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The US and the Philippines conduct joint air, sea patrols in South China Sea not far from Taiwan

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:11:55 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The United States and the Philippines are conducting joint air and maritime patrols in the South China Sea, which come as the two countries step up cooperation in the face of growingly aggressive Chinese activity in the area.The Philippine Air Force said Wednesday its aircraft had taken part in joint patrols on Tuesday in the vicinity of Batanes, the northernmost province of the Philippines, which is only about 200 kilometers (125 miles) from Taiwan, a self-governed island that China claims as its own. The patrols run through Thursday and also include both the U.S. and Philippine navies. They come only days after Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called the situation in the South China Sea increasingly “dire” as China seeks to assert its presence in an area where multiple nations have competing territorial claims.China claims virtually the entire South China Sea as its own waters, which has led to disputes not only with the Philippines but also with Vietnam, ...

The top contenders to lead the Netherlands, from a former refugee to an anti-Islam populist

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:11:55 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — No fewer than 26 Dutch political parties are seeking a share of the 150 seats in the lower house of parliament when the Netherlands holds a general election Wednesday. Only a few of them stand a realistic chance of providing the candidate who will succeed Mark Rutte as prime minister.Rutte, who is standing down once a new government is formed, led four coalitions over a record-breaking 13 years, making him the longest-serving Dutch prime minister. These are the main contenders to succeed him. Dilan Yesilgöz-Zegerius, People’s Party for Freedom and DemocracyDilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, who could become the Netherlands’ first female prime minister, is a former refugee and now advocates cracking down on migration.The 46-year-old justice minister and leader of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy, or VVD, sees no contradiction in that.Instead, her party riffs on Yeşilgöz-Zegerius’ story in its manifesto as a reason to rein in immigration.“Th...

An election to replace the longest-serving leader of the Netherlands gives voters a clean slate

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:11:55 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — One thing is certain for the Dutch voters casting ballots in a general election on Wednesday: Mark Rutte, the Netherlands’ longest-serving prime minister, is on the way out.His replacement after 13 years in office could be the country’s first female premier or a social democrat who left his job as the European Union’s climate czar to return to national politics. The next prime minister also might turn out to be an anti-Islam lawmaker or a centrist who created his party only three months ago.The outcome is hard to predict given what happened in other European elections in recent months. Populist and hard-right parties triumphed in some EU member nations and faltered in others, creating conflicting messages on where democracy on the continent was heading.Spain set the scene in July, when it looked like the far right together with the conservative Christian Democrats might dislodge Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who has led the country...

A Las Vegas high school grapples with how a feud over stolen items escalated into a fatal beating

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:11:55 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Students at a Las Vegas high school had gone home for the day when an urgent message was broadcast from the intercom: A defibrillator was needed near one of the classrooms.A nurse ran in the direction of the emergency. A group of teachers tried to perform CPR. It wasn’t until the next day that social studies teacher Reuben D’Silva learned what happened — a student who was standing up for a friend was put on life support after being brutally beaten by 10 of his peers in a nearby alley.It was a devastating episode for Rancho High School, a predominantly minority campus in east Las Vegas. Some students walked out of class when they heard Jonathan Lewis Jr., 17, wouldn’t survive head trauma and other injuries he suffered in the Nov. 1 attack, D’Silva said.Adding to the devastation is that cellphone video of the beating was widely shared across social media.In the following weeks, a small memorial sprung up in the trash-littered alley bordered by ...

Britain’s Conservative government set to start cutting taxes ahead of likely election next year

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:11:55 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Conservative government will try to win favor with voters by cutting taxes but avoiding worsening inflation in a budget statement Wednesday, coming ahead of a likely national election next year that opinion polls suggest it will lose.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has hinted that tax cuts are back on the agenda now that his self-imposed pledge to halve inflation this year has been met and government revenue is higher than anticipated.In a speech Monday, Sunak raised expectations that Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement will begin reducing the tax burden in the U.K., which is the highest in 70 years in the wake of COVID-19 and the energy price spike triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.Sunak said Monday that his government would “cut tax and reward hard work” but would “avoid doing anything that puts at risk our progress in controlling inflation.” Inflation eased to 4.6% in October from a year earlier after hitting a 41-year ...

One winning ticket sold for Tuesday’s $40 million Lotto Max jackpot

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:11:55 GMT

TORONTO — Someone in Ontario is waking up $40 million richer.One winning ticket was drawn for Tuesday’s Lotto Max jackpot.The jackpot for the next draw on Nov. 24 will be an estimated $10 million.The Canadian Press

South Korea partially suspends inter-Korean agreement after North says it put spy satellite in orbit

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:11:55 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea will partially suspend an inter-Korean agreement Wednesday to restart frontline aerial surveillance of North Korea, after the North said it launched a military spy satellite in violation of United Nations bans, Seoul officials said.The South Korean announcement — which will likely infuriate North Korea — came hours after the North claimed to have placed a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit in its third such launch attempt this year.The North’s claim hasn’t been independently verified; the Pentagon said it was still assessing the success of the launch, while Japan stated there has been no confirmation that the North Korean satellite entered orbit. But the United States and its allies still quickly condemned the North Korean launch, which they believe was meant to improve the country’s missile technology as well as establish a space-based surveillance system.North Korea says it has sovereign, legitimate rights to launch spy satelli...

Kazakhstan wants to attract at least $150 billion in foreign investment by 2029

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:11:55 GMT

The 6th Kazakhstan Global Investment Roundtable (KGIR) has concluded with a pledge to attract further investment to the country.More than 500 representatives of international companies and domestic businesses, investors, authoritative experts and opinion leaders attended the event (17 November) in the Kazakh capital of Astana.This year's focus was on regional sustainable growth, covering four areas: investment in advanced technologies, development of regional clusters, transport and logistics potential, and food security.As the country is trying to diversify its economy from traditional oil and gas, Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov revealed that foreign investments will be the main drive to Kazakhstan's economic growth. By 2029, the country plans to double its GDP and attract at least $150 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI)."Attracting investments is the key factor of growth within the national investment policy, taking into account the ESG standards, Kazakhstan is interested ...

Sam Altman returns as CEO of OpenAI

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:11:55 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Sam Altman has returned as CEO of OpenAI just days after he was shockingly fired, the company announced Monday night. OpenAI announced the move on social media, and Altman confirmed it. Altman was ousted on Nov. 17 after a review by the company board concluded that he “was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities.” Now, Altman is back as CEO. Sunol school board members face recall over flag ban "We are collaborating to figure out the details. Thank you so much for your patience through this," OpenAI wrote.After he was ousted from AI, Altman was hired by Microsoft, the company announced Monday. However, Altman said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella supported his return to OpenAI. "I love OpenAI, and everything I’ve done over the past few days has been in service of keeping this team and its mission together. When I decided to join msft (Microsoft) on Sun. evening, it was clear that was th...

Will SF street parking stay free on Sundays?

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 13:11:55 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – In what is good news for San Francisco drivers, street parking in the city will stay free on Sundays, at least for now.Back in May, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) proposed to extend parking meter hours and include Sundays, but some of the city supervisors reached a deal with the agency to temporarily halt the plan.Some of the supervisors say we’re still coming out of the pandemic. Many families and businesses are struggling. They say they didn’t want to add to their financial burden by extending parking meter hours. UCSF study reveals THC can affect blood vessels “People stopped me on the street. Every member of the board of supervisors got over 1,000 emails. The Golden Gate Restaurant Association, small businesses were freaking out and we fought for them and we won,” said Sup. Aaron Peskin.Peskin says nobody wanted to see the extension, which would have forced people to pay for parking until 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and for...