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Austrian leader proposes enshrining the use of cash in his country’s constitution

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Austria’s leader is proposing to enshrine in the country’s constitution a right to use cash, which remains more popular in the Alpine nation than in many other places.Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in a statement on Friday that “more and more people are concerned that cash could be restricted as a means of payment in Austria.” His office said that the “uncertainty” is fueled by contradictory information and reports.“People in Austria have a right to cash,” Nehammer said. While payments by card and electronic methods have become increasingly common in many European countries, Austria and neighboring Germany remain relatively attached to cash. The government says 47 billion euros ($51 billion) per year are withdrawn from ATMs in Austria, a country of about 9.1 million people.Protecting cash against supposed threats has been a demand of the far-right opposition Freedom Party, which has led polls in Austria in recent months. The country’s next election is due in...

Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking Black Sea navy base and Crimea with drones

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

Russia accused Ukraine early Friday of attacking its Black Sea navy base in the port of Novorossiysk with sea drones. Novorossiysk is just across the water from Crimea, where Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it thwarted another attack by Ukraine overnight, taking down 13 drones.Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Russian ships patrolling the perimeter of the naval base destroyed two Ukrainian sea drones.Footage published on Russian social media channels appeared to show a ship firing into the sea and a burning object exploding. Ukrainian agencies carried footage from social media channels they suggested showed a Russian ship listing to one side after the attack.The Associated Press could not verify the videos. Ukrainian officials have not commented on the attack, in keeping with the country’s security policy.Minutes after confirming the attack on the Black Sea port, Russia’s Ministry of Defense said it had also repelled another attack by Ukraine on Moscow-annexed Crimea. The defense ...

Erasmus+: 159 projects selected to modernize higher education worldwide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

The Commission has selected 159 projects for funding under Erasmus+ Capacity Building for Higher Education, which supports the modernization and quality of higher education in third countries worldwide. These projects all respond to the overall aim to support the international cooperation of higher education, improve education systems and strengthen growth and prosperity on a global scale. Through the projects selected this year, 2,500 higher education stakeholders from almost 130 EU countries and across the world will work together to modernise and internationalize higher education. The overall 2023 budget of €115.3 million will for example advance the professionalisation of maths in Central Africa; university studies in equity and equality law for vulnerable groups in Latin America; curricula for a sustainable blue economy in the Southern Mediterranean; and courses for transformative change in health education in South-East Asia. Projects in other regions focus on entrepreneurship...

Dear Abby: This unpleasant couple is ruining my peace and quiet

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

DEAR ABBY: A year ago, my landlord asked me to move out of an apartment that I loved. I could no longer afford the rent, so I asked my son if I could live with him. He agreed without hesitation. Two weeks later, I packed up and moved.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: He put security cameras everywhere, and now he’s logging our activities Advice | Dear Abby: The photos he takes of me are threatening our marriage Advice | Dear Abby: My friends are going to be angry about what I’ve hidden from them Advice | Dear Abby: My parents took in my ex while I had to live in my car Advice | Dear Abby: My friend makes silly excuses for why her husband won’t see me At first, it was comfortable, but things started to change around the time I had emergency open-heart surgery.My granddaughter announced that she was moving in as well. Then here she comes with her boyfriend, expecting him to live there, ...

Single-family residence in Fremont sells for $2.5 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

2357 Castillejo Way – Google Street ViewA spacious house located in the 2300 block of Castillejo Way in Fremont has new owners. The 2,292-square-foot property, built in 1970, was sold on June 15, 2023. The $2,450,000 purchase price works out to $1,069 per square foot. This single-story house offers a spacious layout with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Outside, the home presents roofing composed of wood shake roofing / shingles materials. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. Additionally, the house is equipped with a two-car garage, accommodating vehicles and storage needs efficiently. The property occupies a sizable 8,400-square-foot lot which provides abundant outdoor space, including a pool.Additional houses have recently been purchased nearby:On Travis Layfield Place, Fremont, in October 2022, a 5,804-square-foot home was sold for $4,525,000, a price per square foot of $780. The home has 3 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.In April 2023, a 1,761-square-foot ho...

