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Chinese employers ordered to limit outdoor work as country struggles with heat, flooding and drought

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:50 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Rescuers were looking Monday for seven people missing in a landslide triggered by torrential rains while employers across much of China were ordered to limit outdoor work due to scorching temperatures as the country struggled with heat, flooding and drought.Rescuers were looking for survivors of a landslide Saturday that buried a highway construction site and killed at least one person in the central city of Yichang in Hubei province. Five people were injured, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the executive deputy mayor of Yichang, Ye Yang.Elsewhere, the weather agency issued an orange alert, its second-highest-level warning, for heat across southern China and much of the north and northeast.Temperatures above 40 C (104 F) were forecast in Beijing, the capital, and across central China to the southeastern coast. Heat above 37 to 39 C (99 to 102 F) was forecast in parts of populous Sichuan province in the southwest. Elsewhere, temperatures above 35 C (95...

Extreme flooding overwhelms New York roadways, killing 1 person

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Heavy rain spawned extreme flooding in New York’s Hudson Valley that killed at least one person, swamped roadways and forced road closures on Sunday night, as much of the rest of the Northeast U.S. began bracing for potentially punishing rains.As the storm moved east, the National Weather Service extended flash flood warnings into Connecticut, including the cities of Stamford and Greenwich, before creeping into Massachusetts. Forecasters said some areas could get as much as 5 inches (12 centimeters) of rain.In New York’s Hudson Valley, rescue teams were attempting to retrieve the body of a woman in her 30s who drowned after being swept away while trying to evacuate her home. Two other people escaped.The force of the flash flooding dislodged boulders, which rammed the woman’s house and damaged part of its wall, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus told The Associated Press.“Her house was completely surrounded by water,” he said.“She was trying to get through (...

Syria revokes BBC accreditation over alleged bias after report on high-level ties to drug trade

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:50 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s Information Ministry revoked the BBC’s media accreditation, days after the British public broadcaster aired a report linking members of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s family and senior army officials to the production and smuggling of illicit drugs.The documentary, broadcast in late June, describes a multibillion dollar business involving the highly addictive amphetamine known as CaptagonThe Syrian ministry said it revoked the BBC’s accreditation after repeated warnings about what it claimed were “misleading reports relying on statements and testimonies from terrorist entities and those hostile to Syria.” The ministry made no mention of the documentary and did not back up its claims of biased reporting.The BBC dismissed the ministry’s allegations, saying it provides impartial and independent journalism.“We speak to people across the political spectrum to establish the facts,” the BBC said in a statement emailed to The ...

Myanmar violence and sea disputes to dominate ASEAN talks joined by US, Russian and Chinese envoys

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:50 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Myanmar’s prolonged civil strife, tensions in the disputed South China Sea and concern over arms buildups in the region are expected to dominate the agenda when Southeast Asia’s top diplomats gather for talks this week in Indonesia.Russia’s year-old invasion of Ukraine and the U.S.-China rivalry will also be under the spotlight as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang participate as dialogue partners of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations foreign ministers in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.North Korea has yet to say whether its foreign minister, Choe Son Hui, will attend the ASEAN Regional Forum, an annual regional security meeting.It’s also unclear who among the key figures in the world’s most intractable conflicts will meet on the sidelines of the group’s ministerial meetings.The top diplomats of ASEAN, which includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao...

SCO member states to further strengthen solidarity, co-operation for peace, development

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:50 GMT

Chinese President Xi Jinping (pictured) will attend the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) via video conference from Beijing on July 4 and deliver important remarks, writes He Yin, People's Daily.Xi will map out the future development of the SCO with the leaders of other countries attending the summit, expound on Chinese plans and raise cooperation initiatives on building a closer SCO community with a shared future.The SCO, as an organization for regional cooperation with the largest population and the largest landmass in the world, is a constructive force in international and regional affairs.In the past more than 20 years since the organization was established, the SCO member states have always followed the SCO Charter and the principles and purposes of the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation of the Member States of the SCO.They pursue and carry forward the Shanghai Spirit, namely, mutual tru...

Evacuations ordered after landslide in L.A. County neighborhood destroys homes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:50 GMT

Residents of a Los Angeles County neighborhood were forced to evacuate their homes Saturday night after a giant landslide prompted police, fire and utility company officials to respond early Sunday morning and close down the area.  At least 12 homes were evacuated in Rolling Hills Estates along Peartree Lane next to the canyon area, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said. Several other homes caved in and were completely destroyed. A total of 16 residents were forced to leave their residences after one of the homeowners reported problems.  According to the L.A. County Fire Department, cracks were first discovered in the structure of one home, which led crews to find that the damage had progressed to neighboring residences. SoCal Edison shut off power in the area, and Southern California Gas Company crews were called in to make sure no gas lines had been ruptured.  "It’s concerning. A lot of families live here," homeowner Abtin Hashemian told KTLA. Hashem...

