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Sweden moves a step closer to NATO membership after Turkey’s parliamentary committee gives approval

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:33:27 GMT

By SUZAN FRASER (Associated Press)ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee gave its consent to Sweden’s bid to join NATO on Tuesday, drawing the previously nonaligned Nordic country closer to membership in the Western military alliance.Sweden’s accession protocol will now need to be approved in the Turkish parliament’s general assembly for the last stage of the legislative process in Turkey. No date has been set.Turkey, a NATO member, has delayed ratification of Sweden’s membership for more than a year, accusing the country of being too lenient toward groups that Ankara regards as threats to its security, including Kurdish militants and members of a network that Ankara blames for a failed coup in 2016.Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström welcomed the committee’s decision on a message posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.“The next step is for parliament to vote on the...

Biden orders strikes on an Iranian-aligned group after 3 US troops wounded in drone attack in Iraq

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:33:27 GMT

By AAMER MADHANI, ZEKE MILLER and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. President Joe Biden ordered the United States military to carry out retaliatory airstrikes against Iranian-backed militia groups after three U.S. service members were injured in a drone attack in northern Iraq.National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said one of the U.S. troops suffered critical injuries in the attack that occurred earlier Monday. The Iranian-backed militia Kataib Hezbollah and affiliated groups, under an umbrella of Iranian-backed militants, claimed credit for the attack that utilized a one-way attack drone.Iraqi officials said that U.S. strikes targeting militia sites early Tuesday killed one militant and wounded 18. They came at a time of heightened fears of a regional spillover of the Israel-Hamas war. Iran announced Monday that an Israeli strike on the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus killed one of its top generals, Seyed Razi Mousavi, wh...

Argentina’s new president lays off 5,000 government employees hired in 2023, before he took office

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:33:27 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The administration of Argentina’s new President Javier Milei said on Tuesday that his government won’t renew contracts for more than 5,000 employees hired this year before he took office. The move was part of a sweeping plan of cutbacks and devaluations announced by the right-wing libertarian since he took office on Dec. 10 to transform Argentina’s struggling economy. The contracts for other government employees, who were hired prior to 2023, will be reviewed, authorities said. The 2023 cutoff is apparently meant to target the practice of outgoing presidents padding the payrolls in their final year.With inflation expected to reach about 200% by the end of the year, Milei has pledged to reduce government regulations and payrolls, and allow the privatization of state-run industries as a way to boost exports and investment.The cutbacks have already drawn protests but Milei has vowed to forge ahead. “The goal is (to) start on the road to rebuilding o...

Here’s what to know about Turkey’s decision to move forward with Sweden’s bid to join NATO

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:33:27 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Sweden edged closer toward joining NATO on Tuesday after the Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee greenlighted a protocol for the Nordic country’s membership in the military alliance.Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dropped his objection to Sweden’s membership during a NATO summit in July, but it took him several months to send the bill to parliament for ratification and weeks for the parliamentary committee to give its consent.The long-delayed protocol now needs to be approved by the full general assembly and it remains to be seen how quickly the issue will be taken up by the floor.Sweden and Finland abandoned their decades-long neutrality and sought membership in NATO amid heightened security concerns following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Finland became NATO’s 31st member earlier this year, after Turkey’s parliament ratified its bid.Hungary, the only other NATO holdout on Sweden, has not announced when the country’s ratifica...

Mexico’s army-run airline takes to the skies, with first flight to the resort of Tulum

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:33:27 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico launched its army-run airline Tuesday, when the first Mexicana airlines flight took off from Mexico City bound for the Caribbean resort of Tulum. It was another sign of the outsized role that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has given to Mexico’s armed forces. The airline’s military-run holding company now also operates about a dozen airports, hotels, trains, the country’s customs service and tourist parks. Gen. Luís Cresencio Sandoval, Mexico’s defense secretary, said that having all those diverse businesses run by the military was “common in developed countries.” In fact, only a few countries like Cuba, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Colombia have military-run airlines. They are mostly small carriers with a handful of prop planes that operate mostly on under-served or remote domestic routes.But the Mexicana airline plans to carry tourists from Mexican cities to resorts like Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Zihuatanejo, Acapulco and Mazatlan. Flights app...

