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Russia's envoy: No grounds to maintain grain deal status quo

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

Russia's envoy to the United Nations in Geneva said there were no grounds to maintain the "status quo" of the Black Sea grain deal that is set to expire on July 18, the Russian news outlet Izvestia reported on Monday (3 July).In a wide-ranging interview, envoy Gennady Gatilov told the outlet that the implementation of Russia's conditions for the extensions of the agreement was "stalling." Those conditions included, among others, the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the SWIFT banking payment system."Russia has repeatedly extended the deal in the hope of positive changes," Gatilov told Izvestia. "However, what we are seeing now does not give us grounds to agree to maintaining the status quo."The Black Sea deal, brokered between Russia and Ukraine by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022, aimed to prevent a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain trapped by Russia's invasion to be safely exported from Black Sea ports.Last week, the United Na...

What makes Royal Ascot so popular worldwide?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

It's one of the world's most famous horse racing meetings of the flat season, where once a year the greatest horses, trainers and jockeys converge on Ascot Racecourse. Royal Ascot is where the racing public mingles with royalty, and where the best equine talent takes each other on in some of the most valuable races in the world.So what makes Royal Ascot so popular in the world of racing?The best horses from around the globeWhereas races like the Epsom Derby and the 2000 Guineas are contested by British and Irish horses in the main, Royal Ascot attracts the best that flat racing has to offer from countries such as Australia, the USA, France and Japan. This not only makes for the most competitive races of the year but also garners the attention of racing fans around the world.At Royal Ascot 2023, Artorious will make the long trip from down under to contest the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, a race for which he currently heads the betting market at a price of 11/4. T...

Ask Amy: Our real estate agent has become an unpleasant stalker

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

Dear Amy: A real estate agent helped us through numerous deals within a short 18 months — expertly, deftly and patiently.In the end she closed a total of five sales, all through us. Because of this, she won an award from her prestigious agency and became their No. 1 regional agent.She still texts/calls/emails often, wanting to get together for lunch, coffee, dinner, etc.While working together, we took her out several times to thank her for her efforts, but it has been a year since we closed everything. We are maxed-out, both emotionally and financially.After declining her invitations many times, I am at a loss. I avoid her calls. This leads to her texting, which I also now ignore. When all else fails, she shows up at our house and rings the doorbell, knowing that because my elderly father-in-law lives with us, there will be at least one adult at home at all times.Last time she showed up with candy, which my father-in-law ate. I asked her not to bring any more sweets because they end...

Harriette Cole: I’m starting to believe the rumor about my ex

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently got out of a yearlong relationship that ended on less-than-good terms.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: We posted a vacation TikTok, and this guy flipped out Advice | Harriette Cole: My family isn’t happy about my peanut brittle obsession Advice | Harriette Cole: I was appalled that my friend showed this movie to my kids Advice | Harriette Cole: My enemy has moved to my city and I’m afraid we’ll run into each other Advice | Harriette Cole: They say if I dye my hair blond, they won’t be my friends My ex goes to school in Europe, and I go to school in New York, so we were already tackling the long distance and dealing with the stress it put on our relationship so early.I heard from some of his old friends that he had cheated on me. I never got confirmation from him as to what happened, so I brushed it off as a rumor.Now we’re broken up, and he...

Woman injured in Miami Beach hit-and-run, husband shares ordeal amid search for driver

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

As police continue searching for the driver who struck a woman, then blocks away, struck a man on Collins Avenue in Mid Beach, the woman and her husband shared their account of the frightening ordeal.Lena Chiang said she’s thankful to be alive, as she spoke with 7News on the phone from her hospital bed at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Friday night.“I felt so frightened. I was such in shock, so I asked Jesus to give peace, give me peace,” said the 61-year-old.Collins Avenue in Miami Beach was once again open Friday, as Miami Beach Police continue to investigate a pair of hit-and-runs that sent Lena and a man to the hospital as trauma alerts, a day earlier.It was an awful moment for the Chiangs, who are visiting from Chicago.“First time here, OK? First time in Miami, less than four hours, you know, this happens,” said Chen Chiang, Lena’s husband.Miami Beach Police and Fire Rescue units first responded to a call of a hit-and-run crash involving a woman ...

