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Death toll rises to 18 in furnace explosion at Chinese-owned nickel plant in Indonesia

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:39 GMT

PALU, Indonesia (AP) — The death toll following the explosion of a smelting furnace at a Chinese-owned nickel plant on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island rose to 18 on Tuesday, as police ordered the plant to stop operations until an investigation into the incident is completed.The accident, which occurred on Sunday, was the latest in a series of deadly incidents at nickel smelting plants in Indonesia that are part of China’s ambitious transnational development program known as the Belt and Road Initiative.Nickel is a key component in global battery production for electric vehicles.Four Chinese and nine Indonesian workers died instantly on Sunday when the furnace exploded while they were repairing it, said Central Sulawesi police chief Agus Nugroho. Three more victims died a day later while being treated at a local hospital.Two more workers died on Tuesday at the hospital, bringing the total number of fatalities to 18, including eight workers from China, said Deddy Kurniawan, a spokesperson...

Gloating Baltimore Ravens say Lamar Jackson, not Purdy or McCaffrey, should be MVP frontrunner

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:39 GMT

SANTA CLARA – Lamar Jackson went into the Christmas night game against the 49ers an underdog. He left the 33-19 victory the MVP frontrunner, according to both Baltimore coaches and players, after shredding the home team and outshining Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey, his competition for the award. “I thought McCaffrey had a really good game, and he’s a really good player, but I think that with the score, it might just be our guy, it might be Lamar,” Ravens corner back Marlon Humphrey said. Jackson, who won the honor in 2019, was dominant in the short passing game, throwing on the run, and sprinting for yardage on his trademark scrambles. “To win, which happened tonight, that was my gift for Christmas,” said Jackson, adding that he didn’t care one way or the other for what the game meant for his MVP odds. The numbers, 252 passing yards and two touchdowns plus 45 yards rushing and countless more saved with his scrambles, bore that out. “I thought Lamar had a MVP performance ...

WTOP marks 10 years of Pet of the Week partnership — hundreds of spotlighted dogs adopted

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:39 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio Finding a forever home can be life-changing for both animal and human. This holiday we're celebrating a special milestone and checking in with some of WTOP's Pets of the Week. (WTOP/Neal Augenstein) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); if( typeof gtag === "function" ){ gtag('event', 'post_audio', { 'play': audio_filename, 'permalink': window.location.href }); } }); })...

Stock market today: Asian markets are steady in holiday-thinned trade

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:39 GMT

Asian markets were steady in holiday-thinned trading on Tuesday, with some markets in the region closed for holidays. U.S. futures and oil prices edged higher. Shanghai’s benchmark led losses in Asia on heavy selling of technology and computer chip-related shares as worries revived over trade tensions with the U.S. and other western countries. The Shanghai Composite index sank 0.8% to 2,894.72. In Shenzhen, where relatively more high-tech companies are listed, the A-share index lost 1.3%. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 dropped less than 0.1% to 33,244.50. In South Korea, the Kospi added 0.1%, to 2,601.67. Bangkok’s SET rose 0.2%. Taiwan’s Taiex gained 0.7% and the Sensex in Mumbai was up 0.4%. Markets in Australia and Hong Kong were closed. Japan’s unemployment rate remained stable at 2.5% in November, according to government data released on Tuesday. The job-to-applicants ratio experienced a slight easing, settling at 1.28, indicating there were around 128 job opportunities availab...

Por primera vez en casi 50 años, a un refugio de animales de Pensilvania no le quedan perros después de cientos de adopciones

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:39 GMT

(CNN) –Hace apenas dos semanas, la SPCA del condado de Adams, Pensilvania, estaba casi llena ya que sus perreras estaban llenas de perros que necesitaban un hogar. Ahora, por primera vez en casi 50 años, no hay perros en las instalaciones y los residentes recientes están pasando las vacaciones con sus nuevas familias.“¡Decir que estamos más que emocionados es quedarse corto! ¡El personal y los voluntarios han trabajado MUY duro para cuidar a los animales bajo nuestro cuidado y asegurarse de que sean adoptados en el hogar correcto! dijo el refugio de animales en una publicación en Facebook este viernes. “Esta es la primera vez en 47 AÑOS que la SPCA del condado de Adams está vacía y mucho menos en Navidad. ¡Es un verdadero milagro!”Había un gato refugiado en las instalaciones, dijo el refugio; un gato callejero llegó justo antes del anuncio.La instalación en el sur de Pensilvania dijo que adoptó 598 animales este año y reunió a 125 perros callejeros con sus dueños.A nivel nacio...

Today in History: December 26, tsunami kills hundreds of thousands in Asia

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:39 GMT

Today in HistoryToday is Tuesday, Dec. 26, the 360th day of 2023. There are five days left in the year.Today’s Highlight in History:On Dec. 26, 2004, more than 230,000 people, mostly in southern Asia, were killed by a 100-foot-high tsunami triggered by a 9.1-magnitude earthquake beneath the Indian Ocean.On this date:In 1799, former President George Washington was eulogized by Col. Henry Lee as “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen.”In 1865, James H. Nason of Franklin, Massachusetts, received a patent for “an improved coffee percolator.”In 1908, Jack Johnson became the first Black boxer to win the world heavyweight championship as he defeated Canadian Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia.In 1917, during World War I, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation authorizing the government to take over operation of the nation’s railroads.In 1941, during World War II, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of t...

Biden dirigió ataques en Iraq contra Kataib Hezbollah este lunes después de que 3 militares estadounidenses resultaran heridos

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:39 GMT

(CNN) — El presidente estadounidense, Joe Biden, dirigió ataques en Iraq contra tres lugares utilizados por Kataib Hezbollah y “grupos afiliados” este lunes por la noche, dijo la Casa Blanca.Los ataques se produjeron después de que Kataib Hezbollah se atribuyera el mérito de utilizar un dron “unidireccional” en un ataque este lunes por la mañana en el norte de Iraq que hirió a tres miembros del servicio estadounidense, incluido uno que todavía se encuentra en estado crítico, dijo la portavoz del Consejo de Seguridad Nacional, Adrienne Watson, en una declaración.“Las primeras evaluaciones indican que estos ataques aéreos estadounidenses destruyeron las instalaciones objetivo y probablemente mataron a varios militantes de Kataib Hezbollah. No hay indicios de que vidas civiles se hayan visto afectadas”, dijo el Comando Central de Estados Unidos en un comunicado publicado en las redes sociales.Los ataques a las instalaciones de Kataib Hezbollah ocurrieron a las 8:45 pm...

Russian naval ship in Crimea damaged in airstrike by Ukrainian forces, Russian Defense Ministry says

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:39 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Russian naval ship in Crimea was damaged in an airstrike by Ukrainian forces, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday.The landing ship Novocherkassk was hit at a base in the city of Feodosia by plane-launched guided missiles, the ministry said.The ministry said two Ukrainian fighter jets were destroyed by anti-aircraft fire during the attack.There was no immediate report of how badly the ship was damaged, but videos circulating on Ukrainian channels showed an extensive fire in the port area.The Associated Press

Passengers stranded for hours after train collides with pedestrian on Christmas Day

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:39 GMT

A person was struck and killed by a Metrolink train on Christmas Day in L.A. County, leaving passengers stranded for hours.According to Metrolink officials, the pedestrian was struck at 3:21 p.m. Monday afternoon at a railroad crossing near Sunflower Avenue and Covina Boulevard on the border of the cities of Covina and San Dimas.  Hermosa Beach residents shaken after deadly Christmas Eve standoff, house fire The 51 passengers on board – traveling from L.A. to San Bernardino – were stuck for more than four hours as the train was stopped on a steep slope which made it unsafe to disembark, Metrolink said. According to Metrolink Director Scott Johnson, three additional trains were delayed while a fourth was outright cancelled. A pedestrian was fatally struck by Metrolink train on Christmas Day in Covina, CA. (KTLA)Nearby residents say that while they are saddened by the fatal collision, it's not the first time it's happened at that location."We've been here about 11 ye...

Local lottery player wins over $2 million on Christmas 

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:39 GMT

While many across the world wished for more money this year for Christmas, one lucky SoCal resident had their wish come true. “A Christmas present worth $2.08 million” was sold at the Donut Storr on Knott Drive in Anaheim, lottery officials said. The player matched all five numbers – 5, 12, 20, 24 and 29 – but didn’t match the Powerball of 4. Had they done so, they would have taken home the jackpot of $638 million.  6-year-old boy flying alone ends up on the wrong flight That $638 million jackpot now rolls to an estimated $685 million, lottery officials said on X, formerly Twitter. A total of 141,939 winning tickets were sold across California for Monday night’s drawing, according to the Powerball website. Powerball tickets cost $2, and drawings are scheduled for every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 7:59 p.m.