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A missile strikes Norwegian-flagged tanker off Yemen in an apparent expansion of rebel attacks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:53 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels slammed into a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen near a key maritime chokepoint, the rebels and authorities said Tuesday.The assault on the oil and chemical tanker Strinda expands a campaign by the Iranian-backed rebels targeting ships close to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait into apparently now striking those that have no clear ties to Israel. That potentially imperils cargo and energy shipments coming through the Suez Canal and further widens the international impact of the Israel-Hamas war now raging in the Gaza Strip. Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree issued a video statement saying the rebels only fired on the vessel when it “rejected all warning calls.”The U.S. military’s Central Command issued a statement Tuesday saying an anti-ship cruise missile “launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen” hit the Strinda. “There were no U.S. ships in the vici...

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis launch missile at Norwegian tanker

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:53 GMT

Yemen’s Houthi rebels launched a cruise missile at a Norwegian-flagged tanker in the Red Sea, in the latest violent attack by the Iran-backed militants targeting commercial vessels in the area.The militant group claimed responsibility for the attack on the Strinda, with its spokesperson Yahya Sare’e claiming without any evidence that the tanker was “loaded with oil and headed to the Israeli entity,” according to the Associated Press and a social media account purporting to belong to Sare’e.J. Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi, which owns the Strinda, said the tanker was loaded with palm oil and en route from Malaysia to the Suez Canal and then on to Italy when it was attacked 60 nautical miles north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, Norwegian national broadcaster NRK reported. Houthi rebels have ramped up hostile actions against American and international vessels in the region, attacking several commercial ships and launching missiles and drones targeting Israel...

Zelensky’s latest Washington visit comes at critical moment for Ukraine on the battlefield and Capitol Hill

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:53 GMT

Washington (CNN) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives for talks in Washington on Tuesday at a critical moment, as the White House warns American aid to Ukraine could imminently dry up and talks over new assistance are stalled in Congress.The eleventh-hour invite from President Joe Biden underscores the urgency in approving the new package, worth tens billions of dollars, as he and other administration officials are warning the already-approved American aid will be exhausted by year’s end.Biden has requested around $60 billion in new aid to Ukraine, part of a larger emergency funding package that also includes assistance for Israel and funds for border security. Republicans have sought to use the request as leverage to extract tough new rules limiting migration across the US southern border.The hope among Biden’s team is that Zelensky can convince lawmakers, and particularly Republicans, of the necessity for more aid to replenish his war...

DeMar DeRozan joins Michael Jordan in Chicago Bulls record books with a high-scoring, high-assist performance

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:53 GMT

DeMar DeRozan entered rarefied air Monday as he matched a scoring performance that had only been recorded by one other player in Chicago Bulls history: Michael Jordan.DeRozan tallied 41 points and 11 assists in a 133-129 overtime loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Before Monday’s game, Jordan was the only Bulls player to ever finish a game with more than 40 points and 10 assists.The final stat line reflected DeRozan’s evolving role for the Bulls, who have relied on their veteran star to serve as a distributor more this season than in previous years. And DeRozan still delivered his necessary scoring production, knocking down the tying basket to send the game into overtime.DeRozan’s new standing in Bulls history came as a surprise postgame. The 15-year league veteran is accustomed to setting and breaking records, but matching Jordan in Bulls history made a significant impression.“Anything with Michael Jordan in it is a hell of a compliment,” DeRozan said. ̶...

UK leader Sunak is racing to persuade lawmakers to back his Rwanda migration bill in a key vote

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:53 GMT

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was trying to cajole recalcitrant lawmakers into supporting his signature immigration policy in a vote Tuesday, with defeat likely to leave his authority shredded and his government teetering.The House of Commons is due to vote on whether to approve in principle a bill that Sunak says will revive a plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda that was ruled illegal by the U.K. Supreme Court.Normally the vote would be a formality. Sunak’s Conservatives have a substantial majority, and the last time a government bill was defeated at its first Commons vote — known as second reading — was in 1986.But the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill faces opposition from hard-liners on the Conservative right, who say it does not go far enough to ensure migrants who arrive in the U.K. without permission can be deported.With opposition parties also saying they will oppose the bill, it would take fewer than 30 Conservatives to vote against the leg...