Yankees fire hitting coach Dillion Lawson in 1st midseason change under GM Brian Cashman

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:50 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Hitting coach Dillon Lawson was fired by the New York Yankees after Sunday’s 7-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs, a rare midseason change by a franchise that has prized stability since Hal Steinbrenner took over from his father as controlling owner.New York’s .231 batting average is 28th among the 30 major league teams, ahead of only Detroit and Oakland. The Yankees are batting a major league-worst .218 in 31 games since Aaron Judge tore a ligament in his right big toe on June 3, going 14-17 and entering the All-Star break in fourth place of the AL East 49-42.New York is fifth in the majors with 129 homers, but 18th in runs and its .300 on-base percentage is 26th.No replacement was announced. General manager Brian Cashman, who had never before fired a coach during a season, said he will hire a successor from outside the organization before the Yankee begin the second half Friday at Colorado.Cashman said assistant hitting coaches Casey Dykes and Brad Wilkerson will be retain...

Exclusiva: Biden dice que la guerra con Rusia debe terminar antes de que la OTAN pueda considerar el ingreso de Ucrania

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:50 GMT

(CNN) — El presidente Joe Biden le dijo a CNN en una entrevista exclusiva que Ucrania aún no está lista para ser miembro de la OTAN y dijo que la guerra de Rusia en Ucrania debe terminar antes de que la alianza pueda considerar agregar a Kyiv a sus filas.Biden le dijo a Fareed Zakaria de CNN que, si bien la discusión sobre la inminente membresía de Ucrania en la OTAN era prematura, Estados Unidos y sus aliados en la OTAN continuarían brindando al presidente Volodymyr Zelensky y sus fuerzas la seguridad el armamento que necesitan para tratar de poner fin a la guerra con Rusia.Biden habló con Zakaria antes de su viaje de una semana a Europa, que incluye una cumbre de la OTAN en Lituania, donde la guerra de Rusia en Ucrania y el impulso de Zelensky para ingresar a la OTAN serán algunos de los temas clave que se avecinan en la reunión.“No creo que haya unanimidad en la OTAN sobre si incluir o no a Ucrania en la familia de la OTAN ahora, en este momento, en medio de una guerra”, di...

Hamilton happy his old team McLaren is competitive again despite losing out for 2nd at British GP

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:50 GMT

SILVERSTONE, England (AP) — Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton is happy his old team McLaren is competitive in Formula One again, even if it is at his expense.The seven-time champion lost an all-British tussle to McLaren’s Lando Norris for second place in their home Grand Prix on Sunday. Norris even overtook all-conquering Red Bull driver Max Verstappen at the start to lead the race briefly. Getting the better of Verstappen has been almost impossible this season.On the fast tracks like Silverstone, Norris said, “We’re almost on a par with what Red Bull can achieve.”The McLaren car was quick in qualifying Saturday and on race day, he added: “We definitely seem to maintain our performance when others seem to take a bit of a hit.”Not bad for a team which didn’t score any points at five of the first eight GP weekends.Hamilton described the McLaren car — which is newly competitive after an aerodynamic upgrade — as a “rocket ship” and sent “big congratulations to Lando...

Morocco’s historic Women’s World Cup debut inspires girls even if some in the Arab world ignore it

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:22:50 GMT

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — The game was sparsely attended; it was midweek and the outcome wasn’t much in doubt: the Association Sportive des Forces Armees Royales, a powerhouse in women’s soccer here, ended up crushing its Moroccan women’s national professional league opponent 7-0.Regardless, one young fan in the stands was excited from the get-go.Wearing her hair in half-up pigtails and dressed in a jersey reading “Morocco” in Arabic, 5-year-old Aliae Benazzouza descended to the pitch to meet the players. A favorite of hers, Fatima Tagnaout, who plays for Morocco’s national women’s team and for the armed forces team known as ASFAR, embraced Aliae and held her hand as they posed for photos. Aliae waved at another player, calling her name. During the game, she would make her way to the front of the stands, pressing against a rail, for a better view.“I was very happy,” Aliae said. Her mom, Souad El Khorchef, a teacher, said her daughter peppered her with kisses afterward in thanks for taki...