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Schools shut as torrential rains hit south-eastern Spain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

Spanish authorities closed schools, universities, and day-care centres on Tuesday (23 May) as torrential rainfall swept across the coastal southeast after a long dry spell, leaving behind flooded homes, submerged vehicles, and closed roads.The heavy rains are expected to continue, especially in the areas that have been hit the hardest. These include parts of Murcia, Valencia, and Andalusia.Emergency services in Cartagena struggled to drain streets that were heavily flooded. Local TV footage showed cars and motorbikes almost completely covered in water.The national weather agency AEMET reported that some locations in the Valencia area saw more rainfall in a few short days than in the six months prior combined.According to the agency, the town of Ontinyent near Valencia has broken the record for highest rainfall in a single day in May over the last 100 years. It accumulated up to 130 litres (28.7 gallons) per square yard according to the report.Ruben del campo, AEMET's spokesman, said...

Mental Health Week shines a light on 'communities'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

In the face of challenges like the pandemic, climate anxiety, and financial concerns relating to the cost-of-living increases across Europe, it has become essential to both have a solid understanding of, and actively promote, mental health and wellbeing.These are the fundamental goals of the current European Mental Health Week, which runs from 22 to 28 May and is led by the NGO Mental Health Europe (MHE) for the fourth year in a row.Mental Health Week supports various themes throughout the week, including mental health for all, diversity in health, access to care, prevention and control of chronic diseases, and global health emergencies and response, with each day having specific partners such as the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, the Association of European Cancer Leagues, and the World Federation of Public Health Associations.Mental Health Week is also supported by the WHO Regional Office for Europe and the European Commission's health department, DG SANTE.Th...

Ask Amy: She used to be an awesome friend. Now she’s trying to make us feel guilty.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

Dear Amy: My husband and I stumbled into an awesome friendship last year around the holidays, when we met “Chelsea.” (We are all middle-aged.)As the friendship progressed we traded gifts or small favors.Then we came to learn that Chelsea is still living at home with her aging parents, and while she works full time, she is always broke.She asked to send her Amazon packages to our home (claiming she lives in a high-traffic area and doesn’t want them stolen), but we were uncomfortable after she did this more than once. We believe it’s largely due to trying to hide her purchases from her parents, as she obviously has out-of-control spending that led to her living with them in the first place.Recently her mother became ill, resulting in a lengthy hospital stay. Chelsea missed work.We were kind enough to wire funds to her for extra food or incidentals but then I saw her posting on Facebook about how broke she is and how she never gets the help she needs when she asks for it. S...

Harriette Cole: How do I discourage my friend from having frivolous surgery?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: My best friend wants to get a Brazilian butt lift. It seems like everybody is doing it these days.I did some research and saw that it’s basically a form of liposuction. A lot of people get it, but it worries me.First of all, there’s nothing wrong with her body. More than that, it is actual surgery. My friend has a number of health issues. I just think it’s irresponsible for her to do elective surgery when there could be complications.She’s considering going out of the country to do it, too, so that it can be more affordable.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: I just learned how she betrayed me. What do I even say? Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m stunned that my husband didn’t protect me from her Advice | Harriette Cole: It’s embarrassing when people have to pass my co-worker’s desk Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m a 50-year-old woman with fun hair, and I don...

Expect big crowds for the summer travel season — and big prices, too

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

The unofficial start of the summer travel season is here, with airlines hoping to avoid the chaos of last year and travelers scrounging for ways to save a few bucks on pricey airfares and hotel rooms.Some travelers say they will settle for fewer trips than they hoped to take, or they will drive instead of fly. Others are finding different money-saving sacrifices.Stephanie Hanrahan thought she’d save money by planning ahead for her daughter’s birthday trip to Disney World in Florida. Instead, it ended up costing the same as the Dallas-area family’s trip for four to California last summer, so now her husband and son are staying home.“We just had to grit our teeth,” said Hanrahan, a writer and speaker who also runs a nonprofit, as she and daughter Campbell waited for their flight last week at Dallas Love Field. The number of people going through U.S. airports hit pandemic-era highs last weekend, and those records are almost certain to be broken over the Memorial Day h...

