20 days ago
NICOSIA, Aug 30 (Reuters) - At least eight people died and 18 were missing after a ferry carrying around 270 passengers and crew capsized off North Cyprus on Sunday, leaving survivors clinging to its overturned hull.
The privately owned ferry left the port of Kyrenia at 12:30 p.m. local time (0930 GMT) and immediately started taking on water for an unknown reason, authorities said. It was heading for the Turkish port of Tasucu in the eastern Mediterranean.
Survivors reported the ferry moving erratically, with its last hard impact with the water's surface breaking the bow of the two-hulled vessel, allowing water to seep in. The boat was carrying 267 people, including a crew of eight, while 241 people were rescued.
The disaster occurred just off the coast of Kyrenia, a popular holiday resort for both locals and tourists. The ferry was one of several shuttle sea services that link North Cyprus, a breakaway unrecognised Turkish Cypriot state, with Turkey daily.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the territory. Hours after the incident relatives remained outside a local hospital and the port gates in Kyrenia, waiting for news of their loved ones. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said he was "deeply saddened" by the incident.
#ferry #turkish #incident #survivors
The privately owned ferry left the port of Kyrenia at 12:30 p.m. local time (0930 GMT) and immediately started taking on water for an unknown reason, authorities said. It was heading for the Turkish port of Tasucu in the eastern Mediterranean.
Survivors reported the ferry moving erratically, with its last hard impact with the water's surface breaking the bow of the two-hulled vessel, allowing water to seep in. The boat was carrying 267 people, including a crew of eight, while 241 people were rescued.
The disaster occurred just off the coast of Kyrenia, a popular holiday resort for both locals and tourists. The ferry was one of several shuttle sea services that link North Cyprus, a breakaway unrecognised Turkish Cypriot state, with Turkey daily.
The incident has sent shockwaves through the territory. Hours after the incident relatives remained outside a local hospital and the port gates in Kyrenia, waiting for news of their loved ones. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said he was "deeply saddened" by the incident.
#ferry #turkish #incident #survivors
23 days ago
Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha said Wednesday he expected President Trump's endorsement of Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) to lead to a wider margin of victory for her in Tuesday's GOP Senate runoff.
Rocha explained in an appearance on NewsNation's "Cuomo" that he thought Graham would win but "didn't think it would be this close" given Trump backed the senator.
She defeated Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) by just less than 5 points in the state's runoff, securing a spot on the general election ballot in place of her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
The GOP nominee will now face Democrat Annie Andrews in the general election, with Decision Desk HQ giving the Republican an 81 percent chance to win as of Tuesday.
Rocha, who advised Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during his two unsuccessful presidential campaigns, noted that Darline Graham's narrow runoff victory does not lead him to believe Andrews will win.
#rocha #darline #lead #victory
Rocha explained in an appearance on NewsNation's "Cuomo" that he thought Graham would win but "didn't think it would be this close" given Trump backed the senator.
She defeated Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) by just less than 5 points in the state's runoff, securing a spot on the general election ballot in place of her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
The GOP nominee will now face Democrat Annie Andrews in the general election, with Decision Desk HQ giving the Republican an 81 percent chance to win as of Tuesday.
Rocha, who advised Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during his two unsuccessful presidential campaigns, noted that Darline Graham's narrow runoff victory does not lead him to believe Andrews will win.
#rocha #darline #lead #victory
2 months ago
(NewsNation) — Wildfires in eastern Washington state have forced tens of thousands from their homes and scorched more than 250,000 acres.
Firefighters in the Spokane area continue to battle the blaze, which has destroyed at least 600 structures so far. Damage ****** sment crews are working to collect more specific information on the destruction caused by the fires.
Eastern Washington wildfire forces evacuations and destroys homes
Cooler temperatures and higher humidity on Sunday allowed firefighters to make significant gains on the Old Trails and Fairview fires, with the Autumn Lane fire remaining active. Suppression efforts are continuing, authorities said Monday.
A temporary flight restriction has been put in place over the fires, with 26 reported drone incursions in the fire. Authorities warned that such incursions can impact firefighting efforts, with the potential to shut down aerial fire suppression for safety reasons.
#FIRE #efforts #incursions
Firefighters in the Spokane area continue to battle the blaze, which has destroyed at least 600 structures so far. Damage ****** sment crews are working to collect more specific information on the destruction caused by the fires.
Eastern Washington wildfire forces evacuations and destroys homes
Cooler temperatures and higher humidity on Sunday allowed firefighters to make significant gains on the Old Trails and Fairview fires, with the Autumn Lane fire remaining active. Suppression efforts are continuing, authorities said Monday.
A temporary flight restriction has been put in place over the fires, with 26 reported drone incursions in the fire. Authorities warned that such incursions can impact firefighting efforts, with the potential to shut down aerial fire suppression for safety reasons.
#FIRE #efforts #incursions
2 months ago
Police in Idaho are hailing an armed citizen a hero for distracting a gunman who opened fire outside an In-and-Out in Twin Falls, helping save lives. Officials say three people were killed and seven others were injured in the shooting. NBC News' Dana Griffin reports from the scene.
#officials #griffin #hailing #armed
#officials #griffin #hailing #armed
2 months ago
Zohran Mamdani stormed into office brandishing the banner of "affordability," and almost singlehandedly pushed the issue to the center of today's political debate. Of all the charismatic, 34-year-old Mayor's initiatives aimed at lowering living costs, the one that's garnered the most coverage is his proposal to get Gotham into the grocery business.
The city-owned food store initiative looks so radical, even for this avowed democratic socialist, because it puts a city in direct competition versus an immense, entrenched private industry. On his other big "affordability" initiatives, providing free bus service and freezing rent on one million apartments, Mamdani's simply using his regulatory and budget powers in the Democratic mayors' traditional vein of tightening price controls on housing and delivering more freebees
This one's different: It's extraordinarily rare for a municipality to challenge local businesses by starting its own enterprises that aim to do the same thing. The only major example: city-backed companies that battle the Verizons and Comcasts to supply broadband. They're all either struggling, or already flopped. Mamdani's predecessor Eric Adams shuttered the $2 billion fiber-optic buildout started a few years earlier under Mayor Bill de Blasio. As for supermarkets, Chicago last year killed plans for a city-owned emporium as impractical. Kansas City, apparently the only major metro ever to open a taxpayer-funded supermarket, ended the failed foray in early 2025.
Hence, Mamdani's plan would probably reign as the biggest push any city's ever made to launch its own business amid a galaxy of private players. The Mayor's identified a big problem. New Yorkers indeed suffer from extremely high prices for everything from chicken to eggs to milk. The city's riddled with "food desert" neighborhoods where residents often can't find much other than processed items nearby, and must travel 20 minutes or more to reach outlets that offer wide choices of fresh foods at low cost.
But that drastic shortage in the metro that ranks among the world's wealthiest is almost totally self-inflicted. Contrary to Mamdani's claim that "the private market alone has not delivered affordable, full-service grocery options," here's the real rub: A web of antiquated regulations—and one in particular that effectively bans big stores where they're needed most—is blocking major chains from deploying billions of their own capital to open far more of the kinds of giant extravaganzas featuring baseball-field length stretches of checkout lanes that bring far lower stickers to the suburbs just beyond Gotham's borders.
#affordability
The city-owned food store initiative looks so radical, even for this avowed democratic socialist, because it puts a city in direct competition versus an immense, entrenched private industry. On his other big "affordability" initiatives, providing free bus service and freezing rent on one million apartments, Mamdani's simply using his regulatory and budget powers in the Democratic mayors' traditional vein of tightening price controls on housing and delivering more freebees
This one's different: It's extraordinarily rare for a municipality to challenge local businesses by starting its own enterprises that aim to do the same thing. The only major example: city-backed companies that battle the Verizons and Comcasts to supply broadband. They're all either struggling, or already flopped. Mamdani's predecessor Eric Adams shuttered the $2 billion fiber-optic buildout started a few years earlier under Mayor Bill de Blasio. As for supermarkets, Chicago last year killed plans for a city-owned emporium as impractical. Kansas City, apparently the only major metro ever to open a taxpayer-funded supermarket, ended the failed foray in early 2025.
Hence, Mamdani's plan would probably reign as the biggest push any city's ever made to launch its own business amid a galaxy of private players. The Mayor's identified a big problem. New Yorkers indeed suffer from extremely high prices for everything from chicken to eggs to milk. The city's riddled with "food desert" neighborhoods where residents often can't find much other than processed items nearby, and must travel 20 minutes or more to reach outlets that offer wide choices of fresh foods at low cost.
But that drastic shortage in the metro that ranks among the world's wealthiest is almost totally self-inflicted. Contrary to Mamdani's claim that "the private market alone has not delivered affordable, full-service grocery options," here's the real rub: A web of antiquated regulations—and one in particular that effectively bans big stores where they're needed most—is blocking major chains from deploying billions of their own capital to open far more of the kinds of giant extravaganzas featuring baseball-field length stretches of checkout lanes that bring far lower stickers to the suburbs just beyond Gotham's borders.
#affordability
