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Azerbaijan arrests the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government after an offensive

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:31 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Azerbaijan said Wednesday it has detained the former head of Nagorno-Karabakh’s separatist government as he tried to cross into Armenia following Azerbaijan’s 24-hour blitz last week to reclaim control of the enclave. The arrest of Ruben Vardanyan was announced by Azerbaijan’s border guard service. It appears to reflect Azerbaijan’s intention to quickly and forcefully enforce its grip on the region after the military offensive that also saw an exodus of tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians — more than a third of its population.Vardanyan, a billionaire businessman who made his fortune in Russia where he owned a major investment bank, moved to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2022 and served as the head the regional government for several months before stepping down earlier this year.Azerbaijan’s Health Ministry said earlier Wednesday that a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during the offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. One Azeri civilian a...

Carbonara burgers and a ‘Spritz Bar’ truck highlight the Ryder Cup food court menu in Italy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:31 GMT

GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy (AP) — Beyond the fancy hospitality tents, the Ryder Cup’s food scene is decidedly local at the Marco Simone club outside Rome.There’s an “APECESARE” food truck named after Julius Caesar selling “Street Food Romano,” where the menu highlight is a carbonara burger — a spinoff on Rome’s most famous pasta dish — with Damini beef, carbonara sauce, guanciale, soncino lettuce, pepper and caramelized onion.“Eat one and you’re all set,” vendor Alessandro Favola said.Another option at the same truck is a cacio e pepe burger based on another classic Roman pasta. Both burgers sell for 23 euros ($24), with fries.A few trucks down is an orange-colored “Spritz Bar” on wheels. But don’t expect to find the classic Aperol Spritz here. That’s because Aperol isn’t an official Ryder Cup sponsor.Instead, the spritzes are provided by Ryder Cup champagne partner Moet & Chandon.The “spritzes” — if they can still be called that without prosecco, too — come already mixed with t...

Leader of Spain’s conservatives loses his first bid to become prime minister and will try again

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:31 GMT

MADRID (AP) — The leader of Spain’s conservatives failed Wednesday in his long-shot first bid to become the country’s next prime minister when he fell short of the votes he needed in the Spanish parliament to form a government.As expected, Popular Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo came up four votes shy of the necessary absolute majority of 176 votes in his favor.Feijóo will try again on Friday when the bar is lowered and he needs only more “yes” than “no” votes from parliament’s 350 lawmakers.The Popular Party holds 137 seats in the Madrid-based Congress of the Deputies, the most of any party. But even with backing from the far-right Vox’s 33 lawmakers and two from small conservative parties representing Navarra and the Canary Islands, Feijóo only reached 172 votes in his favor to 178 against him.Spain’s July 23 national election left the parliament highly fragmented with its legislators spread between 11 different parties, setting the stage for a difficult path to power for ...

North Korea says it will expel Travis King, the US soldier who crossed into the country in July

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:31 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Wednesday that it will expel a U.S. soldier who crossed into the country through the heavily armed border between the Koreas in July.The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said that authorities have finished their questioning of Pvt. Travis King. It did not say when officials plan to expel him or to where.King, who had served in South Korea, sprinted into North Korea while on a civilian tour of a border village on July 18, becoming the first American confirmed to be detained in the North in nearly five years.At the time he crossed the border, King was supposed to be heading to Fort Bliss, Texas, following his release from prison in South Korea on an assault conviction.On Wednesday, the state news agency said that King confessed to illegally entering the North because he harbored “ill feeling against inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination” within the U.S. Army and was “disillusioned about the unequal U.S. society.”It has att...

Three astronauts return to Earth after a year in space. NASA’s Frank Rubio sets US space record

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:31 GMT

A NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts returned to Earth on Wednesday after being stuck in space for just over a year. American Frank Rubio set a record for the longest U.S. spaceflight — a result of the extended stay.The trio landed in a remote area of Kazakhstan, descending in a Soyuz capsule that was rushed up as a replacement after their original ride was hit by space junk and lost all its coolant while docked to the International Space Station. What should have been a 180-day mission turned into a 371-day stay. Rubio spent more than two weeks longer in space than Mark Vande Hei, who held NASA’s previous endurance record for a single spaceflight. Russia holds the world record of 437 days, set in the mid-1990s.The Soyuz capsule that brought Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin back was a replacement launched in February. Russian engineers suspect a piece of space junk pierced the radiator of their original capsule late last year, midway through what...