Twitter to put TweetDeck behind a paywall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

New York (CNN) — Another controversial change is coming to Twitter.Soon, only verified users will be able to access TweetDeck, the dashboard that allows users to organize and easily monitor the accounts they follow, the platform tweeted Monday. Many businesses and media organizations use the feature to manage and track different feeds.The change will go into effect in a month.It’s the latest change by billionaire owner Elon Musk, who took over the company last year and has since sought to add revenue streams to the social media giant – even as some users have protested the changes.In AprilMusk began offering a bluecheck mark for users who sign up for its Twitter Blue subscription service.The news of the TweetDeck paywall came days after Musk announced temporary reading limits on Twitter, restricting verified users to reading 10,000 tweets a day, along with 1,000 tweets for unverified accounts and 500 for new unverified accounts. Musk said it was due to “extreme levels of data scrapi...

Smoking prevalence soars in 12 states, exceeding national average by 50%”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

(CNN) — Residents of 12 states in the South and Midwest are more likely to smoke – and to smoke more – than people living in the rest of the United States, according to a new report.Truth Initiative, a nonprofit focused on ending tobacco use, has dubbed that group of states “Tobacco Nation,” a region that spans Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia.This group of states is home to about 21% of the US population but 28% of smokers in the country.Overall, smoking prevalence is about 50% higher there than in the rest of the US. About 19% of adults smoke in this group of states, compared with about 13% of adults in other states.A similar pattern holds among young adults. About 11% of adults under 25 in these states smoke, compared with less than 8% in other states. Teenagers in these states are also more likely to smoke.Smoking prevalence has been consistently higher than average among these 12 states...

Man in critical condition after near-drowning incident near PortMiami

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

A man was left in critical condition following a near-drowning incident near Port Miami, Tuesday night. The incident occurred around 8:30 p.m. in Fisherman’s Channel, located on the south side of PortMiami and west of Fisher Island. Emergency crews responded to the distress call. One Miami Fire Rescue vessel and two Miami-Dade Fire Rescue boats were also dispatched to the scene.According to officials, the man had reportedly jumped off a boat, which may have been a charter vessel, and began swimming before encountering trouble in the water. A bystander immediately dialed 911 after they noticed the man’s distress.After a 15-minute search, rescue crews successfully located the submerged individual. The victim was found unresponsive and not breathing, requiring immediate medical attention. Paramedics administered life-saving measures on the scene before transporting the man to a nearby hospital.“He was taken to the surface and treated by paramedics, then was transporte...

Labour splits erupt as left-wing stalwart blasts Keir Starmer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

LONDON — Labour leader Keir Starmer has allowed a “right-wing faction” of the opposition party to become “drunk with power,” a key ally of Jeremy Corbyn has claimed.Senior backbench MP John McDonnell — who ran the shadow treasury team for four years under Starmer’s left-wing predecessor — said Starmer’s closest allies were attempting to “destroy” the left of the Labour Party. Figures on Labour’s left flank have grown increasingly disgruntled with Starmer’s leadership — despite the party’s commanding polling lead over the governing Conservatives. They have pointed to the lack of selection of non-Starmer allied candidates in winnable Westminster seats, as well as the suspension of some high profile left-wing figures.Corbyn himself was suspended by the party and then blocked from standing as a Labour candidate, after he claimed the scale of antisemitism in Labour — an issue which rocked his leadership — was dramatically ...

Don’t be put off by riots, France tells tourists and foreign investors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

PARIS — France is still safe for tourists despite the ongoing riots, French Economy Minster Bruno Le Maire has said. Le Maire has made multiple interventions in foreign media to stress that rioting will have no impact on the French tourism season. His calls come as several countries — such as the U.K., the U.S. and Canada — urge their citizens to be particularly careful when traveling to France. “All the major democracies today are faced with this kind of problem,” he told the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, adding that “our British friends should be happy to visit France and have no fear.” At the same time, the French minister is trying to reassure foreign investors and rating agencies that helping businesses impacted by riots won’t result in more public debt.Violence “has no impact on the daily life of the 65 million French citizens and this will not have a deep impact on the French growth and the French economy,” Le Maire told CNN on Tuesda...