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Wolfgang Schaeuble, German elder statesman and finance minister during euro debt crisis, dies at 81

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:38 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Wolfgang Schaeuble, who helped negotiate German reunification in 1990 and as finance minister was a central figure in the austerity-heavy effort to drag Europe out of its debt crisis more than two decades later, has died. He was 81. Schaeuble died at home on Tuesday evening, his family told German news agency dpa on Wednesday.Schaeuble became Chancellor Angela Merkel’s finance minister in October 2009, just before revelations about Greece’s ballooning budget deficit set off the crisis that engulfed the continent and threatened to destabilize world’s financial order.A longtime supporter of greater European unity, he helped lead a yearslong effort that aimed for deeper integration and a stricter rulebook. But Germany drew criticism for its emphasis on austerity and a perceived lack of generosity.After eight years as finance minister, Schaeuble cemented his status as an elder statesman by becoming the German parliament’s speaker — the last step in a long front-line politi...

TEPCO’s operational ban is lifted, putting it one step closer to restarting reactors in Niigata

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:38 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese nuclear safety regulators lifted an operational ban Wednesday imposed on Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, the operator behind the Fukushima plant that ended in disaster, allowing the company to resume preparations for restarting a separate plant after more than 10 years.At its weekly meeting, the Nuclear Regulation Authority formally lifted the more than two-year ban imposed on the TEPCO over its lax safety measures, saying a series of inspections and meetings with company officials has shown sufficient improvement. The decision removes an order that prohibited TEPCO from transporting new fuel into the plant or placing it into reactors, a necessary step for restarting Kashiwazaki-Kariwa’s reactors. The plant on Japan’s northern coast of Niigata is TEPCO’s only workable nuclear power plant since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami put its Fukushima Daiichi plant out of operation. Now the company is burdened with the growing cost of deco...

Dear Abby: My boyfriend says I’m being too harsh about his ‘mistake’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:38 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My boyfriend of three years works six days a week with Sundays off. For six weeks, my calls went unanswered from Saturday evening through Monday morning.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: My friend says my party idea is tacky. Is she right? Advice | Dear Abby: How can I light a fire under the poky tradespeople in my new town? Advice | Dear Abby: I think she meant to humiliate me at her child’s birthday party Advice | Dear Abby: My mother-in-law hit my kids, and I’m being pressured to reconcile Advice | Dear Abby: I want to have a talk with my wife’s co-worker, but she says she’s handling it He’d provide a lame excuse, apologize for the “missed” calls, and the next weekend, the same thing would happen.Long story short, he was spending time in a drug house on the weekends.He ignored my calls because he didn’t want me to know what he was doing. He ...

Single-family house sells in San Jose for $2 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:38 GMT

1195 Settle Avenue – Google Street ViewThe spacious property located in the 1100 block of Settle Avenue in San Jose was sold on Dec. 1, 2023 for $1,985,000, or $750 per square foot. The house, built in 2004, has an interior space of 2,646 square feet. This two-story house boasts a generous living space with four bedrooms and four bathrooms. The property is equipped with forced air heating and a cooling system. Additionally, the house includes a two-car garage, offering generous space for vehicles and storage requirements.Additional houses have recently changed hands nearby:A 2,560-square-foot home on the 1200 block of Kotenberg Avenue in San Jose sold in August 2023, for $2,450,000, a price per square foot of $957. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In July 2023, a 3,200-square-foot home on Kotenberg Avenue in San Jose sold for $3,050,000, a price per square foot of $953. The home has 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms.On Settle Avenue, San Jose, in September 2022, a 3,148-square-foot ...

Former Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif will seek a fourth term in office, his party says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:38 GMT

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will seek a fourth term in office, his party said Wednesday, noting he would be its consensus candidate in the upcoming parliamentary elections and the office of the prime minister.Sharif, who has served as prime minister three times, returned to Pakistan in October after four years of self-exile in London to avoid serving prison sentences on corruption charges. However, his conviction and sentences were overturned on appeal after his return, making him eligible to run for a seat in the parliament, which will elect the new prime minister after the Feb. 8 vote. “There is no doubt about it. Nawaz Sharif is our candidate for the office of the prime minister,” said Rana Sanaullah Khan, a senior leader in Sharif’s party. Sharif stepped down as prime minister in 2017 over the corruption charges. In July 2018, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison over purchases of luxury apartments in London. In December that year...

