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United States and South Korea close ranks on common global issues during Blinken visit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:20 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States and South Korea closed ranks behind common approaches to North Korea, Russia and China on Thursday, vowing to continue to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion and boosting humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians in Gaza caught in Israel’s war against Hamas.In talks with South Korea’s leadership, including President Yoon Suk Yeol , U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the growing threat posed by North Korea and its alleged provision of military equipment and munitions to Russia to help it wage war on Ukraine, the State Department said. They also spoke of the importance of U.S.-South Korea cooperation on global challenges, including China’s assertiveness and the instability in the Middle East.“They shared concerns about the DPRK’s provocations in the region and strongly condemned the provision of military equipment and munitions by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the Russian Federation for use in its war again...

Alabama fija fecha en 2024 para la primera ejecución de un condenado a muerte con gas nitrógeno

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:20 GMT

(CNN) — Alabama fijó la fecha de ejecución del primer recluso del país que será ejecutado por hipoxia por nitrógeno, una alternativa a la inyección letal, según informó el gobernador.La ejecución por inyección letal de Kenneth Eugene Smith se canceló abruptamente el 22 de noviembre después de que el estado no pudiera colocar correctamente la vía intravenosa antes de que expirara la orden de ejecución. Smith pidió al estado que se le ejecutara mediante gas nitrógeno en lugar de inyección letal tras lo que calificó de ejecución “chapucera”.La ejecución de Smith está prevista entre el 25 y el 26 de enero del próximo año, según un comunicado de prensa de la gobernadora de Alabama, Kay Ivey.La muerte por hipoxia nitrogenada priva al cerebro y al cuerpo de oxígeno, por lo que el recluso moriría por asfixia, según el Centro de Información sobre la Pena de Muerte, una organización sin ánimo de lucro que supervisa, analiza y difunde información sobre la pena capital.Alabama...

UK’s Suella Braverman slams policing of pro-Palestinian rallies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:20 GMT

LONDON — Britain’s top interior minister, Suella Braverman, laid into the Metropolitan Police after it green-lit a controversial pro-Palestinian protest in London this weekend.In an article that has already attracted criticism from some of the home secretary’s own Conservative colleagues, Braverman accused the London police force of “playing favorites” and failing to treat “pro-Palestinian mobs” the same way as right-wing and nationalist protestors.It’s the latest intervention in an increasingly heated row over this weekend’s planned demonstration. Saturday’s march coincides with Armistice Day, which commemorates the end of World War I, and comes a day before Remembrance Sunday. The Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which organized the event, has stressed it will avoid any remembrance activity and focus on calls for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.But Braverman’s statement goes much further than her boss, Prime Minster R...

Aussie store pulls ‘Merry Ham-Mas’ Christmas bag after outcry

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:20 GMT

Australia’s Kmart retail chain on Wednesday was forced to remove a Christmas bag bearing the inscription “Merry Ham-Mas” from sale after the item attracted criticism from a Jewish group.The colorful drawstring bag, which can be used to store a Christmas ham in a refrigerator, could no longer be ordered on Kmart’s website as of Thursday morning.“We got it wrong on this occasion, and we apologise unreservedly,” a Kmart spokesperson said in a written statement to POLITICO on Thursday.“When designing this product we clearly didn’t think through all the implications and the product has been removed from sale,” the spokesperson added.Launched just a few weeks after the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ violent attacks which killed more than 1,400 people in Israel, the Christmas bag sparked public outcry after the Australian Jewish Association (AJA) asked for the product to be pulled.“Although this is potentially funny (the AJA co...

Putin rakes in extra €1B for his war chest via Bulgaria sanctions loophole

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:20 GMT

BRUSSELS — The Kremlin raked in an extra €1 billion for its war effort this year after Russia’s largest private oil firm exploited loopholes in EU sanctions rules — with help from Bulgaria.Taking advantage of a unique exemption to the EU’s Russian oil ban, Bulgaria allowed millions of barrels of Russian oil to reach a local Russian-owned refinery, which then exported various refined fuels abroad including to EU countries, according to an investigation by the NGO Global Witness, the think tanks Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) and Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and independent reporting by POLITICO.That loophole — raising enough revenue for Moscow to fund its Wagner mercenary group for a year, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin — also generated almost €500 million in profits for the refinery’s owner Lukoil since the exemption kicked on February 5, according to a classified analysis prepared for Bulgaria’s parliament and seen by POLITICO.This...

