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Greece evacuates thousands of tourists in Rhodes as wildfire burns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

(CNN) — A large wildfire tearing through the Greek island of Rhodes has forced thousands of tourists to evacuate their hotels, officials say.The wildfire in the central and south part of Rhodes has been burning since Tuesday. It is the largest of a number of blazes in Greece, which is sweltering due to a heat wave that experts say is likely to become the country’s longest on record.Photos on Greek TV showed fires and smoke nearing properties and beaches in Rhodes and videos posted on social media show large groups of tourists evacuating hotels on foot.An estimated 10,000 tourists were safely taken to the northern part of the island on Saturday, according to the Rhodes Hotel Association.The association said on Greek TV that tourists from 12 hotels were transported by buses, on foot and by sea.The coastguard told CNN on Saturday that four of its boats had assisted, as well as 20 private vessels.Local fire officials said boats had evacuated about 2,000 people. They said the n...

‘We’ve organized, strategized, now it’s time to pulverize,’ says Teamsters union president ahead of looming UPS strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

New York (CNN) — Ahead of a looming UPS nationwide strike, Teamsters union President Sean O’Brien said during a rally speech in Atlanta Saturday, “We’ve organized, strategized, now it’s time to pulverize.”Speaking with CNN’s Isabel Rosales, O’Brien said 95% of the contract has been negotiated, and “now we’re down to economics, and UPS knows they need to pay our members, especially the part-timers.”A UPS spokesperson has said part-timers receive the same benefits as full-time workers. However, they do make less than full-time employees who make, on average, $95,000 a year, as CNN previously reported. Part-timers start by earning $16.20 an hour and are eligible for a higher hourly rate after 30 days. On average, part-time workers make $20 an hour, according to the spokesperson.When asked what happens if a deal is not reached by July 31, O’Brien said they would withhold their labor on August 1 at 12:01 a.m.“UPS represents our members that deliver goods and services that deliv...

Elon Musk says Twitter logo to change, birds to be gradually abandoned

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

(CNN) — Elon Musk tweeted on his official account on Sunday that Twitter would be changing its logo to an “X” and that all the birds will be disappearing from the platform.In a series of tweets, Musk said: “And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.”In the same series of tweets, Musk posted “Paint It Black,” before launching a user poll to “Change default platform color to black.”“If a good enough X logo is posted tonight, we’ll make go live worldwide tomorrow,” he continued.“Like this but X,” he added above an illustration of the iconic bird silhouette but against a black background.One of the world’s richest men, Musk, once known for his innovative efforts through companies SpaceX and Tesla to launch rockets and build electric cars, now makes headlines for his antics and eccentric remarks on his personal Twitter account – often sharing conspiracy theories and getting into public spats on the social media platform.Musk overhauled ...

How Patriots plan to deploy new playmakers on offense

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

There was disappointment within the Patriots’ organization that the team couldn’t close a deal with free-agent wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, a source told the Boston Herald. But it’s not as if the Patriots didn’t get quarterback Mac Jones any help this offseason.The team allowed wide receiver Jakobi Meyers to walk in free agency and traded tight end Jonnu Smith to the Atlanta Falcons but replaced them with players who have higher ceilings — at least as pass-catchers — in receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and tight end Mike Gesicki. The feeling within the organization is that Smith-Schuster can be better after the catch and provide more playmaking ability than Meyers.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots training camp countdown No. 4: Will special teams be fixed? New England Patriots | Patriots place two veterans, one rookie on PUP list ahead of training camp New England Patriots | Sources: Patriots agree to terms with final two unsign...

Seasonal floods hit eastern China and leave at least 5 dead and over 1,500 evacuated

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Floods caused by heavy rain hit eastern China, leaving at least five dead and three missing while over 1,500 people were evacuated, state media reported on Sunday. China National Radio said the massive floods swept through a village in the Fuyang district of the city of Hangzhou, engulfing many houses on Saturday afternoon. The rain later led to a partial mountain collapse and mudslide, affecting multiple areas in the district and more than 1,600 households suffered power outage, CCTV said. Over 1,500 people were evacuated, the state news agency Xinhua reported.Every year, seasonal flooding hits large parts of China, particularly in the semitropical south. However, some northern regions this year have reported the worst floods in 50 years. The torrents have hit different parts of the country this month and caused casualties. Earlier this month, at least 15 people were killed by floods in the southwestern region of Chongqing. According to CCTV on Sunday, torrential rai...

