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South Korea to test sewage samples for COVID-19

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:32 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea this month will begin weekly tests of sewage produced by its major cities and towns to track the spread of COVID-19 and identify future waves.Officials at the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Wednesday that wastewater surveillance will potentially provide a cheaper and more sustainable tool in the country’s pandemic response. They say it could also improve the detection of other outbreaks, such as influenza, norovirus or drug-resistant bacteria. According to the plans, health workers will conduct tests on sewage samples collected from 64 wastewater facilities nationwide at least once a week and regularly release analyses of the test results on its website.KDCA said its recent trial runs with cities and provincial governments showed that the levels of pathogens found in sewage samples largely aligned with infection trends in those areas, confirming the value of testing water released from faucets, toilets and bathtubs. Similar tes...

Israeli strikes on Syria intensify, raise tensions with Iran

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:32 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Suspected Israeli airstrikes in Syria in recent weeks have killed two Iranian military advisers, temporarily put the country’s two largest airports out of service, and raised fears of regional escalation.While Israel has fought a shadow war with Iran in Syria for years, it has intensified recently, with near-daily airstrikes attributed to Israel by Syrian officials over the past week.The escalation of attacks comes after what appears to be a rare infiltration by an armed man from Lebanon into Israel and Iran’s reconciliation with regional rival Saudi Arabia last month. It also comes against the backdrop of a major domestic crisis in Israel over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government plan to overhaul the judiciary.Israel, which has vowed to stop Iranian entrenchment in neighboring Syria, has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets in government-controlled parts of that country in recent years — but rarely acknowledges them. Since the beginning of 2023, Syrian...

Finland set to join NATO in historic shift while Sweden waits

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:32 GMT

Finland became a member of NATO on Tuesday (4 April), completing a historic security policy shift triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while neighbour Sweden is kept in the waiting room.The military alliance will welcome Finland as its 31st member in a flag-raising ceremony at NATO headquarters on the outskirts of Brussels, attended by Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and government ministers."It will be a good day for Finland's security, for Nordic security and for NATO as a whole," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Monday.The event marks the end of an era of military non-alignment for Finland that began after the country repelled an invasion attempt by the Soviet Union during World War Two and opted to try to maintain friendly relations with neighbouring Russia.But Russia's recent invasion of another neighbour, Ukraine, which began in February 2022, prompted Finns to seek security under the umbrella of NATO's collective defence pact, which states that...

British suspect in Danish fraud case to be extradited from UAE

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:32 GMT

A Briton charged with defrauding Danish tax authorities, Sanjay Shah (pictured), will be extradited to Denmark from the United Arab Emirates, authorities on both sides said on Monday.Shah is suspected of running a scheme that involved submitting applications to the Danish Treasury on behalf of investors and companies from around the world for dividend tax refunds worth more than 9 billion Danish crowns ($1.32 billion).He denies any wrongdoing.Danish Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard said in a statement that he understood Dubai authorities' decision was final but must still go via his UAE counterpart."We as a society can now send a clear signal to this type of criminal in a suit that no hiding place is safe, no matter where in the world you are," he added.The emirate's state media office confirmed that Attorney General Essam Issa Al Humaidan had rejected Shah's appeal."Sanjay Shah can be extradited to Denmark over fraud and money laundering charges," it said on Twitter.Shah's media ...

Eberle has goal, assist as Kraken rally to beat Canucks 5-2

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:32 GMT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Jordan Eberle had a goal and an assist as the Seattle Kraken rallied from two goals down to beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 on Tuesday night.Yanni Gourde, Brandon Tanev, Jayden Schwartz and Matty Beniers also scored for the Kraken, who have consecutive wins for the first time since March 7. Martin Jones made 14 saves as the Canucks registered a season-low 16 shots.“That’s a character win down the stretch here when there’s not many games left and two points mean that much more,” Tanev said.Elias Pettersson and Anthony Beauvillier scored for the Canucks, who lost their fourth straight. Collin Delia stopped 23 shots.Coach Rick Tocchet believes, with the team out of playoff contention, some players may be viewing the final games of the season as meaningless.“Some guys are maybe getting tired. … A lot of people in and out of the lineup. Maybe that’s it, I don’t know,” he said. “But the fact of the matter is you can’t think that way. We have to be s...

