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Jordan’s crown prince weds scion of Saudi family in ceremony packed with stars and symbolism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:46 GMT

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan’s crown prince married the scion of a prominent Saudi family on Thursday in a palace ceremony attended by royals and other VIPs from around the world, as massive crowds gathered across the kingdom to celebrate the region’s newest power couple.The marriage of Crown Prince Hussein, 28, and Saudi architect Rajwa Alseif, 29, drew a star-studded guest list including Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate, as well as U.S. First Lady Jill Biden.The celebrations hold deep significance for the region, emphasizing continuity in an Arab state prized for its longstanding stability and refreshing the monarchy’s image after a palace feud. It even could help resource-poor Jordan forge a strategic bond with its oil-rich neighbor, Saudi Arabia.The bride, wearing an elegant white dress by Lebanese designer Elie Saab, arrived at Zahran Palace in a 1968 Rolls-Royce Phantom V custom-made for the crown prince’s late great grandmother. The crown prince arr...

German soccer mourns teenager’s death after youth tournament

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:46 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The German soccer federation will hold a weekend of mourning for the 15-year-old player who died after a post-match brawl at an international youth tournament last weekend.“This incredibly sad and shocking act at a soccer tournament for juniors leaves us speechless,” federation president Bernd Neuendorf said Thursday. “It is the ultimate challenge to all of us to take a firm stand against violence — in soccer and in society as a whole.”The player from JFC Berlin died Wednesday from severe brain injuries sustained during a post-match brawl on Sunday. A 16-year-old player from a French team remained in detention in Frankfurt pending further inquiries.The victim was struck in the head or neck area and collapsed, police said. They asked for witnesses who may have video of the brawl to come forward. The federation said a weekend of mourning will begin Friday when the German and French teams contesting the Under-17 European Championship final in Budapest, Hungary, will line ...

Federal appeals court halts EPA effort to impose air pollution plan in Missouri

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:46 GMT

A federal appeals court has put on hold an Environmental Protection Agency regulation aimed at reducing air pollution in Missouri, drawing criticism from environmentalists but praise from the state’s attorney general who called the proposal “unconstitutional overreach.”Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced Wednesday that the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week granted his request for a stay, preventing the EPA from imposing the regulation until the appeals process plays out. It was not immediately clear if the EPA would appeal. A message left Thursday with a spokesperson was not immediately returned.At issue is a “good neighbor” provision of the Clean Air Act which requires states to submit a plan detailing how they will address air pollution from sources like power plants and industrial facilities that can drift to neighboring states. The EPA deemed Missouri’s proposal inadequate and in March finalized its plan for the Ozone National Ambient Air...

Forest fire out of control near Chapais in northern Quebec

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:46 GMT

MONTREAL — Authorities say a forest fire is out of control in Chapais in northern Quebec.On Wednesday evening, the community near Chibougamau announced that residents in the southern part of the town had to evacuate.There are about a dozen active fires in the province, with the Chapais one and another near Sept-Îles on Quebec’s north shore considered out of control.Meanwhile authorities say the situation is improving in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region, about 250 kilometres north of Quebec City, where two fires were declared under control and a third was contained.The province’s Natural Resources and Public Security departments issued a notice today asking people to avoid travelling in the province’s forests as much as possible due to the high flammability hazard.This week, authorities issued a ban on fires in or near forests across the province.Quebec’s forest fire prevention agency says the high temperatures and dry conditions enveloping the province, couple...

3 residents of partially collapsed Iowa building still unaccounted for, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:46 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Three residents of an Iowa apartment building that partially collapsed on Sunday are still unaccounted for, according to police. Earlier this week, authorities said five people were missing, but Davenport Police Chief Jeff Bladel said during a media briefing Thursday morning that two of them have since been accounted for and are safe. One moved out of the building a month ago and was found in Texas, and the other was found locally. The six-story building partially collapsed shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday. The city has since released documents, including structural engineering reports, that show the building’s owner was warned that the parts of the building was unstable. An engineer’s report dated May 24, just days before the collapse, suggested patches in the west side of the building’s brick façade “appear ready to fall imminently” and could be a safety hazard to cars or passersby.The engineer’s report also detailed that window openings, some filled and ...