What’s open, what’s closed in the DC region on New Year’s Day 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:38 GMT

Get your champagne and noisemakers ready — it’s almost time to ring in 2024. But to help with celebrations, here’s what you need to know about closures around the D.C. area on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.Travel and transitMetrorail will run on New Year’s Eve from 7 a.m. until 2 a.m., giving riders an extra two hours. On New Year’s Day, trains will run on a Sunday schedule from 7 a.m. to midnight. The ongoing closures on the Red Line will remain in effect.Metro is also running buses 24/7 for those celebrating late into the night.In Virginia, there will be no VRE service on Sunday or Monday. The Fairfax Connector will offer Sunday service both on New Year’s Eve and on Monday. On New Year’s Day, some ART buses are running with reduced service available on lines 41, 42, 45, 51, 55 and 87. All other ART routes won’t operate. DMV locations are closed for the holiday.In Maryland, MARC will offer regular weekend service on Sunday but no trains will run on Monda...

Stock market today: Asian shares climb, tracking advance on Wall Street in final week of 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:38 GMT

Asian shares advanced on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street gains as markets there reopened for what’s expected to be a quiet, holiday-shortened week of trading.U.S. futures were higher and oil prices were steady.Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index added 1.2% to 33,681.24 as details of a policy meeting by the Bank of Japan showed officials divided about the timing and need to shift away from the central bank’s longstanding lax monetary policy. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 1.9% to 16,661.00 and the Shanghai Composite gained 0.6% to 2,915.05 with Chinese video gaming companies, including Tencent and NetEase, recouping losses in the first Hong Kong trading session after the government attempted to alleviate market fears about draft guidelines to impose controls over how companies earn money from games. However, the gains were dwarfed by the losses from a broad sell-off on Friday.NetEase’s Hong Kong-traded shares gained 10.4%, after its Nasdaq-listed stock added 5.2% on Tuesday. TencentR...

Drones versus buques de guerra: cómo el equipo militar estadounidense está combatiendo los ataques hutíes al transporte marítimo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:38 GMT

(CNN) — Los buques de guerra estadounidenses en el Mar Rojo estuvieron luchando contra un número creciente de armas disparadas por las fuerzas hutíes en Yemen durante las últimas semanas, incluidos 17 drones y misiles durante un período de 10 horas solo hasta este martes.Yahya Sare’e, portavoz de las fuerzas hutíes, dijo en X, anteriormente Twitter, que los últimos lanzamientos fueron en “apoyo y solidaridad continuos con el pueblo palestino”. El grupo había dicho previamente que estaba atacando barcos que se dirigían a Israel luego de la invasión de Gaza por las fuerzas israelíes.Los hutíes, respaldados por Irán, lanzaron al menos 100 ataques contra 14 buques comerciales y mercantes diferentes en el Mar Rojo durante el último mes, dijo la semana pasada un alto funcionario militar estadounidense.Los ataques llevaron al secretario de Defensa estadounidense, Lloyd Austin, a anunciar la formación de una coalición de al menos 10 países para centrarse en la seguri...

Andre Drummond steps up in his 1st start for the short-handed Chicago Bulls, plus 3 takeaways from the 118-113 win

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:38 GMT

Andre Drummond believes he still should be an NBA starter. On Tuesday against the Atlanta Hawks, he got his first opportunity to make that case in Chicago.In 113 games since signing with the Bulls, Drummond had exclusively come off the bench. That’s because starting center Nikola Vučević had played every game in that span — until Tuesday, when Vučević missed his first game since April 2022 with a groin injury. Drummond started in his place, his first start as a Bull.It was a critical moment for Drummond, who has been open about his desire to play more minutes.“I’m doing what I can with the minutes I get,” Drummond told the Tribune earlier this month. “I’m just making the best of it. For me it’s never easy. But at the end of the day, I’ve got to look at the bigger picture. Coach sees something that he believes will work for the team to help us win. I’m all for it. My job is to be as supportive as possible...

German police say they are holding a man in connection with a threat to Cologne Cathedral

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:38 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German authorities say they have detained a man in connection with a reported threat to Cologne Cathedral over the holiday period.Police searched the cathedral with sniffer dogs just before Christmas, and Christmas Eve worshippers faced security checks to get into midnight Mass there. They didn’t specify the threat, but German news agency dpa said authorities were responding to indications of a possible attack by Islamic extremists, without citing a specific source.Cologne police said they took precautions over Christmas even though the information they had pointed to a threat on New Year’s Eve. On Tuesday, police said that an apartment in Wesel, near the Dutch border, was searched on Christmas Eve and five men were detained. Four were then freed, but a police statement said that a 30-year-old Tajik man on whom authorities have unspecified security information was still being held in the interests of preventing danger.A court in Oberhausen approved a Cologne poli...