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Commission pays a further €1.5 billion in assistance to Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:47 GMT

The Commission has paid €1.5 billion under the  Macro-financial Assistance + package for Ukraine worth up to €18bn. With this instrument, the EU seeks to help Ukraine cover its immediate funding needs, with stable, predictable, and sizeable financial support in 2023. With today's payment, Ukraine has so far received €12bn this year under Macro-financial Assistance +.This support will help Ukraine to continue paying wages and pensions, and keep essential public services running, such as hospitals, schools, and housing for relocated people. It will also allow Ukraine to ensure macroeconomic stability and restore critical infrastructure destroyed by Russia in its war of aggression, such as energy infrastructure, water systems, transport networks, roads, and bridges.Today's payment comes after the Commission found on 25 July that Ukraine continued to make satisfactory progress towards implementing the agreed policy conditions and complied with rep...

4 killed in shooting at famous Orange County biker bar; gunman among the dead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:47 GMT

At least four people were killed and six others were injured Wednesday evening after shots rang out at a historic and popular Orange County biker bar. Among those killed was the suspected gunman, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Department. The shooting happened around 7:05 p.m. at Cook's Corner, located at 19152 Santiago Canyon Rd. in Trabuco Canyon.Multiple people called 911 to report shots fired and deputies from the Sheriff's Department responded to the scene within minutes, according to Undersheriff Jeff Hallock.When deputies arrived, emergency dispatchers reported the sounds of gunshots could be heard on their radios.Authorities responded after several people were shot at Cook's Corner, a biker bar in Trabuco Canyon on August 23, 2023. (KTLA)At an 11 p.m. press conference, Hallock said several deputies entered the property and were confronted by the suspect, who's been identified only as an adult man.A shooting occurred involving multiple deputies and the suspect was f...

Shohei Ohtani won’t pitch for rest of season because of a torn elbow ligament, Angels GM says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:47 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani won’t pitch for the rest of the season because of a torn ligament in his right elbow, Los Angeles Angels general manager Perry Minasian said Wednesday night.The Angels don’t yet know whether the major league homers leader and 10-game winner will need surgery to repair his ulnar collateral ligament for the second time. Ohtani had his first Tommy John surgery in late 2018, following his AL Rookie of the Year season.“A tough day for him,” Minasian said. “Tough day for all of us.”The two-way superstar left the mound abruptly in the second inning of his start against Cincinnati after throwing 26 pitches in the opener of a doubleheader. Ohtani, who hit his 44th homer in the first inning, then insisted on playing in the nightcap even after the tear was discovered while running tests between games.The injury will have a massive effect on baseball’s free agent market this winter with Ohtani headed to free agency. The uniquely valuable AL MVP front-r...

Jailed WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich arrives at a Moscow court for hearing on extending his detention

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:47 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Jailed WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich arrives at a Moscow court for hearing on extending his detention.Source

China’s customs authorities ban seafood from Japan after Fukushima nuclear plant starts releasing wastewater

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:47 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China’s customs authorities ban seafood from Japan after Fukushima nuclear plant starts releasing wastewater.Source

Ohtani leaves first game early and won’t pitch again this season as Reds sweep 2 from Halos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:47 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani abruptly left the mound in the second with a torn ligament after hitting his major league-leading 44th homer in the first inning during the Los Angeles Angels’ 9-4 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday in the first game of a doubleheader. Ohtani won’t pitch for the rest of the season because of the tear in his elbow ligament, Angels GM Perry Minasian announced after the second game. The team doesn’t yet know whether he will need surgery.The Angels got a double blow of terrible injury news: Three-time AL MVP Mike Trout is going back on the injured list for at least 10 days to aid his recovery from surgery on a broken bone in his hand, Minasian said. Trout returned to the Angels’ lineup Tuesday after a seven-week absence, but he didn’t play in the doubleheader after waking up sore.Ohtani doubled and scored as Los Angeles’ designated hitter in the nightcap, choosing to play on even after learning of his torn ligament betwe...

Japón inicia el polémico vertido de aguas residuales de Fukushima en el océano Pacífico

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:47 GMT

(CNN) — La empresa Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) informó este jueves que se dio inicio a la controvertida liberación de aguas residuales radiactivas tratadas de la central nuclear de Fukushima Daiichi al océano Pacífico.TEPCO dice que planea liberar un total de 7.800 metros cúbicos en un período de 17 días.La liberación de agua se suspenderá inmediatamente y se realizará una investigación si se detecta alguna anomalía en el equipo de descarga o en los niveles de dilución de las aguas residuales tratadas, según TEPCO.Corea del Sur advierte de noticias falsas a la industria pesqueraEl primer ministro de Corea del Sur, Han Duck-soo, pidió a los ciudadanos que confíen en el gobierno y la ciencia, y no en noticias falsas relacionadas con la liberación de aguas residuales de Fukushima.En una sesión informativa este jueves, Han dijo que Corea del Sur enviaría un experto a la oficina de la OIEA en Japón una vez cada dos semanas para monitorear minuciosamente si Japón está cumpliendo co...

OPP have issued an Amber Alert for 3-month-old Jazmine Gill-Bissonnette

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:47 GMT

An Amber Alert has been issued across Ontario for a three-month-old girl.Ontario Provincial Police have identified the girl as Jazmine Gill-Bissonnette. She is described as white, 2’0″, 11 pounds, with brown hair.The suspect is identified as 23-year-old Jacob Bissonnette, who is described as a white male, 5’7″ and 132 pounds with brown hair.Bissonnette was last seen in Roseneath, Ontario.  Police have not yet released any vehicle information.Police say if anyone sees Bissonnette they should call 911 immediately.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 24, 2023.The Canadian Press

At least 7 people are dead after a bus carrying Indian pilgrims crashes in Nepal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:47 GMT

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A bus carrying Hindu pilgrims from India crashed in southern Nepal Thursday, killing at least seven occupants and leaving several others injured. Police said the victims in early morning accident include six Indian nationals and and a Nepalese person. The crash occurred as the pilgrims were returning home to Janakpur in southern Nepal after visiting the revered Pashupatinath temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. Police have detained the driver while the injured were taken to an area hospital. The latest crash comes a day after a bus veered off a mountain highway connecting Nepal’s capital with rest of the country and plunged into a river, leaving eight people dead.Highway accidents in Nepal are mostly blamed on poorly maintained vehicles and roads.The Associated Press

Plane crash believed to have killed Russian mercenary chief seen as Kremlin’s revenge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:13:47 GMT

Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and top officers of his private military were presumed dead in a plane crash that was widely seen as an assassination, two months after they staged a mutiny that dented Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority.Russia’s civil aviation agency said that Prigozhin and six top lieutenants were on a business jet that crashed Wednesday, soon after taking off from Moscow, with a crew of three. Rescuers quickly found all 10 bodies, and Russian media cited sources in Prigozhin’s Wagner private military company who confirmed his death.U.S. and other Western officials long expected Putin to go after Prigozhin, despite promising to drop charges in a deal that ended the June 23-24 mutiny.“I don’t know for a fact what happened but I’m not surprised,” U.S. President Joe Biden said. “There’s not much that happens in Russia that Putin’s not behind.”Prigozhin supporters claimed on pro-Wagner messaging app channels that the plane was deliberatel...