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Israeli opposition leader says Netanyahu tried to get him to back tax breaks for Hollywood mogul

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s opposition leader testified Monday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apparently tried to persuade him — twice — to back legislation that would have given a Hollywood mogul millions in tax breaks.But Yair Lapid, a former prime minister himself and a major Netanyahu rival, said he was not convinced. Lapid made the statements as he testified in Jerusalem in one of three corruption cases against Netanyahu. The indictment claims Netanyahu used his position of power to further Hollywood mogul Arnon Milchan’s interests in exhange for gifts, representing a conflict between the premier’s public duties and personal friendship.Netanyahu did personal favors for Milchan, including asking U.S. officials to extend Milchan’s U.S. resident’s permit and extending Israeli regulations exempting Israeli returnees from declaring foreign income, according to the indictment.Lapid testified Monday that Milchan and his attorneys had tried first without success to pe...

India, Pakistan brace for severe cyclone, deploy rescuers to coastal regions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

BENGALURU, India (AP) — India and Pakistan braced for the first severe cyclone this year expected to hit their coastal regions later this week, as authorities on Monday halted fishing activities and deployed rescue personnel. From the Arabian Sea, Cyclone Biparjoy is aiming at Pakistan’s Sindh province and the coastline of the western Indian state of Gujarat. It is forecast to make landfall on Thursday and could reach maximum wind speeds of up to 200 kph (124 mph), according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department.Disaster management personnel have been deployed to densely populated regions and cities that will be in the storm’s path. The cyclone will likely affect Karachi in Pakistan as well as two of India’s largest ports, Mundra and Kandla, in Gujarat state.India’s army, navy and coast guard were also assisting in the preparations, Gujarat’s Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said in a tweet. Patel said people living in low-lying regions will be evacuated if neces...

Novak Djokovic returns to ATP No. 1 with his 23rd Slam title; Iga Swiatek stays at WTA No. 1

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Novak Djokovic returned to No. 1 in the ATP rankings on Monday, replacing Carlos Alcaraz there, after winning the French Open for a men’s-record 23rd Grand Slam title.Djokovic now will add to the record he already held for the most weeks leading the tennis rankings — men’s or women’s — since the computerized system was set up a half-century ago.“So, of course, when you talk about history, people mostly talk about the Grand Slams won or the amount of time you spent at the No. 1 rankings,” Djokovic said. “I have managed to break the records in both of these statistics, which is amazing.”Iga Swiatek, the women’s champion at Roland Garros, kept her spot atop the WTA rankings, where she has been for more than a year. She could have been overtaken by No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, depending on the results in Paris.Djokovic had been No. 3 going into the year’s second major tournament, but winning it for the third time after exiting in the quar...

Former Papua New Guinea prime minister charged with perjury over inquiry into losing investment deal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Former Papua New Guinean Prime Minister Peter O’Neill was charged on Monday with providing false evidence in an inquiry into a multi-million-dollar government loss on an investment deal.O’Neill, who remains a lawmaker in the Pacific island nation’s parliament, denied the three charges lodged by police that stem from when he was the government’s leader in 2014.O’Neill’s government obtained a 1.3 billion Australian dollar ($878 million) loan through the Swiss-based investment bank UBS to buy a 10.1% stake in the Australian stock exchange-listed energy exploration company Oil Search Ltd.The government eventually sold its stake at a loss and a three-year inquiry into the deal culminated this year in a recommendation of charges against O’Neill for providing false testimony. Each charge carries a potential prison sentence of 14 years.O’Neill, who was replaced by current Prime Minister James Marape in 2019, denied giving false evidence to the UBS Commission of In...

The Great Grift: 5 things to know about how COVID-19 relief aid was stolen or wasted

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The greatest grift in U.S. history was brazen, even simple. Criminals and gangs grabbed the money. So did an U.S. soldier in Georgia, the pastors of a defunct church in Texas, a former state lawmaker in Missouri and a roofing contractor in Montana.Over the last three years, thieves plundered billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief aid intended to combat the worst pandemic in a century and to stabilize an economy in free fall.Here are some key takeaways from an Associated Press analysis of what may have been stolen or wasted.HOW MUCH WAS STOLEN?An Associated Press analysis found that fraudsters potentially stole more than $280 billion in COVID-19 relief funding; another $123 billion was wasted or misspent. Combined, the loss represents a jarring 10% of the $4.2 trillion the U.S. government has so far disbursed in COVID-relief aid.That number is certain to grow as investigators dig deeper into thousands of potential schemes.There are myriad reasons for the sta...

