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German government to present 1st national security strategy to address growing threats

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:51 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany is unveiling its first comprehensive national security strategy Wednesday in Berlin as part of an effort to address what it views as growing military, economic and social threats to the country.Chancellor Olaf Scholz and four of his top ministers are due to present the new strategy, which has been months in the making. It is seen as a centerpiece of his three-party governing coalition.Russia’s attack on Ukraine has heightened anxiety in Germany about the preparedness of its own armed forces, prompting Scholz to announce a “turning point” on military spending.Resilience against cyberattacks and the dangers posed by climate change will also be part of the new security strategy. Plans to create a national security council, akin to those found in the United States and Britain, have been shelved, however.The Associated Press

UK police hunt motive in Nottingham attack as friends mourn student athlete victims

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:51 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Police worked Wednesday to piece together details of a knife and van attack that killed two 19-year-old students and another man in the English city of Nottingham, as friends and family remembered the two younger victims as talented athletes with a passion for life.Nottingham University students Barnaby Webber and Grace Kumar were stabbed to death in a street near student housing before dawn on Tuesday.Police say a 31-year-old suspect also killed a man in his 50s more than a mile (1.6 kilometers) away, stole his van and ran down a group of pedestrians. Three people were hurt, one critically, in the hit-and-run.Police subdued the suspect with a stun gun nearby and detained him on suspicion of murder. Police said they believe the attacker acted alone and were working with counterterrorism officers to try to establish a motive. The attack has not been labeled terrorism by the authorities, and police are investigating issues including the suspect’s mental health.The ...

Greece reports 17 migrants dead, more than 100 rescued after fishing vessel capsizes

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:51 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A fishing boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized and sank off the southern coast of Greece early Wednesday, killing at least 17 people.A large search and rescue operation was launched in the area. Authorities said 104 people have been rescued so far following the nighttime incident some 75 kilometers (46 miles) southwest of Greece’s southern Peloponnese region. Four of the survivors were hospitalized with symptoms of hypothermia. It was unclear how many passengers might remain missing at sea after 17 bodies were recovered, the Greek coast guard said.Six coast guard vessels, a navy frigate, a military transport plan, an air force helicopter, several private vessels and a drone from the European Union border protection agency, Frontex were taking part in the ongoing search.The Italy-bound boat is believed to have sailed from the Tobruk area in eastern Libya. The Italian coast guard first alerted Greek authorities and Frontex about the approaching vessel on Tue...

South Korea sues rival North Korea for blowing up joint liaison office in 2020

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:51 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea filed a 44.7 billion won ($35 million) damage suit against North Korea on Wednesday for blowing up a joint liaison office just north of their border in 2020, which highlighted a revival of tensions between the rivals following the collapse of larger nuclear talks between the U.S. and North Korea.The symbolic lawsuit filed with the Seoul Central District Court comes amid a prolonged freeze in diplomacy and growing concerns over North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs. South Korea had until this Friday to claim damages, when a three-year statute of limitations over the incident would expire.Koo Byoungsam, spokesperson for Seoul’s Unification Ministry, which handles relations with North Korea, described the North’s detonation of the building as an unlawful and violent act that breached previous agreements between the countries and “fundamentally damaged the foundation of mutual respect and trust.”There’s no clear way for Sout...

Lebanese lawmakers convene in another attempt to elect president, end power vacuum

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:51 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese lawmakers convened Wednesday in another attempt to elect a president and break a seven-month power vacuum that has roiled the tiny Mediterranean country.The meeting comes after 11 previous sessions by the parliament — the last of which was held in January — failed to pick a replacement for President Michel Aoun, an ally of the powerful militant Hezbollah group, whose term ended in late October.The two main candidates officially in the running are former Cabinet minister Sleiman Frangieh, who is backed by Hezbollah and some of its allies, and Jihad Azour, a former finance minister and senior official with the International Monetary Fund, who is supported by the opposition to Hezbollah and some of its nominal allies.Azour also has the backing of the country’s largest Christian political parties, the Free Patriotic Movement, which has been allied with Hezbollah since 2006, and the Lebanese Forces party, an opponent to Hezbollah. Under Lebanon’s complex power-shar...