Interac expanding e-transfer service, Wealthsimple to join

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:31 GMT

TORONTO — Interac Corp. is broadening the range of financial institutions that can participate in its e-transfer service.The company says the move expands access beyond federally regulated banks and provincially regulated credit unions.Interac says financial services provider Wealthsimple is set to become the first new participant under the expansion of the service.Under the new rules, organizations that are both FINTRAC-regulated money service businesses and investment dealers regulated by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization can apply to become participants.To join the e-transfer service, Interac says eligible financial institutions must meet all the same requirements and obligations as the existing participants. The Bank of Canada provides oversight of the service, which is designated as a prominent payment system under the Payment Clearing and Settlement Act.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 27, 2023.The Canadian Press

A Danish artist who submitted empty frames as artwork is appealing court ruling to repay the cash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:31 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Danish artist who was given a pile of cash by a museum in northern Denmark to create a piece for its exhibition on labor conditions two years ago submitted two empty canvases — titled “Take the Money and Run.” The exhibit caused a stir. A Danish court ruled last week that Jens Haaning has to repay 492,549 kroner ($69,894 ) to Kunsten Museum in Aalborg for having violated his contract. His lawyer, Peter Schønning, said Wednesday that the contemporary artist is appealing the ruling and declined further comment.The museum had commissioned Haaning in 2021 to recreate two of his earlier pieces featuring bank notes attached to canvases representing the average annual wage in Denmark and Austria. Instead, he submitted two empty canvases for the exhibition, entitled “Work It Out,” said the artwork represented his current work situation and kept the money. Along with giving him the money in euro and kroner banknotes for the art pieces, the museum also paid ...

Hyundai and Kia recall nearly 3.4 million vehicles due to fire risk and urge owners to park outdoors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:31 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Hyundai and Kia are recalling nearly 3.4 million vehicles and telling owners to park them outside due to the risk of engine compartment fires.The recalls cover multiple models from the 2010 through 2015 model years including Hyundai’s Santa Fe SUV and Kia’s Sorrento SUV. Documents posted Wednesday by U.S. safety regulators say the anti-lock brake control module can leak fluid and cause an electrical short, which can touch off a fire while the vehicles are parked or being driven.The automakers are advising owners to park outdoors and away from structures until repairs are done. Dealers will replace the anti-lock brake fuse at no cost to owners, but owners won’t be notified by mail until November. The Associated Press

Hundreds of derelict vessels removed from Canadian waters, Coast Guard says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:31 GMT

Vancouver developer Howard Meakin has owned thefamed Expo 86-era floating McDonald’s restaurant vessel known as the McBarge for decades, and despite its outward appearance, by no means is it derelict, he says. The vessel was made famous during the 1986 World Exposition in Vancouver as a floating McDonald’s restaurant, though the vessel official name was the “Friendship 500.” Meakin said he was surprised to learn in recent media reports that the vessel appeared on the federal government’s national inventory of wrecked, abandoned or hazardous vessels.It has since been removed from the Canadian Coast Guard’s list. “It’s just ridiculous because it’s never been abandoned,” Meakin said in an interview. “The hull is in pristine condition. We’ve had it surveyed and it’s concrete, the hull is concrete. It has a life expectancy of probably well over 100 years.” Up until 2019, it wasn’t even illegal in Ca...

13-year-old Chinese skateboarder wins gold at the Asian Games and now eyes the Paris Olympics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:31 GMT

HANGZHOU, China (AP) — She’s the youngest member of the nearly 900-strong delegation from China, and the 13-year-old skateboarder is now going home with a gold medal.She’s also already thinking about being a force at next year’s Paris Olympics.Cui Chenxi, from Shandong province, edged out 18-year-old teammate Zeng Wenhui for the gold on Wednesday in women’s street skateboarding. Miyu Ito, a 16-year-old Japanese skateboarder, took bronze.Cui’s gold was one of many for the host nation on Day 4 of the two-week event in Hangzhou, where more than 12,000 competitors from 45 countries and territories in Asia are competing in 481 events.In women’s street skateboarding, each competitor did two runs and then five tricks, with the highest scoring run being added to the two highest scoring tricks for the final result.“My tactic was to be conservative on the first run, to get some points on the scoreboard, then make a push for it on the second run,” Cui said.The gam...