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Talks are held on Nagorno-Karabakh’s fate as Azerbaijan claims full control of the breakaway region

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:51 GMT

Representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh and the Azerbaijan government met Thursday for talks on the future of the breakaway region that Azerbaijan now claims to fully control following a military offensive this week.Azerbaijan’s state news agency said the talks, being held in the city of Yevlakh, had ended but provided no details on their progress. Nagorno-Karabakh authorities and the news agency earlier said the discussions would focus on the ethnic Armenian region’s “reintegration” into Azerbaijan.The talks came after local Armenian self-defense forces in the southern Caucasus Mountains region agreed Wednesday to disarm and disband following a military operation launched by Azerbaijan in the decades-long separatist conflict. A Russian-mediated cease-fire ended the latest round of fighting in the region, which has run its own affairs since the early 1990s.Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev declared victory in a televised address to the nation, saying his country had restored its...

A British ex-soldier pleads not guilty to escaping from a London prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:51 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A former soldier who allegedly snuck out of a London prison by strapping himself under a food delivery truck has pleaded not guilty to escaping custody. Daniel Khalife, 21, appeared at London’s Central Criminal Court on Thursday by video link from the high-security Belmarsh Prison to deny the charge. Prosecutors say Khalife, who was awaiting trial on terrorism charges in southwest London’s Wandsworth Prison, escaped on Sept. 6 by using bedsheets to tie himself to the underside of a catering truck. That prompted helicopter searches in London and extra security checks at major transport hubs, particularly in and around the Port of Dover, the main boat crossing from England to France.Khalife was arrested on a canal towpath in west London on Sept. 9 after a four-day manhunt. Authorities said he was riding a bicycle when a plain-clothes counter-terrorism officer nabbed him. Khalife had been in custody pending trial on charges of violating Britain’s Official Secr...

Stock market today: Wall Street poised for more losses after Fed says rates may stay high in ’24

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:51 GMT

Markets on Wall Street are poised to open with losses on Thursday after the Federal Reserve said it may not cut interest rates next year by as much as it previously thought. On Wall Street, futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.8% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.6%. That follows losses Wednesday after the Fed held its main interest rate steady at its highest level in more than two decades, as expected. Officials also indicated they may raise the federal funds rate once more this year as they try to get inflation down to a 2% target. Perhaps more importantly for the market, Fed officials also suggested they may cut rates next year by only half a percentage point. Three months ago, they were penciling in a full percentage point of cuts in 2024. “Moving forward, traders will scrutinize every piece of data from the U.S., with a particular emphasis on inflationary indicators, to gauge the potential for prolonged high rates,” Anderson Alves of ...

Turkey’s central bank hikes interest rates again in further shift in economic policies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:51 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s central bank raised its key interest rate by 5 percentage points Thursday, another large but expected hike that signals a continued push toward more traditional economic policies under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.The bank hiked its policy rate to 30%, saying it has kept up the “monetary tightening process” to combat rampant inflation and control price instability. Its statement said inflation in July and August was “above expectations,” hitting 58.94% last month.It takes Turkey into a more typical economic approach after critics blamed a series of rate cuts set by Erdogan for making a cost-of-living crisis worse. Turkish households were left struggling to afford rent and basic goods as inflation surged.Erdogan has long argued that lowering interest rates helps fight inflation, a theory that runs contrary to traditional economic thinking. The Turkish central bank started cutting rates in late 2021 under pressure from Erdogan.Central banks around the ...

US applications for jobless benefits fall to lowest level in nearly 8 months

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:51 GMT

U.S. applications for unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level in eight months last week as the labor market continues to show strength in the face of elevated interest rates.U.S. applications for jobless claims fell by 20,000 to 201,000 for the week ending Sept. 16, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the lowest figure since the last week of January.Jobless claim applications are seen as representative of the number of layoffs in a given week.The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure, fell by 7,750 to 217,000.Overall, 1.66 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended Sept. 9, about 21,000 fewer than the previous week. Matt Ott, The Associated Press

A Swedish prosecutor says a 13-year-old who was shot in the head, is a victim of a bloody gang feud

