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How China’s Belt and Road Initiative is changing after a decade of big projects and big debts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s Belt and Road Initiative looks to become smaller and greener after a decade of big projects that boosted trade but left big debts and raised environmental concerns.The shift comes as leaders from across the developing world descend on Beijing this week for a government-organized forum on what is known as BRI for short. The initiative has built power plants, roads, railroads and ports around the world and deepened China’s relations with Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Mideast. It is a major part of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s push for China to play a larger role in global affairs.WHAT IS THE BRI?Called “One Belt, One Road” in Chinese, the Belt and Road Initiative started as a program for Chinese companies to build transportation, energy and other infrastructure overseas funded by Chinese development bank loans. The stated goal was to grow trade and the economy by improving China’s connections with the rest of the world in a 21st-century...

600 days into the war, Russia’s assault on a key eastern Ukraine city appears to be weakening

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A dayslong attempt by Russian forces to storm a strategically important city in eastern Ukraine appears to be running out of steam, Kyiv officials said Monday, as the Kremlin’s war entered its 600th day.Ukrainian forces repelled 15 Russian attacks from four directions on Avdiivka over the previous 24 hours, the Ukrainian General Staff said.That compared with up to 60 attacks a day in the middle of last week, according to Vitalii Barabash, head of the city administration. The slackening suggests the Russian effort to capture Avdiivka has “deflated,” Barabash said.A Washington-based think tank broadly concurred with that assessment. “Russian forces continued offensive operations aimed at encircling Avdiivka … but have yet to make further gains amid a likely decreasing tempo of Russian operations in the area,” the Institute for the Study of War said in analysis published late Sunday.Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, told a U.N. Security C...

Gaza’s limited water supply raises concerns for human health

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A lack of clean water in the Gaza Strip is raising major concerns for human health.“Gaza is running out of water, and Gaza is running out of life,” said Philippe Lazzarini, chief of the U.N. agency for Palestinians.Gaza normally gets its water supplies from a combination of sources, including a pipeline from Israel, desalination plants on the Mediterranean Sea and wells. Those supplies were slashed when Israel cut off water, along with the fuel and electricity that power water and sewage plants, in the wake of the Hamas attacks.The United Nations recognizes access to water as a human right, and on a basic level, the human body needs a constant supply of water to survive. “Next to air,” water is “really the most important thing for maintenance of your health,” said Dr. Tsion Firew, an emergency physician at Columbia University who has worked on water access in humanitarian settings. A report from the U.S. National Academies of Science and Medicine says men need to dri...

Gunman kills 2 Swedes in Brussels, prompting terror alert and halt of Belgium-Sweden soccer match

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian police early Tuesday hunted for a gunman with suspected terrorist motives who killed two Swedes with stunning viciousness before disappearing into the night. He created such fear that authorities shut down a Belgium-Sweden soccer match and held 35,000 fans inside for several hours as a precaution. Eric Van Duyse, spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office, said the investigation was centering on “a possible terrorist motivation for the shooting” after “a claim of responsibility was posted on social media.”“This person claims to be inspired by Islamic State,” Van Duyse said. “The Swedish nationality of the victims was put forward as the probable motive.” Sweden raised its terror alert to the second-highest level in August after a series of public Quran-burnings by an Iraqi refugee living in Sweden resulted in threats from Islamic militant groups.“At this time, no element indicates a possible link with the Israeli-Palestinian situation,” Van Duyse said...

Indiana Public Defender Commission pushes for 'misdemeanor expenses' pilot program

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS -- Misdemeanors are the largest case type in Indiana. However, the state does not reimburse counties for any work done on misdemeanor cases. Some law experts say that's contributing to a significant lawyer shortage in Indiana. ”We know there’s a looming crisis with this massive lawyer shortage," said Andrew Cullen, director of public policy and communications with the Indiana Public Defender Commission. Cullen said the state only has roughly a third of the lawyers it needs. He also said 25 counties do not follow the commission's caseload standards. ”We’re hearing they’re taking as many as 900 cases a year, which is insane. At that point, it’s just assembly-line justice," Cullen said.To help curb the shortage, Cullen said the commission is asking the General Assembly to consider a "misdemeanor expenses" pilot program. If approved, the commission would use funds it already has to help some counties pay for misdemeanor attorney costs. ”We actually have a little bit of extr...

