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Slovakia’s government signs a memorandum with China’s Gotion High-Tech to build a car battery plant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:10 GMT

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — The Slovak government signed a memorandum of understanding on Thursday with Chinese electric vehicle battery maker Gotion High-Tech and its local partner, InoBat, to build a car battery plant in Slovakia.The two companies formed Gotion InoBat Batteries, a Chinese-Slovak venture to build the plant in the town of Surany, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Bratislava. It should create about 1,500 jobs and become operational in 2026 with an initial production of 20GWh.Financial details about the investment were not given.German car giant Volkswagen is the largest shareholder in Gotion High-Tech with a 24.77% stake. Volkswagen has a car plant in Slovakia.Gotion High-Tech began production in its first European plant in Gottingen, Germany, in September.The Associated Press

CSX promises Thanksgiving meals for evacuees after train derails spilling chemicals in Kentucky town

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:10 GMT

LIVINGSTON, Ky. (AP) — A railroad company promised hotel rooms and Thanksgiving meals for people asked to evacuate a small Kentucky town after a train derailed, catching fire and spilling chemicals.The CSX train derailed around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday near Livingston, a remote town with about 200 people in Rockcastle County.Two of the 16 cars that derailed carried molten sulfur, which caught fire after the cars were breached, CSX said in a statement.Crews were still working to extinguish the fire Thursday morning, the company said.CSX promised to pay the costs of anyone asked to evacuate, including a holiday dinner.It’s believed that the fire is releasing sulfur dioxide, but officials have not released results of measurements taken from air monitoring equipment that was being deployed Wednesday night.According to the Environmental Protection Agency website, sulfur dioxide can cause respiratory problems, depending on the concentration and length of exposure. The gas is commonly produced ...

Prosecutors say Kosovar ex-guerrilla leaders on trial for war crimes tried to influence witnesses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:10 GMT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Prosecutors are seeking to restrict visits to three former Kosovo Liberation Army leaders who are on trial in The Hague for war crimes because they allegedly tried to manipulate witnesses and leak confidential testimony.Former Kosovo president Hashim Thaci, Parliament ex-speaker Kadri Veseli and former lawmaker Rexhep Selimi were all top leaders of the KLA which waged Kosovo’s 1998-99 war for independence from Serbia and are now on trial in the Hague.A document seen by the Associated Press on Thursday showed that prosecutors from the Kosovo Specialist Chambers – a branch of the Kosovo legal system that was set up at The Hague in part due to fears about witness safety and security – had found that individuals visiting the three defendants had later approached protected witnesses “attempting to prevent or influence their testimony.”Prosecutors have asked that all visits be restricted except those from family members which will be recorded. They̵...

Europe’s far-right populists buoyed by Wilders’ win in Netherlands, hoping the best is yet to come

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:10 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — If ever the hard right in Europe needed a set of jumper cables to rev up their electoral engine again in the wake of last month’s major setback in Poland, Geert Wilders in the Netherlands provided it.Congratulations rolled in Thursday from all sides where the far right holds some sway on the continent after anti-Islam firebrand Wilders scored an election victory as unexpected as it was massive. His party more than doubled in size in parliament to tower over mainstream parties that long specialized in marginalizing him.Suddenly on Thursday, there was hope in the air again for nationalist conservative populists, especially with an European Parliament election coming up in June.“All of Europe wants a political turnaround!” said Alice Weidel, the leader of German far-right pary AfD, or Alternative for Germany, much more in hope than certainty as she congratulated Wilders on his win. It will be tough to match Wilders’ turnaround though. He more than doubled th...

On the cusp of global climate talks, UN chief Guterres visits crucial Antarctica

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:10 GMT

KING GEORGE ISLAND, Antarctica (AP) — United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived Thursday at the bottom of the world on the cusp of international climate talks at COP28. He has previously said the world must slash carbon emissions to prevent this delicate environment from melting. Warming air and ocean temperatures are causing Antarctic ice to melt. The frozen continent plays a significant role in regulating Earth’s climate because it reflects sunlight away and drives major ocean currents.For years, scientists and environmentalists have kept an eye on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet as an important indicator of global warming. A study published in Nature Climate Change last month said warming has increased to the point that the ice sheet will now experience “unavoidable” melting regardless of how much the world reduces emissions of planet-warming gases like carbon dioxide. The study’s lead author, Kaitlin Naughten, estimated that melting ice in Antarctica’s most at-risk ...

