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Kenya’s president welcomes UN Security Council’s approval to send a Kenya-led mission to Haiti

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:54 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s president on Tuesday welcomed the U.N. Security Council’s resolution to send a Kenya-led multinational armed force to Haiti to help combat violent gangs and pledged that it will “not fail the people of Haiti.”President William Ruto’s remarks came hours after Monday’s vote at the United Nations, marking the first time in almost 20 years that a force would be deployed to the troubled Caribbean nation where gang violence has escalated dramatically with killings, kidnappings and rape. Ruto said the Kenya-led force “will provide a different footprint in the history of international interventions in Haiti.”“We shall succeed in Haiti,” he said. “We must not fail the people of Haiti.” The resolution, drafted by the United States and Ecuador, authorizes the force to deploy for one year, with a review after nine months. The non-U.N. mission would be funded by voluntary contributions, with the U.S. pledging up to $200 million.It wasn&...

Two earthquakes strike Nepal, sending tremors through the region

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:54 GMT

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Two earthquakes struck northwest Nepal on Tuesday, sending tremors through the region, the country’s earthquake monitoring center said. There were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage in the region.Nepal’s National Earthquake Monitoring & Research Center said the epicenter for both quakes, with initial magnitudes measuring at 5.3 followed by 6.3, was Bajhang district in northwest Nepal, close to the Indian border. Narayan Pandey, the chief officer in Bajhang district, said that tremors were felt in the region, which is a mountainous area and sparsely populated. Tremors were also felt in the Indian capital New Delhi. The Associated Press

South Asia is expected to grow by nearly 6% this year, making it the world’s fastest-growing region

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:54 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — South Asia is expected to grow by 5.8% this year, making it the fastest-growing region in the world even as the pace remains below pre-pandemic levels, the World Bank said on Tuesday.The latest South Asia Development Update from the World Bank projected growth in the region to slow slightly to 5.6% in 2024 and 2025, as post-pandemic rebounds fade and reduced global demand weighs on economic activity. At almost 6% this year, the region is growing faster than all other emerging markets, said Franziska Ohnsorge, the organization’s chief economist for South Asia.“While high inflation and interest rates have bogged down many emerging markets, South Asia seems to be forging ahead,” the World Bank noted in its report.Still, “for all of the countries here this represents a slowdown from pre-pandemic levels,” Ohnsorge said, adding that the growth wasn’t fast enough to meet various development goals set by countries in the region.Despite the progress, the region s...

China welcomes Taiwanese athletes at the Asian Games but they still can’t compete under their flag

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:54 GMT

SHAOXING, China (AP) — Taiwan’s baseball team took the field Tuesday sporting caps and jerseys not with “T” for Taiwan, but “CT,” for Chinese Taipei.China claims the democratic self-governing island as its own, and a decades-old agreement between Taipei and Beijing means that Taiwanese teams can only compete internationally if they don’t use the name – or flag – of Taiwan. Opposing them on the new field in Shaoxing was Hong Kong, representing what Beijing hopes is Taiwan’s future – a team playing under its own regional flag, with its own athletes, but still very much a part of China. At the Asian Games, China has been going out of its way to be welcoming to the Taiwanese athletes, as it pursues a two-pronged strategy with the goal of taking over the island, which involves both wooing its people while threatening it militarily. Unlike the Beijing Winter Olympics last year where Taiwan only sent four athletes, there are more than 500 here for the As...

Turkey detains nearly 1000, including alleged Kurdish militants, following suicide bomb attack

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:54 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Police detained almost a thousand people in raids across Turkey on Tuesday, including dozens with alleged links to Kurdish militants, days after a suicide bomb attack in the Turkish capital.Police detained at least 67 people across Turkey on Tuesday in a sweep targeting people with alleged links to Kurdish militants, days after a suicide bomb attack in the Turkish capital.Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said police carried out raids in 16 Turkish provinces, detaining 55 people suspected of being part of the “intelligence structure” of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. At least 12 other suspected PKK members were rounded up in a separate operation in five provinces, Yerlikaya wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.The PKK has led a decades-long insurgency in Turkey and is considered a terror organization by the United States and the European Union. Tens of thousands of people have died since the start of the conflict in 1984...