Today in History: Aug. 4, Anne Frank and family arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

Today in History Today is Friday, Aug. 4, the 216th day of 2023. There are 149 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History On Aug. 4, 1944, 15-year-old diarist Anne Frank was arrested with her sister, parents and four others by the Gestapo after hiding for two years inside a building in Amsterdam. (Anne and her sister, Margot, died at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.) On this date: In 1790, the U.S. Coast Guard had its beginnings as President George Washington signed a measure authorizing a group of revenue cutters to enforce tariff and trade laws and prevent smuggling. In 1830, plans for the city of Chicago were laid out.In 1916, the United States reached agreement with Denmark to purchase the Danish Virgin Islands for $25 million. In 1936, Jesse Owens of the United States won the second of his four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics as he prevailed in the long jump over German Luz Long, who was the first to congratulate him. In 1964, the bodies of missing civil rights...

Grecia ofrece unas vacaciones gratis en Rodas a todos los viajeros afectados por los incendios forestales

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

(CNN) — El primer ministro griego ofrece una “segunda oportunidad” a los turistas cuyos viajes a la isla de Rodas se vieron interrumpidos o directamente se cancelaron debido a los incendios de este verano.El 2 de agosto, el primer ministro Kyriakos Mitsotakis apareció en el programa británico Good Morning Britain para hablar de la situación en Rodas. Muchos de los viajeros afectados procedían del Reino Unido.“A todos aquellos cuyas vacaciones se vieron interrumpidas a causa de los incendios forestales, el gobierno griego, en cooperación con las autoridades locales, les ofrecerá una semana de vacaciones gratis en Rodas, la próxima primavera o el próximo otoño, para que nos aseguremos de que vuelven a la isla”, declaró.Mitsotakis no explicó cómo funcionaría el plan ni ofreció más detalles.Más de 19.000 turistas fueron evacuados de Rodas durante los graves incendios forestales y las olas de calor de julio.Los problemas vinculados al clima afectaron también...

Cifra récord: cruce de niños migrantes por la selva del Darién ya supera todo 2022

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

CIUDAD DE PANAMÁ, Panamá- Más de 40,000 niños, niñas y adolescentes han atravesado en el primer semestre de 2023 la peligrosa selva de Darién, la frontera natural entre Panamá y Colombia, superando todo 2022, alertó este jueves la oficina regional de Unicef, con sede en la capital panameña.“La mitad de estos niños y niñas en movimiento tienen menos de cinco años y tienen necesidades específicas”, dijo Garry Conille, director regional de Unicef para América Latina y el Caribe, y afirmó que es “alarmante” que solo en la primera mitad de 2023 hayan cruzado más infantes y adolescentes que todo el año pasado.Conille destacó que la mayoría de estas familias migrantes “han perdido todo durante la travesía: sus pertenencias, sus documentos de identidad, su dinero; se quedan sin nada más que la ropa que llevan puesta”.Por ello, el jefe regional del organismo de Naciones Unidas consideró que es “vital adoptar con urgencia políticas migratorias naciona...

5 conclusiones de la comparecencia de Donald Trump en el caso de subversión electoral

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

(CNN) — El expresidente Donald Trump se declaró inocente este jueves de los cargos penales federales derivados de sus planes para anular las elecciones de 2020, en un procedimiento de 27 minutos de duración en el que surgieron los primeros destellos de las tácticas de la defensa.Fue la tercera ocasión en la que Trump fue procesado por cargos penales este año, y la audiencia marcó el debut público del equipo de abogados de la oficina del fiscal especial Jack Smith, quien dirigirá la acusación.Estas son las conclusiones de la vista:Posibles conflictos vinculados al cronograma del casoEn el caso de los documentos clasificados que también Smith presentó contra el expresidente (en junio), el equipo de Trump ha tratado de enlentecer el calendario de los procedimientos. Hubo indicios de una estrategia similar en la primera audiencia del caso de subversión electoral.La mayor parte de la vista del jueves fue discreta y se ciñó al guión. Pero el tono se agudizó cuando el juez dijo que l...

Ukrainian drones attack Russian Black Sea naval base, Moscow says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:28 GMT

Ukrainian drones targeted a Russian naval base near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk on Friday, according to Moscow’s defense ministry.In a statement, the ministry said two uncrewed drones had attacked the base, but were “detected and destroyed” by Russian ships guarding the harbor before they could damage any infrastructure. There were no casualties, according to local authorities.But footage shared widely on Telegram appeared to show a Russian warship damaged and listing in the water after the attack, seeming to undermine Moscow’s insistence that it had repelled the attack.Novorossiysk is one of Russia’s main Black Sea ports. The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which operates an oil terminal near the port, said in a statement that “a temporary ban on the movement of ships in the CPC water area and the port of Novorossiysk” was in place Friday morning. “There is no damage to the Consortium’s infrastructure,”...