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Ex-official under Belarus President Lukashenko to face Swiss trial over enforced disappearances

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:16 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — A former member of Belarus President Aleksander Lukashenko’s special security forces is set to face trial in Switzerland next month for the forced disappearances of political opponents in the late 1990s, according to human rights and victims advocacy groups Wednesday.Activists and opponents called it a “watershed moment” in international justice that could trigger prosecutions abroad of other Belarus officials — including its strongman leader.The case against Yuri Harauski, a former member of a military unit known as SOBR, is set to take place Sept. 19-20 in the northern Swiss regional court of St. Gallen and centers on the enforced disappearances of three people in 1999. An extract of the court filing, obtained by The Associated Press, indicated that prosecutors planned to seek a three-year prison sentence — of which two would be suspended — against Harauski for his alleged role in the disappearances.Harauski lives in Switzerland, where he applied for asylum in ...

Ex-Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio will be sentenced for seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6 attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:16 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio is set to be sentenced on Wednesday for a failed plot to keep Donald Trump in power after the Republican lost the 2020 presidential election, capping one of the most significant prosecutions in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.Prosecutors are seeking 33 years behind bars for Tarrio, who had already been arrested and ordered to leave Washington, D.C., by the time Proud Boys members joined thousands of Trump supporters in storming the Capitol as lawmakers met to certify Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral victory. But prosecutors say Tarrio organized and led the group’s assault from afar, inspiring followers with his charisma and penchant for propaganda.Tarrio was a top target in one of the most important Capitol riot cases prosecuted by the Justice Department. He and three lieutenants were convicted in May of charges including seditious conspiracy — a rarely brought Civil War-era offense that t...

Belgium imposes a ban on shelter for single men seeking asylum to make place for families

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:16 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The Belgian government said Wednesday it is imposing a ban on providing shelter for single men seeking asylum, arguing its insufficient reception capacity should be freed for families, women and children first. Aid organizations condemned the move as reneging on international commitments. Belgium has long come under criticism for failing to provide enough shelter to the thousands of people who are seeking protection from persecution back home and long lines of tents along streets outside the main processing center in Brussels have become a stain on Belgium’s reputation.On Wednesday, Asylum State Secretary Nicole de Moor said increasing pressure on asylum housing was expected over the coming months and she “absolutely wants to avoid that children will end up in the streets this winter.” Instead, single men will have to fend for themselves. The move was met with scathing criticism from human rights organizations. “We thought we’d seen it all, but no. The Belgian ...

EU’s largest wildfire in northeastern Greece burning for 12th day despite firefighting efforts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:16 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The European Union’s largest wildfire since the bloc started keeping records more than two decades ago showed no signs of abating Wednesday in northeastern Greece despite the efforts of a multinational firefighting force on the ground and a fleet of water-dropping aircraft.Now in its 12th day, the blaze that began near the port city of Alexandroupolis on Aug. 19 joined with smaller fires to form an inferno that has decimated homes and vast tracts of land near the border with Turkey. The blaze led to the evacuations of thousands of people and was blamed for 20 of Greece’s 21 fire-related deaths last week.The 475 firefighters on the ground, backed by 11 planes and five helicopters, were trying to tame the flames now concentrated deep in the forest of the Dadia National Park.With around 81,000 hectares (200,000 acres) of land burned, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Emergency Management Service, the blaze is the largest single wildfire any member natio...

'Wicked' questions about water crisis provoke thought at Texas State University

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:16 GMT

SAN MARCOS, TX (KXAN) - Discussions about some hard to answer questions will take place at Texas State University next week. The school's Meadows Center for Water in the Environment will be hosting a conference called "Climate Science: The Good, The Bad & The Wicked."One of the main topics: the impact climate change is having on Texas' water supply. "There's a saying in the climate water world that if climate change is a shark, water is the teeth," said Robert Mace Ph.D., Executive Director at the Meadows Center.Dr. Mace said we can already feel this bite. This summer has been one of the the hottest and driest on record. "(It) worries me, you know, not only here, but out in the Hill Country and really across the state."The conference takes place on Saturday, September 7 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration ends on September 3 and costs $150. You can register on The Meadows Center site if you'd like to attend.The Climate Crisis "wicked" problemsThe conference will explore some cha...

