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The top UN court has ordered Syria to do all it can to prevent torture

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:43:45 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The United Nations’ top court on Thursday ordered the Syrian government to “take all measures within its powers” to prevent torture, in a case in which the Netherlands and Canada accuse Damascus of a years-long campaign of torturing its own citizens.The interim order is intended to protect potential victims while the case accusing Syria of breaching the torture convention proceeds through the International Court of Justice, a process likely to take years.The court’s President Joan E. Donoghue said the panel was ordering Damascus to “take all measures within its power to prevent acts of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”The court also called on Syria to “ensure that its officials, as well as any organizations or persons, may be subject to its control, direction or influence do not commit any acts of torture or other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”The court further ...

Stock market today: Wall Street edges up as hopes for a just-right economy offset profit worries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:43:45 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — More signals of a slowing economy are raising Wall Street’s hopes for a “Goldilocks” outcome that’s just right for markets, and stocks are drifting higher Thursday despite some unnerving profit forecasts from Walmart and Cisco Systems.The S&P 500 was edging up by 0.2% in early trading and remains comfortably on its way to a third straight winning week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 22 points, or 0.1%, as of 10 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.Stocks have leaped this week, putting November on track to be their best in a year, on hopes that inflation is cooling enough to convince the Federal Reserve to halt its hikes to interest rates following its fusillade since last year. That’s in turn pushed expectations up for when the Fed could begin cutting rates, which can act like steroids for financial markets, in the summer.Several more reports on Thursday indicated the economy is slowing. While the weaker-than-expected data are of c...

The world’s first gene therapy for sickle cell and thalassemia has been approved

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:43:45 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s medicines regulator has authorized the world’s first gene therapy treatment for sickle cell disease, in a move that could offer relief to thousands of people with the crippling disease in the U.K.In a statement on Thursday, the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency said it approved Casgevy, the first medicine licensed using the gene editing tool CRISPR, which won its makers a Nobel prize in 2020. The agency approved the treatment for patients with sickle cell disease and thalassemia who are 12 years old and over. Casgevy is made by Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Europe) Ltd. and CRISPR Therapeutics. To date, bone marrow transplants, extremely arduous procedures that come with very unpleasant side effects, have been the only long-lasting treatment. “The future of life-changing cures resides in CRISPR based (gene-editing) technology,” said Dr. Helen O’Neill of University College London. “The use of the word ‘cure’ in relation to sickle cell dise...

Cleanup crews work to reopen businesses after heavy winds impact Hollywood Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:43:45 GMT

Overnight winds, waves and wet weather affected Hollywood Beach.In the past, hurricanes and tropical storms have affected. Hollywood Beach. But on Thursday, after heavy rainfall impacted parts of South Florida, the scene on the broadwalk was similar. 7News cameras captured people struggling to cross the broadwalk as heavy winds pushed water and sand.Cleanup crews were at the scene to try and get businesses reopened after chairs and table tops were buried under sand.

Environmental concerns spark study for major Brevard County causeway

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:43:45 GMT

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. (WSVN) — A major causeway in Brevard County is under scrutiny as environmental experts push for a study to address climate concerns. The bridge in question, accused of negatively impacting the ecosystem it sits on, is now the focal point of efforts aimed at improving water circulation, water quality, clarity, and seagrass recovery.To tackle these concerns, county leaders are exploring the possibility of funding a $750,000 study to replace the causeway across the Banana River.

EU wards off Russian tech investment via its startup fund

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:43:45 GMT

LISBON — The European Union’s €10 billion startup fund has introduced new rules allowing it to exclude co-investments from countries like Russia in sensitive technologies in Europe, the president of the fund’s board has said. “Russian co-investors are totally banned,” Michiel Scheffer, who chairs the board that advises the European Innovation Council (EIC), told reporters at the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon Wednesday.Under the fund’s rules, startups must arrange a co-investor before the EIC can acquire a minority stake for up to €15 million. In October, in new guidelines, the European Commission asked the EIC to be on the alert for foreign investors joining the ticket of startups developing sensitive technologies like microchips.The new policy corresponds with a wider effort by the EU to maintain control of strategic assets in its economy. The bloc previously drafted rules preventing sensitive technology from being exported to certain countries,...

Scottish minister blames £11K iPad bill on his kids watching football

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:43:45 GMT

LONDON — A senior Scottish government minister has blamed a £11,000 data roaming charge — incurred on a parliamentary iPad — on his sons watching football.The Scottish National Party’s under-fire Health Secretary Michael Matheson made the admission in the Scottish Parliament Thursday, as he came under pressure for the huge bill he ran up while on holiday in Morocco last year.The expense from his parliamentary iPad was initially met by the Scottish Parliament, which was told by Matheson that the device was only used for work. He has since paid the money back after the Scottish media reported on the charges last week. As the pressure for an explanation grew, Matheson told Scottish lawmakers Thursday that he was not aware that other family members had used the device until last Thursday. He explained that his failure to come clean about this in a statement last Friday or in response to questions from journalists earlier this week was down to a desire to protect his family “...

EU takes Greece to court over failure to update flood risk maps

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:43:45 GMT

The European Commission Thursday launched legal action against Greece for failing to update its flood risk and flood hazard maps as required under EU law.According to the EU executive, Greece failed to update the maps by March 2020 as stipulated in the bloc’s 2007 Floods Directive, making it the only member country to fail to comply. The Greek government initially said it would fulfil its obligations under the EU law by June 2023, but before summer said it couldn’t comply before the end of the year, the Commission said, citing the delay as a key reason for taking the country to court.The EU executive stressed that the maps are “key instruments” for flood prevention and risk management, as “they help raise awareness about areas at risk of flooding and help communities develop strategies for reducing these risks.” They can also be used by civil protection, firefighters and first responders to “plan emergency responses” and “support...

George Santos announces he won’t seek reelection following damning Ethics Committee report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:43:45 GMT

(CNN) — Republican Rep. George Santos announced he will not seek reelection to the House next year, following the Ethics Committee’s release of its long-awaited report on Thursday, concluding that there is “substantial evidence” that the New York congressman used campaign funds for personal purposes.The report said Santos engaged in “knowing and willful violations” with regard to financial disclosure statements filed with the House, and “knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission.”A statement from the committee accompanying the report said the panel unanimously voted to adopt the report. The committee said it uncovered additional “uncharged and unlawful conduct” by Santos that go beyond the criminal allegations already pending against him, and would immediately refer these allegations to the Justice Department for further investigation.The panel concluded Santos “sought to fraudulently exploit ever...

Big Month Shows Sports Betting Is Growing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:43:45 GMT

People in Massachusetts wagered more than $571.76 million on sporting events that took place in October, pumped another $794.1 million into slot machines and risked an untold amount on casino table games. All that gambling activity translated into about $39 million in tax revenue for the state, the Mass. Gaming Commission said Wednesday.The state’s slots parlor and resort-style casinos (Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, MGM Springfield and Encore Boston Harbor in Everett) generated $96.67 million in gross gaming revenue last month, and the physical sportsbooks at those facilities plus eight online sports betting platforms raked in a cumulative $59.18 million in taxable sports wagering revenue. Casino gambling yielded $27.23 million in tax revenue for the state last month and sports betting added nearly $11.79 million, totaling roughly $39.02 million for the state.Sports bettors wagered more money on October sporting events ($571.76 million) than for events in any other mon...