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At least 21 killed as Somalia battles jihadis in remote area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:39:19 GMT

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia’s military repulsed an attack by jihadi fighters in a remote region of the country early Saturday, killing at least 18 of the al-Shabab militants, according to a top army official. At least three civilians described as “traditional elders” were killed in the fighting near Masagaway town, Gen. Mohamed Ahmed Taredisho said by phone. Masagaway is located in the central region of Galgadud and home to a military base. Resident Yusuf Sheikh told The Associated Press that militants overran the base, confiscated weapons and burned battle wagons during the attack. “It was early in the morning, and (al-Shabab) completely took over the whole town, including the military base, forcing the government forces out of the town,” he said. Sheikh said several people were killed in the attack and others were missing. Al-Shabab, which has ties with al-Qaida, opposes the Somali federal government in Mogadishu, the capital. The group intensified attacks on military ...

Sudan’s army says evacuations of diplomats expected to begin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:39:19 GMT

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — The Sudanese army said Saturday it was coordinating efforts to evacuate diplomats from the United States, Britain, China and France out of the country on military airplanes, as fighting persisted in the capital, including at its main airport. The military said that army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan had spoken to leaders of various countries requesting safe evacuations of their citizens and diplomats from Sudan. The country has been roiled by bloody fighting for the past week that has killed over 400 people so far, according to the World Health Organization. Foreign countries have struggled in vain to repatriate their citizens, a task deemed far too risky as clashes between the Sudanese army and a rival powerful paramilitary group have raged in and around Khartoum, including in residential areas. The main international airport near the center of the capital has been the target of heavy shelling as the paramilitary group, known as the Rapid Support Forces, has...

Russian race-car driver heads to Federal Court over Canadian sanctions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:39:19 GMT

OTTAWA — A Russian race-car driver is taking Canada to court, saying sanctions imposed against him following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine are unfairly hurting his career.Nikita Mazepin, a former Formula One driver, wants the Federal Court to direct Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly to take immediate steps to remove him from the Canadian sanctions list.He says at the very least Joly should make a decision on his application to be taken off the list and tell him the result within five days.Mazepin is also asking the court to order interim relief that would allow him to take part in racing activities in Canada.The driver and his father, businessman Dmitry Mazepin, were among 14 people considered to be oligarchs, family members or close associates of the Russian regime who were added to Canada’s sanctions roster on the same day last May. Global Affairs Canada declined to comment on the case while it is before the Federal Court.Canada has sanctioned hundreds of Russian individu...

David Brooks: The power of American capitalism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:39:19 GMT

The mighty Mississippi rolls on. If you don’t live near it, you might never think of that wide, powerful river. You may associate it with old Mark Twain stories. But every day, 24/7, it rolls on.American capitalism is kind of like that. You can invent fables about how America is in economic decline. You can rail against “neoliberalism.” But the American economy doesn’t care. It just keeps rolling on.The Economist magazine published a report on American economic performance over the last three decades. Using an avalanche of evidence and data, the main thrust of the article is that far from declining, American capitalism is dominant and accelerating.Back in 1990, for example, America’s gross domestic product per capita was nearly neck and neck with that of Europe and Japan. But by 2022 the U.S. had raced ahead.In 1990, the U.S. economy accounted for 40% of the nominal GDP of the G-7 nations. By 2022 the U.S. accounted for 58%.In 1990, American income per person was 24% higher than the...

Ask Amy: A woman wants partner’s permission to roam

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:39:19 GMT

Dear Amy: I am a woman in a sexless relationship, which is also lacking in affection. We’ve been together off and on (mostly on) for 25 years.Our relationship is just sharing a home which he owns, and I pay half of the expenses.We can have a decent home this way, as housing is so expensive.We are both recently retired.I have spent the last 11 years trying to get him to be intimate again, and he will not. He says it’s his ED and COPD. He has literally no desire to give or receive any affection, except for an occasional hug and a peck on the cheek.I’ve given up and have a lot of anger over it.Well, I met a guy in Vegas in 2009 and had the best sex ever. We have remained in touch.He’s on the East Coast and I’m in the Southwest.The man I live with has also never wanted to get married and, now, neither do I.I like being my own boss.I want to visit the other guy, and he also wants me to.Related ArticlesAsk Amy | Ask Amy: A man’s choice to use a slur riles the family Ask Am...