Australians prepare for their first cyclone of the season

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:53 GMT

BRISBANE, Australia: (AP) — Residents have begun evacuating and battening down homes and businesses as the first tropical cyclone of Australia’s season is forecast to cross the northeast coast on Wednesday, bringing destructive winds and flooding rain.Tropical Cyclone Jasper — category 2 on a 5-tier scale — was tracking west on Tuesday across the Pacific Ocean and was expected the cross the Queensland state coast near the tourist destination of Port Douglas, authorities said.Winds of up to 140 kph (87 mph) were expected as the cyclone approached, Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles told reporters in Brisbane.“We are also expecting very heavy rainfall which will cause life-threatening flash flooding,” Miles said.Locals and tourists were moving to evacuation centers in Port Douglas and neighboring Cairns and Cooktown.The Associated Press

In the news today: Liberal support sinking as inflation and interest rates rise

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:53 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…How inflation, interest rates, tanked the LiberalsExperts say the Liberals will have to find a way to sell Canadians on the economy again after inflation and interest rates took a big bite out of their popularity.The Trudeau government has been badly trailing the Conservatives as cost-of-living issues dominate federal politics. David Coletto, the CEO of Abacus Data, says the Conservatives started overtaking the Liberals in polls around the time of the Bank of Canada’s first interest rate hike in March 2022.That gap widened considerably this summer, leading to a double-digit lead for the Tories.Tyler Meredith, a former head of economic strategy and planning for Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, says that’s because Canadians have begun renewing their mortgages at much higher interest rates. Trudeau: Canada’s digital tax not a Biden priorityCan...

It’s the economy, stupid: How high inflation and interest rates tanked the Liberals

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:53 GMT

OTTAWA — Justin Trudeau’s government has had to weather many storms over the last eight years.The SNC-Lavalin controversy. An old yearbook photo with the prime minister in blackface. Multiple ethics violations. The COVID-19 pandemic. But as the governing Liberals continue to slide in the polls, the slow-moving hurricane that may actually end up blowing them away appears to be the economy.For many, the pandemic has receded into little more than a bad memory. But the economic domino effect it touched off lingers on, wreaking electoral havoc on incumbent governments around the world.High inflation and interest rates have left people feeling worse off, even as the Canadian economy outperforms expectations in many ways. Polls suggest the governing party is badly trailing the Conservatives. Cost-of-living issues are dominating federal politics and a resurgent Tory party is placing the blame for the erosion of affordability squarely on Trudeau’s shoulders.When did things start ...

B.C. Conservatives awaken from decades in dormancy ahead of 2024 vote

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:53 GMT

VICTORIA — The first blip on the radar signalling a potentially new player in British Columbia politics occurred in the summer byelection to fill the seat vacated by former New Democrat premier John Horgan.Of course, the NDP easily held the Langford-Juan de Fuca riding Horgan had represented for 18 years. But in second place was B.C. Conservative candidate Mike Harris, a local real estate agent, small business operator and journeyman carpenter.The candidate for the Opposition BC United – formerly known as the B.C. Liberals – finished a distant fourth, ahead only of the Communist Party of B.C.’s candidate.It’s been a banner year for B.C.’s long dormant Conservatives, who achieved official party status with Leader John Rustad and Abbotsford South MLA Bruce Banman in the legislature, both of whom were elected as B.C. Liberals before switching parties.The Conservatives are now riding high in the polls – but can that translate into electoral success in 2024’s provincial election or...

U.S. president not making much fuss over Canada’s 3% tax on web giants, Trudeau says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:53 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada’s tax on Netflix and other foreign digital services companies may be a major irritant for the U.S. tech sector, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it doesn’t seem to be much concern to President Joe Biden.In a year-end interview with The Canadian Press, Trudeau said “not once” did Biden indicate that the digital services tax, which is set to go into effect on Jan. 1, was a significant worry for the White House. The prime minister said he was poised to defend the policy, which is widely opposed on Capitol Hill. David Cohen, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, warned in October about the risk of a “big fight” over the three per cent levy.“I understand that Americans may not be very happy that we are going to do it, but we have promised to do it,” Trudeau said. He said he was prepared with “all sorts of responses” had Biden raised the upcoming tax.The measure is aimed at ensuring foreign tech giants that are gen...