A blast at an illegal oil refinery site kills at least 15 in Nigeria, residents say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:54 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — An explosion and fire at at an illegal oil refinery site in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region killed at least 15 people, including a pregnant woman, residents and a local environmental rights group reported Tuesday. The blast happened Monday in the southern River state’s Emohua district, where illegal refineries are common. Residents said the death toll was likely to grow because many of the bodies were completed burned and dozens of people were injured. Police confirmed the incident but did not provide details of what happened. Locals said most of the people who died had worked at the illegal refinery in the village of Rumucholu.The workers at the site were refining oil taken from a vandalized pipe, according to Chima Avadi, a local activist. “When they scoop from the point where they vandalized the pipe, they will take to where they were cooking. That is how fire got there,” Avadi said. Dozens of people were being treated in hospitals, he said. A pregnant woman wa...

Rep. Cuellar unharmed in armed carjacking in DC

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:54 GMT

(The Hill) - Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) was carjacked in Washington, D.C. on Monday night, according to a staffer from his office. Cuellar was parking his car outside of his apartment in Navy Yard, D.C. when three armed individuals approached the congressman and stole his car, Cuellar's chief of staff confirmed to The Hill. Rep. Henry Cuellar (Associated Press/Eric Gay)Cuellar's chief of staff said the Texas Democrat was not harmed in the incident and authorities later recovered the car. When asked about the incident, DC Metro Police did not identify Cuellar as the victim, but said a carjacking occurred shortly after 9:30 p.m. at the intersection of New Jersey Avenue and K Street SE. Cuellar's chief of staff said the congressman is working with local law enforcement, and thanked DC police and Capitol Police for their "swift action" and recovery of his car. Cuellar is serving his 10th term in the House and represents Texas's 28th Congressional District, which includes the cities of...

Two more days in the 90s ahead of autumn-like change

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:54 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Although unseasonably hot weather continues Tuesday and Wednesday, these may be some of Austin's last 90-degree days of the year as we track an autumn-like change in the weather late this week.A broad western storm is approaching Texas, bringing mostly cloudy skies and a small rain chance early this week. As the powerful storm clips Texas and sends a cold front our way on Thursday, storms become likely and temperatures drop. BLOG: Fall storm coming: Rainfall, timing and the temperature drop Hottest September on recordAustin-Bergstrom International Airport experienced its hottest September on record with an average mean temperature of 85.6º, beating the previous hottest September of 85.3º set in 2019.Austin-Bergstrom and Camp Mabry also just recorded their hottest June through September period on record -- hotter, even, than 2011.With nine months in the books, Camp Mabry's average temperature of 77.5° so far this year ties 2011 as the hottest year on record. PHOT...

98.3 TRY Social Dilemma: Telling time

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:54 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Today's 98.3 TRY Social Dilemma came from Marcia and it's about time. Here's the email: Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Hi Jaime. I just had an argument with my boss about something and I'm wondering what other people think. I told my boss that I had a doctor's appointment and would not be in the office at 9. He said he wanted to schedule a meeting with staff, and I told him any time after 10 a.m. would be fine. He scheduled it for 10 a.m. After he did that, I informed him that 10:00 a.m. is not AFTER 10:00! When I said any time after 10, I meant that my appointment would go to 10 so I would be back by 10:30, and that's when he should have booked the meeting. He completely disagreed. Who is right? Help me out. Thanks. MarciaThis is interesting. I would have thought that any time after 10 meant 10 or later. But now thinking about it, she's right. 10:00 is not after 10:00, so I guess 10:30 or later would ...

Ask Amy: Wedding funds hinge on hair color

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:54 GMT

Dear Amy: I am a 30-year-old woman. I’ve been with my fiancé for almost seven years.When we first met, my hair was platinum blonde. Now that I am a hairstylist, I enjoy playing around with my hair color and have come to love dark blue.I’ve been blue for a few years now and it didn’t seem like a big deal.Yesterday, my fiancé broke the news to me that his parents are refusing to pay for the wedding venue if my hair is anything except my natural color.I was completely taken aback.There’s a laundry list: They don’t approve of my tattoos, my recent weight gain due to some serious health issues (I had discussed my health problems privately with his mother), and that I’m not making as much money as I should be (hairstylists are struggling right now because we’re in a recession)!This family has been loving toward me this entire relationship, and all of a sudden I’ve found out how they really feel.I feel completely crushed.They were too cowardly to talk to ME about their ob...