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UN envoy: Colombian president’s commitments to rural reforms and peace efforts highlight first year

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:53 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s commitment to transform long-marginalized rural and conflict areas and new peace efforts were the highlights of his first year in office, the U.N. special envoy for the South American country said.But Carlos Ruiz Massieu condemned the killing of nearly 400 former combatants who signed a 2016 peace agreement and called for “urgent and concrete measures from the authorities for their protection, as well as that of social leaders and human rights defenders.”He told the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday that lagging progress in implementing rural reforms has limited the transformation in rural and conflict areas that the 2016 peace accord between the government and Colombia’s then-largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, was expected to bring.“While a great distance still remains to attain the ambitious goals of the agreement in this respect,” he acknowledged “the increasing government efforts un...

Strike talks break off between Hollywood actors and studios

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:53 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Talks have broken off between Hollywood actors and studios, killing any hopes that the strike by performers was coming to an end after nearly three months, as the writers strike recently did. The studios announced that they had suspended contract negotiations late Wednesday night, saying the gap between the two sides was too great to make continuing worth it. On Oct. 2, for the first time since the strike began July 14, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists had resumed negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents studios, streaming services and production companies in strike talks. When negotiations resumed with writers last month, their strike ended five days later, but similar progress was not made with the actors union. The studios walked away from talks after seeing the actors’ most recent proposal on Wednesday. “It is clear that the gap between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA i...

SDGs & me: Towards sustainable cities and communities

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:53 GMT

The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 11) ‘Sustainable cities and communities’ promotes the renewal and planning of cities and other human settlements while offering opportunities for all, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and green public spaces, while improving resource use and reducing environmental impacts.Monitoring SDG 11 progress in the EU focuses on progress made in enriching the quality of life in cities and communities, fostering sustainable mobility and improving environmental impacts.Source datasets: sdg_11_52, sdg_11_40, sdg_11_11, sdg_11_60 SDG 11 is monitored with a range of indicators. One of them is premature deaths due to exposure to fine particulate matter. In 2020, there were 237 810 premature deaths in the EU due to air pollution through fine particulate matter, or 25.9% less than in  2015 (321 112 deaths). Another indicator is road traffic deaths. In 2021, 19 917 people died in road traffic in the EU, a decrease of 16.3% from 2016 (...

Romania, Greece and Bulgaria want to build a highway and rail transport corridor connecting the three countries

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:53 GMT

The prime ministers of Romania, Greece and Bulgaria signed a joint statement in Varna on Monday (9 October) showing that they want to link the three countries through highways and railways, to increase transport connectivity. They also talked about new bridges over the Danube connecting Romania to Bulgaria, writes Cristian Gherasim.The main transport-related information from the joint statement signed by Prime Ministers Marcel Ciolacu, Nikolai Denkov and Kyriakos Mitsotakis reads: We are committed to building intermodal cross-border infrastructure across the Danube River, including new bridges at Giurgiu-Ruse and other locations, also in line with existing European standards for military mobility. The increasing importance of multidimensional connectivity between our three countries, EU interregional connectivity as well as connectivity in the wider neighborhood requires the further advancement of projects of common interest to radically improve cross-border infrastructure. In addit...

Thousands attend pro-Israel demonstration in Encino

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:53 GMT

Thousands of Israel supporters gathered in Encino Wednesday to show their solidarity amid Israel’s bloody war with Hamas. It is the latest in a series of events organized in Southern California to show support for Israel after the surprise terrorist attack over the weekend.  One of the demonstrators at the rally, Joseph Samana, said supporters can’t not come out and show their support for the state of Israel.  “You have to show your support,” he told KTLA’s Rick Chambers. “It’s a must not an option.”  The more than 2,000 strong crowd shut down a stretch of Ventura Boulevard so their voices could be heard after the attack by Hamas. Crowds flocked to Encino on Oct. 11, 2023, to show support for Israel after Hamas' surprise terrorist attack over the weekend. (KTLA)“What we see, it’s evil and if we do not protest against it, it won’t be just in Israel,” another rallygoer, Iris Nofar said. “It will be against all the world.”  The rally was likely the largest in Los An...

