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Court reject family’s bid to change Russian-sounding surname

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:42 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A court in Germany has rejected a married couple’s request to legally change their Russian-sounding surname due to negative repercussions they said they had experienced since the start of the war in Ukraine.The couple had sought to force officials in the southwest German state of Rhineland Palatinate to authorize the change, claiming that they and their daughter had suffered in their daily lives because of their last name.The regional administrative court in Koblenz did not provide the couple’s surname in line with German privacy rules.The court said Tuesday that judges dismissed the Germany-born couple’s request on the grounds that the reasons they gave for the change were insufficient.“The fact that a family name is of foreign origin or doesn’t sound German is in itself generally not an important reason for a name change,” the court said in a statement. It said the negative treatment the couple claimed to have experienced since the start of Russia’s...

Family: Chinese journalist faces espionage charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:42 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — A veteran Chinese journalist who worked at a ruling Communist Party-affiliated newspaper and was a Harvard University fellow faces espionage charges after being detained while meeting with a Japanese diplomat in a restaurant, his family said Monday.Dong Yuyu, deputy head of the editorial department at Guangming Daily, regularly met with foreign journalists and diplomats to help understand global trends. But Chinese authorities regarded his contacts with foreign diplomats as evidence of spying, according to a family statement. Dong is the latest in a series of liberal Chinese voices to be accused by the government of being linked to what it terms foreign interference.As a non-Communist Party member, he was one of the most pro-reform voices at Guangming Daily and wrote articles in favor of an independent legal system, his family said. He was awarded a Nieman fellowship at Harvard University in 2006-07 and became a visiting fellow at Keio University in Japan in 2010. Fou...

Italy’s Meloni calls for unity on Liberation Day anniversary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:42 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday called for unity among political forces in celebrating the anniversary of the liberation from the Nazis and their Fascist allies on April 25, 1945. Meloni, whose hard-right Brother of Italy party traces its roots to the wreckage of Italian fascism at the end of World War Two, firmly rejected accusations of fascism nostalgia within the party.In an open letter to Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera, Meloni wrote she hoped that the celebrations could be an occasion of “renewed national concord,” strengthening Italy’s role in the world as “essential stronghold of democracy.”Allies and aides of the 46-year-old premier have been accused in several occasions of downplaying atrocities carried out by the Nazis and Fascists, or distorting historical facts concerning the partisan movement that fought to liberate the country.Six months after she took office, Meloni’s presence at the official remembrance event at Rome’s Altar of the Fatherla...

Man wanted for death threats, assault after woman attacked in Leaside

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:42 GMT

Toronto police have named a suspect after a woman was assaulted in Leaside last week.Officers were called to the area of Eglinton Avenue West and Laird Drive around 8:30 p.m. Thursday.Police allege a man approached a woman near a parked vehicle and assaulted her. The suspect fled the area before officers arrived.The suspect has been identified as 24-year-old Samuel Wincenty of no fixed address. He is described as five-feet-nine inches tall and 160 lbs.Wincenty is wanted on a number of charges including threatening death, three counts of assault, and theft.

As epic snow melts, a California community braces for floods

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:42 GMT

Ron Caetano is packed and ready to go. His family photos and valuables are in the trailer and he’s put food in carry totes. He moved the rabbits and chickens and their automatic feeders to higher ground.He and his family and dogs could get out in less than an hour, they figure, should more heavy rain or hot weather melt so much mountain snow that gushing water overwhelms the rivers and channel that surround their tight-knit, rural Central California community and give it its name, the Island District.“The water is coming this way,” said Caetano, who started a Facebook group to help organize his neighbors. “I am preparing for the worst and praying for the best and that’s all we can do.”After more than a dozen atmospheric rivers dumped record rain and epic snowfall on California, a reservoir that typically stores water upstream is expected to receive three times its capacity. Caetano and his neighbors in the tree-lined Island District, home to a school, pistachio orchards and horse ra...

