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UN officials condemn Taliban ban on female Afghan staffers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — U.N. officials have condemned a Taliban decision to bar Afghan female staffers from working at the agency.Despite initial promises of a more moderate rule than during its previous stint in power, the Taliban have imposed harsh measures since taking over the country in 2021 as U.S. and NATO forces were pulling out of Afghanistan after two decades of war.Girls are banned from education beyond sixth grade. Women are barred from working, studying, traveling without a male companion, and even going to parks. Women must also cover themselves from head to toe.Afghan women are already barred from working at national and international non-governmental organizations, disrupting the delivery of humanitarian aid, but the ban did not previously cover working for the U.N.On Tuesday, however, the U.N. mission in Afghanistan expressed concern after its female staffers were prevented from reporting to work in eastern Nangarhar province. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said agency o...

Germany’s Lufthansa to sell catering business LSG Group

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German airline Lufthansa said Wednesday that it has agreed to sell the remainder of its catering business to European private equity group Aurelius for an undisclosed sum.Lufthansa said selling the rest of its LSG Group business, which follows the sale of European LSG Sky Chefs activities to Gategroup in 2019, is part of its strategy to focus more on its core airline activities.The sale involves “all classic catering, onboard retail and food commerce activities and brands” of the LSG Group, plus all 131 LSG Sky Chefs customer service centers in the U.S., Latin America, Asia-Pacific and emerging markets; Europe-based onboard retail unit Retail InMotion and SCIS Air Security Services in the U.S., Lufthansa said in a statement.LSG Group has about 19,000 employees and 36 joint ventures worldwide.Lufthansa chief financial officer Remco Steenbergen said the deal “enables us to focus even more on further improving the profitability and capital returns of the Lufthansa Group c...

Cities will get nearly $200M in grants for pipeline upgrades

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Federal officials announced the first $196 million of grants Wednesday in a $1 billion program to repair and replace aging and sometimes leaking natural gas pipelines across the country.The Transportation Department and its Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration announced that the city of Las Cruces, New Mexico, will get $10 million as the first grant recipient. Nineteen other communities will also get grants to help upgrade 270 miles (435 kilometer) of natural gas pipelines, although the government didn’t identify all the recipients.Another nearly $400 million of grants will be announced later this year.The grants, announced by Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, will be paid for with money from the infrastructure law President Joe Biden’s administration is touting in a series of events across the country.Several of the pipelines that will be repaired or replaced were installed decades ago, and some of them are leaking. Offi...

Premier League condemns ‘tragedy chanting’ by Chelsea fans

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The Premier League criticized a section of Chelsea fans for their “tragedy chanting” during the 0-0 draw against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge, saying it is an “unacceptable issue.”Some Chelsea supporters could be heard during the second half Tuesday directing taunts at the traveling Liverpool contingent, relating to the Hillsborough Stadium disaster in 1989 that resulted in the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans.“The Premier League condemns the tragedy chanting heard at (the) match between Chelsea and Liverpool,” the league said late Tuesday, adding it was seeking to address the problem “as a priority.”Chelsea released a statement after the game, apologizing to Liverpool fans and saying “hateful chanting has no place in football.”Liverpool said that type of chanting “has to stop” for the sake of those “who continue to suffer as a result of football tragedies.”On Saturday, Manchester City was forced to apologize for hateful chanting by some of its fans during the 4...

DC could see more street vending after proposed bill passes council vote

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

In a unanimous decision, the D.C. Council passed a bill to decriminalize street vending. The bill would also create vending zones in places such as sidewalks, make it easier for vendors to secure a license and wave currently unpaid citations for vendors.“It’s an emotional moment that this day has finally come, and I was glad we were joined by all of the vendors in the chamber today,” Council member Brianne K. Nadeau said in a statement. “This legislation would not have come into existence, and likely would not have gone very far, were it not for their tireless advocacy.”More DC NewsMore Food & Restaurant NewsMore Local NewsThe bill’s next stop is Mayor Muriel Bower’s office. If the mayor signs off on the bill, it will head to Congress for approval.Nadeau said street vendors are a part of the District’s culture, bringing an energetic feel to D.C.’s neighborhoods.“Street vendors contribute to the vibrant atmosphere of Col...