Tensions high across SoCal college campuses amid Israel-Hamas war

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:53 GMT

Tensions are rising on college campuses in California and across the country as students react to Israel’s war with Hamas. The deadly violence has led some college leaders to warn against discrimination or harassment against any member of the Jewish or Palestinian communities. Hundreds of University of California, Los Angeles students gathered at Bruin Plaza Wednesday night for a solemn vigil for Israel. “I’m really just praying for all of the innocent people caught in the sides of it,” said UCLA student, Cienna Janes. There was a heavy security presence at the event as the longstanding Israeli Palestinian conflict enters a new phase following the deadly terrorist attack in the Jewish state carried out by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group in Gaza.Amid rising tensions, some student groups say they have received threats over their beliefs and academic discourse. Organized by UCLA Students for Justice in Palestine, a lecture called “Emergency Teach-in on the Crisis" wa...

Person fatally shot Wednesday afternoon in East Oakland

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:53 GMT

OAKLAND – A person was shot and killed Wednesday in East Oakland, marking the city’s 99th homicide of the year, police said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Cop stabbed Wednesday afternoon at Brentwood City Park Crime and Public Safety | Oakland: Three possible shooting suspects arrested after chase, crash Crime and Public Safety | Police identify Oakland man shot and killed outside local hotel Crime and Public Safety | Man convicted of murder on BART train Crime and Public Safety | South Bay man charged in fatal stabbing, carjacking of 63-year-old Union City woman The shooting happened around 4:45 p.m. in the 200 block of Kerwin Avenue, near Douglas Avenue in the Brookfield Village neighborhood, Oakland police Officer Darryl Rodgers said. Officers arrived to find a person suffering from at least one gunshot wound.The person received emergency medical aid but was pronounced dead at the scene, Ro...

New bill allows virtual vet appointments

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:53 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – California pet owners will soon have another way to get veterinary care. A new bill just signed into law will allow vets virtual appointments.A sick pet usually means a lengthy trip to the vet's office – including a drive and time spent sitting in a waiting room. This new law will save you from all of that. Repairs to Richmond-San Rafael Bridge could take weeks, officials say “They can be in front of a veterinarian in two minutes. Compare that to the emergency wait that can be hours,” said Jennifer Scarlett, CEO of the San Francisco SPCA. Scarlett says the organization has been in support of expanding veterinarian telemedicine for years. The new bill signed by Gov. Newsom will do just that. It allows vets to see new or existing patients for a wide range of issues.Previously, vets could only see existing patients virtually for an issue after an in-person checkup for the same problem. Scarlett says there is a shortage of vets, but virtual appointments wil...

Repairs to Richmond-San Rafael Bridge could take weeks, officials say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:53 GMT

RICHMOND, Calif. (KRON) -- It could take days and perhaps weeks to repair the damage to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, according to officials. Caltrans officials say the fatal big rig accident at the toll plaza this past Monday destroyed one lane and impacted two others.Only four of the seven lanes are currently open, resulting in snarled traffic at times. The fiery accident Monday night torched the far-right lane, known as lane 7, and seriously impacted the integrity of lanes 5 and 6, according to Caltrans. The CHP is investigating the cause of the crash that killed the big rig driver. SF, Oakland are worst cities to drive in, according to WalletHub Westbound traffic was shut down for hours that night. Now, days later, repairs are still underway with no timeframe for when the three damaged lanes will reopen."Forty thousand drivers pass through the area. It is a priority to get it done," said Vince Jacala, a Caltrans spokesperson.Jacala said a large team continues to assess what...

Russia’s war could cause vodka price surge

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:53 GMT

Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine might just make Russians thirsty.Russia’s alcohol-producers lobby has asked Finance Minister Anton Siluanov to increase vodka’s minimum price by 7 percent to cope with rising costs linked to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, reports show.The proposal from the Union of Alcohol Producers, reported Thursday by Russian business daily Kommersant, would put floor retail prices for Russians’ favorite tipple at 602 rubles per liter — €5.80 — from 2024.To justify the surge, alcohol-makers cite rising import prices and logistical costs linked to the ruble’s devaluation, as well as a planned increase on an excise tax on vodka.Currently under consideration by the finance ministry, the producers’ plea is likely to be accepted by the authorities, Kommersant reports, citing “two sources in the [alcohol] industry.”Under heavy international sanctions, Russia’s increasingly isolated economy is also grap...