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US limits visa waiver for Hungarians

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

The United States on Tuesday sharply limited Hungary’s participation in its visa waiver program over security concerns regarding new passports issued between 2011 and 2020. Under the American Visa Waiver Program, citizens of participating countries can travel to the U.S. for tourism or business for up to 90 days without a visa, and simply need a so-called Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). But starting Tuesday, ESTA validity for Hungarian passport holders will be reduced from two years to one, and an ESTA will only be valid for a single use. The unprecedented move, in response to security concerns, affects Hungary as the only one of 40 countries participating in the U.S. program. After coming to power in 2010, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government implemented a major policy change that granted citizenship to ethnic Hungarians abroad — including in Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine. Domestic critics say Orbán’s controversial move was ...

Russia blames Ukraine as drone hits Moscow skyscraper

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

A drone struck a business district in downtown Moscow overnight, the Russian defense ministry said Tuesday.The drone “was suppressed by electronic warfare equipment and, having lost control, crashed on the territory of a complex of nonresidential buildings in Moscow city,” the ministry said in a statement.Two other drones “were destroyed in the air by air defense means over the territory of the Odintsovo and Narofominsk districts of the Moscow region,” the ministry added, saying it held Ukraine responsible for the attack.According to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, no one was injured in the attack, but a skyscraper in a business district was “damaged.” The targeted building had already been hit by another strike in the early hours of Sunday, Sobyanin said.Moscow’s international Vnukovo airport was temporarily closed Tuesday morning as a result of the nearby attacks, Russia’s state-owned newswire TASS reported.This is the latest in a seri...

Brain fog and other long COVID symptoms affect millions. New treatment studies bring hope

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

By LAURAN NEERGAARD (AP Medical Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Institutes of Health is beginning a handful of studies to test possible treatments for long COVID, an anxiously awaited step in U.S. efforts against the mysterious condition that afflicts millions.Monday’s announcement from the NIH’s $1.15 billion RECOVER project comes amid frustration from patients who’ve struggled for months or even years with sometimes-disabling health problems — with no proven treatments and only a smattering of rigorous studies to test potential ones.“This is a year or two late and smaller in scope than one would hope but nevertheless it’s a step in the right direction,” said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly of Washington University in St. Louis, who isn’t involved with NIH’s project but whose own research highlighted long COVID’s toll. Getting answers is critical, he added, because “there’s a lot of people out there exploiting pat...

Russia accuses Ukraine of drone attack on Moscow, hitting a tower for the 2nd time in 3 days

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian authorities early Tuesday accused Kyiv of yet another attack on Moscow and its surroundings with drones, one of which hit a building in the capital that was damaged by a drone just days ago in a similar attack early Sunday. Russian officials have claimed that the intensified attacks on the capital region reflect failures in Ukraine’s counteroffensive, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said over the weekend that “the war is gradually coming back to Russian territory,” but stopped short of taking responsibility of the attacks. The repeated drone strikes underscore Moscow’s vulnerability as Russia’s war in Ukraine drags into its 18th month.The Russian Defense Ministry said in the early hours of Tuesday that it it shot down two Ukrainian drones outside Moscow and jammed another, sending it crashing into a skyscraper in the Moscow City business district and damaging the building’s facade. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the ...

US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders, citing security concerns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — The United States imposed new travel restrictions on citizens of Hungary on Tuesday over concerns that the identities of nearly 1 million foreigners granted Hungarian passports over nine years were not sufficiently verified, according to the U.S. Embassy and a government official.The restrictions apply to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, which allows passport holders from 40 countries to enter the United States for business or tourism without a visa for up to 90 days.The validity period of travel for Hungarian passport holders under the Electronic System for Travel Authorization was reduced from two years to one year, and each traveler will be limited to a single entry into the United States. They are the only such restrictions among the 40 participating states in the Visa Waiver Program.A senior U.S. government official said the change followed years of failed efforts by the U.S. to work with Hungary’s government to resolve the security concerns. The official ...

