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China’s Xi meets with Vietnamese prime minister on second day of visit to shore up ties

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:42 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Vietnam’s prime minister and the head of the country’s National Assembly on Wednesday, on the second day of his visit to shore up Beijing’s relationship with Hanoi after the Southeast Asian nation recently elevated its ties with Japan and the United States.Xi met with Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on Tuesday, and they announced that China and Vietnam would work toward a “community with a shared future,” in what was seen as a diplomatic concession by Vietnam to Beijing. Vietnam has resisted using that phrase in the past but wanted to assuage Beijing’s concerns after Vietnam designated both the U.S. and Japan as “comprehensive strategic partners” in recent months, a designation it uses for China. The status is Vietnam’s highest official designation for a diplomatic relationship.Xi referenced the phrase again Wednesday in a meeting with National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue. “In the...

Boeser nets hat trick to tie for NHL goals lead and Canucks beat Lightning 4-1

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:42 GMT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Brock Boeser scored a hat trick, Quinn Hughes had three assists and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-1 on Tuesday night.Andrei Kuzmenko also scored for Vancouver, winners of three straight, while J.T. Miller chipped in with two assists.Brayden Point had the Lightning’s goal.Boeser scored his 19th goal of the season at 9:28 of the second period after Miller’s initial shot was blocked by Andrei Vasilevskiy, allowing the winger to bat the puck in mid-air.He added a second goal eight minutes later, firing his shot past Vasilevskiy on the blocker side after Hughes cycled around the net and found the winger open at the point.Boeser’s final goal was an empty-netter with just over a minute to play in the third. With his second hat trick of the season, Boeser is tied with Toronto’s Auston Matthews for the NHL lead with 21 goals.The Lightning opened the scoring less than two minutes into the game. Brandon Hagel found Mikhail Sergach...

COP28 ends with first ever call to move away from fossil fuels

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:42 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Nearly 200 nations sealed an agreement Wednesday urging countries to begin “transitioning away from fossil fuels” — a hard-fought deal that makes this the first-ever climate accord to address the primary driver of warming temperatures.The outcome drew a standing ovation in the packed plenary hall, a sharp turn from two days of tense, round-the-clock negotiations pitting advocates of aggressive climate action against fossil fuel producers such as Saudi Arabia. The talks also featured complaints from developing countries that rich nations such as the United States were not doing enough to help them shift to cleaner energy sources.The deal is the first time any of the nearly three decades of annual U.N. climate summits has agreed to language explicitly curtailing fossil fuels.“We have delivered a paradigm shift that has the potential to redefine our economies,” summit president Sultan al-Jaber, the chief executive of the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned o...

Ambush kills 7 Israeli soldiers in Gaza City, where battles rage weeks into devastating offensive

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:42 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — At least seven Israeli soldiers were killed in an ambush in Gaza City, Israeli media reported Wednesday, as the army continued to meet heavy resistance in an offensive against Hamas that has drawn international outrage and rare U.S. criticism over the killing of thousands of civilians. President Joe Biden’s administration has repeatedly called on Israel to take greater measures to spare Palestinians civilians, even as it has blocked international calls for a cease-fire and rushed military aid to its close ally. Israel has rejected U.S. suggestions for a postwar plan that would revive the long-dormant peace process with the Palestinians.The air and ground offensive has resulted in the deaths of over 18,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that triggered the war. Nearly 85% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have been forced to flee their homes, and much of northern Gaza resembles a moonscape.Israeli ground troops a...

Live updates | Israel forges ahead with its offensive in Gaza despite US criticism

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:42 GMT

Israel forged ahead with its air and ground offensive Wednesday in Gaza, drawing international outrage and rare criticism from the United States over the killing of thousands of civilians. The United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to demand a humanitarian cease-fire in a strong demonstration of global support for ending the Israel-Hamas war. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but the assembly’s messages are important barometers of world opinion.Just hours before the vote, U.S. President Joe Biden warned that Israel was losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing” of Gaza.The Israel-Hamas war has resulted in the deaths of over 18,400 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory, which does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Israel says 113 of its soldiers have died in its ground offensive after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people, ...

