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Australian-Chinese journalist detained for 3 years in China returns to Australia

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:40:09 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A Chinese-Australian journalist who was convicted on murky espionage charges and detained in China for three years has returned to Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday.Cheng Lei has reunited with her two children in Melbourne, Albanese said. The 48-year-old Lei worked for the international department of China’s state broadcaster CCTV.“Her matter was concluded through the legal processes in China,” Albanese told reporters.Her return comes ahead of Albanese’s planned visit to Beijing this year on a date yet to be announced.Albanese’s government has been lobbying for the release of Cheng and another Chinese-Australian held in China since 2019, Yang Hengjun.The Associated Press

Commission welcomes completion of key ‘Fit for 55' legislation, putting EU on track to exceed 2030 targets

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:40:09 GMT

The Commission welcomes the adoption of two final pillars of its ‘Fit for 55' legislative package for delivering the EU's 2030 climate targets. With the adoption today of the revised Renewable Energy Directive and the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation, the EU now has legally binding climate targets covering all key sectors of the economy. Ahead of the crucial COP28 UN Climate Conference, and next year's European elections, this package of legislation shows that Europe is delivering on its promises made to citizens and international partners to lead the way on climate action and shape the green transition for the benefit of citizens and industries. The final legislative package is expected to reduce EU net greenhouse gas emissions by 57% by 2030.Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said: “The European Green Deal is delivering the change we need to reduce CO² emissions. It does so while keeping the interests of our citizens in mind, and providing opportunities for our European industr...

Oceana and Seas At Risk urge Spain to create 50 marine sanctuaries to safeguard and restore key ecosystems

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:40:09 GMT

Scientific data is available for Spain to help meet the target of 10% strict protection of its waters Oceana and Seas At Risk are urging Spain to designate 50 marine sanctuaries to move towards the strict protection of at least 10% of its waters by 2030 and contribute to the targets of the EU Biodiversity Strategy. Oceana has carried out an analysis based on its expeditions and other scientific information and has made recommendations to boost the process, as the current percentage of strictly protected areas in Spanish waters is derisory (0.00025%1). Oceana will share the proposal at a seminar with representatives of national governments, European institutions, and scientists in Dublin on 11-13 October. The objective of the meeting is to take stock of the ocean protection commitments of different EU member states. Areas proposed by Oceana for strict protection Silvia Garcia, senior marine scientist at Oceana in Europe, explained: "As the only EU country with three marine regions an...

Zelenskyy arrives in Brussels for surprise visit ahead of NATO meeting

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:40:09 GMT

BRUSSELS — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, and join a meeting of NATO defense ministers during a surprise visit to Brussels on Wednesday.In comments to the press Wednesday morning, Zelenskyy, speaking alongside Stoltenberg, said his main message to NATO defense ministers would be on “priorities for Ukraine” for “how to survive during this next winter.”“We need some support from the leaders. That’s why I’m here today,” Zelenskyy said. “It’s important there are long-distance missiles, or long-distance weapons … The problem: How to get it?”Some NATO countries have reservations about providing Ukraine with long-range weapons, out of fears they could be used to attack Russian territory. But Zelenskyy reiterated that they are necessary to protect Ukraine’s “very concrete geographic points,” such as energy networks or transit lanes for grain exports.Stoltenberg said Ukraine coul...

Gaza power authority warns that electricity will run out within hours after Israeli cutoff

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:40:09 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Gaza’s power authority says its sole power plant will fun out of fuel within hours, leaving the territory without electricity after Israel cut off supplies. Israel said it would cut off all electricity to the territory after Hamas’ bloody rampage over the weekend. All of Gaza’s crossings are closed, making it impossible to bring in fuel for the power plant or the generators on which residents and hospitals have long relied. The power authority said Wednesday that the plant would shut down in the afternoon.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinians in the sealed-off Gaza Strip scrambled to find safety Wednesday, as Israel hammered neighborhood after neighborhood in the tiny coastal enclave in retaliation for the deadly mass incursion by by Hamas militants and vowed an even more punishing escalation. Airstrikes smashed entire city blocks to rubble, leaving unknown numbers of bodies beneath mounds of debris, and conti...

