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G20 statement backs Ukraine but omits Russia blame for war

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:52 GMT

NEW DELHI — The G20 endorsed language in support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, but the group of the world’s biggest economies weakened a previous stance that directly blamed Russia for the war in Ukraine.The joint communiqué for the G20 summit in India stated that all countries should “refrain from action against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state.” That language was unchanged from a draft first reported by POLITICO on Saturday.The wording, which Western countries wanted in order to signal a continued anger at Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, could also appease Moscow’s complaints that attacks inside Russia have escalated since Kyiv launched its counteroffensive. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was deeply involved in the weeks of negotiations leading to the final version.But the joint statement didn’t include a direct condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which a G20 statement i...

Greek floods bring more flak on government’s handling of disasters

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:52 GMT

ATHENS — The government of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has come under attack for its handling of another natural disaster, as the death toll from severe flooding in central Greece rose to 10 people and the extent of the calamity remained unknown.With whole villages under water, rescue crews in helicopters, boats and bulldozers continued on Saturday to evacuate residents from rooftops, amid fears that the number of missing could rise sharply. Local media reporting apocalyptic scenes with dead bodies floating in the water.The flooding follows last month’s massive wildfires in the region of Athens, which also sparked charges of insufficient preparations for disasters.  The rainstorms that started on Tuesday turned streams into raging torrents that burst dams, washed away roads and bridges and hurled cars into the sea. Mudflows have reached the rooftops of the houses in several villages.The Thessaly plain, which accounts for more than 25 percent of the country’s ...

Police shooting involving a 16-year-old prompts road closures in Carlsbad

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:52 GMT

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- A police shooting took place in Carlsbad Saturday morning, authorities confirmed.According to the Carlsbad Police Department, officers contacted a white truck parked in a dirt lot near the intersection of Carlsbad Boulevard and Palomar Airport Road around 12:44 a.m. Saturday. The Forum Carlsbad adds three new stores Authorities say one adult and four teenagers were inside the truck, and alcoholic beverages were seen inside the truck. At that time, officers began directing the occupants of the truck out of the vehicle.  According to CPD, a 16-year-old male juvenile was sitting in the front passenger seat. Police say he exited the vehicle before being asked and began reaching under the passenger seat. Officers immediately ordered him to stop reaching under the seat.Police say the juvenile pulled a firearm from under the seat and turned in the direction of one of the officers. At that point, one officer fired one time from his service weapon, striking the juvenile...

Hurricane Jova bringing high surf to San Diego

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:52 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Hurricane Jova is roiling the eastern Pacific and a wind swell is already on it’s way to San Diego's coast. South facing beaches are expecting to see the biggest surf. “With Tropical Cyclone Jova, now that it’s weakening...yesterday it was a Category 5 hurricane. So, the reason that is important is because the wind driven swell has already been created,” said Alex Tardy of the National Weather Service. Coastal Commission approves permit to extend closure of Point La Jolla year-round The World Surf League couldn’t be happier about the swell hitting Saturday, supporting their athletes at Lowers Trestles in San Clemente. “The prevailing surf will be 4-5 feet with some nice sets of 7-8 feet quite likely, and that looks like that will happen around the day light hours of Saturday,” said Tardy. Other contests are also counting down until the waves turn on. The State Beach Classic at Tamarack in Carlsbad is hoping the surf hangs around for their Sunday contest as well. “Act...

Morocco’s African Cup qualifier postponed in wake of deadly earthquake

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:52 GMT

AGADIR, Morocco (AP) — Morocco’s qualifying game for the African Cup of Nations was postponed on Saturday in the wake of the earthquake that struck the country, killing more than 1,000 people.Morocco had been scheduled to play Liberia in Agadir on the country’s western coast, but the Moroccan soccer federation said the game had been postponed indefinitely after an agreement with the Confederation of African Football.The earthquake that struck late Friday night also damaged buildings from villages in the Atlas Mountains to the historic city of Marrakech.Agadir is roughly 170 kilometers (105 miles) southwest of the epicenter of Friday’s tremor near the town of Ighil in Al Haouz Province.The Gambian national team was in Marrakech during the earthquake ahead of a decisive qualifying game against Congo on Sunday. Gambia coach Tom Saintfiet told BBC World Service that he initially thought an airplane had crashed into the team’s hotel.“It seems it was only 30 seconds but ...

