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A bombing at a checkpoint in Somalia killed at least 15 people, authorities say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:47:39 GMT

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — An explosives-laden vehicle detonated Saturday at a security checkpoint in the central Somalia city of Beledweyne, killing at least 15 people and wounding 40 others, authorities said. Abdifatah Mohamed Yusuf, the director-general of the Hirshabelle Ministry of Humanitarian and Disaster Management, confirmed the deaths. “Twenty of the wounded have been admitted to Beledweyne hospitals, while another 20 are in critical condition, prompting a request for their airlift to Mogadishu for advanced medical treatment,” he said. Hirshabelle is a state that includes Beledweyne, which is the capital of the Hiran region and has been the center of the Somali government’s latest military offensive against extremists from East Africa’s al-Qaeda affiliate, al-Shabab.Images on social media showed black smoke billowing and a smashed truck cab blazing at the checkpoint.Dr. Suleyman Abdi Ali, the director of Beledweyne General Hospital, said the bodies of 10 victims were brough...

Biden faces foreign policy trouble spots as he aims to highlight his experience on the global stage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:47:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — This probably wasn’t how President Joe Biden envisioned his big foreign policy week ending.Biden spent much of the time trying to make the case to world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly as well as to Democratic donors and voters that his decades of foreign policy experience and demonstrated moral clarity set him apart from Donald Trump, the early front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.But just as Biden is looking to spotlight his foreign policy chops with his 2024 reelection bid heating up, he is facing a growing list of national security headaches, several of which emerged in recent days. There is a diplomatic spat between U.S. allies Canada and India over the killing of a Sikh activist on Canadian soil, growing concern about the future of U.S. funding for Ukraine, and the indictment of the influential chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. Each will test Biden and his administration.Menendez and hi...

Youth jackets recalled due to possible strangulation, dragging hazard

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:47:39 GMT

Canadians who purchased youth jackets from Mountain Equipment Company (MEC) are being asked to stop wearing the product due to an entanglement and possible dragging hazard. Health Canada says the drawstring and cordlock mechanism on the Vancouver-based retailer’s Tremblant Youth Jacket can become caught on playground equipment, fences, or other objects and result in strangulation, or in the case of a vehicle, the child being dragged.The insulated jacket with hood comes in three colours: Fortune Red, Plum Perfect, Dark Neptune Blue, and in sizes 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 with an MEC Style number of 6017-367. “Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled jacket, cut off and pull out the drawstring at the waist to eliminate the hazard,” the federal agency said in a statement. MEC says 837 of the affected jackets were sold in Canada between September 2022 and September 2023. The company says it has received no reports of incidents or injuries in Canada.

Croatian police detain 9 soccer fans over the violence in Greece last month that killed one person

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:47:39 GMT

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatian police have arrested nine soccer fans sought on European warrants for involvement in deadly violence last month in Greece, state television station HRT reported on Saturday. Greece has issued arrest warrants for 10 fans of Croatia’s Dinamo Zagreb soccer club, but one of them remains at large, the report said. Croatia’s Justice Ministry said in a statement it had been informed of the warrants by the Croatian police. The fans, members of the so-called Bad Blue Boys fan group, are suspected of taking part in the August violence in Athens that killed one person.Dozens of other Croatian soccer fans already have been detained in Greece over the violence, during which a 29-year-old Greek fan was stabbed to death outside AEK Athens’ stadium, prompting the cancellation of a Champions League qualifier against Dinamo Zagreb.Amateur video of the attack showed dozens of youths wielding bats and iron bars running past the stadium as flares and firebombs...

Manitoba could make history by electing first First Nations premier to lead province

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:47:39 GMT

WINNIPEG — A First Nations premier would head a province for the first time in Canadian history if the New Democrats win the Oct. 3 Manitoba election, and the significance is not lost on party leader Wab Kinew. “My dad was not allowed to vote when he was a young man, and I have a shot at potentially leading the province,” he said in an interview with The Canadian Press last month. “That’s a big change that speaks to progress in our country and in our province within one generation.”Kinew was born in Ontario and lived on the Onigaming First Nation as a young boy. His late father was a residential school survivor who endured horrific abuse and passed on to Kinew the importance of Anishinaabe culture and language. The former CBC host was elected in the Winnipeg riding of Fort Rouge in 2016. The following year, he launched a successful bid for NDP leader, putting him on the path to potentially becoming the province’s first First Nations premier and se...

