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Rally demands release of Pakistani human rights lawyer taken by armed men in Karachi

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Dozens of protesters on Friday held a rally in Pakistan’s biggest city of Karachi to demand the release of a top rights lawyer, after he was abducted by armed men the previous day.Jibran Nasir was snatched from his car by more than a dozen armed men, his family said.Nasir’s wife said the couple were returning home after dining out on Thursday evening when armed men in two white vans intercepted their car in an upscale area.The men took Nasir away but left her unharmed, said the lawyer’s wife Mansha Pasha. She said she did not know who was behind the abduction. No one immediately claimed responsibility for Nasir’s abduction and the police said they were investigating. The disappearance drew condemnation from rights activists who also held a peaceful rally in the city to demand authorities secure Nasir’s release.The incident appeared to be the latest in a recent rash of abductions in Pakistan that rights groups say may be forced disappearance...

Stock market today: Wall Street opens higher after strong jobs report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rising after an unexpectedly strong report on the job market helped ease worries on Wall Street about a possible recession. The S&P 500 was 0.9% higher early Friday and on pace for a third straight winning week. The Dow was up 270 points, or 0.8%, while the Nasdaq was 1.1% higher. The Labor Department reported that employers unexpectedly accelerated their hiring last month. More importantly for markets, increases for workers’ pay also slowed in May. Investors hope that could mean less upward pressure on inflation, which could allow the Federal Reserve to take it easier on raising interest rates.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street pointed higher Friday ahead of a U.S. jobs market update, one day after U.S. lawmakers approved a deal to avert a government debt default. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.5% before the bell.Late Thursday, the Senate gave final approval to an agree...

Fort Bragg drops Confederate namesake for Fort Liberty, part of US Army base rebranding

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

FORT LIBERTY, N.C. (AP) — Fort Bragg shed its Confederate namesake Friday to become Fort Liberty in a ceremony some veterans said was a small but important step in making the U.S. Army more welcoming to current and prospective Black service members.The change was part of a broad Department of Defense initiative, motivated by the 2020 George Floyd protests, to rename military installations that had been named after confederate soldiers.The Black Lives Matter demonstrations that erupted nationwide after Floyd’s killing by a white police officer, coupled with ongoing efforts to remove Confederate monuments, turned the spotlight on the Army installations. A naming commission created by Congress visited the bases and met with members of the surrounding communities for input.While other bases are being renamed for Black soldiers, U.S. presidents and trailblazing women, the North Carolina military installation is the only one not renamed after a person. Retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Ty Seid...

Olivia Chow maintains double-digit lead in latest mayoral race poll

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

Even though Olivia Chow’s support has slipped she remains the clear frontrunner with just three weeks left in the Toronto mayoral campaign.According to the latest Mainstreet Research poll, Chow has the support of 32 per cent of decided voters who were asked. That is down three percentage points from last week’s poll but the former NDP MP has more than double the lead over her nearest rival, Ana Bailao.Bailao has 16 per cent support while former police chief Mark Saunders remains in third at 12 per cent – both are unchanged from the last survey.Coun. Josh Matlow has 10 per cent support from decided voters while former newspaper columnist and broadcaster Anthony Furey has maintained nine per cent support, despite the fact he has participated in the recent mayoral debates.Former Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter picked up some support and sits at seven per cent while Coun. Brad Bradford has slipped down to four per cent.The telephone survey was conducted among 1,100 adults be...

Denmark wants to probe whether Bandidos motorcycle club can be dissolved

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s government said Friday that it will investigate whether the Danish arm of the Bandidos motorcycle club can be dissolved, saying “the criminal groups’ brutal violence and socially subversive activities create insecurity in the neighborhoods in which they live.” The Danish chapter of Bandidos MC was created in 1993. Three years later, a feud between them and the rivals Hells Angels broke out in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark and ended with 11 dead and nearly 100 wounded.In recent years, members of Bandidos in Denmark have been jailed for murder, attempted, drug-related crimes, assault, among others.“Behind their violent assaults hide, among other things, miserable relatives and shocked witnesses who have nothing to do with the environment,” Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said.Hummelgaard said a specialized police unit would probe disbanding the chapter, adding the investigation should be done by the end of the year. A court of law wo...

