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Japan’s Kishida pledges aid for Ukraine-backing Poland

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:26:00 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Japan’s prime minister pledged Wednesday to provide Poland with development support to help the European country assist neighboring Ukraine as it defends itself from Russia’s invasion. Polish Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Warsaw a day after Kishida made a surprise visit to Kyiv and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “Bearing in mind the increasing burden on Poland due to the prolonged invasion of Ukraine,” Kishida said Japan would offer Poland assistance to support its role and is looking to “vigorously build up” projects.Japan usually provides the type of promised aid to developing countries, which Poland is no longer, but the Japanese government is making a special exception, he said. Kishida said it was crucial for like-minded countries such as Japan and Poland, to remain united in their support for Ukraine and in furthering sanctions against Russia.During a joint new...

Tear gas, clashes as Lebanon protesters try to storm govt HQ

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:26:00 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese security forces fired tear gas on Wednesday to disperse hundreds of protesters, mainly retired soldiers, who tried to break through the fence leading to the government headquarters in downtown Beirut. The violence came amid widespread anger over the harsh economic conditions in the country, where mismanagement by the ruling class has been rampant for years, preceding the economic meltdown that started in late 2019. The retired soldiers demanding better pay were clashing with riot police and troops. Several people suffered breathing problems from the tear gas. The protesters hurled stones at the officers protecting the government headquarters and repeatedly tried to break through the fence. The Lebanese pound hit a new low on Tuesday, selling for more than 143,000 pounds to the dollar before making some gains. The pound has lost more than 96% of its value over the past three years. “My monthly salary is $40. How can I survive,” screamed a retired army officer. ...

Ethiopian lawmakers remove Tigray group from terror list

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:26:00 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopian lawmakers have removed the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front from the country’s list of designated terror groups more than four months after a peace agreement ended a conflict that killed hundreds of thousands of people.Wednesday’s decision highlights the improving relations between federal officials and Tigray regional ones and moves the region closer to the establishment of an interim government. The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics for close to three decades before Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018. The Tigray conflict began in late 2020.Most of Ethiopia’s 547 lawmakers voted to remove the TPLF from the terror list, with 61 objections and five abstentions, according to the state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation.The TPLF was added to the list in May 2012.Kindeya Gebrehiwot, a senior TPLF official, told The Associated Press the removal will be a “very good step in moving the peace agreement forward.”Ethiopia accused the TPLF of start...

India police hunt Sikh leader, arrest separatist supporters

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:26:00 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian police have launched a search for a separatist leader who has revived calls for an independent Sikh homeland, stirring fears of violence in northwestern Punjab state where there’s a history of bloody insurgency.Police have accused Amritpal Singh, a 30-year-old preacher, and his aides of creating discord in the state, which is still haunted by the memories of an armed insurgency in the 1980s for an independent Sikh state called Khalistan. The insurgency had prompted a controversial military operation by the Indian government that killed thousands of people, according to official estimates. Authorities have deployed thousands of paramilitary soldiers to the state and suspended mobile internet services in some areas to prevent unrest, Sukhchain Singh Gill, the inspector general of police for Punjab, said Wednesday. He said police have so far arrested 154 supporters of Singh and seized 10 guns and some rounds of ammunition.The hunt for Singh was launched on...

Russian drones kill 4 at Ukraine dorm, as rival summits end

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:26:00 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched exploding drones that killed at least four people at a student dormitory near Kyiv before dawn Wednesday, just hours after Japan’s prime minister left the Ukrainian capital following a show of support for the country. The same day, Chinese leader Xi Jinping left Moscow after discussing his proposal for ending the war, which has been rejected by the West as a non-starter.A high school and two dormitories were partially destroyed in an overnight drone attack in the city of Rzhyshchiv, south of the Ukrainian capital, local officials said. It wasn’t clear how many people were in the dormitories at the time.The body of a 40-year-old man was pulled from the rubble on a dormitory’s fifth floor, according to regional police chief Andrii Nebytov.More than 20 people were hospitalized, Nebytov said, and a few others were unaccounted for. Ukrainian air defenses downed 16 of the 21 drones launched by Russia, the Ukraine General Staff said. E...

