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ASEAN defense chiefs call for the fighting in Gaza to cease, but they struggle to address Myanmar

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Southeast Asian defense ministers called Wednesday for the fighting in Gaza to cease immediately and for the world to collaborate on setting up humanitarian aid corridors in Gaza, but they struggled on how to address the prolonged civil strife in Myanmar.The Myanmar crisis was high on the agenda when defense chiefs from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. The 10-nation bloc includes Myanmar, but its defense minister was again barred from attending this week’s meetings due to the military government’s failure to comply with a five-point emergency plan drafted to ease the violence.“We are saddened with a deteriorating situation in Myanmar,” Indonesia’s Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto said in an opening speech. “Indonesia encourages other ASEAN member states to support Myanmar to find a peaceful and durable solution to the current situation.”ASEAN has been trying to enforce the plan it forged with Myanm...

Israeli forces raid Gaza’s largest hospital, where hundreds of patients are stranded by fighting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli forces raided Gaza’s largest hospital early Wednesday, where hundreds of patients, including newborns, have been stranded with dwindling supplies and no electricity, as the army extended its control across Gaza City and the north.Shifa Hospital has become a symbol of the widespread suffering of Palestinian civilians during the war between Israel and Hamas, which erupted after the militant group killed some 1,200 people and seized around 240 captives in a surprise Oct. 7 attack into southern Israel.The hospital is also at the heart of clashing narratives over who is to blame for the thousands of deaths and widespread destruction in the besieged territory. Israel accuses Hamas of using Palestinians as human shields, while Palestinians and rights groups say Israel has recklessly endangered civilians as it seeks to eradicate the group. Mohammed Zaqout, the director of hospitals in Gaza, said Israeli tanks had entered the medical compound and ...

US to resume food aid deliveries across Ethiopia after halting program over massive corruption

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — The United States Agency for International Development will restart food aid deliveries across Ethiopia in December, five months after it halted its nationwide program over a massive corruption scheme by local officials.Last month, USAID resumed food aid to the roughly 1 million refugees in the east African country after the Ethiopian government agreed to remove itself from the dispatch, storage and distribution of refugee food supplies.The planned resumption comes after the agency reintroduced reforms to improve the registration of beneficiaries and the tracking of donated grain, USAID spokesperson Jessica Jennings said Tuesday.These new measures will be tested for one year, she said, adding that they “will fundamentally shift Ethiopia’s food aid system and help ensure aid reaches those experiencing acute food insecurity.”USAID and the U.N.’s World Food Program suspended food aid to Ethiopia’s Tigray region in mid-March after uncovering a colossal...

Britain’s highest court rules Wednesday on the government’s plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s highest court is set to rule Wednesday on whether the government’s plan to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda is legal, delivering a boost or a blow to a contentious central policy of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s administration.Five justices on the U.K. Supreme Court will deliver a judgment on the Conservative government’s attempt to overturn a lower court ruling that blocked the deportations.The government said it had prepared “options for possible scenarios” — a win, a loss or a mixed verdict.The saga began when Britain and Rwanda signed a deal in April 2022 to send some migrants who arrive in the U.K. as stowaways or in small boats across the English Channel to the East African country, where their asylum claims would be processed. Those granted asylum would stay in Rwanda rather than returning to the U.K.Britain’s government argues that the policy will deter people from risking their lives crossing one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, and will brea...

Asian economies must ramp up wind and solar power to keep global warming under 1.5C, report says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — To meet the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), nine major Asian economies must increase the share of electricity they get from renewable energy from the current 6% to at least 50% by 2030, according to a report by a German thinktank released Wednesday. Nearly a third of that renewable energy should come from wind and solar power, said the report by researchers of Berlin-based Agora Energiewende. A fifth would be hydropower and other clean sources and the remainder, fossil fuels. The study analyzed energy plans of both developing nations like Indonesia and Vietnam where demand for energy is growing rapidly, and wealthier places like Japan and South Korea, which have among the highest burdens of per capita greenhouse gas emissions. It did not include China, the world’s biggest emitter of carbon, or India, another major contributor.A global temperature increase of 1.5C (2.7F) since pre-industrial times is conside...