The pope says he wants to be buried in the Rome basilica, not in the Vatican

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:42 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis says he wants to be buried in the Rome basilica of St. Mary Major, not in the grottoes of the Vatican like other popes, so he can be near his favorite icon of the Madonna.Francis, who turns 87 on Sunday, also said he never thought about resigning this year despite a series of health scares. He said he has a trip confirmed to Belgium next year and visits under consideration to Polynesia and Argentina.“It is true that all journeys are now all rethought,” Francis told N+ of Mexican broadcaster Televisa. “If they’re close by, they can be done. If they’re farther away they are rethought. There are limits.”It was Francis’ first interview since his latest bout of acute bronchitis, which forced the cancellation of a trip this month to Dubai to participate in the U.N. climate conference. Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, appeared in good form and said he was now recovered and feeling fine.While the job of pope is for life, Francis reconfirmed ...

New Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is sworn in with his government

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:42 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The new Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was sworn in by the president on Wednesday morning in a ceremony where each of his ministers was also taking the oath of office.The swearing-in ceremony of the pro-European Union government was taking place in the presidential palace in Warsaw. It is the final step in a transition of power that has taken place this week.It marks the end of eight tumultuous years of rule by a national conservative party, Law and Justice.The government change follows a national election on Oct. 15 that was won by a group of parties that ran on separate tickets vowing to work together under Tusk’s leadership to restore democratic norms eroded by Law and Justice and mend alliances with allies that were also strained.Tusk and his ministers arrived at the presidential palace in a bus in the white and red colors of Poland’s flag and the words: “We thank you, Poland!” They were greeted by cheering supporters.Tusk’s government won a vote o...

Iran executes man convicted of killing a senior cleric following months of unrest

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:42 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran on Wednesday executed a bank guard who was convicted of fatally shooting a senior cleric in April following months of unrest, state media reported.Ayatollah Abbas Ali Soleimani, 77, was the most senior member of the clergy who was killed after protests and a bloody security crackdown on demonstrators. The protesters were enraged by the death in September of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested by the country’s morality police. The protests gradually died in early months of the year.A Wednesday report by the official IRNA news agency said the execution took place in northern city of Babol in Iran’s Mazandaran province, just north of the capital, Tehran, in the presence of the victim’s family. The report said a court sentenced the man to death in May and the Supreme Court upheld the verdict. It did not elaborate but Iran usually applies hanging.Authorities offered no motive for the attack in April in Babolsar, a town near the place of the execu...

Missiles from rebel territory in Yemen miss a ship near the key Bab el-Mandeb Strait

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:42 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Two missiles fired from territory held by Yemen’s Houthi rebels missed a commercial tanker near the key Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Wednesday, a U.S. official said. An American warship also shot down a suspected Houthi drone flying in its direction during the incident, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. No one was hurt in the attack, the official said. The ship that was targeted, the oil and chemical tanker Marshall Islands-flagged Ardmore Encounter, was traveling north toward the Suez Canal in the Red Sea, satellite tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed. The vessel had been coming from India and had an armed security crew aboard it, according to data transmitted by the ship.Ardmore Shipping Corp., which owns and operates the ship, issued a statement to the AP acknowledging the attack.“No one boarded the vessel and all crew members are safe and accounted for,” the statement said...

EU-funded works win seven prizes at 2023 European Film Awards

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:42 GMT

Five films that received EU support came out on top at this year's European Film Awards, winning a total of seven prizes.The winners of the 36th edition of the European Film Awards, which took place in Berlin, were announced during the Awards Ceremony held on 9 December 2023. The EU-funded front-runners are:The Promised Land (Bastarden) by Nikolaj Arcel for Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design and Best Actor award to Mads Mikkelsen for his role in the film; Smoke Sauna Sisterhood (Savvusanna sõsarad) by Anna Hints for Best Documentary; Robot Dreams by Pablo Berger for Best Feature Film; Club Zero by Jessica Hausner for Best Original Score; and La Chimera by Alice Rohrwacher for Best Production Design.The EU supported the development and distribution of these works through its Creative Europe MEDIA Programme.