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2 soldiers killed in shootout when militants ambush troops in southwest Pakistan, military says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — A group of militants ambushed troops during a search operation against insurgents in a remote area in southwestern Pakistan, triggering a shootout that left an army major and a junior officer dead, the military said Monday.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday’s ambush near Balor in Baluchistan province, but Pakistani Taliban and small separatist groups have claimed similar attacks in the past. The military identified the two killed as Saqib Hussain and Naik Baqir Ali. Another soldier was injured, the statement said. Small separatist groups in oil-rich Baluchistan have waged a low-level insurgency for more than two decades. Baluch nationalists initially wanted a bigger share of the provincial resources, but later their insurgency morphed into a fight for independence from the government in Islamabad. Though Pakistani authorities say they have quelled the insurgency, the violence has continued. The previous day, three policemen and a ...

Flooding displaces 10,000 around China as Beijing gets a slight respite from an extreme heat wave

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Heavy flooding has displaced thousands of people around China as the capital had a brief respite from sweltering heat.Beijing reported 9.8 straight days when the temperature exceeded 35 C (95 F), the National Climate Center said Monday. Such a streak was last recorded in 1961 — decades before most Beijing residents had air conditioning or even fans. A lack of rainfall may be contributing to the heat, with the typically dry capital receiving even less than usual this year. While temperatures have since moderated — Monday’s temperature at midday was 33 C (91 F) — they are expected to rise again this week to as high as 39.6 Celsius (103 Fahrenheit) in Beijing and other parts of the country, authorities said. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 people were urgently moved to safety due to flooding in the central province of Hunan, the Xiang’xi Emergency Management Bureau on Sunday.Around 70 houses collapsed, 2,283 were damaged and farm fields were flooded. Losses so far have...

France's Macron to hold new crisis meeting after third night of riots

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

French President Emmanuel Macron held a new government emergency meeting later on Friday (30 June) after riots erupted for the third night in a row across the country in protest over the deadly shooting of a teen by police earlier in the week, reported BFM TV, citing the Elysee palace.Some 421 people were arrested throughout France on Thursday evening (29 June), several French media said, citing Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who had deployed 40,000 police officers on Thursday night in a bid to quell the widespread unrest.In Nanterre, the working-class town on the western outskirts of Paris where the 17-year-old - identified as Nahel M - was shot dead on Tuesday (27 June), protesters torched cars, barricaded streets and hurled projectiles at police following an earlier peaceful vigil held to pay tribute to the youth.In central Paris, a Nike shoe store was broken into, and several people were arrested after store windows were smashed along the Rue de Rivoli shopping street, Paris...

Israel targets West Bank militant stronghold with drones, hundreds of troops, killing 5 Palestinians

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli drones struck targets in a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank early Monday and hundreds of troops were deployed in the area, an incursion that resembled the wide-scale military operations carried out during the second Palestinian uprising two decades ago. Palestinian health officials said at least five Palestinians were killed.Troops remained inside the Jenin refugee camp Monday, pushing ahead with the largest operation in the area during more than a year of fighting. It came at a time of growing domestic pressure for a tough response to a series of attacks on Israeli settlers – including a shooting attack last week that killed four people.Black smoke rose from the crowded streets of the camp as the military pressed on. Electricity was cut off in some parts and military bulldozers were plowing through narrow streets — another reminder of Israel’s incursions during the last uprising. The Palestinians and neighboring Jordan condemned the viole...

Flooding displaces 10,000 around China as Beijing gets a relative respite from sweltering heat

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Heavy flooding has displaced thousands of people around China as the capital had a relative respite from sweltering heat.Beijing reported 9.8 straight days when the temperature exceeded 35 C (95 F), the National Climate Center said Monday. Such a streak was last recorded in 1961 — decades before most Beijing residents had air conditioning or even fans. A lack of rainfall may be contributing to the heat, with the typically dry capital receiving even less than usual this year. While temperatures have since moderated — Monday’s temperature at midday was 33 C (91 F) — they are expected to rise again this week to as high as 39.6 Celsius (103 Fahrenheit) in Beijing and other parts of the country, authorities said. Meanwhile, more than 10,000 people were urgently moved to safety due to flooding in the central province of Hunan, the Xiang’xi Emergency Management Bureau on Sunday.Around 70 houses collapsed, 2,283 were damaged and farm fields were flooded. Losses so far h...