Israel-Hamas war: EU foreign ministers discuss ‘post-conflict’ scenario

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

"There must be a kind of Palestinian authority which must be invested with powers by the international community. It’s normal that the Palestinian Authority doesn’t want to return to Gaza in an Israeli tank. That’s perfectly understandable," said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, writes Yossi Lempkowicz.“We have been far too absent. We have delegated the solution of this problem to the United States,” he said. “Europe must become more involved.”The European Union is willing to work together with the U.S. and Arab States on a framework to build peace between Israel and the Palestinians, said EU’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell.During a meeting in Brussels on Monday (13 November), EU foreign ministers discussed a possible "post-conflict scenario" to build stability and peace, he saidAmong the ideas discussed is an involvement of the EU in the building of a Palestinian state. "We have been too absent until now," Borrell said at a press conference following the Foreign Affairs...

Ghost tires placed to honor 4 Pepperdine students killed in crash on PCH in Malibu

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

It’s been a month since four Pepperdine College students were struck and killed by a speeding 22-year-old driver on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, and on Tuesday night, family and friends gathered to remember the young women.  “On Oct. 17, I stood on the side of PCH until 3 a.m. screaming and crying and begging for my best friends to be okay,” Bridget Thompson said at the vigil.  Thompson’s world was turned upside down the night of the crash. Four of her best friends — Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams — lost their lives when Fraser Bohm, who authorities believe was driving 104 miles per hour, crashed his car in the 21600 block of PCH, killing the girls who were walking nearby.  “I stand here for Deslyn’s loyalty, for Niamh’s heart of gold, for Asha’s wisdom and gentleness and for Peyton’s selflessness,” Thompson said.  Thompson, along with some of the victims’ parents, fellow Pepperdine students and local leaders, placed four white ghost tires...

Driver forced to flee car amid I-10 fire charged towing fee by CHP

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

The fire that erupted on the 10 Freeway Saturday night was so intense that dozens of drivers were forced to abandon their cars and run for their lives, and now many of them are being forced to pay to get their vehicles back after they were towed when the flames were put out.  “It was terrifying,” 20-year-old Isaiah Stacy-Sutton, who escaped the flames that night, said.  The college freshman was on his way to his father’s home early Saturday morning when the blaze, along with thick plumes of toxic smoke enveloped the interstate overpass at Alameda Street near downtown Los Angeles.  “Flames were getting on the freeway,” he told KTLA’s John Fenoglio. “From what I could hear and see, stuff was blowing up.   10 Freeway arson investigation continues as heavy traffic delays expected At that point, the 20-year-old didn’t realize it was a raging inferno on one of the nation’s busiest roadways.  “I had no way of turning around,” he explained. “From where my car was, I ha...

2nd flare-up reignites at historic hangar in Orange County

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

A flare-up was ignited for the second time at a historic hangar in Tustin on Tuesday night, as residents are still reeling from the toxic effects of the blaze.Tuesday night’s fire was reported around 7 p.m. as crews from the Orange County Fire Authority responded to the scene.Images from the hangar show large pieces of debris continuing to fall from the structure as large plumes of smoke billowed into the air.Since the fire first ignited on Nov. 7., health officials have confirmed the presence of asbestos,  lead, arsenic and nickel amid the debris found near the WWII-era hangar. The discovery prompted the declaration of a local state of emergency.A second flare-up reignites at a historic WWII-era hangar in Tustin on Nov. 14, 2023. (OnScene.TV)A second flare-up reignites at a historic WWII-era hangar in Tustin on Nov. 14, 2023. (OnScene.TV)What residents should be looking out for when it comes to debris as a flare-up reignites at a historic WWII-era hangar in Tustin on Nov. 14, 2023....

Berkeley: Gaza ceasefire protesters disrupt, postpone City Council meeting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:14 GMT

The Berkeley City Council abruptly walked out of its Tuesday night meeting — only 20 minutes after protesters calling for a ceasefire to the ongoing violence in Gaza disrupted the agenda’s routine proceedings.Shortly before 8:30 p.m., a few dozen protesters interrupted the meeting by repeatedly chanting “cease-fire now!” Several people took turns speaking at the podium, standing in solidarity with Palestinians and directly addressing attendees on Zoom who could still hear what was going on inside the boardroom.Not long after Mayor Jesse Arreguín called a recess to try to regain order, Berkeley’s elected officials returned to the council chambers and quickly voted to adjourn the meeting early. The remaining agenda items and public hearings were postponed to Nov. 21 amid a cacophony of boos and shouts.The meeting’s premature end was also preceded by roughly 30 minutes of public comment on issues that weren’t on Tuesday’s agenda, which was largely dominate...