In Ukraine, the grief-stricken bear the pain of war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:32 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Mothers burying their sons, children burying their fathers. As the war in Ukraine enters its second year, men and women have been dying in droves on the front lines, fighting off Russia’s invasion of their country. For them, the fight is over. They paid the ultimate price. But it is their parents, their children, their siblings and their spouses who will carry the pain of war, the tears of the nation. Over a period of 15 days in February, numerous funerals were held in towns and villages near the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, for soldiers killed in fighting in Donbas, in the east of the country where most of the battles are now concentrated. The same scene is repeated day after day, week after week, in villages and cities across Ukraine as those killed on the battlefield return home for the last time. The vast majority were not career soldiers. A carpenter, an ornithologist, a baker, a pharmacist, a student — they signed up to fight because of the war, leaving behind...

Cómo saber si el estrés es un problema. Esto dice una experta

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:32 GMT

(CNN) — Con motivo de la celebración en abril del Mes de Concienciación sobre el Estrés, sé que hay muchos motivos para estar estresado: tiroteos masivos, guerras en todo el mundo, los efectos a largo plazo de la pandemia y el estrés diario de vivir y trabajar en el siglo XXI. Seguro que tú también tienes tu lista.Todo el mundo experimenta estrés en distintos momentos de su vida. Pero, ¿cuándo es el estrés un problema que requiere nuestra atención? ¿Qué síntomas hay que tener en cuenta? ¿Cuáles son las consecuencias del estrés a largo plazo para la salud? ¿Qué mecanismos para hacerle frente son saludables y cuáles no? ¿Y qué técnicas pueden ayudar a afrontar –y prevenir– el estrés?Después de dejar tarde a mi hijo en el colegio (lo siento, pequeño, es culpa mía), esperaba con impaciencia este consejo de la Dra. Leana Wen, analista médica de CNN. Wen es médico de urgencias y profesora de política y gestión sanitarias en la Escuela de Salud Pública del Instituto Milken de la Univ...

Hernández, Pollock both homer twice as Mariners rout Angels

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:32 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Teoscar Hernández and AJ Pollock each hit two homers, combining to drive in nine runs as the Seattle Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 11-2 on Tuesday night.Luis Castillo (1-0) turned in a second consecutive strong outing, allowing two hits and striking out six in 5 2/3 shutout innings. The right-hander has permitted three hits and struck out 12 in 11 2/3 scoreless innings, starting both of Seattle’s wins this season.Castillo gave up a leadoff single to Taylor Ward and then retired his next eight batters. The only other hit off him was a fifth-inning double by Brandon Drury. “Hats off to (Castillo). He’s in total control,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “Got after it early, really located the fastball. Maybe not the best slider that he’s had tonight, just couldn’t really get a feel for that, but the fastball was dominant at the top of the zone and a really good changeup to go along with it. So, great outing by him.”Seattle stopped a four-game skid and s...

Zelenskyy to visit Polish President Duda in Warsaw

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:32 GMT

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected in Warsaw on Wednesday, where he will meet his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda in his second trip to Poland since the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine.Their talks will focus on security issues, economic cooperation and historical matters, Duda’s office said in a statement.“We want to conduct these talks in the spirit of thinking about the future,” presidential foreign policy adviser Marcin Przydacz said.This will be Zelenskyy’s second visit to Poland since the beginning of the war — but his first “official” one, according to the Polish presidential office.The Ukrainian president has only been outside of the country twice since February 2022. He first traveled to the U.S. last December, before heading to London, Paris and Brussels in a tour of allied European capitals in February. He then briefly stopped in Rzeszów, Poland, on his way back from Brussels, where he met with Duda.Duda has v...

Violence in Jerusalem at mosque raises fear of more fighting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:32 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli police stormed into the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City early Wednesday, firing stun grenades at Palestinian youths who hurled firecrackers at them in a burst of violence during a sensitive holiday season. Palestinian militants in Gaza responded with rocket fire on southern Israel, prompting repeated Israeli airstrikes.The fighting, coming as Muslims mark the holiday month of Ramadan and Jews prepare to begin the Passover festival on Wednesday evening, raised fears of a wider conflagration. Similar clashes two years ago erupted into a bloody 11-day war between Israel and the ruling Hamas militant group in Gaza. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa said that dozens of worshippers who were spending the night praying were injured in the police raid. The Israeli military said one soldier was shot in a separate incident in the occupied West Bank.The mosque sits on a sensitive hilltop compound holy to both Jews and Muslims. Al-Aqsa is the third-holiest...