UK political parties are getting the jitters over green policies after a special election verdict

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Environmentalists cautioned Britain’s main political parties on Sunday not to water down their climate change promises after a special election result widely seen as a thumbs-down from voters to a tax on polluting cars.The governing Conservatives suffered two heavy defeats in a trio of by-elections for House of Commons seats on Thursday. But they managed to win the third contest, for a suburban London district, by focusing on a divisive green levy imposed by London’s Labour Party mayor.The Ultra Low Emission Zone, or ULEZ, charges drivers of older gas and diesel vehicles 12.50 pounds ($16) a day to move around the city. The charge was announced by then-Mayor Boris Johnson, a Conservative, in 2015 and took effect for central London in 2019. Mayor Sadiq Khan plans to extend it next month to the city’s less densely populated suburbs, where more people rely on cars to get around.Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said the mayor should “reflect” on the policy in the wake of t...

Indian rescuers recover 27 dead but no sign of dozens of missing villagers swamped by a landslide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Hundreds of rescuers have recovered 27 dead as they pushed on with a fourth day of searching for scores of people still missing after heavy monsoon rains triggered a massive landslide in a village in western India, an official said Sunday.Seventy-eight people are still unaccounted for since the landslide hit Irshalwadi village on Wednesday night in Raigadh district, nearly 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Mumbai, the Maharashtra state capital. At least 17 of 48 houses in the village were fully or partially buried under the debris, officials said.Rescuers were mostly using rods and shovels. Heavy equipment like earth movers and excavators could not reach the village with no paved roads and a massive sludge around it, said Deepak Avadh, an official of the National Disaster Response Force. A dog squad was also deployed to detect any survivors.From the base of the hill, it takes about 90 minutes to reach Irshalwadi by foot. Rainfall and a threat of more landslides caused t...

Greek authorities evacuate some 19,000 people as wildfire blazes on the island of Rhodes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Some 19,000 people have been evacuated from the Greek island of Rhodes as wildfires continued burning for a sixth day on three fronts, Greek authorities said on Sunday.The Ministry of Climate Change and Civil Protection said it was “the largest evacuation from a wildfire in the country.”Local police said that 16,000 were evacuated by land and 3,000 by sea, from 12 villages and several hotels, with no casualties. Six people were briefly hospitalized with respiratory problems and were later released.On Sunday morning, 266 firefighters and 49 engines on the ground were joined by five helicopters and 10 planes – seven Greek, two Turkish and one Croatian to help put out the wildfire, authorities said. A further 15 engines are expected later in the day.In the mountainous part of Rhodes, an active front of the wildfire, firefighters have been trying to stop the blaze from spreading to nearby dense forests.Southwest of the resort of Kiotari, the main focus of Saturday’...

Spanish voters make their choice in an election that could see another EU country swing to the right

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Voters are going to the polls in Spain Sunday in a general election that could make the country the latest European Union member to swing to the political right.Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the early election after his Spanish Socialist Workers Party and its far-left partner, Unidas Podemos, took a severe beating in local and regional elections in May. Sánchez has been premier since 2018.Most opinion polls for Sunday’s voting have put the right-wing Popular Party, which won the May vote, ahead of the Socialists but likely needing the support of the extreme right Vox party if they want to form a government.Such a coalition would return a far-right force to the Spanish government for the first time since the country transitioned to democracy in the late 1970s following the nearly 40-year rule of dictator Francisco Franco. A PP-Vox government would mean another EU member has moved firmly to the right, a trend seen recently in Sweden, Finland and Italy. Countries su...

Refugee claims followed Montreal AIDS summit marred by visa woes, planning issues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:50 GMT

OTTAWA — Almost one-sixth of guests at a major AIDS conference in Montreal last year who received Canadian visas ended up claiming asylum, according to internal data obtained by The Canadian Press.The documents also show Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada struggled to work with the International AIDS Society as both tried to avoid a mass refusal of visas.When the society’s conference got underway last July in Montreal, dozens of delegates from Africa had been denied visas or never received responses to their applications. Some accused Ottawa of racism on stage, saying international gatherings should not return to Canada.The controversy followed similar incidents at other global summits hosted in Canada in recent years, for which some African delegates could not obtain visas despite receiving invitations on Canadian government letterhead.Documents obtained through access-to-information laws show that 1,020 or 36 per cent of visa applications for last summer’s AI...