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Philippines’ Mayon Volcano spews lava in gentle eruption, thousands warned to be ready to flee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:24 GMT

LEGAZPI, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines’ most active volcano was spewing lava down its slopes on Monday, prompting officials to warn tens of thousands of villagers to be prepared to flee from their homes if the gentle eruption turns into a violent and life-threatening explosion.More than 13,000 people have left the mostly poor farming communities within a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius of Mayon Volcano’s crater in mandatory evacuations since volcanic activity increased last week. But an unspecified number of residents remain within the permanent danger zone below Mayon, an area long declared off-limits to people but where generations have lived and farmed because they have nowhere else to go.With the volcano beginning to expel lava Sunday night, the high-risk zone around Mayon may be expanded should the eruption turn violent, said Teresito Bacolcol, director of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology. Bacolcol said if that happens, people in any expanded danger zon...

British man detained after climbing 72nd floor of Seoul skyscraper

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:24 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A British man was detained after climbing more than half way up the world’s fifth-tallest skyscraper in Seoul with only his bare hands on Monday, authorities said.More than 90 emergency, police and other personnel were dispatched to Seoul’s 123-story Lotte World Tower, after the man was spotted scaling the building on Monday morning, the Seoul fire agency said in a statement.The man, in his 20s, reached the 72nd floor, which is about 310 meters (1,020 feet) high, before officials took him to a gondola lift and moved him inside the building, the statement said.South Korean media reports identified the man as free climber George King-Thompson. The reports said he was carrying a parachute and told police that he wanted to BASE-jump from the top of the building.Fire and police authorities didn’t immediately confirm the man’s name or his motive. Police confirmed they took custody of the man for an investigation, but didn’t provide further details.The fire agency...

Greece: 90 migrants rescued from US-flagged yacht in distress

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:24 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Authorities in southern Greece said Monday that 90 migrants, including 37 children, have been rescued from a U.S.-flagged yacht believed to be sailing from Turkey to Italy.The rescue took place on Sunday after a passenger made a distress call off the Greek island of Kythira, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) southwest of Athens. The coast guard said three vessels were involved in the rescue of 35 men, 18 women, 27 boys and 10 girls from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iraq, and Egypt.Two of the passengers were later arrested on smuggling charges and detained, while the others were taken to a nearby mainland port for registration.Smugglers in recent years have used yachts and sailboats, often later discovered to have been stolen at Turkish marinas, to try and avoid detection along routes to Europe. They often bypass Greece and head to the southern Italian mainland, which provides easier access to Central European countries.The longer trip to Italy is also more...

Work begins in Spain to exhume bodies of 128 Franco victims buried anonymously at mausoleum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:24 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Initial forensic work was to begin Monday to try to exhume the bodies of 128 victims of late dictator Francisco Franco’s forces who are among tens of thousands of people buried anonymously in wooden boxes underground in a mausoleum. The team of some 15 forensic experts, archeologists, scientific police and odontologists will work on extracting samples of the remains at the Valle de Cuelgamuros mausoleum, formerly known as the Valle de los Caídos, or Valley of the Fallen, and try to match them with DNA of surviving relatives. A special laboratory has been set up within the mausoleum.More than 30,000 Franco victims are buried without identification in the mausoleum. The 128 the experts are looking for are the ones whose families have so far asked for their bodies to be identified and returned. The experts do have some indications of where the boxes are that they are looking for.The exhumations, if successful, will be the first for victims under Spain’s historical m...

Russia’s improved weaponry and tactics pose challenges to Ukraine’s counteroffensive

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:24 GMT

Ukrainian troops are probing Russian defenses as spring gives way to a second summer of fighting, and Kyiv’s forces are facing an enemy that has made mistakes and suffered setbacks in the 15-month-old war. But analysts say Moscow also has learned from those blunders and improved its weapons and skills.Russia has built heavily fortified defenses along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front line, honed its electronic weapons to reduce Ukraine’s edge in combat drones, and turned heavy bombs from its massive Cold-War-era arsenal into precision-guided gliding munitions capable of striking targets without putting its warplanes at risk.The changing Russian tactics along with increased troop numbers and improved weaponry could make it challenging for Ukraine to score any kind of quick decisive victory, threatening to turn it into a long battle of attrition.U.S. Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Mark Milley said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday that while Ukraine’...

