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Visit by Solomon Islands leader to Beijing underscores rising China-US rivalry in South Pacific

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:24 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare will visit China next week, highlighting the accelerating contest between Beijing and Washington for influence in the South Pacific. Sogavare will visit from Sunday to Saturday, meeting top officials in Beijing and traveling to Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces, among China’s most developed, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily briefing Thursday. His visit will “inject new momentum” into relations and “deepen mutual political trust, expand pragmatic cooperation and strengthen people-to-people exchanges,” Wang said. “Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Solomon Islands, our relations have developed rapidly and achieved fruitful results, benefiting the people of both countries and promoting regional peace and stable development,” Wang said. Sogavare’s switching of diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China and signing of a secretive security agreement that could see Chine...

Wagner chief Prigozhin is in Russia, president of Belarus says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:24 GMT

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Russia’s mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is in St. Petersburg and his Wagner troops have remained at the camps where they had stayed before an abortive mutiny, the president of Belarus said Thursday.Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko helped broker a deal for Prigozhin to his rebellion on June 24 in exchange for security guarantees for himself and his soldiers and permission to move to Belarus.After saying last week that Prigozhin was in Belarus, Lukashenko told international reporters Thursday that the mercenary chief is in St. Petersburg and Wagner troops still were at their camps. He did not specify the location of the camps, but Prigozhin’s mercenaries fought alongside Russian forces in Ukraine before their revolt. The rebellion saw them quickly sweep over the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and capture military headquarters there before marching on the Russian capital in what Prigozhin described as a “march of justice” to oust th...

2 explosions heard in disputed area where borders of Lebanon, Syria and Israel meet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:24 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Two explosions were heard in a disputed area of southern Lebanon where the borders of Syria, Lebanon and Israel meet, but the nature of Thursday’s blasts or if rockets fired from Lebanon caused them was not immediately clear, local media and security officials said.The explosions happened at a time of high tension in the border area over two tents erected by militant group Hezbollah and Israel’s building of a wall around the Lebanese part of a village that Israeli troops captured during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.A Lebanese military official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not cleared to speak to journalists, said one rocket was fired toward Israel from the border town of Kfar Chouba and that Israeli forces responded with two rocket attacks.Minutes after the explosions, Hezbollah issued a statement about Israel’s wall in the village of Ghajar. The village is split into Lebanese and Israeli sides along a border, known as the blue...

In the news today: Canada melts under heat wave, 10 years since Lac-Mégantic disaster

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:24 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Extreme heat warnings remain across Canada…Southern parts of Ontario and Quebec are entering the third day of a multi-day heat event that Environment Canada has warned could see temperatures reach highs near 40 degrees Celsius when humidity is factored in.A heat warning is also in effect in British Columbia, from the north to central coast and in the Fraser Canyon area east of Vancouver, where daytime highs between 30 and 35 degrees Celsius are expected through Sunday.A similar warning is in place for the Fort Liard and Fort Providence regions of the Northwest Territories, where temperatures are expected to rise to low 30s by Friday or Saturday and into next week.On the East Coast, Environment Canada says a period of similarly hot temperatures is expected to start today and stretch into the weekend in New Brunswick, as well as the Churchill Falls region o...

Russian cruise missile attack on Ukraine city of Lviv kills 4 people and wounds more

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:24 GMT

LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia fired cruise missiles Thursday at a western Ukraine city far from the front line of the war, killing at least four people in an apartment building in what officials said was the heaviest attack on civilian areas of Lviv since the Kremlin’s forces invaded Ukraine last year.The nighttime attack destroyed the roof and the top two floors of a residential building, injuring nine people as emergency crews with search dogs went through the rubble.Debris and wrecked parked cars lined the street outside the building, which overlooks a small neighborhood park with swings and climbing frames amid trees.Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said around 60 apartments and 50 cars in the area of strike were damaged.U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink described the attack as vicious. “Russia’s repeated attacks on civilians are absolutely horrifying,” she tweeted.The Kremlin’s forces have repeatedly hit civilian areas during the war, though Russian officials say they choose only...

The Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual leader, celebrates 88th birthday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:24 GMT

DHARMSALA, India (AP) — The Dalai Lama celebrated his 88th birthday on Thursday, as hundreds of his supporters and exiled Tibetans thronged his hillside Indian headquarters in Dharamsala.Artists played traditional welcome tunes as the Tibetan spiritual leader arrived in his open mobile van to preside over the celebrations in the courtyard of the Tsuglakhang Temple, which was festooned with Tibetan and Buddhist flags and portraits.“We are celebrating my 88th birthday but look at me, I look barely 50,” the Dalai Lama said, smiling.He has made the hillside town of Dharmsala his headquarters since fleeing from Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. India considers Tibet to be part of China, though it hosts Tibetan exiles.The Dalai Lama denies being a separatist and says he only advocates substantial autonomy and protection of Tibet’s native Buddhist culture.In April, the Dalai Lama faced widespread criticism after a video circulated online showed him kissing a young...

New Brunswick holding onto $41 million in security deposits from tenants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:24 GMT

FREDERICTON — The New Brunswick government has amassed nearly $41 million in security deposits collected from residential tenants in a practice that is unique in Canada and that critics say needs to change.The latest annual report from Service New Brunswick showed security deposits sitting at $40.9 million for the 2021-22 fiscal year, up from $36.4 million a year earlier. It is unclear from the numbers how much of the total came from people who had moved out and were entitled to get their deposits back.Under provincial law, a landlord can require a deposit of up to one month’s rent to cover possible damage caused by the tenant. Amendments introduced in 1983 dictated that the province would oversee the collected deposits.Nichola Taylor, chair of the New Brunswick branch of housing rights group ACORN, called the province’s practice of holding onto the security deposits problematic. She said the process of recovering a security deposit is overly complicated, which could exp...

Warnings remain from coast to coast as parts of Canada swelter under heat wave

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:24 GMT

TORONTO — Several parts of Canada continue to swelter under intense heat, prompting weather alerts.Southern parts of Ontario and Quebec are entering the third day of a multi-day heat event that Environment Canada has warned could see temperatures reach highs near 40 degrees Celsius when humidity is factored in.The weather agency says temperatures are expected to taper off in those regions by several degrees on Friday, while northern Ontario will see relief starting today.A heat warning is also in effect in British Columbia, from the north to central coast and in the Fraser Canyon area east of Vancouver, where daytime highs between 30 and 35 degrees Celsius are expected through Sunday.A similar warning is in place for the Fort Liard and Fort Providence regions of the Northwest Territories, where temperatures are expected to rise to low 30s by Friday or Saturday and into next week.On the East Coast, Environment Canada says a period of similarly hot temperatures is expected to start to...

Canada, U.S., Mexico gather in Cancun to talk North American trade irritants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:24 GMT

WASHINGTON — North America’s trading partners are in Cancun for two days of meetings to take stock of the last three years under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. International Trade Minister Mary Ng is sitting down with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Raquel Buenrostro, Mexico’s economy secretary — the “three amigas,” as Ng calls them. Tai’s office says the U.S. exported nearly US$790 billion in goods and services under the trade deal in 2022, 31 per cent more than in 2012. The U.S. Department of Commerce estimates North American exports supported some 2.1 million jobs in 2021. All three sides will likely be thinking about the agreement’s six-year review clause, which requires a comprehensive assessment of the deal by June 2026. But Ng says rather than hearing a ticking clock, she hopes both Mexico and the U.S. seize their chance to ensure the deal survives well into the future. The USMCA, known in Canada as CUSMA, is “the most ...

Daily horoscope for July 6, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:24 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or important decisions from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. EDT today (6:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. PDT). After that, the Moon moves from Aquarius into Pisces.Happy Birthday for Thursday, July 6, 2023:You are optimistic and enthusiastic. You radiate energy. You are reliable, dedicated and passionate about what you believe. This is a slower-paced year; time to rest. Do what you can to rejuvenate your energy. Search for relationships that are supportive and bring you happiness.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★Today your home routine might be interrupted by something unexpected. It could entail a home repair. Family news might surprise you. Possibly a relative will make a surprising suggestion. Stock the fridge so that you’re ready for anything. Tonight: Stay positive.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★Today has a lot of electrical energy floating around in the air — you can feel it. This is why you might impulsively change plans. You might suddenly take a short trip or cancel one...