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Japan announces emergency relief measures for seafood exporters hit by China’s ban

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:34 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced on Monday a 20.7 billion yen ($141 million) emergency fund to help exporters hit by a ban on Japanese seafood imposed by China in response to the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.The discharge of the wastewater into the ocean began Aug. 24 and is expected to continue for decades. Japanese fishing associations and groups in neighboring countries have strongly opposed the release, and China immediately banned all imports of Japanese seafood. Hong Kong has banned Japanese seafood from Fukushima and nine other prefectures.Chinese trade restrictions have affected Japanese seafood exporters since even before the release began, with shipments held up at Chinese customs for weeks. Prices of scallops, sea cucumbers and other seafood popular in China have plunged. The ban has affected prices and sales of seafood from places as far away from Fukushima as the northern island of H...

Georgia’s majority party in parliament pushes to impeach the president but is unlikely to succeed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:34 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The majority party that dominates the parliament in Georgia has launched a campaign to impeach the country’s president, even though the effort appears unlikely to succeed.The Georgian Dream party, which is increasingly at odds with President Salome Zourabichvili despite endorsing her election in 2018, announced the effort last week. It said Zourabichvili violated the constitution by travelling to European Union countries without the government’s permission.The party also took offense at recent comments by Zourabichvili, saying it believes they undermine Georgia’s aspirations to join the EU.“She also said the most disturbing thing — that Georgia did not deserve (EU) candidate status last year. After that, of course, we do not need any more evidence for her credibility to be simply lost. We had no other motivation” for the impeachment initiative, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said Monday, according to Georgian media. Impeachment needs support o...

A drone attack on Myanmar police compound reportedly kills 5, including army battalion commander

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:34 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — A drone attack on a police headquarters in a major border town in eastern Myanmar has killed at least five officials including a senior army officer and a district administrator, members of two emergency rescue teams and media reports said Monday.The attack, carried out Sunday evening in two stages, is believed to be the deadliest aerial bombing targeting high-ranking security and administrative officials since armed resistance was launched more than two years ago against the military that seized power in February 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. The takeover was met with peaceful nationwide protests, but after security forces cracked down with lethal force, many local armed resistance groups were formed and loosely organized into what is called the People’s Defense Force, or PDF. It’s the armed wing of Myanmar’s shadow National Unity Government, which views itself as a country’s legitimate administrative body.The PDF has allied themselves w...

Vice President Harris will face doubts and dysfunction at the Southeast Asian nations summit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris will deepen her outreach to Southeast Asia this week at an international summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, where she’ll try to erase doubts about U.S. commitment to the region stirred by President Joe Biden’s absence. It’s Harris’ third trip to Southeast Asia and fourth to Asia overall, and she’s touched down in more countries there than any other continent. The repeat visits, in addition to meetings that she’s hosted in Washington, have positioned Harris as a key interlocutor for the Democratic administration as it tries to bolster a network of partnerships to counterbalance Chinese influence.This latest journey is another opportunity for Harris to burnish her foreign policy credentials as she prepares for a bruising campaign year. She’s already come under attack from Republican presidential candidates who say she’s unprepared to step up if Biden, the oldest U.S. president in history, can’t finish ...

Sweden, EU confirm Swedish national has been held in Iran since last year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:34 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden on Monday said a Swedish citizen in his 30s was arbitrarily detained in Iran last year and called for his immediate release.The Swedish government didn’t identify the man, but the New York Times said he was Johan Floderus, a Swede who had been working for the European Union’s diplomatic corps.Citing anonymous sources, the newspaper said Floderus was arrested on a private trip to Iran for possible use by Tehran as a bargaining chip in efforts to seek concessions from the West.Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, told the semi-official Fars news agency that he had no information on the case.The Swedish Foreign Ministry said the man was detained in Iran in April last year but declined to give details.“The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Sweden in Tehran are working very intensively on the case and are maintaining close contact with the EU,” the ministry said in an email.“The Swedish citizen has been arbitrarily deprived of his freed...

Woman seriously injured in Weston Road stabbing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:34 GMT

A woman was seriously injured in a stabbing in the area of Weston Road and Humber Boulevard on Monday morning.Toronto police were called to an apartment building in the area shortly after 7:45 a.m., where a man reportedly stabbed a woman in the lobby.The woman was taken to hospital with serious injuries and the suspect was arrested at the scene.There is no word on whether the victim and suspect were known to each other at this time.

Local businesses preparing for ‘more mellow’ TIFF as Hollywood strikes continue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:34 GMT

TORONTO — When the Toronto International Film Festival rolls around each year, few people are as busy as Charles Khabouth.The nightlife impresario owns the Bisha Hotel and more than a dozen restaurants and clubs where the likes of Margot Robbie, George Clooney, Matt Damon and Javier Bardem have reportedly sipped wine, rubbed elbows or partied in recent years.Khabouth is still expecting a buzz around his venues this year but knows this TIFF will be “more mellow” than those in the past.“It might not be a 10, it will be an eight, but it’ll still be great,” the entertainment kingpin said a week before the 11-day festival’s Sept. 7 kickoff.The tempered expectations have come from twin Hollywood strikes that have halted film and television productions and scuttled press junkets, red carpets and star powered-premieres as the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Writers Guild of America hit the picket lines over ...

Man critically wounded in shooting on Northwest Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:34 GMT

CHICAGO — A man is in critical condition after a shooting late Sunday night on Chicago’s Northwest Side.Police said the man, who is believed to be in his 20s, was walking to his car in the 6300 block of West Catalpa around midnight when he heard shots and felt pain. Child, teen among those wounded in weekend shootings Police said he suffered gunshot wounds to both legs and the groin and was taken to the hospital in critical condition.No one is in custody.

Liberty Hill ISD parents want stoplight at 'dangerous' intersection

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:34 GMT

LEANDER, Texas (KXAN) — Liberty Hill ISD parents have reported bumper-to-bumper traffic at the intersection of Ronald Reagan Highway and Bar W Boulevard. The backup of cars has led to demand for a stoplight at the crossing but infrastructure leaders say that could take more than a year to do.This stretch of Ronald Reagan Highway separates the Rancho Sierra and Bar W neighborhoods. Leander City Manager Rick Beverlin said while the road itself is in the City of Leander's jurisdiction, the neighborhoods are their own municipal utility districts in an unincorporated part of Williamson County.He said the rapid growth of the neighborhoods has led to more cars driving on the road as the subdivisions let out onto Ronald Reagan Highway. LHISD parents said the new Bar W Elementary campus that opened this school year has also contributed to the traffic problem.Beverlin said because these neighborhoods are not in city limits they do not contribute to taxes, and by extension infrastructure, for ...

What's open and closed on Labor Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:44:34 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Labor Day is a day to celebrate labor's achievements in American life, but lots of businesses are closed for the day while others keep on working.Here's a look at what is and is not in working order for Labor Day: You Paid For It: How Hazelwood got out of the financial hole Banks and post offices are closed, but ATMs and some services may be available. Government offices will be closed for the federal holiday.UPS stores will not be open.FedEx operates on modified hours and won't do pickup and delivery. Big-box store Costco isn't open, but Target, Walmart, Starbucks, and McDonald's will continue business.