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A top aide to Ukraine’s military commander is killed by a grenade given as a birthday gift

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:31 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A top aide to Ukraine’s commander in chief was killed by a grenade given to him as a birthday gift and not in a targeted attack, the interior minister said.Maj. Hennadii Chastiakov died in the tragic accident Monday that badly injured his 13-year-old son, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Telegram.A colleague presented six new grenades as a gift to Chastiakov, who was a top aide and close friend to commander-in-chief Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, for his 39th birthday, Klymenko said.Chastiakov was showing off the grenades to his family at home when his son took one and began twisting the ring.“The serviceman then took the grenade from the child and pulled the ring, leading to a tragic explosion,” Klymenko said.Police are investigating the incident in the village of Chaiky in the Kyiv region.The officer’s death was the second fatal tragedy in less than a week for Ukraine’s military.A Ukrainian brigade holding a ceremony in Zaporizhzhia to honor ...

Cyprus has a plan for a humanitarian sea corridor to Gaza and will present it to EU leaders

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:31 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus will present its plan for a humanitarian sea corridor to Gaza when the Cypriot president meets other EU heads of state in Paris at an international donor conference for the besieged Palestinian enclave on Nov. 9, an official said Tuesday. Government spokesman Constantinos Letymbiotis told reporters the initiative to ship aid from the eastern Mediterranean island will be discussed at length during the conference, which will also seek to address Gaza’s pressing needs including water, electricity and fuel supply.Last week, senior U.N. officials said the average Palestinian in Gaza was living on two pieces of bread a day, while only one of three water supply lines from Israel was operational. More than 1.5 million Palestinians have been displaced in Gaza by the Israeli offensive launched in the wake of Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,400 people. President Nikos Christodoulides said Tuesday the initiative aims for a “sustained, secure high-volu...

Teen arrested in stabbing at Madison Avenue Pub in the Annex

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:31 GMT

Toronto police have arrested a teen suspect wanted in a stabbing at the Madison Avenue Pub last week.Officers were called to the pub at Bloor Street West and Madison Avenue area in the Annex at around 10 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 3, for reports of a stabbing.Police said a man was being escorted off the premises when he allegedly took out a knife and stabbed a victim. He then fled the area on foot, last seen running northbound on Madison Avenue.The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries.Police released an image of the wanted man on Saturday, and investigators say he was arrested on Monday.Alexander Mileski, 18, of Toronto, faces five charges: assault causing bodily harm, assault with a weapon, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace, carrying a concealed weapon, and failing to comply with an undertaking.

Portuguese police arrest the prime minister’s chief of staff in a corruption probe

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:31 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portuguese police have arrested the chief of staff of Prime Minister António Costa while making multiple raids of public buildings and other properties as part of a widespread corruption probe, the prosecutor’s office said Tuesday.An investigative judge issued arrest warrants for Vítor Escária, Costa’s chief of staff, the mayor of Sines, and three other people because they represented a flight risk and to protect evidence, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.It said that the Minister of Infrastructure João Galamba and head of the country’s environmental agency were among those named as suspects.The judge is investigating alleged malfeasance, corruption of elected officials, and influence peddling related to lithium mines concessions near Portugal’s northern border with Spain, and plans for a green hydrogen plant and data center in the southern coastal town of Sines.The raids included the premises of the Ministry of the Environment, the Min...

Power producer TransAlta reports Q3 profit up from year ago

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:31 GMT

CALGARY — TransAlta Corp. reported its third-quarter profit rose compared with a year ago as its power production and revenue also came in higher.TransAlta chief executive John Kousinioris says the third-quarter results demonstrate the value of the company’s strategically diversified fleet, which benefited from its asset optimization and hedging activities. The power utility says its profit attributable to common shareholders totalled $372 million or $1.41 per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from $61 million or 23 cents per share a year earlier.Revenue for the quarter totalled $1.02 billion, up from $929 million in the same quarter last year.Production amounted to 5,678 gigawatt hours for the quarter, up from 5,432 gigawatt hours in the third quarter of 2022.Last week, TransAlta announced a deal to buy Heartland Generation Ltd. and its power generation business in Alberta and B.C., in a deal valued at $658 million, including assumed debt.This report by The Can...