Watchdog: Nuclear states modernize their weapons, Chinese arsenal is growing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The nine nuclear-armed states continue to modernize their arsenals and several deployed new nuclear-armed or nuclear-capable weapon systems in 2022, a Swedish think tank said Monday.“We are drifting into one of the most dangerous periods in human history,” said Dan Smith, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI. “It is imperative that the world’s governments find ways to cooperate in order to calm geopolitical tensions, slow arms races and deal with the worsening consequences of environmental breakdown and rising world hunger,” he said in a statement.SIPRI estimated that of the total global inventory of 12,512 warheads in January 2023, some 9,576 were in military stockpiles for potential use which was 86 more than in January 2022.The independent institute listed the nuclear-armed states as the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel.In its yearbook, the Swedish watchdog wrot...

The Great Grift: How billions in COVID-19 relief aid was stolen or wasted

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Much of the theft was brazen, even simple.Fraudsters used the Social Security numbers of dead people and federal prisoners to get unemployment checks. Cheaters collected those benefits in multiple states. And federal loan applicants weren’t cross-checked against a Treasury Department database that would have raised red flags about sketchy borrowers.Criminals and gangs grabbed the money. But so did a U.S. soldier in Georgia, the pastors of a defunct church in Texas, a former state lawmaker in Missouri and a roofing contractor in Montana.All of it led to the greatest grift in U.S. history, with thieves plundering billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief aid intended to combat the worst pandemic in a century and to stabilize an economy in free fall.An Associated Press analysis found that fraudsters potentially stole more than $280 billion in COVID-19 relief funding; another $123 billion was wasted or misspent. Combined, the loss represents 10% of the $4.2 trilli...

Scandal-scarred Silvio Berlusconi dies at 86

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

ROME (AP) — Silvio Berlusconi, the boastful billionaire media mogul who was Italy's longest-serving premier despite scandals over his sex-fueled parties and allegations of corruption, died Monday, according to Italian media. He was 86.Berlusconi’s Mediaset television network announced his death with a smiling photo of the man on its homepage and the headline: “Berlusconi is dead.”Berlusconi was hospitalized on Friday for the second time in months for treatment of chronic leukemia. He also suffered over the years from heart ailments, prostate cancer and was hospitalized for COVID-19 in 2020.A onetime cruise ship crooner, Berlusconi used his television networks and immense wealth to launch his long political career, inspiring both loyalty and loathing.To admirers, the three-time premier was a capable and charismatic statesman who sought to elevate Italy on the world stage. To critics, he was a populist who threatened to undermine democracy by wielding political power as a tool to enri...

GasBuddy: Average Albany prices unchanged in last week

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Average gasoline prices in Albany are unchanged in the last week, averaging $3.70/g on Monday, according to GasBuddy's survey of 546 stations in Albany. Prices in Albany are 1.3 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and 125.9 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average diesel price has fallen 1.6 cents in the last week and stands at $3.87 per gallon. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Albany was priced at $3.41/g Sunday while the most expensive was $3.89/g, a difference of 48.0 cents per gallon. The lowest price in the state Sunday was $2.96/g, while the highest was $4.25/g, a difference of $1.29/g.The national average price of gasoline has risen 5.6 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.57/g Monday. The national average is up 5.7 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 144.6 cents per gallon lower than a ye...

Bridge: June 12, 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

Say you’re declarer at a four-heart contract (such as today’s). You have four potential losers, but if you can lose two of them on the same trick(!), you will be home.Sound like a good deal? That is the basis for the loser-on-loser play, a technique with wide application. Today’s declarer played at four hearts after West had overcalled in clubs. West led the king of clubs and continued with the ace, and South ruffed.South rightly suspected that West had the ace of diamonds as part of his bid, vulnerable. South could have played West for the doubleton ace but found a better line.LAST SPADESouth drew trumps, went to the ace of spades, ruffed a club, took the king of spades and ruffed his last spade in dummy. He next led dummy’s last club — and threw a diamond, trading one loser for another.When West won, he had no winning return. If West took his ace of diamonds, South’s king would score. If West led a club, South would ruff in dummy and throw anoth...