French rioting appears to slow 6 days after teen’s death in Paris suburbs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Unrest across France sparked by the police shooting of a 17-year-old appeared to slow overnight after six nights.In all, according to the Interior Ministry, there were 157 arrests overnight, down from a peak of 3,880 arrests during the fiery night of June 30, and two law enforcement stations were attacked, among other damage.Around 45,000 officers were deployed nationwide to counter violence fuelled by anger over discrimination against people who trace their roots to former French colonies and live in low-income neighborhoods. Nahel, the teenager killed last Tuesday, was of Algerian descent and was shot in the Paris suburb of Nanterre.Across France, 297 vehicles were torched overnight along with 34 buildings. A burning car stuck the home of the mayor of the Paris suburb L’Hay-les-Roses over the weekend, an unusually personal attack amid the backdrop of fires and vandalism targeting police stations and town halls.French President Emmanuel Macros has blamed social media f...

US recommends Americans reconsider traveling to China due to arbitrary law enforcement, exit bans

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — The U.S. is recommending Americans reconsider traveling to China because of arbitrary law enforcement, exit bans and the risk of wrongful detentions. No specific cases were cited, but the advisory comes after a 78-year-old U.S. citizen was sentenced to life in prison on spying charges in May.It also follows the passage last week of a sweeping Foreign Relations Law that threatens countermeasures against those seen as harming China interests. China also recently passed a broadly written counterespionage law that has sent a chill through the foreign business community, with offices being raided, as well as a law to sanction foreign critics. “The People’s Republic of China (PRC) government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including issuing exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law,” the U.S. advisory said. “U.S. citizens traveling or residing in the PRC may be detained without access to U.S. consular ser...

An explosion in a downtown Tokyo building has injured four people, according to media reports

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — An explosion at a building in Tokyo’s commercial district of Shimbashi on Monday shattered windows and spewed smoke, according to media reports.Police were investigating the site after receiving an emergency call, Kyodo news reported.NHK television, quoting fire department officials, said four people were injured. No other information, including the cause, was yet available.The Associated Press

Daily horoscope for July 3, 2023

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

Moon Alert: There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions today. The Moon is in Capricorn.Happy Birthday for Monday, July 3, 2023:You are rational, observant and curious about the world around you. Personally, you want to make the world a better place. You know how to charm. This is a powerful year for you. Expect recognition for your efforts. You might receive a promotion, a raise, an award — definitely acknowledgement.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★Today you might have to do a juggling act to keep everyone happy. This Full Moon might make you feel caught between the demands of home and family versus the demands of your professional life or your public reputation. Today you cannot ignore home and family. Tonight: Surprise!TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★Pay attention to everything you say and do, because this is a mildly accident-prone day for your sign due to the Full Moon energy taking place today. An accident does not have to take place; however, you might be distr...

Greece migrant tragedy: Survivor accounts say coastguard towing attempt precipitated disaster

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:10 GMT

Survivors of a boat disaster that likely killed hundreds of migrants near Greece have given accounts of traffickers in North Africa cramming them into a clapped-out fishing trawler. They recounted hellish conditions above and below deck, with no food or water.Some also said the tragic end, when it came, was precipitated by the actions of the Greek coastguard. They have told judicial authorities of a doomed attempt to tow the overloaded trawler that caused the vessel to capsize in the early hours of 14 June.A disastrous coastguard towing attempt was recounted in six of the nine statements from survivors submitted to Greek judicial officials investigating the causes of the tragedy.One Syrian survivor said he and other migrants on board the Adriana, which had broken down en route to Italy, screamed "Stop!" after a Greek coastguard vessel attached a rope to the bow of the trawler and began to pull it while picking up speed.The migrant boat tilted left and right and then it turned upside...