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Dear Abby: After this emotional blow, I feel I can’t trust my friends

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:36 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My husband of six years has left me for my sister. I’m brokenhearted because I thought he was the love of my life. I thought the six years we had together were wonderful for both of us.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: I worry people are still judging me for the wedding dance bungle Advice | Dear Abby: After this awkward encounter, my neighbor posted notes about me in the building Advice | Dear Abby: I believed my dad’s version of why he got fired. Then I was blindsided by the truth. Advice | Dear Abby: My friend was upset by this playdate incident involving his son. Was I wrong? Advice | Dear Abby: My snappy response about my invalid wife apparently offends people I don’t know how to continue on. My mental health is at an all-time low. Friends have tried to reach out to me, but I push them away because I no longer trust anyone. I’m afraid they, too, will hurt me.I a...

Detached house sells in San Ramon for $1.9 million

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:36 GMT

1712 Wycliffe Lane – Google Street ViewA 2,434-square-foot house built in 2005 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 1700 block of Wycliffe Lane in San Ramon was sold on Aug. 28, 2023. The $1,908,000 purchase price works out to $784 per square foot. This two-story house provides a generous living space with its four bedrooms and three baths. The property is equipped with central A/C. In addition, the house features an attached two-car garage, providing ample room for vehicles and storage needs.These nearby houses have also recently changed hands:On Banbury Drive, San Ramon, in June 2023, a 2,496-square-foot home was sold for $2,150,000, a price per square foot of $861. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In November 2022, a 2,661-square-foot home on Banbury Drive in San Ramon sold for $1,851,000, a price per square foot of $696. The home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.A 2,966-square-foot home on the 2200 block of Mornington Lane in San Ramon sold in August 2023...

El café está en peligro. Starbucks está trabajando en soluciones

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:36 GMT

(CNN) — El café es un cultivo delicado, en particular el café arábica, la variedad más popular. Y el cambio climático plantea una enorme amenaza para el negocio del café y para los agricultores.“Para crecer adecuadamente, los cultivos de café requieren niveles específicos de temperatura, luz y humedad”, según el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, una institución financiera al servicio de América Latina y el Caribe. Actualmente, esas condiciones se cumplen en gran medida en ciertas partes de América Latina, dentro de una región llamada cinturón cafetero, señaló un informe reciente del BID.Pero para 2050, advirtió el banco, “el aumento de las temperaturas reducirá el área apta para el cultivo de café hasta en un 50%”. El clima cambiante podría significar que algunos países podrían incorporar nuevamente el café, señaló el BID.Pero para que el café siga prosperando donde está ahora, las cosas tienen que cambiar.Un cafeto en Hacienda Alsacia. (Crédito: Joshua Trujillo/Starbucks)Po...

Brussels officially starts probe into Chinese electric vehicles

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:36 GMT

The European Commission today officially started an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles, according to a notice of initiation published in the EU Official Journal.The probe is on the Commission’s own initiative, a so-called ex-officio investigation, instead of being triggered following a formal complaint from the EU industry, as is usually the case. It was announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in her State of the European Union address last month, when she warned that global markets were being “flooded” with cheaper Chinese electric cars.The investigation followed pressure from the French government, which is pushing to strengthen Europe’s industrial defenses against China’s fast-growing electric vehicle industry. But it has sparked concern in Germany, whose auto industry is heavily exposed to the Chinese market, that Beijing could retaliate — sparking a tit-for-tat cycle that could escalate into a full-scale t...

EU’s new climate leadership duo gets nod from MEPs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:36 GMT

New European Green Deal chief Maroš Šefčovič and climate commissioner-designate Wopke Hoekstra have won lawmakers’ approval to take up their posts, pending a plenary vote on Thursday. Both politicians were asked to answer additional written questions on Tuesday after failing to impress MEPs in their hours-long hearings. On Wednesday morning, after filing their responses, Šefčovič and Hoekstra finally received the backing of two-thirds of the European Parliament’s environment committee, as required.Committee chair Pascal Canfin said in a press conference that the candidates’ written answers had provided the necessary “clarity” on key issues. “That’s why, this morning, we had this two-thirds majority,” he said. The center-right European People’s Party — Hoekstra’s political family — and the center-left Socialists, Šefčovič’s group, backed both commissioners after initially threatening to vote down each other&#...

