Putin apologizes for 'tragic incident' but stops short of saying Azerbaijani plane was shot down MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has apologized to his Azerbaijani counterpart for what he called a “tragic incident” following the crash of an Azerbaijani airliner in Kazakhstan that killed 38 people. He stopped short of acknowledging that Moscow was responsible. The Kremlin said that air defense systems were firing near Grozny, the regional capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, to deflect a Ukrainian drone strike as the plane attempted to land on Wednesday. Putin apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace.” The Kremlin also says Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are jointly investigating the crash site near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan. Israel detains the director of one of northern Gaza's last functioning hospitals during a raid DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Gaza's Health Ministry says Israel’s army has detained the director of one of northern Gaza's last functioning hospitals. The announcement on Saturday came after health officials said Israeli troops stormed the hospital and forced many staff and patients outside and told them to strip in winter weather. Israel’s military alleges the hospital director is a suspected Hamas operative and says it detained over 240 others. It acknowledges it ordered people outside and that special forces entered the hospital. It says it “eliminated” militants who fired at its forces. Kamal Adwan officials have denied that Hamas operates in the hospital. Abortions are up in the US. It's a complicated picture as women turn to pills, travel Even with abortion bans in place in most Republican-controlled states, the number of people obtaining them has grown slightly. That's part of a complicated picture of the impacts of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade two and a half years ago. Abortion pills are more common now. So is traveling to other states for care, often on journeys hundreds of miles long. Public support for the right to abortion has also increased since before the ruling. That's been reflected in most ballot measures to add the right to abortion to state constitutions being adopted. Drought, fires and deforestation battered Amazon rainforest in 2024 BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The Amazon rainforest staggered through another difficult year in 2024. A second year of record drought contributed to wildfires that worsened deforestation across the massive forest, which spans Brazil, Peru, Colombia and other Latin American nations and is a critical counterweight to climate change. There were some bright spots. Both Brazil and Colombia reported lower levels of deforestation compared to prior years. Experts say Amazon countries need to do more to strengthen cross-border collaboration and that the global community who reap the benefits of commodities from the rainforest also need to pitch in. Bloodied Ukrainian troops risk losing more hard-won land in Kursk to Russia KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Five months after their shock offensive into Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied by daily combat losses and demoralized by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk. Some want to stay in the region at all costs. Others question the value of having gone in at all. Battles are so intense that commanders are unable to evacuate their dead. Lags in communication and poorly timed operations have cost lives and commanders say they have little way to counterattack. The overstretched Ukrainians have lost more than 40% of the territory they won in the lightning incursion that seized much of Kursk in August. Afghan forces target Pakistan in retaliation for deadly airstrikes Afghanistan's Defense Ministry says its forces hit several points inside Pakistan in retaliation for deadly airstrikes. Pakistan last Tuesday launched an operation to destroy a training facility and kill insurgents in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province. The strikes killed dozens of people. The ministry said Saturday that its forces hit points “serving as centers and hideouts for malicious elements and their supporters who organized and coordinated attacks in Afghanistan.” Pakistan accuses the Taliban of not doing enough to combat cross-border militant activity, a charge the Taliban government denies. Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who instituted economic reforms, cremated in New Delhi NEW DELHI (AP) — Manmohan Singh, the former Indian prime minister widely regarded as the architect of the country’s economic reform program, has been cremated after a state funeral. The veteran leader, who was also credited for a landmark nuclear deal with the United States, died late Thursday at age 92. Singh’s body was taken Saturday to the headquarters of his Congress party in New Delhi, where party leaders and activists paid tributes to him and chanted “Manmohan Singh lives forever.” Later, his body was transported to a crematorium ground for his last rites as soldiers beat drums. A mild-mannered technocrat, Singh was prime minister for 10 years until 2014. Sweden embarks on a sober search for more cemetery space in case of war GOTHENBURG, Sweden (AP) — Burial associations in Sweden are looking to acquire enough land for something they hope they’ll never have to do. And that's to bury thousands of people in the event of war. The search follows new crisis preparedness guidelines from the country's civil defense agency and the military. The issue is seen in a new light after Russia's invasion of Ukraine led formerly neutral Sweden to join NATO. Sweden and Finland sent out updated civil preparedness guides in November with instructions on how to survive in war. The guides are similar to those in Denmark and Norway, though they don't mention Russia by name. Olivia Hussey, star of the 1968 film 'Romeo and Juliet,' dies at 73 LONDON (AP) — Olivia Hussey, the actor who starred as a teenage Juliet in the 1968 film “Romeo and Juliet,” has died, her family said on social media. She was 73. Hussey died on Friday, “peacefully at home surrounded by her loved ones,” a statement posted to her Instagram account said. Hussey was 15 when director Franco Zeffirelli cast her in his adaptation of the William Shakespeare tragedy. “Romeo and Juliet” won two Oscars and Hussey won a Golden Globe for best new actress for her part as Juliet, opposite British actor Leonard Whiting. Decades later, the pair brought a lawsuit against Paramount Pictures over nude scenes in the film they said they were coerced to perform. The case was dismissed by a Los Angeles County judge in 2023. Winning ticket for $1.22 billion lottery jackpot sold in California, Mega Millions says At least one Mega Millions player has plenty of dough to ring in the New Year after drawing the winning number. After three months without anyone winning the top prize in the lottery, a ticket worth an estimated $1.22 billion was sold in California for the drawing Friday night. The California Lottery said the winning ticket was sold at Circle K (Sunshine Food and Gas) on Rhonda Rd. in Cottonwood. The winning ticket matched the white balls 3, 7, 37, 49, 55 and the gold Mega Ball 6. The identity of the winner or winners was not immediately known. The estimated jackpot was the fifth-highest ever for Mega Millions.
