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G7 nations announce a unified stance on Israel-Hamas war after intensive meetings in Tokyo

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:58:32 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Top diplomats from the Group of Seven leading industrial democracies announced a unified stance on the Israel-Hamas war on Wednesday after intensive meetings in Tokyo, condemning Hamas, supporting Israel’s right to self-defense and calling for “humanitarian pauses” to speed aid to desperate civilians in the Gaza Strip. In a statement following two days of talks, the nations sought to balance unequivocal criticism of Hamas’ attacks against Israel and “the need for urgent action” to help civilians in the besieged Palestinian enclave. “All parties must allow unimpeded humanitarian support for civilians, including food, water, medical care, fuel and shelter, and access for humanitarian workers,” said the statement, hammered out by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and foreign ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Italy. “We support humanitarian pauses and corridors to facilitate urgently needed assistance, civilian movement and the release o...

Double shooting in NE Miami-Dade leaves 1 dead, another in critical condition

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:58:32 GMT

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR) units responded to a double shooting, leaving one adult male dead and another in critical condition. The scene unfolded with a grim discovery as first responders located two gunshot victims, but the assailant remains unknown.One of the victims succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene by MDFR. The second victim, with a gunshot wound to the torso, was swiftly transported to HCA Florida Aventura Hospital in critical condition.Authorities have yet to release any information about the shooter as the investigation is ongoing.If you have any information on this crime, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

Labour frontbencher quits in protest at Keir Starmer’s position on Gaza cease-fire

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:58:32 GMT

LONDON — A Labour frontbencher quit his post Tuesday night over U.K. opposition Leader Keir Starmer’s refusal to call for a cease-fire in the war between Hamas and Israel.Shadow Work Minister Imran Hussain sent a letter of resignation to Starmer saying it had “become clear that my view on the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza differs substantially from the position you have adopted.” Starmer has aligned Labour with the U.K. government, United States and European Union in calling instead for humanitarian “pauses” in the fighting, but he is under mounting pressure from some parts of his party to go further.Hussain, the MP for Bradford East since 2015, said he wished to be “a strong advocate for the humanitarian cease-fire,” adding: “It is clear that I cannot sufficiently, in all good conscience, do this from the front-bench given its current position.”While Hussain stressed that he “unequivocally condemned” Hamas’...

Ontario to consider new job-protected leave for workers facing critical illnesses like cancer

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:58:32 GMT

The province of Ontario says it is considering a new job-protected leave that would “ensure employees who receive a diagnosis of cancer or other diseases will have the peace of mind that their job will be waiting for them while they seek treatment.”The leave would match the length of federal Employment Insurance sickness benefits, which is 26 weeks, the province revealed in a release Wednesday morning.The province is launching consultations on the matter. Related: Ontario to require companies to disclose salary in job listings Meanwhile, Doug Ford’s government also announced on Wednesday that it will soon introduce legislation to support injured workers that would enable “super indexing” increases to Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) benefits above the annual rate of inflation.“For an injured worker who earns $70,000 a year, a 2 per cent increase could mean an additional $900 annually on top of cost-of-living adjustments...

General Motors’ autonomous vehicle unit recalls cars for software update after dragging a pedestrian

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:58:32 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle unit is recalling all 950 of its cars to update software after it dragged a pedestrian to the side of a San Francisco street in early October.The company said in documents posted by U.S. safety regulators on Wednesday that with the updated software, Cruise vehicles will now remain stationary in similar cases.The Oct. 2 crash forced Cruise to suspend driverless operations nationwide after California regulators found that its cars posed a danger to public safety. The California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the license for Cruise, which was transporting passengers without human drivers throughout San Francisco.In the crash, a human driven vehicle hit a pedestrian, sending the person into the path of a Cruise autonomous vehicle. The Cruise initially stopped, but then pulled to the right to get out of traffic, pulling the person about 20 feet (six meters) forward.Cruise says in documents that it already has updated so...