Woburn team rallies behind Stocker

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:36 GMT

Running has always been important to Woburn senior Renee Stocker and one of the activities in her life that help define her. She’s put in many miles during the summer months to prepare for the rigors that cross country brings with it. And this past summer wasn’t going to be an exception.But running just didn’t seem that important to Stocker anymore after one terrible day while vacationing with her family in Wareham in July. Just two days after their 17th birthday, Stocker’s twin brother and best friend Bobby died from injuries he sustained in a dirt bike accident.Overcome by sadness and grief, Stocker simply didn’t have the desire or motivation to run another step during the summer, choosing instead to spend more time with her parents. Running would just have to wait.“I’ve always liked to run, but during the summer I didn’t run at all after that day,” said Stocker. “There was just such a lot going on. It messed me up. The r...

Pakistan announces big crackdown on migrants in the country illegally, including 1.7 million Afghans

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:36 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s government announced a major crackdown Tuesday on migrants in the country illegally, saying it would expel them starting next month and raising alarm among foreigners without documentation who include an estimated 1.7 million Afghans.The country’s caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said the crackdown was not aimed at Afghans and would apply to all nationalities, though the vast majority of migrants in the country are Afghans.The campaign comes amid strained relations between Pakistan and neighboring, Taliban-led Afghanistan over what the Pakistani government says are attacks in Pakistan by Taliban-allied militants who go back and forth across the countries’ shared 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) border and who find shelter in Afghanistan.Bugti said that any migrants in Pakistan illegally should go back to their countries voluntarily before the end of October to avoid mass arrest and forced deportation. He said the government planned to confiscate the ...

TikTok ends retail business in Indonesia after ban on social media shopping

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:36 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — TikTok said it will halt its online retail operation in Indonesia on Wednesday to comply with the country’s decision to ban e-commerce transactions on social media platforms — a big blow to the video platform’s fastest-growing market.The Indonesian government announced the new regulation, which prohibits social media companies from facilitating sales of products on their platforms, on Sept. 28 in a bid to protect small businesses from e-commerce competition, accusing the popular apps and websites of predatory pricing.The Chinese-owned video sharing app said in a statement it will stop facilitating e-commerce sales in TikTok Shop Indonesia by 5 p.m. Wednesday.“Our priority is to remain compliant with local laws and regulations,” said the statement released Tuesday on its website.Indonesia’s Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan said the ban aims to “prevent the domination of the algorithm and prevent the use of personal data in business interests” and &#...

Global Red Cross urges ouster of Belarus chapter chief over the deportation of Ukrainian children

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:36 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — The international Red Cross is calling for the ouster of the head of the Belarus Red Cross, who stirred international outrage for boasting that it was actively ferrying Ukrainian children from Russian-controlled areas to Belarus.The board of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Wednesday it has given the Belarus chapter until Nov. 30 to dismiss Dzmitry Shautsou, and if not, will recommend all affiliates to halt new partnerships and funding for the Belarus branch — which would be suspended from the global organization.An internal IFRC probe found that the Belarus Red Cross said Shautsou was “found to be solely responsible for the allegations.” It also determined that another organization was responsible for moving children from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, and the Belarus Red Cross’ involvement was only within Belarus. It did not specify the other organization.Belarus has been Moscow’s closest ally since Russia’s invasion...

Russia says it has foiled a major Ukrainian drone attack as concerns grow about weapons supplies

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:36 GMT

Russian air defenses shot down 31 Ukrainian drones in a nighttime attack on border regions, the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday, in what appeared to be Kyiv’s largest single cross-border drone assault reported by Moscow since it launched its invasion 20 months ago.The Defense Ministry didn’t provide any evidence for its claims nor any details about whether there were any damage or casualties.It also said Russian aircraft thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to deploy a group of soldiers by sea to the western side of Russian-annexed Crimea.The force attempted to land on Cape Tarkhankut, on Crimea’s western end, using a high-speed boat and three jet skis, the ministry said.Moscow’s claims could not be independently verified, and Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment.The Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014, has been a frequent target of Ukrainian attacks. The region has been the key hub supporting the invasion.Ukraine is pressing on with a slo...