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:51 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A 13-year-old boy from the suburbs of Stockholm who was found dead in woods near his home earlier this month, is the latest victim of a deadly gang war in Sweden, a prosecutor said Thursday.Milo, who was only identified by his first name, had been shot in the head in a chilling example of “gross and completely reckless gang violence,” prosecutor Lisa dos Santos said. He is believed to have been shot in Haninge, south of Stockholm. She declined to give further details due to the ongoing investigation.Swedish media, which have published photos of Milo with the permission of his family, said the body had been moved to the woods after the boy — who was not known to the police — was killed. He was reported missing on Sept. 8 and his body was found by a passer-by three days later.Criminal gangs have become a growing problem in Sweden in recent decades, with an increasing number of drive-by shootings, bombings and grenade attacks. Most of the violence is in...

Pay dispute between England women’s international players and FA appears to be resolved

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:51 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Players from the England women’s team appear to have reached an agreement with the country’s soccer federation regarding a dispute over bonuses and commercial structures.England captain Millie Bright said at a news conference on Thursday that the players “feel really confident moving forward about the structure we now have in place” with the Football Association. Exact details of the agreement have yet to be officially announced.In a statement released before the recent Women’s World Cup in Australia, the England squad expressed disappointment at the dispute having not been resolved before the tournament and said the players had decided to pause talks with the intention of revisiting them.Players from teams at the World Cup were due to receive individual payments directly from FIFA for the first time, ranging from $30,000 to $270,00 depending on what stage of the tournament they reached.England players didn’t receive any payments from the FA, reportedly because the gov...

Poland is done sending arms to Ukraine, Polish leader says as trade dispute escalates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:51 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s prime minister said his country is no longer sending arms to Ukraine, a comment that appeared aimed at pressuring Kyiv and put Poland’s status as a major source of military equipment in doubt as a trade dispute between the neighboring states escalates.Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in an interview late on Wednesday that Poland is no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine. He made the comment as his populist party faces pressure from a far-right party in a national election on Oct. 15. The far-right party, Confederation, says Poland is not getting the gratitude it deserves for arming Ukraine and accepting its refugees.“We are no longer transferring any weapons to Ukraine because now we will arm ourselves with the most modern weapons,” Morawiecki said in an interview on Polsat, a private television broadcaster. The prime minister then spoke of a military modernization plan underway, spurred by fears of Russian aggression in the ...

The (cold) drugs don’t work

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:51 GMT

In today’s Big Story Podcast, a recent FDA review found that one of the most most popular active ingredients in over-the-counter cold medications, phenylephrine, is basically useless when taken orally. And that, in general, it failed to outperform a placebo.Mina Tadrous is a pharmacist and the host of the I’m Pharmacy podcast at the University of Toronto’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. He says that ineffective drugs may remain on shelves in part because the vetting process focuses more on safety than efficacy.“[Phenylephrine] continues to be very safe, but the question is, does it work? And I think most of the data is pointing to it probably does not,” says Tadrous.So how has this drug been approved and available for decades when evidence shows it doesn’t do what it’s supposed to? Why did it take us so long to realize it? Which medications actually will relieve congestion? And what should you do when the first cold of the fall hits your household?You ...

South Korean lawmakers vote to lift hunger striking opposition leader’s immunity to arrest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:29:51 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In a surprise outcome, South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament on Thursday voted to pass a motion submitted by the government that allows the potential arrest of the country’s leading opposition figure, Lee Jae-myung, who faces a widening investigation over corruption allegations.Lawmakers voted 149-136 in favor of lifting Lee’s immunity to arrest, reflecting growing divisions within the opposition Democratic Party over his legal problems as the country approaches a general election.The vote allows the Seoul Central District Court to hold a hearing on a request from prosecutors for an arrest warrant for Lee, who has been the liberal Democratic Party’s chairperson since August last year.It was not immediately clear when the hearing would take place or whether the court is likely to grant an arrest warrant after Lee was hospitalized Monday during a weekslong hunger strike in protest of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol’s domestic and foreign policie...