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Greece’s ruling conservatives leading in polls, but second round likely

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:46 GMT

ATHENS — Greece’s conservative ruling party was leading in Sunday’s election, according to early exit polls, but a second round of national voting is the most likely scenario.The New Democracy Party of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis held a significant lead over its main rival, the left-wing Syriza party, according to first exit polls published jointly by six polling agencies after the ballots closed. Up to seven parties were likely to pass the 3 percent threshold and enter parliament, according to the projections.Nonetheless, New Democracy didn’t gather enough votes — 45 percent — to win an outright majority, as these elections are being held under a new proportional representation system.Even though a coalition government would be possible, Mitsotakis has made no secret of the fact that he would prefer a majority government, and would hold out for the second round of voting, when he is poised to garner an absolute majority thanks to a system that grants the winning party up to ...

Sinn Féin scores record win in Northern Ireland as voters rage at DUP blockade of Stormont

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:46 GMT

DUBLIN — Sinn Féin has scaled new electoral heights in Northern Ireland. They can thank the Stormont-wrecking antics of their sworn enemies, the Democratic Unionist Party, for making it possible.The Irish republicans had been tipped to finish a strong first place in Northern Ireland’s council elections last Thursday, overtaking Jeffrey Donaldson’s DUP along the way. But even Sinn Fein’s wildest hopes were eclipsed as the weekend’s results built to a crescendo over a marathon two-day count.When final results were declared in Belfast City Hall after midnight Saturday, Sinn Féin had won 144 seats, a 39-seat gain that more than doubled expectations. Its 30.9 percent share of the vote marked a historic high, two points better even than last year’s poll-topping Northern Ireland Assembly election — a performance that should have propelled the party’s regional leader, Michelle O’Neill, into the first minister’s chair for the first time.But O’Neill has been denied the chance to lead a ...

El Salvador soccer stadium stampede leaves 12 dead after fans rush entrance gate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:46 GMT

By MARCOS ALEMÁN (Associated Press)SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Fans angry at being blocked from entering a Salvadoran soccer league match knocked down an entrance gate to the stadium, leading to a crush that left at least 12 people dead and dozens injured, officials and witnesses said Sunday. The stampede took place late Saturday during a quarterfinals match between clubs Alianza and Fas at Monumental Stadium in Cuscatlan in southern San Salvador, the nation’s capital. “The game was scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. but they closed the gate at 7 p.m. and left us outside (the stadium) with our tickets in our hands,” said Alianza fan José Ángel Penado. “People got angry. We asked them to let us in, but no. So they knocked the gate down.”Civil Protection director Luis Amaya said about 500 people had been attended to and about 100 were taken to hospitals. At least two of the injured transported to hospitals were in critical condition...

Civil rights groups issue travel advisory about Florida in wake of ‘hostile’ laws

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:46 GMT

By MIKE SCHNEIDER (Associated Press)ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The NAACP over the weekend issued a travel advisory for Florida, joining two other civil rights groups in warning potential tourists that recent laws and policies championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers are “openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.”The NAACP, long an advocate for Black Americans, joined the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a Latino civil rights organization, and Equality Florida, a gay rights advocacy group, in issuing travel advisories for the Sunshine State, where tourism is one of the state’s largest job sectors.The warning approved Saturday by the NAACP’s board of directors tells tourists that, before traveling to Florida, they should understand the state of Florida “devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.”An email was sent Sunday morning to DeSantis’ ...

Woman found dead, man arrested in west end

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:46 GMT

Toronto police are investigating the death of a woman in the west end of the city. Police say they were called to the area of Harbord Street and Ossington Avenue around 11:45 a.m. for reports of unknown trouble. When they arrived they found a woman suffering from serious injuries. She was later pronounced dead at the scene. Police say a man is in custody but provided no further details as to the circumstances leading up to the woman’s death.