Think twice before buying something from Temu

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:47:39 GMT

(WGN Radio) – Does a smart watch for $9, an electric toothbrush for $3, and a crystal necklace for $1.50 seem too good to be true? Those prices, offered in a flash sale on e-commerce site Temu, just might be. You may recognize Temu from ubiquitous ads on Facebook and Instagram. The company has a U.S. headquarters, but is a "sister company" of the massive Chinese company Pinduoduo, reports Time. You can shop on Temu's site or download the app, where you can also earn credits by playing games or inviting people to join. How to avoid the text message scam putting your cash at risk About 50 million consumers have downloaded the app, said President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois Steve Bernas.Temu hasn't just racked up downloads – it has also earned a C+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and 964 complaints lodged against it.The Temu site offers deals ahead of Hallowee, with costumes starting at 99 cents. (Temu via Associated P...

Do phone cameras in Japan really make shutter sounds you can't disable?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:47:39 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — If you've ever worried that photos of you taken by a stranger will be posted online, a concept that keeps popping up on social media might sound like a godsend: phone cameras that make shutter sounds when photos are taken — and the feature can't be disabled.According to many on TikTok, phones in Japan come with this feature already installed by law. But is this actually true — and if so, why, specifically?It turns out, this social media claim is true but it's not exactly a "law" in the way that many online believe. It's more of a rule. Here's what that means. SNAP benefits are increasing Oct. 1: Here’s how much The issue's origins go back much further than expected, back to the days before most people on the planet owned a smartphone. As reported by the South China Morning Post, among others, the un-disable-able feature goes back to the time after the release of the first camera phone in 2000. The Kyocera VP-210, released first in Japan, did not include any camera nois...

Ohio school apologizes for controversial ice cream post: 'Lacked empathy'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:47:39 GMT

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – An Ohio elementary school churned up outrage this week with its policy for an "ice cream Friday" event.On Thursday, Donovan Elementary School in Lebanon had shared plans for the following day's event on social media, but explained that students without enough funds in their meal account, and those with negative balances, would be unable to participate."A student must have money on their account to purchase an ice cream," the school said. "If a student has a negative balance they will not be able to purchase an ice cream even if they bring their $1 for ice cream."The original post went on to explain that students would not be allowed to purchase ice creams for fellow students who did not have enough money in their accounts. Yelp names the top 100 ice cream shops for 2023 By Friday, the post racked up over 11,000 reactions, 13,000 comments and 5,400 shares. Of the 13,000 who commented, many were outraged over the policy."This is gross," one person wrote. "I ho...

Maren Morris is getting the hell out of country music: ‘I’ve said everything I can say’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:47:39 GMT

Maren Morris calls her new two-track EP “The Bridge,” which is just one of several metaphors she deploys in imagining a path out of the world of country music in which she became a star.On “The Tree,” the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter says she’s “done filling a cup with a hole in the bottom”; “Get the Hell Out of Here” opens with the admission that she “watered the garden but forgot to fill the well.”It’s not that Morris, 33, has tired of twanging guitars or neatly cornered rhymes, both of which define the tunes that came out last week, a decade after she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, from her native Texas, first to write songs for established country acts such as Tim McGraw and later to sign a major-label record deal of her own. Rather, she says she’s leaving because of what she views as the country music industry’s unwillingness to honestly reckon with its history of racism and misogyny and to ...

Working Strategies: What to wear to the fair — the college career fair, that is

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:47:39 GMT

Amy LindgrenFor campus-based students (as opposed to those pursuing online studies), college career fairs have become a fall tradition.One likely reason is that employers are clamoring for access to job-ready students. But credit also goes to campus career centers working hard to keep students connected to post-college opportunities.In last week’s column, we looked at four steps needed to make the most of these events, wherever they might happen: 1) Set your goals; 2) Set aside time; 3) Prepare for conversations; and 4) Prepare your materials.Today we complete this short series with tips for the fair itself: What to wear, how to work the room, what to say and what to do after the event.1. What to wear to the fair: Since this isn’t really a fair (awww), cargo shorts and flip-flops are out. Instead, your goal is to dress professionally without overdoing it.With a regular interview, you have the advantage of knowing what job you’ll be discussing. In that case, the rule is easy: Dress f...