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Heavy rain from unusual summer storm triggers landslides in Norway and floods Swedish harbor

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:44:12 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Days of heavy rain triggered landslides in mountainous southern Norway, where police described a “chaotic” situation Wednesday and said more than 600 people were evacuated overnight in a region north of Oslo. Storm Hans has battered parts of Scandinavia and the Baltics for several days, causing rivers to overflow, damaging roads and injuring people with falling branches. In Sweden and Norway, sheds, small houses and mobile homes floated in rivers or were carried away by strong sea currents.”We are in a crisis situation of national dimensions,” Aud Hove, mayor of Norway’s Innlandet county. “People are isolated in several local communities, and the emergency services risk not being able to reach people who need help.”More heavy rain was expected over southern Norway and central Sweden. “The situation is still unclear and chaotic,” Norwegian police said. Erik Hojgard-Olsen, a meteorologist with the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, was ...

Italian state TV says 41 dead in migrant shipwreck according to 4 survivors who set off from Tunisia

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:44:12 GMT

ROME (AP) — Forty-one people are believed dead after a migrant boat capsized off Tunisia, Italian state RAI television reported, citing four survivors who were rescued and brought to land Wednesday.According to RAI and ANSA news agency, the four were first rescued by the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier Rimona in the Straits of Sicily. They were then transferred to the Italian coast guard, which brought them to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa. The island, which is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland, is a frequent destination for migrant smugglers and has seen its migrant holding center repeatedly overcrowded with new arrivals this summer.Alessandra Filograno, a spokeswoman for the Italian Red Cross, confirmed four survivors arrived at the Lampedusa center Wednesday morning: two men, a woman and an unaccompanied minor. Filograno had no further information.Neither ANSA nor RAI provided attribution for the information but reported the four survivors — who hailed from Ivory Coast a...

Stock market today: Global shares mostly rise despite US bank, China worries

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:44:12 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares mostly rose Wednesday despite worries about the U.S. banking system which set off a decline on Wall Street, and concerns closer to home about Chinese economic growth.France’s CAC 40 added 1.3% in early trading to 7,366.35, while Germany’s DAX jumped 1.1% to 15,944.74. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 0.8% to 7,584.18. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up nearly 0.1% at 35,426.00. S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% to 4,528.50. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.5% to finish at 32,204.33. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 edged up 0.4% to 7,338.00. South Korea’s Kospi added 1.2% to 2,605.12. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.3% to 19,246.03, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.5% to 3,244.49.Clifford Bennett, chief economist at ACY Securities, called the export data out of China “rather alarming,” noting it was the sharpest decline in three years and reflected global economic challenges, not just in China.“Global dema...

Profit at Japan’s Honda doubles on healthy global auto and motorcycle sales

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:44:12 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Honda reported Wednesday that its April-June profit more than doubled on healthy sales of its motorcycles and cars, as the Japanese company also received a perk from favorable exchange rates.Honda Motor Co. said its fiscal first quarter profit totaled 363 billion yen ($2.5 billion), up from 149 billion yen.Quarterly sales jumped 21% to 4.6 trillion yen ($32 billion). Honda’s financial service division also reported growing sales.Honda, which makes the Fit subcompact, Honda e electric car and Gold Wing motorcycle, said its profitability improved, especially in North America, where production recovered.Automakers around the world were slammed by supply shortages because of production delays related to social restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. But such restrictions have eased, allowing production to pick up again.Auto sales were about the same in Japan in the latest quarter as in the previous year, while dropping significantly in China because of intense competi...

India’s opposition leader Rahul Gandhi calls for army deployment to end ethnic violence in Manipur

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:44:12 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s top opposition leader unleashed a strong condemnation Wednesday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for its failure to control bloodshed in a remote northeastern state that he said has been split in two.Rahul Gandhi told Parliament that the army would have restored peace in a day, but state authorities have allowed hatred and violence to fester for over three months. He called for the firing of the state government run by Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. More than 150 people have died in Manipur and over 50,000 people have fled in fear since clashes erupted in early May.The politician, who was reinstated as a lawmaker three days after the country’s top court halted his criminal defamation conviction for mocking the prime minister’s surname, was participating in a debate on a no-confidence motion moved by the opposition against the Modi government in the lower house of India’s Parliament. A vote is expected on Thursday.Gandhi accused ...