Quebec public sector negotiations resume after Christmas break as strike threat looms

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:33:27 GMT

Negotiations between the Quebec government and unions representing hundreds of thousands of public-sector employees are resuming today after a short Christmas break.Quebec announced a flurry of tentative deals over the weekend with several labour groups belonging to an alliance known as the common front, including unions representing teachers, school support staff and health-care system employees.Those deals only cover work conditions, however, and the parties are still negotiating compensation and benefits.The common front has carried out several multi-day strikes in the last two months and is threatening an unlimited strike in the new year unless it reaches an agreement with the government.Separate unions representing around 66,000 teachers and 80,000 health-care workers were not among the groups that reached a deal with the government before Christmas.The teachers union, Fédération autonome de l’enseignement, has been on an unlimited strike since Nov. 23, closing about 800 ...

Ontario Line tunnelling and station work to begin in 2024, new bridge opening at Exhibition

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:33:27 GMT

The Ontario Line has been the provincial government’s signature new rapid transit project for the past four years, but Metrolinx officials say 2024 will see construction work ramp up across the 15.6-kilometre route.For anyone who has been along the Gardiner Expressway near Exhibition Place in downtown Toronto, it will have been hard to miss the massive steel structure on the north side that has arisen in recent months. It’s a bridge that will add much-needed capacity for pedestrians in the Exhibition GO station area.“We’re seeing more and more big events happening at Exhibition Place, both concerts and soccer matches, and all that just leads to a level of congestion that had to be dealt with the existing underground tunnel was getting close to capacity,” Metrolinx executive Malcolm MacKay told CityNews during a tour of the Exhibition station construction site.The temporary bridge is expected to be in use until the new station is built. MacKay said it...

Two girls stabbed inside Grand Central on Christmas: NYC MTA

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:33:27 GMT

MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WPIX) – Two teenagers were stabbed inside Grand Central Terminal's dining concourse on Christmas, according to New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority.The stabbing happened around 11:25 a.m. Officials said the two girls, ages 14 and 16, were visiting from South America and having lunch at the time of the incident. One girl was stabbed in the thigh and the other was stabbed in the back, sources told Nexstar's WPIX. Both victims were taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue. WATCH: Dolly Parton fulfills dying fan’s bucket-list wish The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Steven Hutcherson, was arrested less than a minute after a report was made about the stabbing, according to authorities.He allegedly argued with restaurant staff after being told he couldn't sit in the business's area, according to local reporting. He then made statements about the teenagers being allowed to sit in the restaurant before the alleged stabbing, saying he wants "all...

Flooring employee critical after Southwest Side robbery, shooting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:33:27 GMT

CHICAGO — A man is in critical condition following an armed robbery and shooting Tuesday morning on the Southwest Side.Police believe two men were in the 2200 block of South Hamlin just before 7:10 a.m. when four armed males exited a white SUV.The two men were working for a flooring company and were outside of their supplier's warehouse at the time.The group demanded property and one of the men complied, CPD said. After one of the men was robbed, shots were fired at them.A 37-year-old man was shot multiple times. He was transported in critical condition.No one is in custody.

Tuesday Forecast: Temps in low 40s, cloudy with drizzle

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:33:27 GMT

CHICAGO — Temperatures in the low 40s Tuesday with mostly cloudy conditions. A few passing showers possible. High: 42. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storms here Cloudy and colder tonight with temperatures in the low 30s, and upper 20s in outlying areas. Low: 31.WEDNESDAY FORECAST: Clouds and sun with a few showers/sprinkles in the late afternoon. Chance of flurries late. NNE 10-20 mph. High 45.Extended outlook calls for early flurries/showers on Thursday with temps for highs in the lower 40s. Clouds and some sun for the rest of the year (Friday, Saturday & Sunday). High temps in the low 40s Sat/Sun. Back to seasonal temps with 20s for lows and mid 30s for highs for Sun/Monday.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog