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Church sex abuse revelations are an unwelcome diversion as Pope Francis visits scandal-hit Portugal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:56 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — When a panel of experts read aloud some of the harrowing accounts they had collected from recently discovered victims of child sex abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church, the country’s senior bishops squirmed in the auditorium’s front-row seats.During a live television broadcast, the experts reported in February that at least 4,815 boys and girls had been abused since 1950, most aged 10-14. Before the stunning findings, senior Portuguese church officials had maintained there had been only a handful of cases of clergy sex abuse. They lost even more credibility with a response so clumsy and hesitant that victims were inspired to form Portugal’s first survivor advocacy group to press for compensation.Pope Francis will wade into the quagmire of Portugal’s reckoning with its legacy of clergy abuse and cover-up when he arrives in Lisbon next Wednesday to participate in World Youth Day, the international Catholic youth rally. While there is no mention o...

Stock market today: World shares advance after the Federal Reserve raises interest rates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:56 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares were mostly higher in Europe and Asia on Thursday after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates to their highest level in more than two decades, just as Wall Street expected. Market attention turned to a decision later in the day by the European Central Bank and to whether Japan’s central bank might alter its longstanding ultra-lax monetary policy at a policy meeting that ends on Friday. ECB President Christine Lagarde all but promised an increase as the bank’s governing council was meeting in Frankfurt, where interest rates are decided for the 20 European Union countries that use the euro.“Today, all eyes will be on the ECB, where a 25 basis point hike is widely expected along with the door being left open for another hike in September,” ING Economics said in a commentary. Germany’s DAX was up 1% at 16,284.76. In Paris, the CAC 40 advanced 1.5% to 7,424.74. Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 7,699.90. A 0.25 percentage point hike would take the EC...

A fire is still burning on board a car-carrying cargo ship near a sensitive Dutch bird habitat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:56 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A cargo ship packed with nearly 3,000 cars was still ablaze Thursday close to a world-renowned bird habitat off the Dutch coast as firefighters and salvage crews waited for the flames to subside before attempting to board the vessel.The Fremantle Highway was sailing from the German port of Bremerhaven to Singapore when it caught fire shortly before midnight Tuesday about 27 kilometers (17 miles) north of the Dutch island of Ameland, sparking fears of an environmental disaster.One crew member died and others were injured in the early hours of Wednesday. The entire crew has been evacuated from the ship.The Dutch coast guard said “the situation at the moment is stable.” The agency planned to fly experts over the ship late in the morning Thursday to take stock of its condition. The cause of the fire hasn’t yet been established.The Japanese-owned ship carrying 2,857 cars, including 25 electric cars, is close to a chain of islands and the World Heritage...

Pushing back on bias: Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In launches girls leadership program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:56 GMT

Ten years after publishing her book “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead,” Sheryl Sandberg will launch a girls leadership program Thursday through her foundation to respond to what she calls stubborn gender inequities. “What we realized is that in order to really get to equality, equality in leadership everywhere, from our parliaments to our statehouses to our homes, we’re going to have to go younger,” Sandberg said in an interview with The Associated Press.The girls leadership program, which includes a middle-school curriculum as well as resources for adults, starts with difficult conversations about the systems and biases that Sandberg said girls face. “Who wants to say to a girl seven years before she enters the workforce, ‘One day you’re going to be in a meeting and some man is going to talk over you, voice something you just said and get credit for your ideas,’” Sandberg asked. “We don’t want to tell our daughters that.” But speaking about those biases, she sa...

Shen's Luca Savoy brings home D-III Men's Sabre National Championship

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:56 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Beaches Sabre Club-NY in Troy has produced a number of national champion fencers over the years. Now, the club can add Shenendehowa High School's Luca Savoy to that list. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! One of the coolest things about sports is you never know where inspiration might strike. And the genesis of Savoy's passion for fencing is one that will resonate with a lot of people."My dad and I would lightsaber fight in the basement…just like regular swords," said Savoy. "One day he was like, "Luca, there's a sport for this." And I was fascinated by the fact that that could actually be, like, an Olympic sport. And then we went from there. I did try other activities and sports before fencing. I just love (this) sport so much. It's just so unique, and I've gained a really good experience. So, (about) three years in was when I was like, "Okay, I want to take the next step."After years of having successful ...

A New Scandal in Bulgarian Politics: Burgas Oil Refinery to Stop Functioning?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:56 GMT

The political elites in Bulgaria for many years have been unable to reach any agreement. International studies note several main characteristics of Bulgarian politics. First, there is the growing trend towards self-isolation: Sofia has often been out of step with Western partners. A number of European directives are not implemented in Bulgarian legislation or not carried out effectively, which lead to penal procedures on many occasions. Second, insufficient action on European integration has led to Bulgaria being relegated to the status of an outsider in the Eurozone and the Schengen area.Fuel ignites crisisThe entry into the Schengen area has become a subject of speculation for the Bulgarian elites. This argument is currently used to justify the termination of Lukoil concession to operate the Rosenets oil terminal near the Black Sea port of Burgas, which is valid until the mid-2040s. The initiative is being pushed forward by representatives of the largest party in the Bulgarian par...

Restoration of the Transfiguration Church in Odessa, Ukraine by Ukrainian Entrepreneur Vadym Novynskyi

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:56 GMT

Ukrainian entrepreneur, Vadim Novynskyi has announced a donation of up to $1 million to help restore the Transfiguration Church in Odessa, Ukraine which was seriously damaged during rocket attacks on Sunday, July 23.  The destruction of one of the most beautiful Ukrainian churches, which was erected by the founders of Odessa at the end of the 18th century is a true tragedy.  This cathedral was the center of the spiritual life of Odessa.This is not the first time the church has been destroyed. In 1936, the Bolsheviks destroyed the cathedral and it was restored in the early 2000’s after tens of thousands of ordinary people participated in the restoration with their donations.“I sincerely mourn with the inhabitants of Odessa and I want to assure them and all the people of Ukraine that this cathedral will be rebuilt and the people of Odessa will once again be able to worship and seek community in this hallowed place,” said Vadim Novynskyi.  “In the days of war and persecu...

Word Game: July 27, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:56 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — POPULACE (POPULACE: POP-yuh-lis: The common people; the masses.)Average mark 29 wordsTime limit 40 minutesCan you find 37 or more words in POPULACE? The list will be published tomorrow.YESTERDAY’S WORD — VAGARIES varia varies vase vier virga visa visage vise aegis agar ager area aria arise aver gave gear give giver grave gravies rage ragi raise ravage rave rise rive egis saga sage sager sari savage save saver sear sireTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.Contact Word Gam...

Ask Amy: My dad’s humiliating tell-all book could affect my job hunt

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:56 GMT

Dear Amy: I’m going through a bit of a crisis. You see, shortly before my mother died of cancer last year, she kept a diary detailing in graphic detail about how awful I was and how hard it was dealing with my outbursts (which, I have to admit, were pretty brutal).I have autism, and while my own outbursts were definitely a factor, my mother dealt out her own verbal outbursts.Dad says he’s thinking of publishing her diary so that people know “what it’s really like.” Honestly, I don’t feel comfortable with this, but he says he “promised her on her deathbed” that he’d do this.Not only do I feel uncomfortable with him doing this, but a future employer could be taking a look at this.However, I’m terrified of confronting him because I’m concerned about his rebuttal. What should I do?AnonymousDear Anonymous: It might help if you wrote down your thoughts in the form of a letter. Express your concerns logically and by using neutral langua...

Harriette Cole: I thanked her for the gift — then I found out it wasn’t a gift

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:56 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I’m going on a three-day group trip this summer. My friend who is organizing the trip has been adding all these additional charges for things such as group T-shirts and extra activities. The cost of the trip was already over $600, which is a lot for me as I don’t make that much money.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: I’m just a kid, and my parents left this heavy decision to me Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m so anxious about my home that I check on it every few hours Advice | Harriette Cole: I’m tempted to follow my friend’s lead in fixing my boring life Advice | Harriette Cole: My roommate doesn’t realize she’s causing a big problem Advice | Harriette Cole: After I rushed her to urgent care, she won’t talk about what happened I told her I wasn’t interested in spending any more money on the trip, but she went ahead and paid ...