Shimmering galaxies revealed in new photos by European space telescope

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:31 GMT

Scientists on Tuesday unveiled the first pictures taken by the European space telescope Euclid, a shimmering and stunning collection of galaxies too numerous to count.The photos were revealed by the European Space Agency, four months after the telescope launched from Cape Canaveral.Although these celestial landscapes have been observed before by the Hubble Space Telescope and others, Euclid’s snapshots provide “razor-sharp astronomical images across such a large patch of the sky, and looking so far into the distant universe,” the agency said.In one picture, Euclid captured a group shot of 1,000 galaxies in a cluster 240 million light-years away, against a backdrop of more than 100,000 galaxies billions of light-years away. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles.Many of these galaxies were too faint to see until now, according to the team.The telescope snapped pictures of a relatively close spiral galaxy that is a ringer for our own Milky Way. Although the Hubble Space ...

The Air Force asks Congress to protect its nuclear launch sites from encroaching wind turbines

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:31 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force’s vast fields of underground nuclear missile silos are rarely disturbed by more than the occasional wandering cow or floating spy balloon. But the service is now asking Congress to help with another unexpected danger: towering wind turbines, which are growing in number and size and are edging closer to the sites each year. The silos share space on vast private farmlands with the turbines. Whereas the nuclear launch sites are almost undetectable — just small, rectangular plots of land marked only by antennae, a chain-link fence and a flat 110,000-ton (100,000-metric tonne) concrete silo blast door — the turbines are hundreds of feet high, with long, sweeping blades that have parts so large and long they dwarf the 18-wheeler flatbed trucks that transport them to new sites. As nearby populations have grown, so have energy needs, and so have the number and size of the turbines. It’s a boon for farmers and landowners, who can lease space on the...

Crews believe lightning strike sparked house fire in Milton, leaving large hole in roof

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:31 GMT

A family in Milton is facing a major repair job after a rare November lightning strike is believed to have set their home ablaze, leaving a sizeable hole in the roof.Emergency crews were called to the fire at a townhome on Speyer Circle, in the area of Derry Road and Bronte Street, around 3:30 p.m. Monday afternoon after a thunderstorm rolled through the area.The small fire that began on the roof spread through the attic of the home. Fire crews reported a large hole in the roof they believe was caused by the lightning strike.Crews were able to extinguish the fire. Three were occupants inside the home at the time of the fire but no injuries were reported.A lightning strike believed to be cause of fire at a townhouse on Speyer Circle in Milton. Neighbours say their homes shook. The bang was heard blocks away. No one hurt but it’s left a large hole in the roof. It’s the only unit in complex with metal tv antenna mounted on the roof pic.twitter.com/r9YvyWqXxB— carl hanstke (@carlC...

Jewish man dies after incident at pro-Palestine rally in California, group says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:31 GMT

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) - A 69-year-old Jewish man died Monday after suffering a severe head injury during an altercation with a pro-Palestinian demonstrator in California, authorities said.Deputies with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office received multiple calls at around 3:20 p.m. about a “battery” at an intersection in Thousand Oaks, a suburb northwest of Los Angeles, during demonstrations involving pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups.When deputies arrived, they found the victim, identified as Paul Kessler, with a head injury, the Sheriff's Office said. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries Monday.  “Witness accounts indicated that Kessler was involved in a physical altercation with counter-protester(s),” the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. “During the altercation, Kessler fell backwards and struck his head on the ground.”   California cities ditching online comments due to surging hate speech According to ...

Jay Leno talks about his approach to comedy ahead of his tour stop in Indiana

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:31 GMT

For 22 years, Jay Leno put America to bed with his monologue, interviews and musical guests.He recently spoke to WGN’s Dean Richards about his stand up and approach to comedy.  This coming weekend, he's doing stand up at the Hard Rock Live in Gary. He will be there Saturday November 11.   Get Dean's reviews and A-List interviews delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for Dean's Downloads weekly newsletter. You'll also get his Dean Cooks recipes too!