India, Pakistani coasts on high alert a day before Cyclone Biparjoy is expected to make landfall

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:51 GMT

MANDVI, India (AP) — The coastal regions of India and Pakistan were on high alert Wednesday with tens of thousands being evacuated a day before Cyclone Biparjoy was expected to make landfall.The India Meteorological Department said the cyclone was now packing maximum sustained winds of up to 145 kilometers per hour (90 mph). It is projected to make landfall near Jakhau port in the Kutch district of India’s Gujarat state on Thursday.Residents living within 5 kilometers (3 miles) of the coast in Gujarat were evacuated, and those living within 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) may also have to move out, officials have said. Four people have been killed so far in incidents related to the cyclone, including three boys who drowned off Mumbai’s coast and a woman who was killed due to an accident caused by strong winds in Gujarat. Search and rescue operations are still ongoing to find one more person who drowned in the seas off Mumbai.Experts say climate change is leading to an increase in cyclones...

In The News for June 14 : More help on the way for crews battling Canada’s wildfires

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:51 GMT

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of June 14 …What we are watching in Canada …More firefighters from abroad are expected to arrive today to help battle Canada’s worst wildfire season of the 21st century. Quebec’s public safety minister says more reinforcements are to come from Portugal and Spain.François Bonnardel said Tuesday the fire effort has also been bolstered by the arrival this week of two contingents of firefighters from the United States. Storms across the country could bring much needed rain, but meteorologists say it’s not enough to stop the wildfire threat. A rainy forecast in Quebec was bringing hope for progress in battling the blazes, as more than 7,200 people remained out of their homes due to fires. Rain is also in the forecast for a large portion of Western Canada, but thunderstorms and a risk of lightning come along with it....

At least 15 people killed and dozens injured in bus crash in Mali

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:51 GMT

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — At least 15 people were killed and dozens injured when two passenger buses collided with a truck in Mali, the government said.The accident occurred Tuesday morning between Fana and Konobougou cities in the country’s south, said Mama Djenepo, the secretary general for Mali’s ministry of transport. “The accident involved two passenger coaches bound for Mopti, which collided with a 10-ton truck carrying livestock traveling in the opposite direction,” he said, adding that the cause is believed to be speeding by tired drivers.While traffic accidents are common in Mali, especially during the rainy season, this is the worst in the West African nation this year, the government said. More than 680 people were killed last year in road accidents and some 8,200 were injured. Baba Ahmed, The Associated Press

Chinese navy ship pays port call to Philippines in goodwill tour of region

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:51 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Chinese navy training ship with hundreds of cadets made a port call in the Philippines on Wednesday, its final stop on a goodwill tour of four countries as Beijing looks to mend fences in the region.Cadets in dress whites stood at attention on deck of the Qi Jiguang as they were welcomed at the port in Manila by Philippine military officials on shore, while artists in dragon costumes performed a traditional dance and onlookers waved Chinese and Philippine flags.China’s ambassador to the Philippines was on hand for the ceremony but neither he nor any of the Philippine officials made any comment to the media. It was a rare visit for a Chinese naval ship to the Philippines, whose new government under Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been strengthening ties with the United States, including more joint military exercises and in February granting the American military greater access to the country’s military facilities.China, meantime, has become increasingly assertiv...

Wildlife unseen casualty as forests burn in worst wildfire season of the century

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:15:51 GMT

As wildfires from coast to coast scorch large swaths of forest, sometimes changing it irreversibly, experts have zeroed in on an often overlooked casualty of the blazes: wildlife.Spring fires, such as the ones now burning across the country, are unusual and will possibly affect several species, said Karen Hodges, a biology professor at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus.“If the tree with a nest burns, those eggs or chicks obviously will not survive. The adults may be able to escape the fire, but the chances that they would reproduce again somewhere else is unlikely for this year. I think one immediate impact is that many individuals will fail to breed this year. Some will die,” she said in a recent interview.“Obviously, animals that can move away ahead of the fire will do so. But that depends how fast the fire is moving — whether the animals can outrun it. It’s really difficult to gauge that one.”Emergency Preparedness Minister B...