Gaza has become a moonscape in war. When the battles stop, many fear it will remain uninhabitable

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:10 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s military offensive has turned much of northern Gaza into an uninhabitable moonscape. Whole neighborhoods have been erased. Homes, schools and hospitals have been blasted by airstrikes and scorched by tank fire. Some buildings are still standing, but most are battered shells.Nearly 1 million Palestinians have fled the north, including its urban center, Gaza City, as ground combat intensified. When the war ends, any relief will quickly be overshadowed by dread as displaced families come to terms with the scale of the calamity and what it means for their future.Where would they live? Who would eventually run Gaza and pick up the pieces?“I want to go home even if I have to sleep on the rubble of my house,” said Yousef Hammash, an aid worker with the Norwegian Refugee Council who fled the ruins of the urban refugee camp of Jabaliya for southern Gaza. “But I don’t see a future for my children here.”The Israeli army’s use of powerful explosives in tigh...

Bedard scores in lopsided 7-3 loss to Columbus

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:10 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Boone Jenner scored twice and Zach Werenski had a franchise-record four assists as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Chicago Blackhawks 7-3 Wednesday night, snapping a nine-game losing streak.Kirill Marchenko had a goal and an assist, and Eric Gudbranson, Cole Sillinger and Dmitri Voronkov also scored. Adam Boqvist added three assists and Elvis Merzlikins stopped 34 shots for the Blue Jackets, who last won Nov. 2 and tied a franchise record for consecutive losses.“We played the right way,” Blue Jackets coach Pascale Vincent said. “We managed the blue lines. We are tracking what’s right — our ability to create plays, but it was coming from hard work. I felt that we had those pieces of our games in the past. We just didn’t connect offensively. And today we did.”Connor Bedard, Jason Dickinson and Ryan Donato scored for Chicago. Petr Mrazek stopped 13 shots before being replaced in the second period by Arvid Soderblom, who had six saves.The Blackhawks have lost fi...

The 'Microwave Turkey Lady' stops by on Thanksgiving

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:10 GMT

Penny the "Microwave Turkey Lady" stopped by WGN Morning News to show you how to nuke a turkey. She's been doing it since 1989.Microwaveturkey.com.

What is the hip-drop tackle, the NFL move that some want banned?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:10 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – A National Football League tackling style blamed for a number of player injuries in recent years has people calling for the league to crack down on the so called "hip-drop" tackle.Some rugby leagues have been trying for years to eliminate the controversial move, which can lead to season-ending ankle and knee injuries.“What’s happening on the hip-drop is the defender is encircling tackling the runner and then swinging their weight and falling on the side of their leg, which is their ankle or their knee,” Rich McKay, the chairman of the NFL’s competition committee, told the Associated Press last month. Where the flu, RSV, and COVID are on the rise ahead of Thanksgiving “When they use that tactic, you can see why they do, because it can be a smaller man against a bigger man and they’re trying to get that person down because that’s the object of the game. But when they do it, the runner becomes defenseless. They can’t kick their way out from under. And that’s the problem. ...

Qatar says Gaza cease-fire will begin at Friday morning, with aid to follow 'as soon as possible'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:10 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A four-day cease-fire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas will began Friday morning, Qatar said, a day later than originally announced, as negotiators worked out final details of the deal, which is to lead to the release of dozens of hostages held by militants and Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.The diplomatic breakthrough promised some relief for the 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza who have endured weeks of Israeli bombardment, as well as families in Israel fearful for the fate of their loved ones taken captive during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war.The deal appeared to hit a last-minute snag when Israel’s national security adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, announced a one-day delay late Wednesday, without providing a reason. The cease-fire was originally set to begin Thursday morning.On Thursday, Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of Qatar, which played a key role in mediating with Hamas, announced the cease-fire will start at...