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Storm eases in Greece but flood risk remains high amid rising river levels

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:11 GMT

VOLOS, Greece (AP) — Bad weather eased in central Greece on Friday leaving widespread flooding and infrastructure damage across the farming region, which has been battered by two powerful storms in less than a month.Municipal workers were handing out bottled water in the storm-hit city of Volos, where power and water outages remained in some districts for a third day, while rescue crews used excavators to clear debris-strewn roads blocking access to remote nearby areas.The two storms, Daniel and Elias, struck central Greece and the island of Evia over three weeks in September, killing several hundred thousand farm animals and damaging highways, secondary roads and the rail network.Despite the improving weather, the risk of additional flooding remains high in several central cities and towns as river banks remain vulnerable to high water levels, authorities said.The government said more than 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in damages had been caused before the latest storm hit. It has...

Explosion at rally celebrating birthday of Islam’s prophet kills 21 people in southwest Pakistan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:11 GMT

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A powerful bomb exploded near a mosque at a rally celebrating the birthday of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad in southwest Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 21 people and wounding more than 50 others, police and a government official said.The bombing occurred in Mastung, a district in Baluchistan province, government administrator Atta Ullah said. Injured people were taken to nearby hospitals and some were in critical condition, he said.A senior police officer, Mohammad Nawaz, was among the dead, Ullah said. Officers were investigating to determine whether the bombing was a suicide attack, he added.Muslims in Pakistan and around the world celebrate the birthday of Islam’s prophet by holding public gatherings. The birth anniversary is known as Mawlid an-Nabi. During the daylong celebrations, Muslims also distribute free meals to people.Friday’s bombing came days after authorities asked police to remain on maximum alert as militants could target r...

Nisga’a Nation celebrates return of totem after it was taken almost a century ago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:11 GMT

LAXGALTS’AP, B.C. — A ceremony will be held today by the Nisga’a Nation in northern British Columbia for a memorial totem that has gone to Scotland and back over the last century. The 11-metre totem was carved in 1860 to honour a dead chief, but it was taken almost 100 years ago by a person doing research in the village and then sold to the National Museum of Scotland.A Nisga’a delegation, including some with family connections to the totem, travelled to Scotland a year ago to ask for its return, which was granted by the museum and then approved by Scottish government.The totem’s arrival in the remote northern community comes the day before Canada’s National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, held to honour residential school survivors and the children who did not come home.Nisga’a Nation President Eva Clayton says the return of the totem will set a tone for other Indigenous nations to begin efforts to repatriate their possessionstaken by governmen...

Statistics Canada to release July figures for real GDP today

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:11 GMT

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada will release its figures for how the economy started the third quarter this morning.The agency will report real gross domestic product numbers for July.Its early estimate for the month released on Sept. 1 suggested real GDP was essentially unchanged in July, though it cautioned at the time that the reading would be updated.It said that gains in the public, finance and insurance, and professional, scientific and technical services sectors were offset by weakness in the manufacturing, transportation and warehousing, and construction sectors. The report comes after the economy reversed course in June and contracted.Statistics Canada says real GDP in June decreased 0.2 per cent as both services-producing industries and goods-producing industries declined.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2023.The Canadian Press

Air Canada pilots picket at Toronto’s Pearson as talks continue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:11 GMT

TORONTO — Air Canada pilots are demonstrating at Toronto’s Pearson airport today, calling for better wages and working conditions as talks with the country’s biggest carrier continue.The Air Line Pilots Association kick-started the bargaining process in June, one day after fellow union members at WestJet ratified a new collective agreement.The union represents more than 5,000 Air Canada pilots.Both union and employer say the so-called informational picket at Terminal 1, which comes the same day their own nine-year deal expires, will not affect Air Canada’s flight schedule.Charlene Hudy, who heads the union’s Air Canada contingent, says the agreement has grown stale, with co-workers leaving for better pay in the United States.Air Canada says it remains engaged in productive discussions with the union, with the deal’s provisions remaining in effect.Pilots north of the border have been seeking gains that will bring them closer to deals won by their counter...