Enphase Energy, Inc. Investor Alert: Robbins LLP Reminds Stockholders of the ENPH Class Action ...Officer fatally shot in a North Carolina supermarket, suspect in custody, police say2 Rescued After Santa Cruz Wharf Partially Collapses Due to Heavy Surf From Major Pacific Storm
The Darnold-Jefferson connection is thriving for the surging Vikings
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (left) and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken attend a UN Security Council Session on Artificial Intelligence at the UN headquarters in New York on December 19, 2024. (Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP) A massacre of more than 200 people in Haiti this month followed a gang-ordered manhunt that saw victims, many of them elderly, pulled from their homes and shot or killed with machetes, the United Nations (UN) said Monday. The victims were suspected of involvement in voodoo and accused by a gang leader of poisoning his child, with the suspects taken to a “training center” where many were dismembered or burned after being killed. A civil society organization had said at the time that the gang leader was convinced his son’s illness was caused by followers of the religion. “On the evening of December 6, (Micanor Altes) ordered the members of his gang — around 300 — to carry out a brutal ‘manhunt,'” said the report, authored jointly by the UN office in Haiti, BINUH and the UN Human Rights Commissioner (OCHR). “They stormed into about ten alleys of the (Port-au-Prince) neighborhood and forcibly dragged the victims out of their homes,” it noted. In the days that followed, the gang returned to the neighborhood, abducting adherents from a voodoo temple, targeting individuals suspected of tipping off local media and slaughtering people seeking to escape. Some of the bodies “were then burned with gasoline, or dismembered and dumped into the sea,” the report concluded. A total of 134 men and 73 women were killed in total over six days, the report said. A mosaic of violent gangs control most of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. The impoverished Caribbean country has been mired for decades by political instability, made worse in recent years by gangs that have grown in strength and organizational sophistication. Despite a Kenyan-led police support mission, backed by the United States and UN, violence has continued to soar. “According to BINUH and OHCHR, since January 2024, more than 5,358 people have been killed and 2,155 injured,” the report said. “This brings the total number of people killed or injured in Haiti to at least 17,248 since the beginning of 2022.” The UN Security Council “strongly condemned the continued destabilizing criminal activities of armed gangs and stressed the need for the international community to redouble its efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the population.” A spokeswoman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said “these crimes touched the very foundation of Haitian society, targeting the most vulnerable populations.” Voodoo was brought to Haiti by African slaves and is a mainstay of the country’s culture. It was banned during French colonial rule and only recognized as an official religion by the Haitian government in 2003. Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . While it incorporates elements of other religious beliefs, including Catholicism, voodoo has been historically attacked by other religions.Olivia Hussey, star of Oscar-winning 1968 film Romeo & Juliet, dies at 73
With ‘A Complete Unknown,’ James Mangold Makes Movie — and Music — Magic Again*Warning - This article contains spoilers for the Waitrose Christmas Advert* The second instalment of Waitrose's Christmas advert, Sweet Suspicion: A Waitrose Mystery, has finally been released, revealing the identity of the thief that had viewers guessing for weeks. The initial advert which was launched in early November, featured the No. 1 Red Velvet Bauble Dessert being stolen by an unidentified culprit. The mystery surrounding the identity of the thief has kept viewers captivated for weeks, making it Waitrose's most successful Christmas campaign to date. According to polls on Waitrose's website, the majority of customers suspected Fig the Cat as the dessert thief, followed by Gamma, then May, with Steve being the least suspicious, reports the Daily Record . Waitrose has now unveiled the second ad, which sees Matthew Macfadyen return as the detective. The latest video follows him as he tries to establish a motive, featuring glimpses from Christmas Day as the movements of the guilty party are reconstructed. The second advert premiered on TV tonight (November 26) during the commercial break for the Great British Bake Off on Channel 4 at 8.15pm, and will be shown again during the I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! break on ITV at 9.15pm. Nathan Ansell, Customer Director at Waitrose, has commented on the impact of their Christmas campaign, noting: "The last few weeks have been filled with suspicion, guessing and alibis. Customers and Partners alike have been getting into the whodunit spirit, from wearing the ad t-shirts in store with their predictions of who the culprit is, we've also seen huge engagement on social media polls and I've even had customers getting in touch with their own detailed theories and pictures." Ansell went on to express his anticipation for the reveal, saying: "I can't wait for everyone to find out who did it! So here's to celebrating with some amazing GOOD food and seeing the surprise or smug looks on everyone's faces." Fans can hear Actor Matthew Mcfadyen talking abou thte Waitrose Christmas ad as he joins Nick Grimshaw and Angela Hartnett on the beloved and award-winning foodie podcast Dish from Waitrose, which is out on Wednesday, November 27.Gov. Whitmer travels to Spain for trade mission to bring home investments, jobs