Store owner charged with murder in teen’s shooting has shot at suspected shoplifters before

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:46 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A store owner in South Carolina charged with murder this week after shooting a teen he wrongly thought stole water has shot at suspected shoplifters two other times in the past eight years and not faced charges, authorities said.In 2018, Richard Chow confronted a shoplifter at his Xpress Mart Shell station in Columbia and the man attacked him, Richland County deputies said. Chow fired two shots and wounded the man, who plead guilty to charges in the case, in the leg. investigators said.In 2015, Chow fired several shots at a vehicle after he tried to stop someone he suspected of shoplifting, and the suspect got into the vehicle and threatened to shoot Chow, deputies said. No one was hurt.In both cases, authorities said Chow’s actions were not criminal. Self-defense law in South Carolina requires the shooter doesn’t instigate the incident, believes he is in imminent danger and has no way to avoid that danger.Deputies decided that was not the case Sunday, wh...

Authorities in western Mexico find 45 bags with human remains

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:46 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities in northern Mexican have found 45 bags containing human remains in a gorge on the outskirts of Guadalajara and are trying to determine how many bodies are there.The bags found at a forest overlook contained remains of men and women, the state prosecutor’s office in the western state of Jalisco said in a statement Wednesday night. Firefighters and civil defense worked with a helicopter to recover remains from the gorge and planned to continue during the coming days.Authorities had been looking for seven young people who had been reported missing last week when they found the site, but it was still unknown if they were among the remains found. The state prosecutor’s office said it investigated the site after receiving a report of possible body parts there.There are more than 110,000 missing people in Mexico, and Jalisco is the state with the highest number, at 15,000, according to federal government data. There are also thousands of unidentified re...

US to open northernmost diplomatic post in Norway; only mission above Arctic Circle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:46 GMT

OSLO, Norway (AP) — The United States will soon open a small diplomatic mission in Norway that will be its northernmost in the world and only such facility above the Arctic Circle, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Thursday.The move, which Blinken announced at a news conference in Oslo after attending a NATO foreign ministers meeting, comes as competition over the high north’s resources with Russia intensifies. Blinken said the U.S. would open what is known as an “American Presence Post” in Tromsoe, which sits 350 kilometers (217 miles) north of the Arctic Circle. The post will open later this year and be staffed by a single U.S. diplomat with the title of “consul.” “We’re here to work with like-minded allies to advance our vision of a peaceful, stable and cooperative Arctic,” Blinken said before meeting Norway’s foreign minister whose country is preparing to assume the chairmanship of the Arctic Council, which is headquartered in Tromsoe.Norway will take ...

Saudi Arabia executes Nepal man after conviction for stabbing Saudi to death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:46 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia on Thursday executed a Nepali national after his conviction for stabbing a Saudi to death. The state-run Saudi Press Agency reported the execution of Santa Bahadur Pune, saying it took place in the kingdom’s Al-Jawf region. It did not say how Pune had been killed. However, Saudi Arabia typically carries out executions by beheadings. Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s top executioners. It occasionally executes foreigners. The Associated Press

Pakistan’s police arrest top ally of former premier Imran Khan amid crackdown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:46 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s police on Thursday arrested a top official in former premier Imran Khan’s political party as authorities move to rein in the outspoken politician’s supporters and allies. Pervez Elahi, who is the president of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, was arrested in a raid in the eastern city of Lahore. Khan is head of the party, as chairman.The latest police raid that netted Elahi was quickly denounced by Khan’s party. Amir Mir, who is information minister for the Punjab province, said Elahi was nabbed in a corruption case.The latest development comes a day after former British Cabinet ministers, senior law officers, renowned journalists and legal rights organizations issued an appeal for the release of Murad Akbar, the brother of attorney Shahzad Akbar, a rights lawyer linked with Khan.Khan himself was detained last month, sparking violent protests. Since then, police have detained thousands of Khan’s followers for alleged involvement in t...