Abortion plays key role in closely watched Virginia primary involving Democratic ‘pro-life’ lawmaker

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

PETERSBURG, Va. (AP) — On a recent Monday afternoon, Virginia state Sen. Joe Morrissey got a warm reception as he made his way through a neighborhood in Petersburg, knocking on doors, touting his credentials and asking residents for their votes in the upcoming Democratic primary.“I’m with you. I always have been,” James Dennis, a 56-year-old nurse, told Morrissey.The greeting was much the same at other homes he visited that day. Voters called Morrissey “down-to-earth,” “on our side” and “someone who listens.” He spoke with them on front porches and in driveways in this hardscrabble city south of Richmond that makes up a small slice of the blue-leaning 13th District where Morrissey and challenger Lashrecse Aird are competing. Theirs is one of the most closely watched nomination contests in a year when all legislative seats are up for grabs. Morrissey, a veteran lawmaker and twice-disbarred attorney, has survived an extraordinary series of personal and political controvers...

Man seriously injured after industrial accident in Rexdale

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

A man has been rushed to hospital after an industrial accident in Rexdale.Toronto police were called to the area of Queens Plate Drive and Rexdale Boulevard near Martin Grove Road just before 8:30 a.m. on Friday.Police say a worker was injured while operating machinery.Paramedics transported the man to a trauma centre in serious but stable condition.

Austria says 2 citizens held in Iran released, thanks Belgium and Oman

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Two Austrian citizens who were held in Iran have been released and are on their way home, Austria’s foreign minister said Friday.Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said he was “very relieved” that Kamran Ghaderi and Massud Mossaheb were being brought home after “years of arduous detention in Iran.” He thanked the foreign ministers of Belgium and Oman for providing “valuable support,” without elaborating on what form it took. Iranian state media and officials did not immediately acknowledge a release on Friday, which is part of the weekend in the Islamic Republic.Last week, a prisoner exchange between Belgium and Iran saw an Iranian diplomat convicted of attempting to bomb exiles in France returning to Tehran while a visibly gaunt aid worker headed back to Brussels.Iran has detained a number of foreigners and dual nationals over the years, accusing them of espionage or other state security offenses and sentencing them following secretive trials...

Germany to look into report that ex-air force officers training Chinese pilots

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s defense minister said Friday his country will look into a report that former German air force fighter plane pilots have been training pilots for the Chinese military.News magazine Der Spiegel and public broadcaster ZDF reported Friday that “at least a handful” of former German air force officers are working as trainers in China, and that in several cases they were apparently paid through companies in the Seychelles. They said that such training has been going on for years, that several pilots didn’t respond to requests for comment or were unreachable, and that one rejected the allegations.Asked about the report during a visit to Singapore, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that there are clear rules on what servicepeople are allowed to do after they leave the armed forces and what activities they have to notify about, and that there also are clear rules on confidentiality requirements.“Every individual case must be examined,” he said. “We will...

Officials: 5,000-acre wildfire 50% contained; New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway still shut down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:32 GMT

BASS RIVER, N.J. (AP) — A long stretch of New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway remained shut down Friday as firefighters worked to contain a 5,000-acre forest fire spewing thick plumes of smoke.The fire broke out Wednesday night in the Bass River State Forest, along the border of Burlington and Ocean counties in southern New Jersey. It was 50 percent contained and no longer threatening any structures or residential areas as of Friday morning, the New Jersey Forest Fire Service said, though roughly 40 people were evacuated Thursday from a camping area as a precaution, and that site remained shuttered Friday..Authorities were still working to determine the cause of the wildfire. Another 158-acre blaze burned from Monday night into Tuesday in the White Oaks Wildlife Management Area in Monroe and Franklin townships in Gloucester County, causing no reported injuries or property damage.The Associated Press