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South African leader accuses Israel of war crimes. Putin and Xi strike more cautious note at meeting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South African President Cyril Ramaphosa accused Israel of war crimes and acts “tantamout to genocide” in Gaza during a virtual meeting of leaders of developing countries including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping on Tuesday. Ramaphosa also condemned Hamas for its attack on Israeli civilians that sparked the conflict and said both sides were guilty of violating international law.“The collective punishment of Palestinian civilians through the unlawful use of force by Israel is a war crime,” Ramaphosa said at the start of the meeting of leaders and top diplomats from the BRICS bloc of countries. “The deliberate denial of medicine, fuel, food and water to the residents of Gaza is tantamount to genocide.”“In its attacks on civilians and by taking hostages, Hamas has also violated international law and must be held accountable for these actions,” Ramaphosa said.Putin and Xi struck more cautious notes, calling for a cease-fire and th...

2 Riverdale Elementary School students fatally struck in Prince George’s Co. crosswalk identified

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

The scene of a crash nearby Riverdale Elementary School on Nov. 20.(Courtesy 7 News/SkyTrak7) The scene of a crash nearby Riverdale Elementary School on Nov. 20.(Courtesy 7 News/SkyTrak7) A 5-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl died Monday after being struck by a van while walking to their elementary school in Prince George’s County, Maryland.During a news conference Tuesday, police identified the children as Shalom Mbah, 10, and Sky Sosa, 5, both of Riverdale.The Riverdale Elementary School students were in a crosswalk at the intersection of Riverdale Road and Taylor Road with a male relative when they were hit by a van attempting to make a left turn at around 8 a.m.Officers provided medical attention to th...

Wisconsin Supreme Court questions timing of redistricting challenge seeking new maps for 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Conservative justices on the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned why it was being asked to overturn Republican-drawn legislative maps in a redistricting case that Democrats hope will result in new, more favorable legislative maps for elections in 2024. The lawsuit was brought by Democratic voters the day after the court flipped to majority 4-3 liberal control in August.Liberal justices, meanwhile, asked for details about how the court would adopt new maps, as they are being asked to do. Four of the six past presidential elections in battleground Wisconsin have been decided by fewer than 23,000 votes, and Republicans have built large majorities in the Legislature under maps they drew over a decade ago.Conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley immediately interrupted the first attorney arguing for new maps, questioning why they waited until after August, when liberal justices took majority control of the court. She noted that the newly elected Justice Janet P...

Ford to resume building Michigan electric vehicle battery plant delayed by strike, but scale it back

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. is resuming construction on a Michigan electric vehicle battery plant that the company postponed two months ago during a strike by the United Auto Workers union.But the automaker says that due to slowing electric vehicle sales growth, it will scale back the factory size, cutting the number of planned jobs by about one third from 2,500 to 1,700. The annual battery cell output will drop from enough for 400,000 vehicles per year to about 230,000.Ford put the plant, originally to cost $3.5b, on hold in late September as the union went on strike at targeted assembly plants run by Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis. The contract dispute ended last week with workers at all three voting to ratify new agreements.Spokesman Mark Truby said Tuesday that the company looked at growth forecasts for electric vehicle sales, its EV product plans and whether it could make a sustainable business out of the factory in Marshall, about 100 miles west of Detroit.“W...

Rwanda surprises South Africa 2-0 to take group lead in African World Cup qualifying

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

BUTARE, Rwanda (AP) — Host Rwanda handed South Africa a surprise 2-0 defeat in difficult conditions on Tuesday to go top of its group in African World Cup qualifying.Rwanda adapted better to the Huye Stadium pitched waterlogged by a heavy downpour before the game to score twice in the first half. Innocent Nshuti held off a defender and slotted into the far corner to open the scoring in the 12th minute. Gilbert Mugisha then took advantage of a defensive mix-up in the penalty area to double the lead after 28 minutes.Lesotho was held to a 0-0 draw by Benin in South Africa in the other Group C game, leaving Rwanda top of the group with four points from two matches. South Africa is second on three points with Lesotho, Nigeria and Zimbabwe all on two points and Benin in last place with one point. In other matches, Tunisia won 1-0 in Malawi, Botswana edged Guinea 1-0 at home, Burkina Faso eased past host Ethiopia 3-0 in Morocco, and Uganda defeated Somalia 1-0 also in Morocco.___AP soccer:...