Brazil’s Bolsonaro participated in 2022 coup plot, unsealed police report saysAt least one Israeli airstrike shook the Lebanese capital of Beirut late Tuesday, moments after U.S. President Joe Biden said Israel and Hezbollah had agreed to ceasefire deal. At least 24 people have been killed in strikes across Lebanon, according to local authorities, as Israel signaled it aims to keep pummeling Hezbollah before the ceasefire is set to take hold at 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday. Hezbollah also fired rockets into Israel on Tuesday, triggering air raid sirens across the country's north. An Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire would mark the first major step toward ending the regionwide unrest triggered by Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. But it does not address the devastating war in Gaza. Hezbollah began attacking Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas' attack on southern Israel, in support of the Palestinian militant group. More than a year of fighting in Lebanon escalated into all-out war in September with massive Israeli airstrikes across the country and an Israeli ground invasion of the south. In Gaza, more than 44,000 people have been killed and more than 104,000 wounded in the nearly 14-month war between Israel and Hamas, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. ___ Here's the Latest: Netanyahu's office says his security Cabinet has approved ceasefire deal with Hezbollah JERUSALEM — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security Cabinet has approved a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah, clearing the way for the truce to take effect. Netanyahu's office said the plan was approved by a 10-1 margin. The late-night vote came shortly before President Joe Biden was expected to announced details of the deal in Washington. Earlier, Netanyahu defended the ceasefire, saying Israel has inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah and could now focus its efforts on Hamas militants in Gaza and his top security concern, Iran. Netanyahu vowed to strike Hezbollah hard if it violates the expected deal. Trump's pick for key adviser credits the president-elect with helping cement Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Waltz, President-elect Donald Trump's designate to be national security adviser, credited Trump's victory with helping bring the parties together toward a ceasefire in Lebanon. ''Everyone is coming to the table because of President Trump,'' he said in a post on X on Tuesday. ''His resounding victory sent a clear message to the rest of the world that chaos won't be tolerated. I'm glad to see concrete steps towards deescalation in the Middle East.'' He added: ''But let's be clear: The Iran Regime is the root cause of the chaos & terror that has been unleashed across the region. We will not tolerate the status quo of their support for terrorism.'' Israel airstrikes keep pounding Lebanese capital in the war's biggest wave of attacks BEIRUT — Israeli jets targeted a building in a bustling commercial area of Beirut for the first time since the start of the 13-month war between Hezbollah and Israel. The strike on Hamra is around 400 meters (yards) from the country's central bank. A separate strike hit the Mar Elias neighborhood in the country's capital Tuesday. There was no immediate word on casualties from either strike, part of the biggest wave of attacks on the capital since the war started. Residents in central Beirut were seen fleeing after the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for four targets in the city. Meanwhile, the Israeli army carried out airstrikes on at least 30 targets in Beirut's southern suburbs Tuesday, including two strikes in the Jnah neighborhood near the Kuwaiti Embassy. Lebanon's Health Ministry reported that 13 people were injured in the strikes on the southern suburbs. Hezbollah official says the group hasn't seen a final ceasefire agreement BEIRUT — Hezbollah has said it accepts the ceasefire proposal with Israel, but a senior official with the group said Tuesday that it had not seen the agreement in its final form. ''After reviewing the agreement signed by the enemy government, we will see if there is a match between what we stated and what was agreed upon by the Lebanese officials,'' Mahmoud Qamati, deputy chair of Hezbollah's political council, told the Al Jazeera news network. ''We want an end to the aggression, of course, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of the state.'' of Lebanon, he said. ''Any violation of sovereignty is refused.'' Among the issues that may remain is an Israeli demand to reserve the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations under the emerging deal. The deal seeks to push Hezbollah and Israeli troops out of southern Lebanon. Netanyahu recommends his Cabinet approve a Hezbollah cease-fire proposal JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his Cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people. The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon's Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal. In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting. Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending. Israeli strikes in Lebanon's south and east kill at least 13 people BEIRUT — Lebanon's state media said Israeli strikes on Tuesday killed at least 10 people in Baalbek province the country's east. At least three people were killed in the southern city of Tyre when Israel bombed a Palestinian refugee camp, said Mohammed Bikai, a representative of the Fatah group in the area. He said several more people were missing and at least three children were among the wounded. He said the sites struck inside the camp were ''completely civilian places'' and included a kitchen that was being used to cook food for displaced people. Israelis protest for a Gaza hostage release deal JERUSALEM — Dozens of Israeli protesters took to a major highway in Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening to call for the return of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, as the country awaited news of a potential ceasefire in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah. Protesters chanted ''We are all hostages,'' and ''Deal now!'' waving signs with faces of some of the roughly 100 hostages believed to be still held in Gaza, at least a third of whom are thought to be dead. Most of the other hostages Hamas captured in the Oct. 7, 2023 attack were released during a ceasefire last year. The prospect of a ceasefire deal in Lebanon has raised desperation among the relatives of captives still held in Gaza, who once hoped that the release of hostages from Gaza would be included. Instead of a comprehensive deal, the ceasefire on the table is instead narrowly confined to Lebanon. Dozens of Israelis were also demonstrating against the expected cease-fire, gathering outside Israel's military headquarters in central Tel Aviv. One of the protesters, Yair Ansbacher, says the deal is merely a return to the failed 2006 U.N. resolution that was meant to uproot Hezbollah from the area. ''Of course that didn't happen,'' he says. ''This agreement is not worth the paper it is written on.'' G7 leaders endorse Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire and insist Israel follow international law FIUGGI, Italy — Foreign ministers from the world's industrialized countries said Tuesday they strongly supported an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah and insisted that Israel comply with international law in its ongoing military operations in the region. At the end of their two-day summit, the ministers didn't refer directly to the International Criminal Court and its recent arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister over crimes against humanity. Italy had put the ICC warrants on the official meeting agenda, even though the G7 was split on the issue. The U.S., Israel's closest ally, isn't a signatory to the court and has called the warrants ''outrageous.'' However, the EU's chief diplomat Josep Borrell said all the other G7 countries were signatories and therefore obliged to respect the warrants. In the end, the final statement adopted by the ministers said Israel, in exercising its right to defend itself, ''must fully comply with its obligations under international law in all circumstances, including international humanitarian law.'' And it said all G7 members — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States – ''reiterate our commitment to international humanitarian law and will comply with our respective obligations.'' It stressed that ''there can be no equivalence between the terrorist group Hamas and the State of Israel.'' The ICC warrants say there's reason to believe Netanyahu used ''starvation as a method of warfare'' by restricting humanitarian aid and intentionally targeted civilians in Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza — charges Israeli officials deny. Israel strikes in central Beirut kill at least 7 people and wound 37 BEIRUT — An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city's downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded in Beirut, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. It was not immediately clear if anyone in particular was targeted, though Israel says its airstrikes target Hezbollah officials and assets. The Israeli military spokesman issued a flurry of evacuation warnings for many areas, including areas in Beirut that have not been targeted throughout the war, like the capital's commercial Hamra district, where many people displaced by the war have been staying. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks in Lebanon during the final hours before a ceasefire is reached, sparked panic and sent residents fleeing in their cars to safer areas. In areas close to Hamra, families including women and children were seen running away toward the Mediterranean Sea's beaches carrying their belongings. Traffic was completely gridlocked as people tried to get away, honking their car horns as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead. The Israeli military also issued warnings for 20 more buildings in Beirut's suburbs to evacuate before they too were struck — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah in the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. Independent Israeli commission blames Netanyahu and others for October 2023 attack TEL AVIV, Israel — The independent civilian commission of inquiry into the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel has found Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly responsible for the failures leading up to the