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Pakistan’s premier meets with the head of IMF in Paris, hoping to unlock $6B deal to avoid default

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s premier Shahbaz Sharif met Thursday with the head of the International Monetary Fund on the sidelines of a global financing meeting in Paris, hoping to unlock a $6 billion bailout and gain the release of a critical tranche of $1.1 billion in loans which has been on hold since November.The meeting between Sharif and IMF’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva at the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact comes a week before the $6 billion bailout package originally signed between the IMF and the country’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2019 expires. Sharif replaced Khan in April 2022 after a no-confidence vote in parliament. Since then, Pakistan has been embroiled in an unprecedented economic crisis. Thursday’s meeting came a week after the IMF slammed a proposed annual budget presented to parliament by Pakistan’s government. Esther Perez Ruiz, IMF’s representative for Pakistan, said in a statement that the draft budget failed to implement a fa...

Moscow court rules US journalist Evan Gershkovich must stay in detention until late August

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — A Moscow court on Thursday rejected an appeal by Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gerhskovich and upheld an earlier ruling that he should remain in jail on espionage charges until late August.The 31-year-old U.S. citizen was arrested in late March while on a reporting trip. A Moscow court agreed last month to keep him in custody until Aug. 30. Defense lawyers had challenged the decision. Gershkovich, wearing a black T-shirt and light blue jeans, looked tense and paced around inside a glass defendant’s cage while waiting for the hearing to begin at the Moscow City Court. Before the hearing began, other journalists in the courtroom were asked to leave and the proceedings took place behind closed doors. Gershkovich’s parents and U.S. ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy attended the hearing. Speaking to reporters afterward, Tracy said that “Evan continues to show remarkable strength and resilience in these very difficult circumstances.”Gershkovich and his employer have...

Nearly 100 concertgoers hurt by 'golf-ball size' hail at Red Rocks Amphitheatre

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

(KDVR) — Concertgoers were pelted by hail Wednesday night at Red Rocks Amphitheatre as severe thunderstorms moved across Colorado.An estimated 80-90 people were treated for injuries at the venue, some of whom called 911 for their injuries, according to West Metro Fire Rescue. Seven people were hospitalized. Injuries included cuts and broken bones. Tornado destroys home in Logan County Videos on social media show people screaming and frantically trying to escape the pouring hail that blanketed the venue like snow. A Red Rocks spokesperson said there were several inches of hail in the seating area.Some people were stranded at the venue, likely because of vehicle damage, according to the Denver Police Department.The concert, featuring One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson, was delayed twice before it was officially postponed around 10:30 p.m.Welts, bruises and 'golf-ball size' hailOne concertgoer told KDVR around 10:15 p.m. that she and friends had been taking shelter in a bathro...

Tourist sub customer calls his 2021 dive to the Titanic a 'kamikaze operation'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — As an international search continued for a vessel that disappeared after setting out for the underwater wreckage of the Titanic, a man who was one of the submersible company’s first customers characterized a dive he made to the site two years ago as a “kamikaze operation.”“You have to be a little bit crazy to do this sort of thing,” said Arthur Loibl, a 61-year-old retired businessman and adventurer from Germany.Loibl told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he first had the idea of seeing the Titanic wreckage while on a trip to the South Pole in 2016. At the time, a Russian company was offering dives for half a million dollars.After Washington state-based OceanGate announced its own operation a year later, he jumped at the chance, paying $110,000 for a dive in 2019 that fell through when the first submersible didn’t survive testing. Cardi B criticizes stepson of billionaire on missing submersible for attending concert Two years later he went on a voyage that was ...

Musk says 'cis,' 'cisgender' considered slurs on Twitter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

(The Hill) - Elon Musk said the words “cis” and “cisgender” are now considered slurs on Twitter and suggested that “repeated, targeted” use of those words could be subject to suspensions.“Repeated, targeted harassment against any account will cause the harassing accounts to receive, at minimum, temporary suspensions,” Musk wrote on Twitter just after midnight Wednesday morning. “The words ‘cis’ or ‘cisgender’ are considered slurs on this platform.”Musk was responding to a tweet by James Esses, a self-described “advocate on gender ideology” who has repeatedly expressed views that widely would be considered anti-trans. In his tweet, Esses said he received “a slew of messages from trans activists” that were critical of a previous post, in which he rejected the term “cis” and said he no longer wants to be described that way. The word cisgender is commonly used to refer to people who are not transgender or gender-fluid. Merriam-Webster defines the word as “of, re...

Search for missing Titanic submersible nears the critical mark for oxygen supply

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

The search for the missing submersible on an expedition to view the wreckage of the Titanic neared the critical 96-hour mark Thursday when breathable air is expected to run out, reaching a vital moment in the intense effort to save the five people aboard.The Titan submersible was estimated to have a 96-hour supply of breathable air when it launched Sunday morning in the North Atlantic. That means the deadline to find and rescue the sub is roughly between 6 a.m. EDT (1000 GMT) and 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT), based on information the U.S. Coast Guard and company behind the expedition have provided.Experts emphasized that is an imprecise estimate and could be extended if passengers have taken measures to conserve breathable air. And it’s not known if they survived since the sub disappeared Sunday morning.Frank Owen, a submarine search-and-rescue expert, said the oxygen supply figure is a useful “target” for searchers, but is only based on a “nominal amount of consumption.” Owen sa...

Tornadoes tear through northern Texas town, killing 4 people and causing widespread damage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

MATADOR, Texas (AP) — A line of severe storms produced multiple tornadoes Wednesday evening on the Rolling Plains in Texas, killing at least four people and causing significant damage around the northern town of Matador.Lubbock Fire Rescue said on Twitter Thursday morning there were at least four confirmed fatalities and ten injured. Seven of those injured were transported for treatment by EMS and three by personal vehicles, the tweet said. The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported that the storms also produced softball-size hail and wind gusts topping 100 mph (161 kph) in other communities including Jayton, which also was under a tornado warning as the line moved southeast Wednesday night, according to the National Weather Service in Lubbock.Matador Mayor Pat Smith said initially at least three people had been killed, that others may be injured and that there was “a whole lot of damage,” The New York Times reported.There were widespread power outages across the Rolling Plains, includi...

'Feels like' temps topping 100+ degrees next 7 days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Recent rain and a slight nudge in our weather pattern well help bring relatively cooler temperatures to the forecast today... but extra emphasis on relatively. (We don't want to get your hopes up -- it's still going to be hot.)Morning storms will continue to clear with mainly to party sunny skies filling in shortly after daybreak. A few isolated storms may return late day but coverage looks limited and our severe threat will be lower than what was in place yesterday.Low risk of severe storms returns late day ThursdayAfternoon highs will return to the upper 90s today, but due to a bump in soil moisture and a slight westerly shift in the high pressure system that's been baking the state the last week, temperatures won't be quite as hot. Keep in mind, despite a "slight" decrease in air temperatures, heat index values are still likely to exceed 105° in most areas.Forecast heat index values Thursday afternoonA Heat Advisory is in effect 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. today.Heat Adviso...

Round Rock ISD staff to get discounted rent at 4 apartment complexes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) – Round Rock ISD said Wednesday the Board of Trustees approved a Memorandum of Understanding with the Texas Workforce Housing Foundation to help provide staff with affordable rent prices at four apartment complexes in the Round Rock and Austin area starting in August. RRISD says budget concerns could lead to staff reassignments The foundation will establish an Affordability Fund of an initial minimum of $1 million at Legends Lakeline, Legends Lake Creek, Enclave at La Frontera  and Lakeside at La Frontera to be used exclusively to provide rent discounts to RRISD personnel that live at these apartment complexes, according to the announcement. The level of discounted rent will depend on income level.RRISD said the Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, would not cost the district anything.The district gave the following examples of the discount:Income1-bedroom apartment current price1-bedroom discounted price2-bedroom current price2-bedroom discounted price$36...

Other voices: College isn’t the only path to success

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:32 GMT

Spurred by a robust job market, a growing number of young Americans are choosing to forgo college for the workforce. Politicians of both parties should welcome this trend and build on it — not least, by shifting resources from traditional college pathways and toward work-based alternatives that provide students with real-world skills.Last year, 62% of recent high school graduates were enrolled in college, the smallest share in two decades and eight points lower than in 2009, when enrollment peaked. Some of that drop can be attributed to pandemic-era school closures, during which many college-age students abandoned their studies and never returned. Rising wages have also made entry-level work more appealing.Yet there’s evidence that many students are not so much rejecting higher education as seeking a better return on their investment. While overall enrollment in community colleges has plunged nearly 20% since the start of the pandemic, demand has risen for two-year progr...