Daily horoscope for September 29, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:11 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Full Moon in Aries peaks at 5:58 a.m. EDT today (2:58 a.m. PDT).Happy Birthday for Friday, Sept. 29, 2023:You march to the beat of your own drum. You are independent, unconventional and want the freedom to do your own thing. This is the last year of a nine-year cycle for you, which means it’s appropriate to let go of anything or anyone who is holding you back.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★This is the classic day for squabbles with partners or tension about a romantic interest. Possibly, some couples will be at odds because of differing approaches to raising kids. Yet again, others might dispute how to handle a social occasion. It’s a tricky day! Stay calm. Tonight: Stay steady.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★Today’s Full Moon could trigger problems at work with co-workers or clients. Meanwhile, something unexpected at home or within your family could occur. Perhaps a redecorating project is...

NextGenerationEU: Latvia submits request to modify recovery and resilience plan and add a REPowerEU chapter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:11 GMT

On 26 September, Latvia submitted a request to the Commission to modify its recovery and resilience plan, to which it also wishes to add a REPowerEU chapter.The REPowerEU chapter contains a reform to facilitate the development of renewable energy communities and energy self-generation. The reform also aims at increasing the uptake of sustainable biomethane. The chapter further contains three investment measures. Two of the three investments seek to improve the electricity grid by increasing its capacity (so that more renewable energy sources can be connected), by digitalizing and securing it, and by synchronising it with the EU grid. The third investment aims at increasing the share of sustainable biomethane in final energy consumption by creating a regional centre, where sustainable biomethane can be injected into existing infrastructures, building a regional biomethane ‘injection point'.Latvia is also proposing to modify 44 measures included in its plan. These amendments are based...

Miss Manners: I confronted the bride about the exclusion, and she got all defensive

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:11 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My sister is getting married for the second time, and is having a traditional wedding party for the first time.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: I was annoyed by the fuss over the cost of my dinner Advice | Miss Manners: They stormed off and forgot the cooler. Do I have to keep it for them? Advice | Miss Manners: What am I allowed to say about a stranger’s hair? Advice | Miss Manners: My husband doesn’t understand why I was so mad at his friend Advice | Miss Manners: Did I deserve this treatment for being a few minutes late? My sisters and I are in the wedding, and our children are all included. We have realized, though, that our brother was not asked to be a groomsman or anything else.I confronted my sister, and she said it’s her fiance’s choice, and that he has had his close friends and cousins chosen for his wedding for a long time.I said she could have ...

Child Care at a Crossroads: Is there a solution?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:11 GMT

This is the final part of a special three-part series, “Child Care at a Crossroads,” where WTOP looks at the state of child care now and what the future holds once billions of dollars in aid expire.The child care industry is struggling — and fewer and fewer people are getting into the field. But can something be done to reverse that trend?After discussing the current situation with those in the industry, the answer seems to be ‘yes’, but that it comes with a cost — a cost that might be untenable in the current political climate.The bottom line comes down to money. In 2021, a pandemic relief package included $24 billion in stabilization funds that states were then able to dole out to the child care industry. How that money got to providers varied from state to state, but it kept many of them afloat.This Sunday, Oct. 1, that funding comes to an end.When that happens, “we’re going to see what it looks like when we go back … to the way we were doing things before,” sai...

Player of the Week: Bishop Ireton’s Kate Gomez

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:11 GMT

This week’s WTOP Player of the Week is Kate Gomez of Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia. (Courtesy Tom Noone) This week’s WTOP Player of the Week is Kate Gomez of Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia. (Courtesy Tom Noone) Each week, WTOP is picking one student athlete to be featured on air and online as our Player of the Week. This week’s WTOP Player of the Week is Kate Gomez of Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia.Gomez is a junior at Bishop Ireton and a captain on the varsity tennis team, playing No. 4 singles and No. 2 doubles for the Cardinals. She’s off to a near-flawless start to the 2023 season, finishing the month of September with a perfect 7-0 record in sing...