Hamas releases video of Israeli hostage as U.S., international pressure to release captives intensifies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

Hamas is beginning to release videos of hostages that they kidnapped from Israel as part of a brutal attack on the country launched last week, when 199 people were taken captive and more than 1,300 were killed.Women and children including infants and toddlers are believed to be among those Hamas took as hostages into the Gaza Strip during its attack on Oct. 7.A new video released Monday shows a young woman lying in a bed and receiving medical treatment. Her arm is being wrapped after what appears to be a recent surgery to stabilize what could be a broken bone. In another shot she is sitting up and facing the camera, explaining her name, age and that she was taken to Gaza from the southern Israeli city of Sderot after the Supernova music festival where Hamas killed more than 200 people.“Hi, I’m Mia Shem, 21-years-old from Shoham. Currently, I’m in Gaza,” she said, speaking in a composed manner.“I returned early Saturday morning from the Sderot area, I was at a party. I was serio...

$5k of pet supplies donated to Mohawk Hudson Humane Society

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

MENANDS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A local animal shelter received essential supplies on Monday. Officials from the Colonie Center Mall dropped off $5,000 worth of food, toys and other items to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The money was raised during the mall's fourth annual COSMECON event. It gave people the chance to learn about makeup and other beauty products while supporting a local nonprofit.

Biden will head to Israel this week as Israel-Hamas war rages

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — President Joe Biden will travel to Israel and onto Jordan Wednesday to meet with both Israeli and Arab leadership, as concerns increase that the raging Israel-Hamas war could expand into a larger regional conflict.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Biden’s travel to Israel as the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip grows more dire and as Israel prepares for a possible ground attack on the 141-square-mile (365-square-kilometer) territory to root out Hamas militants responsible for what U.S. and Israeli officials say was the most lethal assault against Jews since the Holocaust.Biden is looking to send the strongest message yet that the U.S. is behind Israel. His Democratic administration has pledged military support, sending U.S. carriers and aid to the region. Officials have said they would ask Congress for upward of $2 billion in additional aid for both Israel and Ukraine, which is fighting Russia’s invasion. What...

Keeler: Broncos coach Sean Payton, we’re begging you. Less Jerry Jeudy. More Marvin Mims Jr.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

The Broncos already know what they have in Jerry Jeudy: a $15 million contract and a five-cent head.A Nuke LaLoosh without a Crash Davis to set him straight. A mercurial talent who doesn’t want to be here. A first-round draft pick who hasn’t made a Pro Bowl, getting chippy on social media with a bunch of ex-Broncos who actually have.We’ve seen enough.Unless the plan is to showcase No. 10 for a trade, Sean Payton, we’re begging you here:Less Jerry. More Marvin.As in rookie Marvin Mims Jr.Remember him?Oh, right. Those Jets fumbles.So?The former Oklahoma star is averaging 19.9 yards per offensive touch for a bull junk — thank you, Coach Prime — offense. Yet Mims has touched it only 13 times — 10 catches, three runs — in six games.Related ArticlesSports Columnists | Keeler: Holy Holker! CSU Rams, Jay Norvell got what they deserved. So did dirty Boise State, which sent Kennedy McDowell to the hospital. Sports Columnists | Keeler: C...

Feds begin investigation of train derailment as long I-25 closure continues near Pueblo

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:37 GMT

A team of federal investigators on Monday began probing a fatal Pueblo County train derailment and bridge collapse that blocked Interstate 25 as officials sorted out who owned the 65-year-old structure and who had responsibility for its integrity.The Sunday afternoon incident sent train cars and coal falling onto the highway, killing a 60-year-old truck driver and closing I-25 indefinitely in both directions — potentially for longer than a week.It may take up to two years for investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board to complete their work and release a final cause for Sunday’s derailment and bridge collapse, though an initial report should be released within a month, the NTSB said.The interstate can’t be cleaned up or reopened until investigators finish their on-site inspection, state and federal officials said Monday. That process is expected to take at least several days.In an interview, Shailen Bhatt, the leader of the Federal Highway Administ...