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Explosion at Archer Daniels Midland facility in Illinois injures employees

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:31:04 GMT

DECATUR, Ill. (AP) — An explosion at an Archer Daniels Midland facility in Illinois injured several employees and sent a tower of smoke into the air Sunday evening.The explosion occurred shortly after 7 p.m. at the east plant in the ADM processing complex in Decatur, Illinois. Several employees were injured and transported to a hospital, the agricultural company said in a statement on its website Sunday.The company contacted the Decatur Fire Department but said it did not know the cause of the explosion. ADM said in an email to The Associated Press early Monday that it had no additional information at the time.A large plume of dark smoke can be seen shooting high into the air above the facility in a video posted by WCIA-TV.Decatur is located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of Springfield and about 180 miles (289 kilometers) southeast of Chicago, where ADM is headquartered.The Associated Press

Thailand’s new prime minister tells Parliament his government will urgently tackle economic woes

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:31:04 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s new Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin vowed to act quickly to relieve the country’s economic problems in his inaugural speech to Parliament on Monday, following four months of political uncertainty while parliamentarians were unable to agree on a government.Srettha entered politics after a career as a major real estate develope r, and his government is facing high expectations and pressing demands to address a range of economic, political, social and environmental problems in its four-year term.Thailand’s economy has slumped after the COVID-19 pandemic all but crippled its lucrative tourism industry. Public debt rose to more than 60% of GDP in 2023, while household debt spiked to over 90% of the GDP this year, he said.Thailand’s post-pandemic economy is like “a sick person,” with a sluggish recovery that puts the nation “at risk of entering a recession,” Srettha said.He vowed to quickly take measures to relieve debt problems, mitigate rising energy cost...

Historic Cairo cemetery faces destruction from new highways as Egypt’s government reshapes the city

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:31:04 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — The cane chairs and umbrella still stand in the courtyard of Hussein Omar’s family mausoleum, where his grandmother came every morning for 19 years after her daughter — his mother — died. Near her grave, she would sit and pray under the date palm and among the flowering plants, a few hours of peace in Cairo ’s historic City of the Dead.Now the mausoleum, built in 1924 in a neo-Islamic style and housing the graves of a number of prominent Egyptians from a century ago, is threatened with demolition.Authorities have already razed hundreds of tombs and mausoleums as they carry out plans to build a network of multilane highways through the City of the Dead, a vast cemetery that has been in use for more than a millennium. Stunned preservationists say the construction is destroying a unique part of Egypt’s heritage where major Islamic figures, prominent Egyptian politicians, artists and scholars and the loved ones of many Egyptians are buried.“It’s always felt like a very sacr...

EU slams Mahmoud Abbas ‘false and grossly misleading’ remarks on Jews and anti-Semitism

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:31:04 GMT

In his speech, Mahmoud Abbas (above) declared: "Adolf Hitler fought the Jews due to their “dealing with usury and money”.In a speech, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas declared: ‘’Adolf Hitler fought the Jews due to their dealing with usury and money,” writes Yossi Lempkowicz.In a statement, the  European Union said it ‘’remains committed to combating antisemitism and racism in all its forms and will continue to strongly oppose any attempt to condone, justify or trivialise the Holocaust.’’"The speech delivered by President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas to Fatah’s 11th Revolutionary Council in late August contained false and grossly misleading remarks about Jews and anti-Semitism,’’ the European Union said on Thursday (7 September) in a statement.In his speech, Abbas declared: "Adolf Hitler fought the Jews due to their “dealing with usury and money".He made this claim in a 24 Aug. 24 speech, per a recent translation from the Middle East Media Research Insti...

Smash-and-grab thieves hit Macy's in Northridge Mall

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:31:04 GMT

A group of smash-and-grab thieves robbed a Macy’s department store at the Northridge Mall Sunday morning. Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to the mall, located at 9301 Tampa Avenue in Northridge, just after 11 a.m. after receiving reports of the robbery.  Cellphone footage of the smash-and-grab incident shows several men dressed in dark clothing, including hoodies and medical masks, loading up bags of what appears to be cologne and other items from the store’s display cases.  Smash-and-grab suspects seen fleeing at the Northridge Mall after stealing bag loads of items from Macy's on Sept. 10, 2023. (RMG News)The suspects are then seen running off, getting away with some $20,000 worth of perfume, an independent news agency reported.  Police say the suspects were last seen driving off in a black Infinity with no plates.  This smash-and-grab robbery comes on the heels of a string of similar crimes. On Sept. 2, one would-be smash-and-gra...