Why is Biden announcing 2024 bid now, and what will change?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has formally announced he’s seeking reelection. But he’s also still the president, with roughly 20 months left in his term regardless of whether he wins a second one on Election Day 2024. With Tuesday’s campaign video release, Biden is following through on months of saying he intended to seek reelection. Top Democrats have remained solidly unified behind the president, despite his low approval ratings and many Americans saying they’d rather not see the 80-year-old Biden try for four more years in the White House. But all that has meant Biden faced relatively little pressure to make his 2024 bid official. Here’s a look at why he announced now and how things will, and won’t, change for him going forward:___WHY NOW? A formal reelection announcement means the president is now allowed to raise money directly for his campaign. It’s a change from his speeches at donor events benefiting the Democratic National C...

Millennial Money: How card perks can help pregnant travelers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:42 GMT

I was 10-weeks pregnant and craving pizza while on vacation in Germany. We picked a well-reviewed restaurant, only to be told that no tables would be available that night. My husband, who meant well, suggested we try our luck at a different restaurant a few doors down. But it didn’t serve pizza, and for me at that moment, nothing but pizza would do.So, naturally, I burst into tears.Thankfully, we swiftly found another option and my highly specific food craving was satisfied. But traveling while pregnant is tricky, assuming it’s safe for you to do so (always talk to your doctor or midwife first). Not only might you be dealing with nausea, fatigue, food cravings you may not be able to accommodate in other countries, and other maladies, but also some travel activities can be unsafe during pregnancy.I traveled a few times while pregnant, both for work and leisure, leaning on a few helpful credit card perks to make the experience as comfortable as possible. Your card’s benefits could smo...

Suspicious object halts trains in Japanese city hosting G-7

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:42 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A suspicious object found Tuesday in a paper bag inside a commercial building connected to the Hiroshima train station temporarily suspended the high-speed train service and prompted an evacuation of customers and employees, as the Japanese city steps up security ahead of the Group of Seven summit next month.Hiroshima police said its special unit removed the object from the restroom of the building about four hours after it was first spotted, and continued analyzing the content and investigate whether there was any criminal intent involved. The police dispatched a team of explosives handlers and an anti-terrorism unit after temporarily evacuating all customers and employees and closing down the Ekie commercial building that was crowded with people having lunch and shopping. West Japan Railway Co. suspended the Shinkansen service for about two hours.Police officials said there is a possibility of overreaction to something that may turn out to be harmless. Officials have ...

Farmers rally over first lady’s comments on banning dog meat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:42 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Dozens of dog farmers in South Korea rallied Tuesday to criticize the country’s first lady over her reported comments that support a possible ban on dog meat consumption. Eating dog is a centuries-old Korean practice. But there have been growing calls for outlawing it in South Korea as animal rights campaigns have influenced public perception and eating dog meat has fallen out of favor with most younger people.In late 2021, a government-civilian committee was launched to reach a social consensus on ending dog meat consumption, but no breakthrough has been reported yet. Farmers demand authorities present more concrete compensation steps or allow them to maintain their businesses for about 15-20 years until older people, who are the main source of demand for the meat, die. About 50 dog farmers gathered Tuesday near the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol to protest remarks made by his wife, Kim Keon Hee, during a private luncheon with animal rights activists ea...

Russia convicts ex-police officer over Ukraine war criticism

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:59:42 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A court in Russia convicted a former police officer of publicly spreading false information about the country’s military for criticizing the war in Ukraine to his friends over the phone.The ex-office, Semiel Vedel, was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison under a law the Kremlin adopted days after sending troops into Ukraine and has actively used to stifle dissent. In addition to the prison term, he was barred from working in law enforcement for four years after his release. Authorities accused Vedel of spreading information about Russia’s military actions in Ukraine that deviated from the Defense Ministry’s official statements.During three phone conversations with friends last year, Vedel referred to Russia as a “murderer country,” used “Glory to Ukraine” as a greeting and claimed that Russia was suffering “huge losses” in Ukraine, according to the case prosecutor. Officials deemed the conversations public because Vedel’s p...