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The year in clean energy: Wind, solar and batteries grow despite economic challenges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:47 GMT

Led by new solar power, the world added renewable energy at breakneck speed in 2023, a trend that if amplified will help Earth turn away from fossil fuels and prevent severe warming and its effects.Clean energy is often now the least expensive, explaining some of the growth. Nations also adopted policies that support renewables, some citing energy security concerns, according to the International Energy Agency. These factors countered high interest rates and persistent challenges in getting materials and components in many places. The IEA projected that more than 440 gigawatts of renewable energy would be added in 2023, more than the entire installed power capacity of Germany and Spain together. Here’s a look at the year in solar, wind and batteries.ANOTHER BANNER YEAR FOR SOLARChina, Europe, and the U.S. each set solar installation records for a single year, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.China’s additions dwarfed those of all other countries, at...

Youth charged following slashing in Hamilton

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:47 GMT

Hamilton police are investigating following an altercation where a youth was slashed in the face in Hamilton on Tuesday night.Police were called shortly after 8:00 p.m. to a McDonald’s at 970 Upper Wentworth Street, for reports of 50 youths in the establishment who were no longer welcome.As the youths exited the restaurant to go to the parking lot, two teenage males were sprayed with bear spray, Hamilton Police Service public information officer Krista-Lee Ernst tells CityNews. A separate incident occurred with two other male youths where police say a 14-year-old slashed a 16-year-old in the face, where the victim sustained a minor injury. The 16-year-old was treated and released from hospital.The 14-year-old was arrested and will face a charge of assault with a weapon in January. Police continue to investigate the bear spray incident, but say the victims continue to be uncooperative.

Metrolinx staff ‘very confident’ Finch West LRT will open in 2024 after recent work

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:47 GMT

With a flurry of transit expansion projects occurring across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, the Finch West LRT line in northwest Toronto is the closest to opening to the public.CityNews recently toured the 11-kilometre, 18-stop route once again to assess how construction is going. “I’d say we’ve made tremendous progress in the last six months,” Andrew Hope, the chief capital officer for rapid transit with Metrolinx, told CityNews.“I know people have been waiting a long time to have this project up and running, and we’re very, very pleased with where we are and excited about the benefits it’s going to bring.”During a similar visit in July, the state of the infrastructure build raised questions if the line would be finished by the end of 2023 as originally hoped. At the time, staff with Metrolinx, the provincial transportation agency overseeing the private-sector consortium building the line, said the opening would likely happen ...

Heat exhaustion killed Taylor Swift fan attending Rio concert, forensics report says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:47 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Heat exhaustion is the cause of death of a Brazilian fan who attended a concert of singer Taylor Swift in November, a forensics report obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday shows.23-year-old Ana Clara Benevides passed out during Swift’s second song in the Nov. 17 concert in Rio de Janeiro, “Cruel Summer,” and died hours later at a local hospital. Temperatures in the city that day were at about 40 degrees Celsius (105 Fahrenheit).Fans lined up for hours before the show, and many accused organizers of failing to deliver enough water supplies for the more than 60,000 attending the concert at the Nilton Santos Stadium. They said they were not allowed to take their own water into the stadium.The report by Rio’s Forensic Medical Institute said Benevides’ heat exposure led to a cardiorrespiratory arrest. It also said she did not have preexisting conditions or substance abuse that could have led to her death.The forensics expert who analyzed h...

Former Turkish club president released on bail after punching referee at top league game

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:47 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Faruk Koca, the former president of a Turkish top division soccer team who was jailed for punching a referee, has been released on bail, the country’s state-run news agency reported on Wednesday.Koca, who resigned as president of MKE Ankaragucu after punching referee Halil Umut Meler, will still be required to report regularly to authorities, the Anadolu Agency said.Meler was attacked on Dec. 11 after the final whistle of a 1-1 draw between Ankaragucu and Caykur Rizespor. The referee, who was also kicked by two other people while lying on the ground, was hospitalized with a minor fracture close to his eye.Koca is scheduled to stand trial on Jan. 9 on charges of injuring a public official, threatening an official and violating a law relating to the prevention of violence in sports. Two other people have also been charged for kicking the referee.The Turkish Football Federation suspended all league games for a week in response to the incident and imposed a p...