Severe asthma — breaking the cycle of inadequate care

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:31:04 GMT

Asthma has long lagged behind other inflammatory conditions in terms of political attention and progress on patient outcomes. This may be partly because many people think of asthma as a generally mild condition, when in fact its severe form is a serious condition that can have a major impact on people’s quality of life. Action on severe asthma would not only relieve a significant burden for patients, health systems and society, it would also help advance other urgent policy priorities, including tackling the links between health and climate change, strengthening health system sustainability and reducing health inequalities.Severe asthma: a distinct and serious conditionSevere asthma is defined as asthma that remains uncontrolled despite people receiving optimal inhaled therapy.1 Periodic inflammation of the airways results in potentially life-threatening exacerbations (attacks) which, over time, may gradually impair people’s lung function.1 Having frequent, unpredictable exacerbatio...

Biden wraps Vietnam visit by talking with business leaders and visiting a memorial to John McCain

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:31:04 GMT

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — President Joe Biden was wrapping up a visit to Vietnam on Monday, meeting with Vietnamese government officials and business leaders and spotlighting new deals and partnerships between the two countries. He’ll also visit a Hanoi memorial honoring his late friend and colleague Sen. John McCain, who was held for more than five years as a prisoner during the Vietnam War .Biden met with Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, who also accompanied Biden to a quick drop by at a meeting of business leaders. Biden also sat down with President Võ Văn Thưởng, who hosted the U.S. president for a formal state luncheon.Biden spoke about strengthening Vietnam’s semiconductor industry and his administration’s commitment to an open Pacific. “My message today is quite simple. Let’s keep it up,” Biden told the CEOs. “We need to develop and drive our collaboration, We need to forge new partnerships.”The prime minister also stressed the need to improve cooperation a...

The search for Cyprus’ missing goes high-tech as time weighs on loved ones waiting for closure

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:31:04 GMT

EXO METOCHI, Cyprus (AP) — A bright yellow machine resembling a cross between a vacuum cleaner and a small scooter scrapes a narrow village road in Cyprus, working to solve a painful mystery from the divided island nation’s conflict-ridden past.It uses radio waves to detect any disturbances in the layers of soil under the asphalt — potential evidence that could support eyewitness accounts of a mass grave containing remains of people who vanished nearly a half-century ago. Cyprus’ Committee on Missing Persons is testing the pulseEkko — a deep ground penetrating radar — to help locate the remains of hundreds of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots who disappeared in the clashes during the 1960s and the 1974 Turkish invasion. Since then, the island has been divided along ethnic lines, with the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north separated from the Greek Cypriot south where the internationally recognized government is located. The radar is working against time as many witnesses t...

Former CEO of China’s Alibaba quits cloud business in surprise move during its leadership reshuffle

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:31:04 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — The former CEO of Alibaba, Daniel Zhang, resigned as head of its cloud computing unit Monday in a surprise move as the Chinese e-commerce empire wraps up a leadership reshuffle. Alibaba said it will invest $1 billion in a technology fund Zhang will establish to support the firm’s strategies for future growth.Zhang stepped down on the same day he gave up his roles as Alibaba’s CEO and chairman. In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, Alibaba said that Eddie Wu, its new CEO, will also head its cloud unit. Wu and Alibaba’s new chairman Joseph Tsai assumed their new roles by Monday, with Alibaba saying it has “completed its leadership transition.” Alibaba expressed its “deepest appreciation” to Zhang for his contributions to the company over the past 16 years.Alibaba’s Hong Kong stock price was down 3.6% Monday following the announcement.In an internal letter dated Sunday and viewed by the AP, Tsai wrote that Zhang had “expressed his wish to transition away from hi...

Caribbean Export Development Agency garners coveted awards in 2023

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:31:04 GMT

The Caribbean Export Development Agency proudly announces its receipt of prestigious awards in recognition of its unwavering commitment to driving economic growth, sustainable business practices, and trade development in the Caribbean region. Bestowed "Best Investment Promotions and Trade Agency 2023" by The European The Caribbean Export Development Agency has been honoured with the esteemed title of "Best Investment Promotions and Trade Agency 2023" by The European, a highly regarded publication. This accolade commends the agency's exceptional devotion and proficiency in catalysing business transformation and fostering investment growth through strategic alliances.The agency has consistently demonstrated its unwavering dedication to fostering economic progress and development throughout the Caribbean by actively seeking innovative solutions and attracting substantial investments to fortify local enterprises. Deodat Maharaj, Executive Director at Caribbean Export, expressed his grat...