Japan’s SoftBank hit with $6.2B quarterly loss as WeWork, other tech investments go sour

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:20 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology company SoftBank Group Corp. racked up a huge loss in the July-September quarter as its technology investments, most notably office-sharing company WeWork, went sour. Tokyo-based SoftBank loss totaled 931 billion yen ($6.2 billion) in the last quarter, a reversal from the 3 trillion yen profit it posted in the same period a year earlier.SoftBank has a sprawling investment portfolio and tends to have erratic financial results that fluctuate with market trends.That has been highlighted by the troubles at WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week amid turmoil in the U.S. commercial real estate market after the pandemic sent vacancies soaring in major cities like New York and San Francisco.SoftBank holds a nearly 80% stake in WeWork. SoftBank’s chief financial officer, Yoshimitsu Goto, sought to allay investor’s worries, stressing in an online news conference that the company was still going strong overall, making cau...

Israeli strikes pound Gaza City, where tens of thousands have fled in recent days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:20 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli strikes pounded Gaza City overnight and into Thursday as ground forces battled Hamas militants in dense urban neighborhoods from which tens of thousands have fled in recent days.Israeli troops were around 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from Shifa Hospital in the heart of downtown, the hospital’s director said. Israel has been vague on troop movements, but officials say Gaza’s largest city is the focus of their campaign to crush Hamas following its deadly Oct. 7 assault inside Israel.International mediators were meanwhile closing in on a possible deal for a three-day humanitarian cease-fire in exchange for the release of around a dozen hostages held by Hamas, according to two Egyptian officials, a United Nations official and a Western diplomat. The deal would also allow a small amount of fuel to enter the territory for the first time since the war began.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said any temporary cease-fire would have ...

Canadians and other foreign nationals still waiting for border crossing to reopen

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:20 GMT

A key crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt has remained closed today as hundreds of people connected to Canada await news of when — and whether — they will be able to escape the besieged Palestinian territory. The federal government confirmed that no Canadians were able to leave the Gaza Strip on Wednesday because of a closure of the Rafah border crossing.A U.S. State Department spokesperson told reporters on Wednesday that the closure was because of a “security circumstance,” but offered little additional detail. Global Affairs Canada says Canadian officials in Egypt remain ready to welcome those leaving the territory and help them get to Cairo.Those coming from Gaza are allowed to stay in Egypt for up to three days, and the Canadian government will provide them with accommodation and basic essentials during that time.On Tuesday, 75 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and their families were the first people connected to Canada to leave the territory since the w...

India, Pakistan border guards trade fire along their frontier in Kashmir; one Indian soldier killed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:20 GMT

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Indian and Pakistani soldiers exchanged gunfire and shelling along their highly militarized frontier in disputed Kashmir, killing an Indian border guard, officials said Thursday.Authorities in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir said Pakistani soldiers fired mortars and machine guns at border posts in the southern Jammu area on Wednesday night, calling it “unprovoked.”India’s Border Security Force said in a statement that its soldiers “befittingly responded” and that one of its border guards was killed.The fighting ended early Thursday.There was no immediate comment from Pakistan. Each side often accuses the other of starting border skirmishes in the Himalayan region, which both claim in its entirety.Last month, two Indian border guards and three civilians were injured in fighting along the fronter with Pakistan.India and Pakistan have a long history of bitter relations over Kashmir. They have fought two of their three wars since 1947 over their competing...

New island emerges after undersea volcano erupts off Japan, but experts say it may not last long

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:20 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — An undersea volcano erupted off Japan three weeks ago, providing a rare view of the birth of a tiny new island, but experts say it may not last very long. The unnamed undersea volcano, located about 1 kilometer (half a mile) off the southern coast of Iwo Jima, which Japan calls Ioto, started its latest series of eruptions on Oct. 21. Within 10 days, volcanic ash and rocks piled up on the shallow seabed, its tip rising above the sea surface. By early November, it became a new island about 100 meters (328 feet) in diameter and as high as 20 meters (66 feet) above the sea, according to Yuji Usui, an analyst in the Japan Meteorological Agency’s volcanic division. Volcanic activity has increased near Iwo Jima and similar undersea eruptions have occurred in recent years, but the formation of a new island is a significant development, Usui said.Volcanic activity at the site has since subsided, and the newly formed island has somewhat shrunk because its “crumbly” formatio...