France planning an evacuation of people seeking to leave Niger after the coup in its former colony

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

PARIS (AP) — The French Foreign Ministry says France is planning an imminent evacuation of people seeking to leave Niger after the coup last week in the former French colony. In a brief statement to The Associated Press, the ministry said Tuesday “an evacuation is being prepared” and that it “will happen rapidly.” The ministry in Paris gave no other immediate details.The Associated Press

Globalization's impact on employment and the EU 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

Find out how much the EU aims to benefit from globalization while tackling its negative effects on employment, Economy.Globalisation creates job opportunities but can also result in job losses. Managing globalization to make the most of it is a priority for the EU as is trying to create a more social Europe that helps redundant workers find new jobs.Job opportunities in EuropeThe number of jobs supported directly or indirectly by EU exports outside the union is continuously growing. It increased from 21.7 million jobs in 2000 to 38 million jobs in 2019. One in five jobs in the EU depends on exports.Job opportunities aren't limited to exporting companies. They also extend to firms supplying goods and services to them.For example, in Germany exports to non-EU countries support 7.7 million jobs. Thanks to the EU's single market an additional 1.2 million German jobs depend on exports from other EU countries to non-EU countries. In total, 20% of jobs in Germany rely on EU exports.The sha...

Sale closed in Pleasanton: $1.7 million for a four-bedroom home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

2589 Corte Rivera – Google Street ViewA spacious house located in the 2500 block of Corte Rivera in Pleasanton has new owners. The 2,500-square-foot property, built in 1973, was sold on June 7, 2023. The $1,660,000 purchase price works out to $664 per square foot. This two-story home offers a spacious layout with four bedrooms and three baths. In addition, the house comes with a garage. Situated on a spacious 9,354-square-foot lot, the property offers ample outdoor space.Additional houses that have recently been sold close by include:In November 2022, a 1,932-square-foot home on Paseo Santa Cruz in Pleasanton sold for $1,650,000, a price per square foot of $854. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Via San Blas, Pleasanton, in May 2023, a 1,778-square-foot home was sold for $1,635,000, a price per square foot of $920. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 1,785-square-foot home on the 6100 block of Corte Altamira in Pleasanton sold in January 2023, for $1,495,000, a price ...

Marta heads into Brazil’s final group game of Women’s World Cup tearfully reflecting on her legacy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Marta arrived at her sixth Women’s World Cup expecting to go deep into the tournament. Then a loss to France put Brazil in jeopardy of being eliminated in group play, and one of the greatest players has been forced to examine her own legacy. The veteran forward, who has been used sparingly in this tournament, is trying to become the first player, female or male, to score in six different World Cups. She could get a chance Wednesday against Jamaica in the Group H finale played in Melbourne, where a win would guarantee the Selecao advance to the knockout round for their seventh consecutive World Cup. A draw would put Brazil’s fate in the outcome of France’s game against Panama, and, possibly end Marta’s World Cup career. She began to cry Tuesday when asked about her legacy. “When I started playing I didn’t have an idol, a female idol,” she said through a translator. “You guys didn’t show any female games. How was I suppo...

Niger crisis deepens as France plans evacuation and coup leaders get support from neighboring juntas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:57 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — France on Tuesday announced a planned evacuation from Niger after a military coup there won backing from two other West African nations ruled by mutinous soldiers.The French Foreign Ministry in Paris said the evacuation “will happen rapidly.” It gave no other immediate details.The French decision to evacuate comes amid a deepening crisis sparked by the coup last week against Niger’s democratically elected president, Mohamed Bazoum.The West African regional body known as ECOWAS announced travel and economic sanctions against Niger on Sunday and said it would use force if the coup leaders don’t reinstate Bazoum within one week. Bazoum’s government was one of the West’s last democratic partners against West African extremists.In a joint statement from Mali and Burkina Faso, their military governments wrote that “any military intervention against Niger will be considered as a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali.”Col. Abdoulaye Maiga, Mali...