Indonesia’ sentences another former minister to 15 years for graft over internet tower project

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:58:32 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s anti-graft court on Wednesday sentenced a former Cabinet minister to 15 years in prison after finding him guilty of corruption linked to the construction of mobile phone transmission towers in remote parts of the country.Johnny G. Plate, former communication and information technology minister, was arrested in May after being questioned as part of an investigation by the attorney general’s office in Jakarta. He was detained with five other suspects, including three from the private sector, after some 60 people were questioned about the procurement process.The court also ordered Plate to pay a fine of 1 billion rupiah ($63,765) — or spend an additional six months in prison — and to also reimburse the state for losses of 15.5 billion rupiah ($988).During the trial, which started in June, the prosecutors alleged that Plate changed the terms of the $533 million procurement project and the number of construction sites without conducting feasibility s...

A top Chinese military official visits Moscow for talks on expanding ties

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:58:32 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — A senior Chinese military official held talks in Moscow Wednesday, praising strong ties between the countries during a visit that underlined growing cooperation between them. Gen. Zhang Youxia, China’s second-ranking military official and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, said that relations between Russia and China are “at the highest level in the new epoch.” He said they “invariably support each other on issues of fundamental interest and key concerns.” Beijing declared last year that it had a “no-limits” friendship with Russia. China has denounced Western sanctions against Moscow, and accused NATO and the United States of provoking Russia’s military action in Ukraine even as it tried to project itself as neutral in the Ukrainian conflict.Russia, in turn, has continuously voiced support for Beijing on issues related to Taiwan.Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Moscow in March to further cement ties and Russian President Vladimir Putin tr...

Pakistani premier tries to reassure Afghans waiting for visas to US that they won’t be deported

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:58:32 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s prime minister on Wednesday sought to reassure Afghans waiting in Pakistan for resettlement in the United States that they won’t be deported as part of his government’s widely criticized crackdown on undocumented migrants in the country.Islamabad this month launched a crackdown on illegal migration, saying any unregistered foreign national and migrant lacking proper documentation would face arrest and deportation. The drive mostly affects Afghans because they are the majority of foreigners living in Pakistan, although the government says it’s targeting all who are in the country illegally. Pakistan has long hosted about 1.7 million Afghans, most of whom fled during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation. In addition, more than half a million people fled Afghanistan in August 2021, when the Taliban seized power in the final weeks of U.S. and NATO pullout. At least 25,000 of those who escaped the Taliban takeover had worked for the American milit...

Cambodian deports 25 Japanese nationals suspected of operating online scams

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:58:32 GMT

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Twenty-five Japanese nationals suspected of involvement in a cyberscam operation based in Cambodia were deported to Japan on Wednesday, said Gen. Khieu Sopheak, a spokesperson for Cambodia’s Interior Ministry.The Japanese government arranged a charter flight to transport the suspects, who were detained in September after Cambodian police received a tip-off from their Japanese counterparts, he told The Associated Press.The 25 were arrested in the capital, Phnom Penh, according to Gen. Keo Vanthan, a spokesperson for the immigration police.Khieu Sopheak thanked the Japanese government “for their support and good cooperation with the Cambodian government in order to arrest these people.”Cybercrime scams have become a major issue in Asia.In August, the U.N.’s human rights office said that criminal gangs have forced hundreds of thousands of people in Southeast Asia into participating in unlawful online scam operations, including false romantic ploy...

Denmark’s intelligence agencies win a case against a foreign fighter who claims he worked for them

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:58:32 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s domestic and foreign intelligence services on Wednesday won a case against a Dane of Syrian origin who claimed he worked for them in Syria in 2013 and 2014 and spied on Danish jihadi fighters.Ahmed Samsam was sentenced to eight years in 2018 in Spain for fighting with the Islamic State group in Syria. He sued Denmark’s two spy agencies in an attempt to have a court order them to admit that he had worked for them, and hoping it would enable him to reopen the case in Spain.The Eastern High Court in Copenhagen said in its ruling that Samsam had not made it likely that he could reopen his case in Spain. He immediately appealed the ruling to Denmark’s top court.The case has proven embarrassing for the Danish government, which has opposed an inquiry into the case. A preliminary parliamentary committee that was supposed to probe the 34-year-old Danish citizen’s claims was dropped in June.Danish media say the case is probably linked to a former def...