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Dnipro river should return to its banks by 16 June after dam collapse

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:47 GMT

The southern reach of the Dnipro river is likely to return to its banks by 16 June following a vast flood unleashed by the breach of Ukraine's Kakhovka dam this week, a Russian-installed official said on Saturday (10 June).The flood has inundated towns and villages below the dam, trapping residents and sweeping away entire houses on both sides of the Dnipro, which separates Ukrainian-controlled Kherson province from the southern section that Russian forces control.Vladimir Saldo, who heads the Russian-controlled part, said the water level at Nova Kakhovka, the town adjacent to the dam on the downstream side, had now dropped by 3 metres (10 feet) from Tuesday's peak."The pumping of water and garbage collection from the streets have started," he said.Late on Saturday, Saldo added that almost 7,000 people had now been evacuated from the flooded districts of Nova Kakhovka, including 323 children, while 77 people have been hospitalised.He said preliminary calculations by the Russian hydr...

Freight train derails near Russia's border with Ukraine, governor says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:47 GMT

Fifteen cars of an empty freight train derailed in Russia's southern Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, the local governor said late on Saturday (10 June), adding there was no immediate information about the cause."According to preliminary information, there are no casualties," the governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on the Telegram messaging app.The accident happened near a train station in the Alexeyevsky municipal district and the train was empty, Gladkov said.Blasts and attacks on the region's infrastructure have become nearly a daily reality in recent weeks, with officials blaming either Ukrainian forces or pro-Ukrainian saboteurs.Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine.

Driver charged after bus carrying wedding guests in Australia rolls over, killing 10 and injuring 25

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:47 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The driver of a bus was charged Monday after the vehicle carrying wedding guests rolled over on a foggy night in Australia's wine country, killing 10 people and injuring 25 in the nation's most deadly road accident in almost 30 years, police said.Brett Button has been in custody since the accident Sunday night and will appear in court on Tuesday on multiple charges of dangerous and negligent driving, a police statement said.It was Australia's most deadly road accident since 1994, when a bus skidded on its side across a highway and down a steep embankment in Brisbane, killing 12 people and injuring 38.Sunday's crash happened just after 11:30 p.m. in foggy conditions at a roundabout on Wine Country Drive in the town of Greta in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales state north of Sydney.The guests had attended a wedding at the Wandin Estate Winery and were heading to their accommodations in the town of Singleton, Chapman said. One guest told Seven News...

Miss Manners: Is it just a verbal tic or is she insulting me?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:47 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I’m a 71-year-old woman with progressive multiple sclerosis. I retired from work, on disability, 30 years ago. Even so, I have a full life — I am deeply spiritual, artistic, sociable and creative. I’m a happy person.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: I’m insulted when they imply my profession makes me a monster Advice | Miss Manners: Would this combo party be too peculiar? And what about gifts? Advice | Miss Manners: They ram my shopping cart and then just stare at me Advice | Miss Manners: Whose fault is this distressing situation with my pants? Advice | Miss Manners: He’s my husband, not my brother, and why are you even asking? For decades, I’ve been assisted by personal and household health care aides, as my MS has advanced in intensity and become more life-altering. Some of these people have been caring and committed; others, not so much.A ye...

Dear Abby: This shoplifting incident may be the last straw for my marriage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:47 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I am at my wits’ end about my marriage.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: How do I tell her I’ve been secretly cleaning her house? Advice | Dear Abby: Our poker wives’ group has been hijacked by a pious new member Advice | Dear Abby: My mausoleum plan has alienated my children Advice | Dear Abby: The bride is afraid her cringey grandma will be an embarrassment Advice | Dear Abby: I’m too old to deal with this new nonsense from my husband Among many other issues, today feels like the last straw. My 8-year-old son stole a small toy from a store, and I made him go back into the store with me to pay for the item.My husband chastised me for doing so, saying I humiliated the boy. I saw it as an opportunity to teach my son a lesson about taking things, and my husband is worried about him feeling humiliated?I have tried therapy for many other issues we have, but we haven’...

