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Niger’s junta rulers ask for help from Russian group Wagner as it faces military intervention threat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Niger’s new military junta has asked for help from the Russian mercenary group Wagner as the deadline nears for it to release the country’s ousted president or face possible military intervention by the West African regional bloc, according to an analyst.The request came during a visit by one of the coup leaders, Gen. Salifou Mody, to neighboring Mali, where he made contact with someone from Wagner, Wassim Nasr, a journalist and senior research fellow at the Soufan Center, told The Associated Press. He said three Malian sources and a French diplomat confirmed the meeting first reported by France 24.“They need (Wagner) because they will become their guarantee to hold onto power,” he said, adding that the group is considering the request.Niger’s junta faces a Sunday deadline set by the regional bloc known as ECOWAS to release and reinstate the democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum, who has described himself as a hostage.Defense chiefs from ECOWAS members...

Ukranine drones hit a Russian tanker transporting fuel near Crimea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian drones hit a Russian tanker in the Black Sea near Crimea, according to Russian officials. They said that the vessel’s engine room sustained damage in the strike late Friday night in the Kerch Strait. “The Sig tanker…suffered a hole in the engine room near the waterline on the starboard side, presumably as a result of a sea drone attack,” Russia’s Federal Agency for Marine and River Transport wrote on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties among the 11 crew members.Vladimir Rogov, a Kremlin-installed official in Ukraine’s partially occupied southern Zaporizhzhia region, said several members of the ship’s crew were wounded because of broken glass.An official with Ukraine’s Security Service confirmed to The Associated Press that the service was behind the attack on the tanker, which was transporting fuel for Russian forces. A sea drone, filled with 450 kilograms (992 pounds) of TNT, was used for the attack, added the official who spoke...

3 Indian soldiers are killed in Kashmir gunfight on the 4th anniversary of special status revocation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Three Indian soldiers were killed in a gunbattle with rebels fighting against New Delhi’s rule in Kashmir, officials said Saturday, as authorities stepped up security on the fourth anniversary since India revoked the disputed region’s special status.The battle broke out after soldiers acting on “specific inputs” about the presence of militants launched a search operation in the forests of southern Kulgam area late Friday, an Indian military handout said. It said three soldiers were injured in the exchange of gunfire with rebels, and they later died.The search operation continued in the area, the military said, but did not give any other details. India and Pakistan each claim the divided territory of Kashmir in its entirety.Rebels in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Most Muslim Kashmiris support the rebel goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.The fighting c...

Word Game: Aug. 5, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — THROTTLED (THROTTLED: THROT-eld: Compressed the throat of or decreased the flow of.)Average mark 35 wordsTime limit 45 minutesCan you find 48 or more words in THROTTLED? The list will be published Monday.YESTERDAY’S WORD — CATAPULTS cast casual catapult catsup causal clap clasp cult cusp actual alas atlas tact talc talus tapa taps taut pact past pasta plat plus putt upcast last lust salp salt scalp scapula scat scaup sculpt scup scut slap slat spat spatula splatTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually exp...

Ask Amy: My wife likes to make us late for our flights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

Dear Amy: My wife and I are lucky in semi-retirement to have a cabin in the mountains, a two-hour flight away. We visit this property about once a month. We also take a two-week vacation in Europe each year.The problem: I like to be at the airport with time to spare. I don’t mind sitting for even an hour before boarding.My wife, on the other hand, loves to cut it close.It’s like she goes into slow motion at home the day of the flight. She seems to find a million last-minute things to do. I always volunteer to help get them done.We have missed one flight outright and at least three or four others each year are nail-biters (we leave the luggage in the car in order to make the flight!).We solved another issue — how long to stay at a monthly family gathering — by taking separate cars; I can leave after two hours, she can stay four or five.A solution to the flying issue, however, eludes us. One of us can’t really get on a plane without the other.After the mi...