Runoff looms for Miami Beach mayoral seat amid controversy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

After two Miami Beach mayoral candidates failed to secure the necessary threshold for the city’s top job, Tuesday’s decisive runoff election will determine the winner.Former Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Gongora aims to re-enter local government, while Miami Beach Commissioner Steven Meiner seeks to ascend to the mayoral role.“I’ve been so focused on residents’ quality of life, law, and order being number one,” Meiner said.“I wanna re-brand our city as one of arts and culture; I wanna make sure we have the police presence we need,” Gongora said.The vacancy arose when current mayor Dan Gelber reached his term limit.In the Nov. 7 election, only 242 votes separated the two candidates, each with multiple endorsements.Recently, Meiner lost the endorsement of the Miami Herald, withdrawing support due to allegations of unwanted advances reported by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The advancements, according to the Herald, incl...

Arrest made in assault on elderly man outside Lauderdale Lakes Walmart

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

Sunrise Police arrested a 34-year-old man in connection with the assault on an elderly man outside a Lauderdale Lakes Walmart. The attack occurred just before 10 a.m. on Oct. 11, and Joseph McFadden was taken into custody on Friday, Nov. 17, near the 3300 block of North University Drive in Sunrise, according to detectives from the Broward Sheriff’s Office Violent Crimes Unit.Surveillance video captured the disturbing incident as the elderly man exited the Walmart at 3001 N. State Road 7. McFadden, described as a tall and thin male wearing a navy sweater with grey lettering, black pants, and flip flops, punched the victim in the face without provocation. The attacker then fled on foot, heading north towards Oakland Park Boulevard.Detectives confirmed that the victim, who sustained minor injuries, did not know McFadden, and no altercation or theft occurred between them. The motive behind the assault remains unclear.Following an extensive investigation, detectives obtained a warrant fo...

A baby dies and a Florida mom is found stabbed to death, as firefighters rescue 2 kids from blaze

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Firefighters discovered a woman stabbed to death when they rushed to extinguish a blaze early Tuesday at an apartment in Daytona Beach, while her three young children were taken in critical condition to a hospital where the youngest, an infant, died.Authorities have not released the baby’s cause of death or the type of injuries and current conditions of the two surviving kids, ages 4 and 5.“This is a horrific incident two days out from a holiday that centers around family,” Daytona Beach police Chief Jakari Young told reporters at the scene.The mother’s name has not been released and police were investigating the fire as a homicide, Young said. Authorities have not named a suspect. The fire began around midnight Tuesday at the Countryside Apartments, Young said, and the infant was found in a crib near the mother.https://twitter.com/DaytonaBeachFD/status/1726892426651189383?s=20WKMG in Orlando...

British state ‘surprisingly bad’ at responding to COVID-19, inquiry hears

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

LONDON — The British government failed to take the coronavirus pandemic as seriously as a terror attack, a top government scientist told the country’s official COVID-19 inquiry Tuesday — even as he declined to take swipes at Boris Johnson.The government’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty — who became a household name in the U.K. during the crisis — avoided singling out individuals for the U.K. government’s mixed record as he faced the inquiry. Instead, he trained his fire on the machinery of the British state.Whitty was the main source of health advice to Johnson, then the prime minister, during the pandemic. He argued that Whitehall failed to become “electrified” in the way it should have done at the start of the pandemic — and that health threats were not taken as seriously as other national security threats would have been.Whitty said he warned Johnson in early February 2020 that the pandemic could lead to more than 100,000 deaths — a grim pre...

Italy-Albania migrant deal distinct from UK-Rwanda scheme, Italy’s FM says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:00 GMT

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday that the pact his country reached with the government of Albania to set up migrant centers in that country is not comparable with a controversial agreement between the United Kingdom and Rwanda.“The migrants will have exactly the same treatment as foreseen under Italian and European regulations,” Tajani said according to Italian news agency ANSA. “There is no outsourcing of the processing of asylum applications to a third country.”The foreign minister also said that only migrants rescued at sea by the Italian authorities would be taken to the centers in Albania ― not those picked up by NGO ships, or migrants who landed on Italian soil. “It will not be possible to tow the barges of the smugglers, nor will it be possible to direct boats run by nongovernmental organizations, to Albania,” Tajani said.Earlier Tuesday, the Guardian cited Italian authorities in reporting that a two-year-old girl had died and a...