US ambassador thanks Japan for defense upgrade and allowing a Patriot missile sale to US

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:47 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel praised Japan’s contribution to drastic “reform and modernization” of their alliance, particularly its military capability and spending, as well as a decision to allow Japanese-made Patriot guided missiles to be shipped to the United States to make up for its decreasing inventory.In a meeting with Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara on Wednesday, Emanuel noted a series of steps Japan has taken to bolster its military power and the countries’ alliance, saying it brings the “level of deterrence to capital D deterrence.” In the latest move, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government on Friday eased its postwar ban on lethal weapons exports, a move seen as a major break from Japan’s postwar self-defense-only principle. It also approved a 16.5% increase in defense spending next year to a record 7.95 trillion-yen ($56 billion) with a focus on missile strike and defense capabilities.The revision to the a...

Add an old English twist to your holiday cocktails with sloe gin. Here are 4 recipes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:47 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Sloe gin is a festive old English drink that’s especially well-suited to the winter holidays. You can drink it over ice, try it in a cocktail, or forage for sloe berries and make a home batch. Family recipes have been passed down for generations, but for novices, it’s easy to experiment at home.THE BERRIESSloe gin’s origins go back to the hedgerows of blackthorn bushes that served as fences all across England when common farmland was divvied up in the 17th century. Their plum-like, inky blue-purple sloe berries became synonymous with the English countryside.After realizing that the raw berries tasted tart and astringent, people tried to make wine from them. But the astringency remained, and then “someone had the bright idea of resting it on a spirit,” says Joe Horning, the liquid quality and innovations manager at the London-based Sipsmith Gin.By steeping sloe berries in alcohol, the low-quality gin of the time was transformed into a more palatable tipple. ...

Man trapped for 6 days in wrecked truck in Indiana rescued after being spotted by passersby

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:47 GMT

PORTAGE, Ind. (AP) — A man who had been trapped for days in his crashed pickup truck was rescued Tuesday after two fishermen spotted the wreckage, Indiana State Police said.Two men were scouting fishing locations when they found the man in his badly damaged vehicle, Sgt. Glen Fifield told local news outlets.“They touched the body, and the person turned their head and started talking to them. So, that got a little rise out of them,” Fifield said.The driver told the men he had been trapped since Dec. 20. The pickup had wrecked along Interstate 94 near Portage below an underpass where it could not be seen from the highway above.The man, in his 20s, was airlifted to a hospital in South Bend for treatment of life-threatening injuries, Fifield said.The driver’s name hasn’t been released. He had not been reported missing, Fifield said.Portage is about 31 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Chicago.The Associated Press

Concealed carry holder foils attempted carjacking on city's West Side; multiple gunshots fired: CPD

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:47 GMT

CHICAGO — An attempted carjacking was foiled in the Garfield Park neighborhood on the city's West Side, resulting in multiple gunshots fired.In a preliminary investigation, Chicago police report that two victims, a 65-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman, were inside a car in the 100 block of N. Kostner Ave. when four unknown armed male offenders exited a silver SUV and approached them just before 5 a.m. Wednesday.The offenders demanded the vehicle, but the male victim produced a handgun and fired shots at the offenders, which did not strike anyone. Police say the man is a valid Concealed Carry License and Firearm Owners Identification Card holder in the state of Illinois.According to police, one of the offenders then returned fire at the victims, striking the female in the chest and grazing the male's right calf. The offenders then got back in the silver SUV and fled the scene. Man shot, killed while parking car in Cicero Police say both victims were transported to West Suburban ...

Disney claims in lawsuit that DeSantis-appointed government is violating Florida public records law

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:47 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney has filed a lawsuit claiming that the oversight government for Walt Disney World, which was taken over by appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year, has failed to release documents and properly preserve records in violation of Florida public records law.Disney said in the lawsuit filed Friday that the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, often referred to as CFTOD, has been so slow in fulfilling its public records duties that it has failed to respond completely to a request the company made seven months ago when it paid more than $2,400 to get emails and text messages belonging to the five district board members appointed by DeSantis.Disney, DeSantis and the DeSantis appointees already are battling for control of the government in two pending lawsuits in federal and state court. Marvel, Disney drop actor Jonathan Majors after he’s convicted of assault The public records lawsuit is asking a judge to review any documents that the district c...