Senior Azerbaijan diplomat urges Armenia to embrace a future of peace and prosperity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:39:19 GMT

One of Azerbaijan’s top diplomats visited Brussels this month. Elchin Amirbayov, who is Assistant to the First Vice-President, spoke to EU Reporter about the role of the EU -and personally by Council President Charles Michel- in the efforts to end the confrontation between Azerbaijan and Armenia. In a wide-ranging interview with Political Editor Nick Powell, Mr Amirbayov also discussed his country’s role in Europe’s energy security and as part of the Middle Corridor trade route.Elchin Amirbayov came to Brussels with a busy schedule, aimed at strengthening relations not just with the EU as a whole but with Belgium in particular, mindful that the country will hold the presidency of the European Council for the first half of 2024. As well as talking about the potential for boosting trade he was taking the opportunity to brief ministers, parliamentarians and other stakeholders about the efforts to finally normalise relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia.EU-Azerbaijan relations grew la...

Grisly details emerge during prelim for Bay Area man charged with 2013 killing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:39:19 GMT

Using a semi-automatic firearm with an extended magazine, he allegedly shot a 27-year-old man 25 times, yielding a dozen wounds to the victim’s head, with other bullets riddling his neck, torso, a hand, and lower extremities.But one of the wounds could have been caused by “blunt force injury,” suggesting a pistol-whipping, with the violence occurring at a Feb. 4, 2013, Super Bowl party in a Vallejo residence.Those details were among the testimony and evidence aired Friday during the second day of a Solano County Superior Court preliminary hearing for a 41-year-old Vallejo man accused of the killing and who later fled to Peru but was eventually extradited to the United States four years ago.Shackled at the waist and legs, clad in a striped jail jumpsuit, William Bruce Cordoba sat at the defense table in Department 23 while forensic pathologist Dr. Arnold Josselson, on the witness stand, offered his opinion on the autopsy performed Feb. 5, 2013, on Jimmie Richardson.A twice-convicted ...

5 NFL players suspended for violating gambling policy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:39:19 GMT

Three NFL players were suspended indefinitely Friday for betting on NFL games in the 2022 season, while two other players, including the 12th overall draft pick a year ago, received six-game suspensions for betting on non-NFL games at a league facility.Detroit Lions wide receiver Quintez Cephus, Lions safety C.J. Moore and Washington Commanders defensive end Shaka Toney are sidelined for the entire 2023 season and may petition for reinstatement afterward.Lions wide receivers Stanley Berryhill, a former first-team All-County all-purpose player from Orange Lutheran High, and Jameson Williams each received a six-game suspension, though they will be able to participate in all offseason and preseason activities, including preseason games. Their suspensions will start at the final roster cutdown.The NFL said that a “league review uncovered no evidence indicating any inside information was used or that any game was compromised in any way.”Gambling incidents have been relatively rare for th...

Correctional officer charged with smuggling meth, heroin across US-Mexico border

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:39:19 GMT

An Arizona correctional officer and Army National Guardsman allegedly smuggled more than 20 kilograms of methamphetamine and a kilogram of heroin across the United States/Mexico border, all with his wife and three children in the car with him, authorities say.Fernando Urrutiaguillen, 34, from Chandler, Arizona was pulled over by California Highway Patrol officers on the 5 freeway in Irvine on April 18 for a traffic stop.Officers say a K-9 alerted them to drugs stashed in the gas tank of Urrutiaguillen’s vehicle. They believe Urrutiaguillen was attempting to drive the drugs over the border and into California.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Prosecutors: Los Gatos party mom tried to flee justice, hide assets, smuggle drugs into jail Crime and Public Safety | GOP senator demands DEA boss defend no-bid contracts Crime and Public Safety | Drug suspect puts meth between buttocks, hides it in jail cell, gets busted again Crime and P...

Texas man indicted for alleged threat to kill California Rep. Maxine Waters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:39:19 GMT

LOS ANGELES — A federal grand jury indicted a Houston man Friday for allegedly calling the office of California Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters several times last year and leaving threatening voicemails, including saying he intended to “cut your throat.”Brian Michael Gaherty, 60, was charged in the indictment with four counts of making threats in interstate communications and four counts of threatening a U.S. official, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles said in a statement.Gaherty was arrested April 13 after prosecutors filed a criminal complaint alleging that he had threatened Waters, other elected officials and a news reporter in Houston.The indictment says Gaherty called the congresswoman’s office four times — twice in August and twice in November — and each time left a threatening message.Prosecutors said that in one, he told the congresswoman he intended to “cut your throat.”The indictment alleged Gaherty “knowingly threatened to assault and kill” Waters while she was...