Lawyer for Russian tennis player suspected of match-fixing says she has been cleared

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

A Russian tennis player arrested on suspicion of match-fixing during the 2021 French Open has been cleared of charges by the Paris prosecutor’s office, her lawyer said Thursday, adding that she would compete at this year’s clay-court Grand Slam.Frédéric Bélot said in a message to The Associated Press that the case involving Yana Sizikova was closed last month “considering that criminal proceedings could not be initiated, as the facts of which Ms. Sizikova was accused could not be established.”The Paris prosecutor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Sizikova, who is ranked 50th in doubles, was arrested and briefly placed in custody after competing in a French Open doubles match two years ago. She denied the allegations.The prosecutor’s office said at the time that Sizikova was arrested for “sports bribery and organized fraud for acts likely to have been committed in September 2020.”The prosecutor’s office said the probe centered...

4 injured by man carrying rifle and knife in central Japan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A masked man carrying a rifle and a knife holed up in a building Thursday in Nagano, central Japan, after four people were injured, according to news reports.Kyodo News said a pedestrian reported to police about a commotion in the Nakano city in the Nagano prefecture, prompting officers to rush to the scene. Four people were injured, including two police officers who might have been shot by the suspect, who was carrying a rifle, Kyodo said. Details of their injuries, including whether they were stabbed or shot, was not known. Witnesses also say the suspect had been holed up inside a building, Kyodo said. Police described the suspect as a man wearing camouflage outfit, a hat, a mask and sunglasses, Kyodo said. He is at large and city officials have urged those in the area to stay home.No other details were immediately known. Source

Ryan Reynolds’ Wrexham secures its latest Hollywood linkup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

WREXHAM, Wales (AP) — Wrexham’s shirts will have a taste of Hollywood next season.The Welsh soccer team has secured its latest celebrity linkup and Hollywood co-owner Ryan Reynolds is keeping it in the family.The Deadpool star’s wife, Blake Lively, will sponsor the team’s training kit from next season through her non-alcoholic beverage company Betty Buzz.“Our team had, of course, heard of Wrexham AFC but once we officially learned about their refreshing vision, we knew it was the right official fit for our refreshing sparkling beverage,” Lively said.Wrexham has gained a global following since it was bought by Reynolds and fellow actor Rob McElhenney for $2.5 million in 2021.A documentary series about the team has streamed around the world and has made household names of its players, management and fans. Reynolds and McElhenny have used their own celebrity to raise the profile of the club, which spent 15 years out of the English Football League before earning promotion in...

Tras décadas de búsqueda, detienen en Sudáfrica un sospechoso clave del genocidio de Rwanda, según la fiscalía

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

(CNN) — Fulgence Kayishema, el prófugo más buscado aún en libertad por la presunta autoría del genocidio de Rwanda de 1994, fue detenido en Paarl (Sudáfrica), según el fiscal jefe del tribunal encargado de los prófugos restantes del genocidio ruandés.La detención se produjo este miércoles por la tarde en una operación conjunta de las autoridades sudafricanas y el equipo de búsqueda de fugitivos de la fiscalía.Kayishema orquestó presuntamente la matanza de más de 2.000 refugiados tutsis –mujeres, hombres, niños y ancianos– en la iglesia católica de Nyange durante el genocidio. Está a la fuga desde 2001.“Fulgence Kayishema ha permanecido prófugo durante más de veinte años. Su detención garantiza que finalmente se enfrentará a la justicia por sus presuntos crímenes”, declaró el fiscal jefe Serge Brammertz, del Mecanismo Residual Internacional de Tribunales Penales de las Naciones Unidas.Rwanda conmemora vigésimo quinto aniversario de genocidio“El genocidio es el...

Street closures, transit changes for Memorial Day events in the DC area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:03 GMT

Memorial Day weekend is the informal start of the summer season in the D.C. area, with many people having the day off on Monday for the holiday. Whether you’re staying in or taking off, here’s what you need to know to get where you’re going.United Prayer MarchThe United House Prayer March in D.C. will have the following street closures and parking restrictions:Saturday, May 27Emergency No Parking — from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. M Street from 6th Street to 7th Street, NW6th Street from M Street to S Street, NWS Street from 6th Street to 13th Street, NW13th Street from S Street to Logan Circle, NWP Street from Logan Circle to 7th Street, NW7th Street from P Street to M Street, NWSaturday, May 28Street ClosuresM Street from 6th Street to 7th Street NW will be closed to vehicle traffic from approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The following streets will be closed to vehicle traffic from approximately 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.:6th Street from L Street to S Street, NWS Street from 5th Street ...