Japan foreign minister and business leaders meet Ukrainian leader and vow support for reconstruction

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:52 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday during his visit in Kyiv, promising Tokyo’s backing and agreeing to start negotiations on security cooperation between the two countries.Hayashi, who had been on a tour of the Middle East and Poland earlier this week, made an unannounced visit to Ukraine and visited Bucha, one of the hardest-hit towns on the outskirts of Kyiv, before holding talks with Zelenskyy in Kyiv.Hayashi told Zelenskyy that Japan was ready to start negotiations on security cooperation based on an agreement between the Group of Seven and Ukraine made during the NATO summit in July. Zelenskyy thanked for Japan’s humanitarian and financial assistance that helped Ukraine through the winter as well as overcome problems in the energy supply due to Russian attacks, according to a statement from the office of the Ukrainian president. Hayashi also told Zelenskyy that Japan was committed to ...

Dutch police cleared out climate protesters blocking a highway over fossil fuel subsidies

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:52 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Several thousand climate activists blocked a Dutch highway on Saturday in anger at billions of euros in government subsidies for industries that use oil, coal and gas — before police dispersed them with water cannons.A report earlier this week detailed 37.5 billion euros ($40.5 billion) in such subsidies in the Netherlands, notably related to the shipping industry, prompting calls for a quick halt to the practice. The protesters — from Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace and other organizations — broke through a police barrier Saturday morning and sat on a main road in The Hague heading to the temporary venue for the lower house of parliament.They threatened to stay until the subsidies are lifted, and to come back every day if the police remove them. “This is much larger than any one of us. This concerns the whole world,” activist Yolanda de Jager said.The activists brandished signs with sayings like “Fossil Fuel Subsidies are Not Cool,” and warned that th...

NATO member Romania finds new drones fragments on its territory from war in neighboring Ukraine

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:52 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — NATO member Romania found new drone fragments on its territory Saturday near the border with war-torn Ukraine, which the Ministry of National Defense said are “similar to those used by the Russian army.” It was the second such discovery in Romania this week.Romanian President Klaus Iohannis responded Saturday by saying in a statement that the findings indicate there has been “an absolutely unacceptable violation of the sovereign airspace of Romania, a NATO ally, with real risks to the security of Romanian citizens in the area.”Iohannis added that he had a telephone conversation with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to inform the Alliance leader of the new finding of the drone pieces. It was unclear if Romanian authorities had determined when or from where the drone was launched.The defense ministry said that the fragments were found approximately two and a half kilometers (1.5 miles) southeast of the Romanian village of Plauru, which is situated on t...

G20 agreement reflects sharp differences over Ukraine and a rising clout of Global South

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:52 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — The Group of 20 top world economies added the African Union as a member at their annual summit Saturday, and host India was able to get the disparate group to sign off on a final statement, but only after softening language on the contentious issue of Russia’s war in Ukraine. In the months leading up to the leaders’ summit in New Delhi, India had been unable to find agreement on the wording about Ukraine, with Russia and China objecting even to language that they had agreed to last year at the G20 summit in Bali. The final statement, released a day before the formal close of the summit, highlighted the “human suffering and negative added impacts of the war in Ukraine,” but did not mention Russia’s invasion. It cited the U.N. charter, saying “all states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state. The use or threat of use o...

Paris strips Palestinian leader Abbas of special honor for remarks on Holocaust

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:52 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Paris has rescinded a special honor it bestowed on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas because of his recent antisemitic comments minimizing the Holocaust.Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo published a letter Friday saying that “your remarks run counter to universal values and the historical truth of the Holocaust.”Noting that tens of thousands of Jews were rounded up in Paris under the Nazi occupation and deported to death camps, Hidalgo said, “We condemn your comments with the utmost firmness. No cause can justify revisionism and negationism.”Hidalgo awarded Abbas the city’s highest honor, the Grand Bronze of Paris, in 2015 for his efforts toward peace in the Middle East and a two-state solution.In a speech last month to senior members of his Fatah movement, Abbas said that Adolf Hitler killed European Jews not because of antisemitism, but because of their “social functions” in society, such as money lending.The United States, Germany and the European Union condemned his commen...