Idalia a Category 4 hurricane, landfall imminent

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:16 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- We are enjoying a break from the recent extreme heat and humidity in the wake of Sunday evening's cool front.Breezy north winds are keeping humidity at lower, more comfortable levels through much of the week, and also helping lower temperatures back to more typical levels for late August.Dry weather is forecast through the rest of the work week locally. The Texas football home opener looks hot and dry, as do the remainder of your Labor Day weekend plans. BLOG: Could PDO mess with our wet El Niño? Tracking the TropicsHurricane Idalia rapidly intensified to a Category 4 storm early this morning, expected to make landfall along the Big Bend of Florida this morning. This is expected to be the strongest hurricane on record to hit the Apalachee Bay area, and could bury portions of the Florida coastline in 10-16 feet of water from ocean level rise. Texas will remain unaffected by Idalia. Austin Interactive Weather Stats (2023) FIRST WARNING WEATHER: Stay up to date wit...

Travis Scott adds Austin show to first tour since Astroworld tragedy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:16 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Travis Scott is making a stop in Austin for his "Utopia The Circus Maximus" world tour in November. The Houston-based rapper's tour will be his first since the tragedy at Astroworld Festival nearly two years ago, where ten people died and dozens more were injured due to a crowd surge during his concert. A Texas grand jury in June declined to indict Scott in a criminal investigation of the incident. Rapper Travis Scott will not face criminal charges in deadly crowd surge at Texas festival Scott announced the tour Tuesday, following the release of his new album 'Utopia' at the end of July. The album came out the same day the Houston Police Department released its final report of the Astroworld incident. The over-1,200-page report detailed what led a grand jury to decide not to indict Scott for any criminal charges back in June.The album was announced back in 2020 and is Scott's first release since the festival tragedy. It features big names in the hi...

Recipe: Sausage breakfast biscuits with fruit jam

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:16 GMT

My husband and I often lock horns when it comes to choosing seasonal fruit for me to make jam with; he’s a 100% peach or cherry person while I will always go for the raspberry. But you don’t stay married for 40 years without learning to compromise.This super-easy breakfast biscuit recipe brings together the two summer fruits in the best possible way in an easy refrigerator (no cook) jam. All it takes to create the harmonious blend of sweet and sunny flavors is some chopped or crushed fruit, granulated sugar, a splash of lemon juice and a saucepan. Simply cook the ingredients over a low flame until it’s thick and jammy.The homemade sausage patty that gets tucked into a simple drop biscuit along with a slice of cheddar is nearly as simple. If you’ve got a mixing bowl and a hot frying pan, it’s a cinch to pull together in about 15 minutes, and it tastes so much fresher than the mass-produced one in your grocer’s freezer.You can either divide the bisc...

Ask Amy: Mom is rebuked for being a rescuer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:16 GMT

Dear Amy: I have lived my life trying to help people.I have “gone to the rescue” many times to help people who were needy or suicidal or addicted and in need of therapy or treatment.And it does make me happy when I think I have been able to help someone.Recently one of my children told me that since I derive happiness from helping others, that I am really selfish and that my actions are no more laudable than other people who pursue happiness through other selfish means.The idea shocked me.What do you think?— Shocked MomDear Shocked: “Selfish” is probably the most pejorative word to describe your tendency to rescue people, but your child is obviously trying to make a point.You are behaving in a way that satisfies your own needs, but on the selfish-scale I’d put your behavior way ahead of, say, someone who ignores the desperate cries of others.Those who need rescuing are no doubt grateful for your so-called selfishness, but a true “rescuer” derives her sense of self through resc...

EU trade balance back to a surplus of €1 billion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:16 GMT

In the second quarter of 2023, after six quarters of registering a deficit, the EU trade balance was back to a surplus level due to declining energy prices. Recent trade data shows that in the second quarter of 2023, exports fell by 2.0% and imports by 3.5%, leading to a small trade surplus of €1 billion. This shows a clear improvement from the €155 billion deficit registered in the third quarter of 2022, the highest deficit level since 2019. The decrease in extra-EU imports in the second quarter of 2023 was related to a 15.6% drop in energy and a 10.9% decrease in raw materials, compared with the first quarter of 2023. As for exports, all sectors saw a decline, except for machinery & vehicles (+2.5%). The largest export decreases were for energy (-22.5%) and raw materials (-9.3%).Source dataset: ext_st_eu27_2020sitcIn the second quarter of 2023, the EU had a trade surplus of €15.6bn for food, drinks and tobacco and €48.5bn for chemicals. In the second quarter of 2023, the trade...