Toronto, GTA under special weather statement with wet, muggy start to work week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:24 GMT

It’s a wet and muggy start to the work week with some much needed rain falling across the GTA on Monday.A special weather statement is in effect for Toronto and neighbouring regions calling for heavy rain until the afternoon.“Rain associated with a low pressure system will continue to push into the region early this morning and tapering off this afternoon,” reads the statement from Environment Canada. “Heaviest rainfall is expected later this morning.”The weather agency is calling for rainfall amounts of 30 to 50 millimetres, but says there is some “uncertainty with rainfall amounts and the exact track of the low.”Environment Canada says an upgrade from a weather statement to a warning could be required.Special Weather Statement for rain at times heavy continues this morning for #Toronto GTA and a large portion of southern Ontario. It’s a windy, wet morning. Give yourself some extra time!— Jill Taylor (@JillTaylorCity) June 12, 2023Cit...

Long commutes start after part of I-95 collapses in Philadelphia following tanker truck fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:24 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Drivers began longer commutes Monday after an elevated section of Interstate 95 collapsed in Philadelphia a day earlier following damage caused by a tanker truck carrying flammable cargo catching fire.Sunday’s fire closed a heavily traveled segment of the East Coast’s main north-south highway indefinitely. Newscasts warned of traffic nightmares and gave advice on detours, urging drivers to take more time to travel.“This is really going to have a ripple effect throughout the region,” AAA spokesperson Jana Tidwell said Monday. She advised people to avoid peak travel times.Tidwell also anticipated that drivers will incur additional costs — “more gasoline, more wear and tear on their cars, additional tolls, in terms of leaving Pennsylvania into New Jersey and then back into Pennsylvania.”The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority said it was operating three extra morning and late afternoon trains on its Trenton, New Jersey, line, and adding ca...

Analysis: Novak Djokovic has 23 Slams, so is he the ‘GOAT’? He leaves that debate to others

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:24 GMT

PARIS (AP) — The query was swift and direct. Novak Djokovic’s reply was slow, thoughtful and revelatory, delivered in paragraphs.“How does it feel,” a reporter wanted to know, “to be the greatest male player in history?”First, a quick bit of background: Djokovic’s championship at the 2023 French Open, earned via a 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 victory over Casper Ruud on Sunday that included a so-so start and then a cascade of brilliance, provided his 23rd Grand Slam title.No man has won as many. After spending his entire career trying to accumulate as much hardware as rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Djokovic now stands alone atop the list. He had been tied at 22 with Nadal; Federer, who announced his retirement last year, has 20.So, now, back to that question. For years, as that so-called Big Three dominated men’s tennis, the debate has swirled over which should be considered the “GOAT” — “Greatest of All-Time.”Federer has his backers. So does Nadal. Djokovic, too.There are those who wa...

US decides to rejoin UNESCO and pay back dues, to counter Chinese influence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:24 GMT

PARIS (AP) — U.N. cultural and scientific agency UNESCO announced Monday that the United States plans to rejoin — and pay more than $600 million in back dues — after a decade-long dispute sparked by the organization’s move to include Palestine as a member.U.S. officials say the decision to return was motivated by concern that China is filling the gap left by the U.S. in UNESCO policymaking, notably in setting standards for artificial intelligence and technology education around the world.U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Richard Verma submitted a letter last week to UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay formalizing the plan to rejoin.Applause rang out in the solemn UNESCO auditorium as Azoulay announced the plan to ambassadors at a special meeting Monday, and delegate after delegate stood up to welcome the news — and the new influx of money. The return of the U.S., once the agency’s biggest funder, is expected to face a vote by its 193 member states next m...

Fukushima nuclear plant begins tests of wastewater release plan; fishing officials remain opposed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:24 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant began tests on Monday of newly constructed facilities for discharging treated radioactive wastewater into the sea, a plan strongly opposed by local fishing communities and neighboring countries.The tests at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant use fresh water instead of the treated water, operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said. Plant workers examined pumps and emergency shutdown equipment at the newly constructed seaside facility, which will dilute the treated water with large amounts of seawater. The diluted water then enters an undersea tunnel and is released into the ocean about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the coast. The undersea tunnel and other key facilities are near completion. TEPCO says the voluntary tests are expected to continue for about two weeks ahead of mandatory pre-operation checks to be conducted by the Nuclear Regulation Authority, possibly in early July.Japan’s government an...