Driver arrested after injuring two people in road rage incident near Montreal: police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:46 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec provincial police allege a pickup truck driver intentionally struck a three-wheeled motorcycle in the Montreal suburb of St-Eustache, Que. this morning, seriously injuring two people.Police are describing the crash, which took place shortly before 10 a.m., as a road rage incident.Police spokesman Sgt. Eric Cadotte says the driver of the van was arrested for dangerous driving causing bodily harm and assault with a weapon.He says the van is being considered a weapon. Police say the two victims have been taken to hospital, but did not provide information about their condition or their ages.Cadotte says a collision investigator is being dispatched to the scene. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 21, 2023. The Canadian Press

Greek elections: Conservative party in lead but unlikely to form government outright

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:46 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Exit polls in Greece’s parliamentary elections show Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ conservative party is in the lead but is unlikely to win enough seats in parliament to form a government outright.If confirmed by official results, Mitsotakis will have to seek coalition partners to secure a majority in the 300-seat parliament. If coalition talks fail, a second election could be held in late June or early July. Exit polls showed Mitsotakis’ main rival, former Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, 48, and his left-wing Syriza party, in second place. The polls projected New Democracy winning between 121 and 125 parliamentary seats, with Syriza at between 86 and 89 seats, with a total of either six or seven parties making it past the threshold of 3% of the vote to enter parliament. Sunday’s election is Greece’s first since its economy ceased being under strict supervision by international lenders who had provided bailout funds during the country’s nearly decade-long f...

New trial ordered for man who spent 15 years on death row in death of 3-year-old boy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:46 GMT

CINCINNATI (AP) — A new trial has been ordered for a man who spent more than a decade and a half on Ohio’s death row in the 2006 death of the 3-year-old son of his former live-in girlfriend.Lamont Hunter, 54, was convicted of aggravated murder, child endangering and rape in the death of Trustin Blue, who authorities said was sexually assaulted and died from blunt impact and shaking injuries to his head. Hunter said he was doing laundry in the basement when the boy fell down the stairs and landed on the concrete floor.Prosecutors agreed to a new trial after the deputy coroner who initially ruled the boy’s death a homicide changed that opinion two years ago after reviewing evidence she hadn’t previously been given. She said the cause of death was undetermined and also said injuries she had attributed to sexual assault were accidentally inflicted at the hospital.A hearing Friday on whether Hunter could be freed on bond while awaiting a new trial ended with no decision...

France pension protest held on outskirts of Cannes Film Festival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:46 GMT

CANNES, France (AP) — Protests over pension reforms have roiled France in recent months, but demonstrations have been kept largely at bay at one of the country’s glitziest events, the Cannes Film Festival.On Sunday, dozens of protesters gathered in Cannes to oppose the raising of the reforms pushed through parliament by President Emmanuel Macron’s government. Those protests, however, were far removed from the central hub of the festival, the Palais des Festivals, or Cannes’ seaside boulevard, the Croisette. Instead, they gathered on the edge of the city, on the Boulevard Carnot. “We are against the retirement reforms which will make many people die at work.,” said Tomas Ghestem, one of the demonstrators. Ahead of the festival, local authorities in Cannes ordered a ban on rallies throughout much of Cannes. That move was part of increasing attempts throughout France to prohibit demonstrations in some high-profile locations. Unions have called for a new round of...

African leaders to broach thorny issue of paying Russia for fertilizers in Kyiv and Moscow talks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:46 GMT

A delegation of six African leaders set to hold talks with Kyiv and Moscow aim to “initiate a peace process,” but also broach the thorny issue of how a heavily-sanctioned Russia can be paid for the fertilizer exports Africa desperately needs, a key mediator who helped broker the talks said in an interview with The Associated Press.Jean-Yves Ollivier, an international negotiator who has been working for six months to put the talks together, said the African leaders would also discuss the related issue of easing the passage of more grain shipments out of Ukraine amid the war and the possibility of more prisoner swaps when they travel to both countries on what they’ve characterized as a peace mission.The talks will likely be next month, Ollivier said. He arrived in Moscow on Sunday and will also go to Kyiv for meetings with high-level officials to work out “logistics” for the upcoming talks. For one, the six African presidents would likely have to travel to Kyiv by ni...