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Police and customs seize live animals, horns and ivory in global wildlife trafficking operation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Interpol and the World Customs Organization said Tuesday they seized 53 primates, four big cats and more than 1,300 birds, as well as some 300 kilograms of ivory, thousands of turtle eggs, and rhino horns, leopard skins, and lion teeth and paws in their sweeping annual crackdown on wildlife and timber trafficking that this year covered 133 countries. Interpol said it coordinated around 500 arrests worldwide from Oct. 2 to 27. More than 2,000 confiscations of animals and plants were made. This year’s operation marks the highest participation in Operation Thunder since its inception in 2017.The live animals were destined for the pet trade, egg harvesting or as a source of meat, while the wildlife parts are used for jewelry or rituals.“Important and endangered animals, birds and plants are being put at risk of extinction by wildlife and timber traffickers,” said Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock. “These appalling crimes not only deprive the world of uniqu...

An asylum-seeker in UK has died onboard a moored barge housing migrants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — An asylum-seeker on board a barge housing migrants off the south coast of England has died and a police investigation has been launched into the incident, British officials said Tuesday. The Home Office said police confirmed the death on the barge, called the Bibby Stockholm. Authorities said in a statement that they could not comment further because of an ongoing police investigation. A Dorset Police spokesperson said officers received “a report of a sudden death of a resident on the Bibby Stockholm” late Tuesday.“Officers are conducting inquiries into the circumstances of the incident,” it said.The Bibby Stockholm has been at the center of controversy since authorities first deployed the vessel as a solution to housing migrants awaiting the outcome of their asylum applications. Earlier this year the ship had to be evacuated following the discovery of legionella bacteria, which can cause serious illness, in its water supply. About 40 men returned in Octobe...

Kenya marks 60 years of independence, and the president defends painful economic measures

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s president on Tuesday defended the high taxes the government recently imposed, calling them a “necessary sacrifice “in helping the country deal with ballooning foreign debt which now stands at $70 billion.Speaking at celebrations marking 60 years since Kenya’s independence from Britain, President William Ruto said East Africa’s largest economy was no longer at risk of defaulting on bond payments following economic reforms his government had undertaken since taking power last September.“Though painful, the sacrifices we have made will not only make our freedom fighters proud,” Ruto told tens of thousands of people in the capital, Nairobi. He added: “I can now confirm without fear of any contradiction that Kenya is safely out of the danger of debt distress, and that our economy is on a stable footing.”The economy has taken center stage in politics and daily life in Kenya as the government tackles mounting debts. A $2 billion Eurobond is d...

A Jordanian soldier is killed in a clash with drug smugglers along the border with Syria

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Jordanian troops clashed Tuesday with dozens of drug smugglers along the country’s northern border with Syria, leaving several dead including one soldier while another was wounded, the army said.The smugglers were trying to bring into Jordan “large amounts of drugs” while taking advantage of fog and low visibility, a statement by the Jordanian Armed Forces said. It said some of them were killed and the others fled.Smugglers have used Jordan over the past years to send highly addictive Captagon amphetamines out of Syria, mainly to oil-rich Arab Gulf states. Jordanian authorities have aborted attempts over the past months, including some in which smugglers used drones to fly the drugs over the border.The Captagon industry has been a huge concern for Jordan, as well as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, as hundreds of millions of pills have been smuggled over the years. The drug is used recreationally and by people with physically demanding jobs to keep them alert....

EU remembers Iranian woman who died in custody at awarding of Sakharov human rights prize

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Parliament on Tuesday remembered a young woman who died in police custody in Iran last year, during a ceremony at which she and a Iranian human rights group were officially awarded the EU’s top human rights prize.Parliament President Roberta Metsola deplored that even part of Mahsa Amini’s family was not allowed to attend the event for the awarding of the Sakharov Prize at the EU legislature’s plenary. “They are under a travel ban imposed by the Iranian regime. Their treatment is another example of what the people of Iran face every day,” Metsola said. Amini, 22, died in September 2022, three days after she was arrested by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating Iran’s mandatory headscarf law. While authorities said she suffered a heart attack, Amini’s supporters said she was beaten by police and died as a result of her injuries. The EU said her death triggered a women-led movement in Iran, and representatives of the Woman,...