Pederson leads Giants against the Cardinals after 4-hit game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:47 GMT

San Francisco Giants (33-32, third in the NL West) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (27-39, fifth in the NL Central)St. Louis; Monday, 7:45 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Giants: Logan Webb (4-6, 3.42 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 85 strikeouts); Cardinals: Matthew Liberatore (1-2, 6.00 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 11 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Giants -128, Cardinals +108; over/under is 8 runsBOTTOM LINE: The San Francisco Giants take on the St. Louis Cardinals after Joc Pederson had four hits on Sunday in a 13-3 win over the Cubs.St. Louis is 13-18 in home games and 27-39 overall. The Cardinals rank third in the NL with 90 total home runs, averaging 1.4 per game.San Francisco has gone 15-15 on the road and 33-32 overall. Giants hitters are batting a collective .249, which ranks ninth in the NL.Monday’s game is the fifth time these teams square off this season. The Giants hold a 3-1 advantage in the season series.TOP PERFORMERS: Paul Goldschmidt has 19 doubles and 10 home runs for the Cardinals. Nolan ...

Diamondbacks open 4-game series against the Phillies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:47 GMT

Philadelphia Phillies (32-33, third in the NL East) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (40-25, first in the NL West)Phoenix; Monday, 9:40 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Phillies: Matt Strahm (4-3, 3.61 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 55 strikeouts); Diamondbacks: Tommy Henry (3-1, 4.37 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 27 strikeouts)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Diamondbacks -113, Phillies -107; over/under is 10 runsBOTTOM LINE: The Arizona Diamondbacks host the Philadelphia Phillies to start a four-game series.Arizona is 40-25 overall and 20-14 at home. The Diamondbacks are 16-3 in games when they did not give up a home run.Philadelphia has a 13-22 record in road games and a 32-33 record overall. The Phillies are 12-6 in games decided by one run.The matchup Monday is the fourth meeting between these teams this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Corbin Carroll has 13 home runs, 26 walks and 33 RBI while hitting .312 for the Diamondbacks. Emmanuel Rivera is 13-for-34 with three doubles and four RBI over the last 10 games.Nicholas Castellanos ...

Silvio Berlusconi: The man who seduced an entire country

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:47 GMT

In the mid-1990s, Silvio Berlusconi started planning for the afterlife. On the grounds of his multi-million euro villa in Arcore, near Milan, he began building a giant underground mausoleum where he planned to be laid surrounded by more than 30 other tombs made ready for close friends, family members and romantic partners.The project was typically Berlusconi — lavish, flamboyant, treading the line between the imperious and the absurd. Visitors were escorted past a 100-ton abstract sculpture representing the vault of heaven, down an imposing stairway modeled on pre-Roman burial sites, through a narrow corridor decorated with the things he might need in the afterlife — fruit, bread, keys, a mobile phone — and into an imposing burial chamber at whose center stood a pink marble and granite sarcophagus.Asked by a journalist what instructions Berlusconi had given him, the Italian sculptor Pietro Cascella who built the mausoleum answered: “He told me not to make it look too sad.”Nearly 30 ...

Silvio Berlusconi dies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:47 GMT

ROME — Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister, has died aged 86, his office confirmed. Berlusconi, who was a senator and leader of the right-wing Forza Italia party — a junior partner in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition government — was admitted to a Milan hospital last week.A billionaire media and property tycoon-turned-politician, Berlusconi rose to the top of Italian politics in the 1990s, leading the country for close to a decade during three terms as prime minister.In recent years, however, his political career was tarnished by a series of scandals, reducing his profile and influence. Italy’s latest general election, which saw his Forza Italia party join Meloni’s governing coalition, marked Berlusconi’s return to the domestic limelight — albeit in a diminished role.Berlusconi was taken to hospital on Friday for tests related to chronic leukaemia. Following a COVID-19 infection in 2020, he frequently required health assessments and ...

Ukraine says it’s liberated 5 villages as counteroffensive intensifies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:47 GMT

KYIV — Ukraine says it has liberated five villages in the east and south of the country, as Kyiv’s counteroffensive ramps up. Marines from the Ukrainian army on Monday raised the blue-and-yellow flag over Storozhove in the Donetsk region — a village that has been occupied by the Russian army since March 2022, the brigade said in a video statement from the scene.“As a result of the clearing of the settlement, about fifty Russians were destroyed, and four were taken prisoners,” the marine brigade said.Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar referred to the liberation of Storozhove in a Telegram statement, adding: “To be continued.”During the weekend, the Ukrainian army also claimed to have liberated Blahodante, Makarivka, and Neskuchne villages in the Donetsk region, according to the different brigades involved and Maliar. The information could not be independently verified by POLITICO.Ukrainian forces also reported resisting a Russian attempt to reclaim t...