Edmunds: The hottest electric cars to check out in 2023

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:26:00 GMT

Electric vehicles, or EVs, had their best-selling year in 2022. Their market share surpassed 5% according to Edmunds data, which is nearly double than 2021. In 2023, EV sales should continue to soar. But more importantly for consumers, there will also be a larger selection of models to choose from, including electric sedans, SUVs and luxury models. The experts at Edmunds choose five of the most intriguing new EVs, sorted by price, rolling into dealerships this year.2024 CHEVROLET EQUINOX EV Chevrolet will launch two electric SUVs with familiar names: the Blazer EV and the Equinox EV. Of the two, the smaller Equinox could be the more significant simply by virtue of its price; Chevrolet estimates it will start around $30,000. That undercuts all of its rivals and is not much more than the gas-powered Equinox, which has nothing in common but size.For that low price, the Equinox EV provides an estimated 250 miles of range, which should be suitable for many EV shoppers. Chevy will also of...

A spring renewal for Canada’s housing market?

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:26:00 GMT

Realtors are expecting Canadians to move off the housing market’s sidelines this spring.They expect potential buyers to start hunting for a home because the Bank of Canada has eased up on interest rate hikes.The quick succession of increases eroded buying power as borrowing costs rose and sent prices falling, discouraging sellers from listing their homes.With Canadian Real Estate Association data showing average prices have dropped 19 per cent from their February peak of $816,578 to $662,437 last month and BMO Capital Markets’ chief economist predicting they will bottom out after falling 20 to 25 per cent, realtors see many edging toward a purchase once more.“We got a flood of buyers in January, in February and we still are getting more and more and we started seeing multiple offers return and bully offers return,” said Michelle Gilbert, a Toronto broker with Sage Real Estate Ltd.“We’ve started getting calls where buyers are just like ‘I thi...

German group sues Facebook owner Meta over death threats

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:26:00 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A prominent German environmental group said Wednesday that it’s suing Facebook’s parent company Meta over persistent death threats posted on the social network against its staff.Environmental Action Germany, known by its German acronym DUH, says Meta has been unwilling to stop the threats of violence regularly directed at DUH director Juergen Resch and others in a Facebook group with more than 50,000 members.DUH has conducted high-profile campaigns demanding that German cities enforce air quality rules by banning certain heavily polluting vehicles.Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.German lawmaker Renate Kuenast won a case against Facebook last year forcing the company to remove fake quotes attributed to her from its site and pay damages. Facebook is appealing the ruling.The Associated Press

Macron to defend French pension plan on national television

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:26:00 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron will explain how he will seek to overcome tensions prompted by his plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, as he speaks on national television for the first time since his government forced through the bill amid mass protests.Macron is expected to back his government on Wednesday, two days after it survived two no-confidence votes at the lower chamber of parliament.The 45-year-old French president repeatedly said that he was convinced the retirement system needed to be modified to keep it financed. His decision last week to use a special constitutional power to push the bill through the legislative process without a vote infuriated many at parliament and across the country.Since then, mostly small, scattered protests are being held every day in cities around France, some degenerating into violence, including in Paris. Dock workers in Marseille on Wednesday blocked access to the city’s commercial port — France’s bigges...

China calls Xi’s Russia visit one of friendship, peace

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 16:26:00 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China on Wednesday said President Xi Jinping’s just-concluded visit to Russia was a “journey of friendship, cooperation and peace,” and again criticized Washington for providing military support to Ukraine.The trip that ended Wednesday signaled no new progress in ending the bloody conflict between Russia and Ukraine while shoring up President Vladimir Putin’s standing amid growing efforts to isolate him and his government internationally.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin reiterated China’s claims that it remains neutral in the conflict and said it had “no selfish motives on the Ukraine issue, has not stood idly by … or taken the opportunity to profit itself.”“What China has done boils down to one word, that is, to promote peace talks,” Wang said at a daily briefing.Wang also accused the U.S. of lacking impartiality and of “fanning the flames” of the conflict by providing defensive weapons to Ukraine to Washington’s own benefit.The U.S...