Millennial Money: Would your documents survive a disaster? What to protect and how to do it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

Floods, fires, historic storms — severe weather events are on the rise. If your home was hit by high water or a wildfire, would your important papers be safe?“Unfortunately, I’ve had clients who’ve been victims of fires, flooding, hurricanes,” says Sev Tamayo, an agent with Goosehead Insurance in Palm Coast, Florida. “Some of them were prepared and some of them weren’t.”Don’t be unprepared. Here’s what you need to do to protect your important documents.WHAT YOU SHOULD KEEP SAFEThe most important items to keep in a safe place are things that are difficult to replicate, which includes documents that prove identity, legal process or ownership. If you’d have to call a government agency to process a replacement, you probably want to store it somewhere where it can stay damage-free. You should also consider what you’d need to access if a disaster strikes.Here are some items to consider, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency:—Birth, adoption, death, marriage and divorce cert...

Choice Hotels goes hostile in $8 billion takeover bid for Wyndham after being repeatedly rebuffed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

Choice Hotels is launching a hostile takeover offer for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts after repeated attempts to reach a deal with the rival hotel chain were rebuffed.Choice Hotels said Tuesday that its exchange offer to shareholders of Wyndham, which runs Days Inn, La Quinta, Ramada and a host of other brands, is the same as its last bid to company management, which was $49.50 in cash and 0.324 shares of Choice common stock per Wyndham share. The exchange offer gives Wyndham shareholders the chance to choose to receive all cash, all shares or a combination of the two. The offer puts the value of the deal for Wyndham, the larger of the two chains, at about $8 billion. “While we would have preferred to come to a negotiated agreement, the Wyndham Board’s refusal to explore a transaction has left us with no choice but to take our proposal directly to Wyndham’s shareholders,” Choice CEO Patrick Pacious said in a prepared statement. “Wyndham chose to publicly reject our last proposa...

US says Congo and rebel groups agree to a 3-day cease-fire ahead of key election, but cracks emerge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Congolese security forces and rebel groups have agreed on a 72-hour cease-fire to de-escalate tensions in the country’s hard-hit east near the border with Rwanda, the White House announced just days before Congo’s presidential election. But some of the region’s many rebel groups quickly distanced themselves, and neither government commented.The agreement was backed by both Congo and Rwanda, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, Adrienne Watson, said in a statement Monday. The most prominent rebel group is the M23 with links to Rwanda, a major source of tension between the neighbors even as Rwanda denies supporting the rebels.The U.S. said the agreement includes the withdrawal of forces occupying the locality of Mushaki — seized this month by the M23 — and the RP1030 road, a main supply route in eastern Congo. The wider region has struggled with conflict for decades as more than 120 armed groups fight for control of mineral ...

3 teens among 4 injured after argument leads to shooting on South Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

CHICAGO — Four people, including the alleged shooter, were injured after a shooting inside a home on the city's Far South Side.According to police, the shooting happened just after 7 p.m. Monday on the second-floor of a residence in the 9300 block of South Racine Avenue in the Brainerd neighborhood. Missing Carpentersville teen’s car pulled from pond in Vernon Hills Police say four people were gathered in the home when an argument broke out between them. Officers say that is when a 16-year-old boy allegedly pulled out a gun and opened fire.Police say a 15-year-old boy and a 21-year-old man suffered critical injuries in the shooting and another 15-year-old boy was transported to the hospital in fair condition. Gage Park jewelry store robbery captured on surveillance video The 16-year-old who allegedly opened fire was also shot in the hand and abdomen and was taken to the Comer Children's Hospital in fair condition.Police say an investigation by Area Two detectives is underway. No...

Tuesday Forecast: Temps in upper 30s with mostly sunny conditions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:35:52 GMT

CHICAGO — Mostly sunny and a bit breezy Tuesday with seasonal temps. Winds: WSW 5-15, G25 mph. High 38. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storms here Partly cloudy tonight with increasing clouds overnight. Winds: WNW 5-10 mph. Low 23Wednesday Forecast: Clouds and mixed sunshine with a bit milder conditions. Winds: WSW 10-15 mph. High 41Extended outlook calls for more sunshine on Thursday with temps getting into the mid 40s. Increasing clouds late Friday but temps will get up to near 50 degrees. Slight chance of showers on Saturday with mostly cloudy skies. Temps look to stay mild for this weekend in the mid to upper 40s. Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog