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Springboks’ Kolisi has surgery, in race to make World Cup

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:25 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s team doctor said Wednesday it was too early to predict whether captain Siya Kolisi will be available for the Springboks’ Rugby World Cup title defense after undergoing knee surgery.Kolisi had the operation on Friday after sustaining a partial tear to the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee playing for the Durban-based Sharks against Ireland’s Munster on April 22.Springboks doctor Jerome Mampane is monitoring Kolisi’s recovery and isn’t ready to give a timeframe for the flanker’s return.“Mampane said it was too early to make any reliable forecasts on when Kolisi may be able to return to play,” SA Rugby said in a statement.Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber wished Kolisi well in his recovery, adding: “We know that he will do everything possible to return to play soon as possible.”The World Cup in France kicks off on Sept. 8, giving Kolisi a four-month window to recover from the surgery. He’...

Serbian police say 8 children, guard killed in shooting at Belgrade school

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:25 GMT

BELGRADE (AP) — Serbian police say 8 children, guard killed in shooting at Belgrade school.Source

Leeds hires Sam Allardyce as interim manager after firing Javi Gracia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:25 GMT

LEEDS, England (AP) — Leeds hires Sam Allardyce as interim manager after firing Javi Gracia.Source

Fatal crash involving school bus, scooter rider in Northwest Miami-Dade

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:25 GMT

A fatal crash occurred in Northwest Miami-Dade involving a school bus and a motor scooter. Officials said the bus stopped with its equipment activated to let off children at the intersection of Northwest 79th Street and 13th Court when a man on a scooter crashed into the rear of the bus. Miami-Dade Police officers were dispatched to the scene just before 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.Miami-Dade Fire Rescue transported the scooter rider to Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition, but he later died from his injuries.Thankfully, there were no reported injuries to any of the children on the bus, but the driver was treated for minor pains. Video footage from the scene showed a significant police presence and road closures as investigators gathered the evidence of the crash.

Record Heat Possible this Wednesday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:25 GMT

The nice and dry weather pattern rolls on this Wednesday courtesy of a west-east wind flow over the Florida Peninsula, aiding in the hot and quiet stretch. Expect hazy skies this Wednesday, especially this morning, courtesy of some upper level clouds streaming in from our south and west. This will not take off any degrees from the heat, however, with highs across Miami-Dade and Broward into the upper 80s to low 90s. At least humidity won’t be too hot so temperatures will feel about the same as the actual readings.In Miami, the forecast high of 91F would tie the record of 91F set back more than 100 years ago!The sunshine and hot temperatures will persist Thursday and Friday with sunny skies and highs a touch lower but still above normal into the upper 80s.Then beginning this weekend, winds will veer from the east-southeast late week to the southeast this weekend, allowing for more moisture to flow into South Florida. This will therefore increase our rain chances with isolated t...

Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to visit Berlin on May 13

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:25 GMT

BERLIN — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit Berlin on May 13, local police said Wednesday.A spokesperson for the Berlin police department told POLITICO that Zelenskyy will travel to the German capital at the invitation of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Local newspaper B.Z. first reported Zelenskyy’s upcoming visit.Zelenskyy, who has been in close contact with Scholz since the beginning of the war, said in an interview a few months ago that there were “ups and downs in the relationship with Germany.” Ukraine has pushed for Berlin to deliver more weapons more quickly for it to use in battle against invading Russian forces. According to media reports, Zelenskyy is expected to land at the military section of the Berlin airport and then check into the Ritz-Carlton hotel at central Potsdamer Platz.He will then be officially received with military honors by Scholz on May 14. Talks and a press conference are planned, according to B.Z. Around 12 p.m., a discussion with German ...

Serbia school shooter kills at least 9, officials say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:25 GMT

At least eight children and a security guard were killed Wednesday morning in a shooting at an elementary school in Vračar, a Belgrade suburb, the Serbian interior ministry said in a statement.Six children and one teacher were also injured in the attack, the statement said, adding that police had arrested a suspect, born in 2009, in the schoolyard.Mass shootings are rare in Europe — unlike in the U.S., where gun violence is a politically divisive issue lawmakers have long struggled to address.Among the most recent mass shootings on the Continent was an attack at a secondary school near Stuttgart, Germany, in 2009 in which a teenage gunman killed 15 people.Serbia has the third highest rate of civilian firearms holdings in the world — tied with Montenegro, but far behind the U.S. and Yemen — with 39.1 firearms per 100 residents, according to the Small Arms Survey, published in 2018.

Report: Over 250 million people faced acute food insecurity in 2022

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:25 GMT

More than 250 million people faced severe hunger last year, with people in seven countries on the brink of starvation, according to a United Nations-led report published on Wednesday.The fallout of the war in Ukraine, including high food prices, was the major driver of hunger, particularly in the world’s poorest countries, which have still not recovered from economic shocks triggered by COVID-19. Conflicts were another key factor, along with climate change and extreme weather events. Some 258 million people in 58 countries or territories faced crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity in 2022 — a sharp increase from 193 million in 2021.Last year was the fourth year in a row that the number in urgent need of food aid has risen, according to the Global Report on Food Crises released today by the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, the World Food Programme, the World Bank, the EU, the U.S. and members of the Global Network against Food Crises. “The latest figures ...

In mega mafia raid across Europe, cops arrest 100+ suspects

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:25 GMT

Dozens of people were arrested Wednesday across Europe in a sprawling probe against members of the ‘Ndrangheta, a mafia organization from the southern Italian region of Calabria. Police swooped in Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal and Belgium.In Italy, 108 people suspected of participation in a mafia-type association were arrested by Calabria’s regional police on a range of charges, including arms and international drug trafficking, Italian newswire ANSA reported.In Germany, police forces carried out more than 30 arrests in five different regions, raiding dozens of houses, apartments and offices, the police of North Rhine-Westphalia said in a statement.Some 20 houses were raided in Belgium, the federal public prosecutor’s office said in a statement, adding that the operation targeted “over one hundred alleged members of the Calabrese mafia.”The operation followed a joint investigation by Europol and the EU’s judicial cooperation agency, Euro...

Arrest made in bomb threat, extortion plot against Harvard University

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:25 GMT

Federal investigators have arrested a man who they say was involved in a bomb threat and extortion plot against Harvard University. According to an FBI affidavit, William Giordani is seen placing an explosive device in the Science Center Plaza on April 13, the same day Harvard police received a threatening call stating, “There are three bombs planted around the Harvard campus.” The caller said the bombs would be detonated if demands were not met. They then added, “You should begin preparing a large bitcoin transaction as soon as possible.”Harvard Police evacuated the area and detonated the device. A picture shows a tool bag containing wires, fireworks, and a digital lock. Giordani told authorities he answered a Craigslist ad asking for someone to deliver a package to a Harvard student. The FBI tracked Giordani to a Home Depot in Dorchester that day. Surveillance video and receipts show him buying a similar bag and wires under the name of the person who posted...