Greek police arrest five Croatians allegedly involved in deadly soccer violence

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:44:12 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Police in Greece have arrested five Croatian nationals allegedly involved in deadly soccer fan violence, apprehending them as they attempted to flee the country.The arrests were announced Wednesday, a day after a 29-year-old Greek fan was stabbed to death outside AEK Athens’ stadium, prompting the cancellation of a Champions League qualifier against Dinamo Zagreb.The five suspects were detained in the northwestern port of Igoumenitsa as they prepared to board a ferry bound for Italy, police said. More than 90 other suspects are due to appear before a magistrate in Athens for their alleged involvement in attacks that left 10 people injured. Four remain hospitalized.More violence was feared Wednesday as Athens club Panathinaikos faces Marseille in a Champions League qualifier, which was set to go ahead under strict security measures at Leoforos Stadium in the center of the Greek capital.Greek Public Order Minister Giannis Oikonomou said the police had made “tragi...

Sri Lankan president vows to strengthen provincial governments to share power with Tamil minority

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:44:12 GMT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s president said Wednesday he will strengthen provincial governments to meet long-standing demands for self-rule from the ethnic Tamil minority, an issue that led to a bloody quarter-century civil war in the island nation.The provincial councils were introduced in Sri Lanka in 1987 after neighboring India intervened to resolve the ethnic conflict. But the system has not been fully functional because Tamil separatist rebels rejected the deal and successive governments usurped powers given to the provinces.President Ranil Wickremesinghe in a speech to Parliament said he will take steps to prevent confusion, overlap and intervention from the central government in provinces exercising their powers.But he said provinces would not be allowed to exercise police powers immediately since opposition by the majority ethnic Sinhalese could derail the process.Tamil lawmakers have demanded a federal system short of separation and say the provincial system is fa...

Missed the Mega Millions jackpot? How your ticket may still be a winner

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:44:12 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — Yet another record lottery prize has been won — this time, a $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot. If your ticket wasn't the winner, don't throw it away. It may still have won you some money. Though every player is vying for the grand prize, there are nine ways to win a prize in Mega Millions. You have a one in 24 chance of winning any prize, according to game officials.The lowest possible prize is $2. To hit this, you need to match just the gold Mega Ball. Your odds at this are one in 37. If you opted into the Megaplier feature (which is only available in some states), you can increase your payout to as much as $10. If you match the Mega Ball and one of the five white balls drawn, you'd double your prize to $4. With the Megaplier, this payout could reach $20. Matching two white balls and the Mega Ball, or three white balls, your base prize would be $10. The Megaplier could increase that to $50. These are the best, worst states to win the lottery in Matching three whit...

Someone in Florida wins $1.58 billion jackpot, third largest prize in US history

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:44:12 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - Someone in Florida won a $1.58 billion Mega Millions jackpot Tuesday night, ending a stretch of lottery futility that had stretched for nearly four months.A Publix grocery store in Neptune Beach sold the winning ticket, according to the Florida Lottery.The winning numbers drawn were: 13 19 20 32 33 and the yellow ball: 14. Missed the Mega Millions jackpot? How your ticket may still be a winner Seven tickets around the country matched the five white balls to win the game’s second-tier prize. Two, sold in Florida and North Carolina, are worth $2 million because they included the optional Megaplier (available in most states with an extra $1 purchase), which was 2X on Tuesday night. The other five tickets won the standard second-tier prize of $1million; they were sold in California, Pennsylvania, Texas (two) and West Virginia.Across the country, 166 tickets matched four white balls plus the Mega Ball to win the third-tier prize. Twenty-eight of those tickets are worth $20,...

Orioles All-Star Félix Bautista allows slam, blows 3-run lead in 9th in 7-6 loss to Astros: ‘He’s not going to be perfect’

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:44:12 GMT

One swing of Kyle Tucker’s bat turned what would have been one of the Orioles’ best wins of the season into one of their worst losses.Félix Bautista entered his office Tuesday evening with a three-run lead — an advantage almost insurmountable against a pitcher having the type of season Baltimore’s closer is. But the 6-foot-8 right-hander allowed three of the first four Houston Astros batters to reach, bringing up Tucker with the bases loaded. On the ninth pitch of the at-bat, the two-time All-Star turned on a center-cut 100.4 mph fastball and deposited it into the right field bleachers.The grand slam was enough for Astros closer Ryan Pressly, who slammed the door in the ninth, as Houston won, 7-6, and ended Baltimore’s four-game winning streak. Pressly retired Jordan Westburg, Adam Frazier and Ryan O’Hearn in order to end the game.“Honestly, I just think it wasn’t my day,” Bautista said through team interpreter Brandon Quino...