Harriette Cole: My co-workers are being mean, but I can’t report the whole staff to HR

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I am concerned about how my co-worker is being treated by our colleagues. She is a new hire and is constantly being labeled as “sassy” and “aggressive” behind her back.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: My son is emulating a misogynist YouTuber, and it has upset our household Advice | Harriette Cole: How do I rein in my friend, the rookie rebel? Advice | Harriette Cole: My girlfriend’s teeth have me worried Advice | Harriette Cole: Their comments about my baby are hurtful Advice | Harriette Cole: My teen just bought a house with her boyfriend, and I fear it will end badly The thing is, I have never witnessed this behavior from her. She seems nice enough — and far from aggressive. I think the woman just wants to do her job. The only difference between her and our other co-workers is that she is a woman of color.I’ve started to call out my co-...

Manchester City signs Croatia center-back Joško Gvardiol from Leipzig

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City signed Croatia center-back Joško Gvardiol from Leipzig for 90 million euros ($99.2 million) on Saturday, ranking him among the most expensive defenders in soccer history.The 21-year-old Gvardiol, known as “Little Pep” because of his name’s likeness to City manager Pep Guardiola, is one of the most highly rated defenders in the world and enhanced his reputation with impressive performances for Croatia at the World Cup last year.He signed a five-year contract with City, which won a treble of trophies last season: the Premier League title, Champions League and FA Cup.“Anyone who saw Manchester City play last season knows they are the best team in the world,” Gvardiol said. “To win the treble says everything you need to know about the quality this team has. To be joining City is something very special for me and my family.”At Leipzig, Gvardiol won the German Cup in back-to-back seasons and played in the Champions League.The tr...

Vigil held as search for missing Greenbelt teacher continues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

(new Image()).src = "https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=9be9c680-c459-4acb-af21-654a2ccca384&cid=c2ffed0c-3624-46c0-b10f-97c976d290a3";cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "9be9c680-c459-4acb-af21-654a2ccca384",mediaId: "58249e08-8f17-4c01-b7cc-6bca2011cd13"}).render("ac6ecdb4a0ea4bb3b0118b672726f714"); });Still holding out hope that a missing Maryland teacher might be found, the Greenbelt community gathered Friday night to rally around each other in honor of 60-year-old Mariam Toure.Toure, who also goes by the name of Mariam Sylla — or “Madam Sylla” as she’s known by students — is a teacher at the Dora Kennedy French Immersion School in Greenbelt.Saturday marks one week since she mysteriously disappeared.“It’s going to be a burden that all of us carry until she is back home,” said Teria Cason, a parent who has had children enrolled at the French Immersion School for 10 years running. “The hardest part is not having closure, not knowing...

Can the Orioles win the World Series for the first time in 40 years? The 1983 team sure thinks so.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

There aren’t many similarities between the 1983 Orioles and the 2023 Orioles.The old club was veteran-laden with a new manager, a few Hall of Famers and an established pedigree as one of the best teams in the major leagues for the previous two decades. The current team is youth-driven, catapulting itself out of a rebuild and into relevance.But former center fielder Al Bumbry, one of the approximately 20 players from the 1983 team back in Baltimore this weekend to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the franchise’s last championship, said these Orioles have something those Orioles also had.“I think the biggest thing that we all talk about is the camaraderie that the players had, the connections that the players had,” Bumbry said. “Everybody’s rooting for the other players, there’s not a whole lot of individual guys and it’s not displayed in the way they play. The best teacher or the best guide of success is winning, and they’ve star...

‘Monster hunters’ wanted in new search for the mythical Loch Ness beast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:44 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The Loch Ness Centre in Scotland is calling for “budding monster hunters” and volunteers to join in what it dubs the largest search for the Loch Ness Monster since the 1970s.The visitor attraction said this week that modern technology such as drones that produces thermal images of the lake will “search the waters in a way that has never been done before.”The new surface water search for the fabled “Nessie,” planned for the weekend of Aug. 26 and 27, is billed as the largest of its kind since the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau studied the loch for signs of the mythical beast in 1972. The Loch Ness Centre is located at the old Drumnadrochit Hotel, where in 1933 manager Aldie Mackay reported spotting a “water beast” in the loch, the largest body of freshwater by volume in the United Kingdom and one of its deepest. The story kicked off an enduring worldwide fascination with finding the elusive monster, spawning hoaxes and hundreds of eyewitness accounts. Numerous theories ...