Aleksander Čeferin wins new term as UEFA president

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

Aleksander Čeferin, president of European football’s governing body UEFA, was reelected unopposed for a new four-year term on Wednesday.First elected in 2016, Čeferin was chosen by acclamation during the organization’s annual Congress in Lisbon. As with his first reelection in 2019, Čeferin was the only candidate.“It really means a lot to me, it is a great honor but mainly it is a great responsibility towards you and towards football,” he said Wednesday. “I will do my best not to disappoint you and to disappoint football.”A professional lawyer, the 55-year-old Slovenian took over as head of UEFA from France’s Michel Platini, who resigned over a conflict of interest and abuse of power scandal. Platini and then-FIFA boss Sepp Blatter later faced criminal charges in that case in Switzerland, but were eventually both acquitted last July.Čeferin has proved to be a smooth political operator in the role, cultivating key relationships in Brussels and in national capi...

Chilly Breeze, 70s Ahead

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

A northeast wind prevails today as temps slide into the low to mid 40s this afternoon. Clouds win out as patchy drizzle or a spot shower is possible from time to time. With that said, there will be a lot of dry hours too. Dry enough for baseball to get in at Fenway Park, it’ll just be a cool, raw feel to the air at the game with temps in the lower 40s. Temps hold steady tonight in the lower 40s with a few scattered showers from time to time. As a warm front lifts through tomorrow, temps jump as winds turn southwest. It’ll take the longest to warm near the coast, as a stubborn ocean breeze lingers for awhile. It’ll likely take until late-day to kick out the ocean air in Boston. With that said, low to mid 70s are certainly possible inland for many. Mid morning to mid afternoon will be dry, but late afternoon/early evening will likely see showers/thunder rumble on through. That’s with a cold front. The other side of the cold front offers chillier that comes in w...

Melrose students to walk out of class, demand action on gun violence in wake of Nashville school shooting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

Students at Melrose High School are planning to walk out of class Wednesday to demand action on gun violence after last week’s shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville.The students are planning on walking out around noon. Five student speakers will then address the crowd at the Cabbage Patch in front of the high school on Lynn Fells Parkway.The walk out comes as the officers who took down the Nashville shooter speak out on their response to The Covenant School.“We didn’t know if the shooter was to the left or the right,” said Detective Mike Collazo. “Smoke was everywhere, the fire alarm was going off. It was somewhere right around that point we heard another shot, so it told us that the shooter was to our right. The shooter, 28-year-old Audrey Hale, fired 152 rounds inside the school, killing three adults and three children before Detective Collazo and Officer Rex Engelbert stopped the attack.Officer Engelbert says he wouldn’t have been a...

90 days in, Maura Healey takes on the T but otherwise remains cautious

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

This week will mark the end of the first three months in office for Gov. Maura Healey, who has only put her name to one major piece of legislation but has had a busy first 90 days, her aides say.She’s also hired a new head of the MBTA — at $470,000 salary — yet she’s kept up her national profile by jetting out of state a few times already.“I’m proud that our administration has hit the ground running in our first three months to address the greatest challenges facing Massachusetts residents – affordability, competitiveness and equity. We’ve put a strong team in place that has already started delivering results on housing, economic development, climate, education, transportation and more. We look forward to continuing to build on this progress in the months and years ahead,” Healey told the Herald in an emailed statement this week.Healey began the last week of her first quarter as the state’s 73rd governor by meeting with the President of Cape Verde...

Howie Carr: Trump case full of sound and fury, signifying nothing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:47:52 GMT

Is that all there is?Is this all the Democrats have on Donald J. Trump? At least in New York?As the former president said last night in Palm Beach, “I never thought anything like this could ever happen in America.”Misdemeanors, pretty much, beyond the statute of limitations even. Bookkeeping errors in commission of another crime, which the rotund Soros prosecutor didn’t even bother to identify in the indictment.“The lawyers told me,” Trump told the nationwide audience, “there’s nothing here, they’re even saying what you did… It’s right out of the old Soviet Union, because that’s where we are.”Hey, who knows, maybe the Democrat-industrial complex doesn’t care. They’re just ecstatic that they have all the headlines that say “34 counts.”But really, it’s some real thin gruel.Now, though, all the Democrat operatives with press passes can keep yapping 24/7 about the three more ongoing “probes,” as if now, finally, really, truly, pinky-promise, no kidding, the walls are closing in on Orang...