2 senior generals purged from Myanmar’s military government are sentenced to life for corruption

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:40:09 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — A military tribunal in strife-torn Myanmar has sentenced two high-ranking generals to life imprisonment after they were found guilty of high treason, accepting bribes, illegal possession of foreign currency and violating military discipline, state-run media reported Wednesday.The sentences appeared to be the harshest so far for the senior members of the military’s administrative bodies that were set up after the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi more than 2 1/2 years ago. The country has been in turmoil since then, with widespread armed resistance to military rule. The officers include Lt. Gen. Moe Myint Tun, who had been army chief of staff, served as a member of the military’s ruling State Administration Council and chaired three major economic supervisory bodies. He was sentenced “to suffer transportation” for a 20-year term equal to a life sentence. “Transportation” is an archaic legal term meaning banishment to a remote place, usua...

Ukraine President Zelenskyy at NATO defense ministers meeting seeking more support to fight Russia

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:40:09 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived at NATO for Wednesday’s meetings with alliance defense ministers to further drum up support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia.The U.S. is hosting a meeting of the Ukraine contact group to seek more weapons and ammunition for the war-ravaged country. NATO allies and partner countries will be waiting to hear precisely what kinds of military equipment Kyiv needs.Following that meeting, the 31 allies and Ukraine will take part in the first NATO-Ukraine Council at this level. The forum was formally established in July as part of efforts to bring Kyiv closer to the alliance. It allows NATO and Kyiv to discuss issues of common interest and concern.U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters traveling with him to Brussels that a number of allies will announce they are sending additional weapons and other support to Kyiv. A key demand has been more air defense systems and munitions.“The energy, in my view, is sti...

Fire tears through a parking garage at London’s Luton Airport, and 5 people have been hospitalized

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:40:09 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A massive fire tore through a newly built parking garage at one of London’s international airports early Wednesday, and four firefighters and an airport employee were hospitalized for smoke inhalation.All flights at Luton Airport were suspended until 3 p.m. U.K. time Wednesday, the airport said in a statement, and would-be passengers were asked to stay away because emergency crews were still on scene and access was restricted. Luton, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of central London, is a hub for budget airlines such as easyJet, Ryanair and others.In addition to the five people hospitalized, a sixth person was treated at the scene.Video posted on social media and on British news outlets’ websites showed police and fire department vehicles gathered outside a multi-story parking structure where the top level was engulfed in flames. The parking garage for Terminal 2 partially collapsed after the fire started around 9 p.m. Tuesday. Russell Taylor, 41, an account...

Commission disburses third payment of €18.5 billion to Italy under the Recovery and Resilience Facility

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:40:09 GMT

The payment of €18.5 billion on 9 October in grants and loans was made possible by Italy's fulfilment of the 54 milestones and targets linked to the third instalment. They cover several key reforms in the areas of competition, justice, education, undeclared work, and water management, as well as transformative investments in digitalisation, particularly concerning the public administration and cybersecurity, renewables, electricity grids, railways, research, tourism, urban regeneration, and social policies.As for all member states, payments under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), the key instrument at the heart of NextGenerationEU, are performance-based and depend on the implementation by Italy of the investments and reforms described in its recovery and resilience plan.On 30 December 2022, Italy submitted to the Commission the third request for payment under the RRF. On 28 July 2023, the Commission adopted a positive preliminary assessment of Italy's request for payment. ...

Dear Abby: I suspect this girl is not actually my fiance’s niece. Should I demand the truth?

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:40:09 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My fiance and I have been together nine years. During that time, we have had our ups and downs.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: I’m afraid she’ll get us kicked out of the restaurant. Any advice? Advice | Dear Abby: All these years later, I freak out when I hear her name Advice | Dear Abby: My wife now ‘doesn’t remember’ our crucial conversation Advice | Dear Abby: What I said about his girlfriend got back to her Advice | Dear Abby: The holiday dinner came with an unpleasant surprise Eight years ago, after a year of dating, we decided to move in together. The following year we got into a big argument because his ex-girlfriend was sticking her nose into our household. (She was also dating his brother.) He moved out that night.We were able to repair our relationship and decided to live separately for a while.A month and a half after he moved, I found out his ex wa...