, a small village in southern Kazakhstan, after driving all day from Almaty through an otherworldly terrain of wide steppe grasslands, narrow gorges and snow-capped mountains. I was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan's former capital and its biggest city. Although I moved to Estonia when I was three years old, I returned to Kazakhstan every summer to visit my grandmother. "Yet, until now, I had barely explored the rest of the country outside the city limits. The sky-scraping peaks of the Tian Shan mountain range form a natural barrier between Kazakhstan's south-eastern corner and neighbouring Kyrgyzstan and China. It's here, in the Almaty region, where the country's most spectacular landscapes lie. After years abroad, I...