attack, alongside former defense ministers, the army chief and the heads of the security services. The civil commission presented its findings today after a four-month probe in which it heard some 120 witnesses. It was set up by relatives of victims of the Hamas attack, in response to the absence of any state probe. The commission determined that the Israeli government, its army and security services ''failed in their primary mission of protecting the citizens of Israel.'' It said Netanyahu was responsible for ignoring ''repeated warnings'' ahead of Oct. 7, 2023 for what it described as his appeasing approach over the years toward Hamas, and for ''undermining all decision-making centers, including the cabinet and the National Security Council, in a way that prevented any serious discussion'' on security issues. The commission further determined that the military and defense leaders bear blame for ignoring warnings from within the army, and for reducing the army's presence along the Gaza border while relying excessively on technological means. On the day of the Hamas attack, the report says, the army's response was both slow and lacking. The civil commission called for the immediate establishment of a state commission of inquiry into the Oct. 7 attack. Netanyahu has opposed launching a state commission of inquiry, arguing that such an investigation should begin only once the war is over. Israeli ground troops in Lebanon reach the Litani River JERUSALEM -- The Israeli military says its ground troops have reached parts of Lebanon's Litani River — a focal point of the emerging ceasefire. In a statement Tuesday, the army said it had reached the Wadi Slouqi area in southern Lebanon and clashed with Hezbollah forces. Under a proposed ceasefire, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is some 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the Israeli border. The military says the clashes with Hezbollah took place on the eastern end of the Litani, just a few kilometers (miles) from the border. It is one of the deepest places Israeli forces have reached in a nearly two-month ground operation. The military says soldiers destroyed rocket launchers and missiles and engaged in ''close-quarters combat'' with Hezbollah forces. The announcement came hours before Israel's security Cabinet is expected to approve a ceasefire that would end nearly 14 months of fighting. Israeli airstrikes hit buildings near Beirut airport BEIRUT — Israeli jets Tuesday struck at least six buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs Tuesday, including one that slammed near the country's only airport. Large plumes of smoke could be seen around the airport near the Mediterranean coast, which has continued to function despite its location beside the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah's operations are based. The strikes come hours before Israel's cabinet was scheduled to meet to discuss a proposal to end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. The proposal calls for an initial two-month ceasefire during which Israeli forces would withdraw from Lebanon and Hezbollah would end its armed presence along the southern border south of the Litani River. There were no immediate reports of casualties from Tuesday's airstrikes. EU top diplomat calls for urgent aid to Gaza FIUGGI, Italy — EU top diplomat Josep Borrell, whose term ends Dec. 1, said he proposed to the G7 and Arab ministers who joined in talks on Monday that the U.N. Security Council take up a resolution specifically demanding humanitarian assistance reach Palestinians in Gaza, saying deliveries have been completely impeded. ''The two-state solution will come later. Everything will come later. But we are talking about weeks or days,'' for desperate Palestinians, he said. ''Hunger has been used as an arm against people who are completely abandoned.'' It was a reference to the main accusation levelled by the International Criminal Court in its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. Borrell said the signatories to the court, including six of the seven G7 members, are obliged under international law to respect and implement the court's decisions. Host Italy put the ICC warrants on the G7 agenda at the last minute, but there was no consensus on the wording of how the G7 would respond given the U.S., Israel's closest ally, has called the warrants ''outrageous.'' Italy, too, has said it respects the court but expressed concern that the warrants were politically motivated and ill-advised given Netanyahu is necessary for any deal to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. ''Like it or not, the International Criminal Court is a court as powerful as any national court,'' Borrell said. ''And if the Europeans don't support International Criminal Court then there would not be any hope for justice,'' he said. Borrell, whose term ends Dec. 1, said he proposed to the G7 and Arab ministers who joined in talks on Monday that the U.N. Security Council take up a resolution specifically demanding humanitarian assistance reach Palestinians in Gaza, saying deliveries have been completely impeded. ''The two-state solution will come later. Everything will come later. But we are talking about weeks or days,'' for desperate Palestinians, he said. ''Hunger has been used as an arm against people who are completely abandoned.'' It was a reference to the main accusation levelled by the International Criminal Court in its arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister. Borrell said the signatories to the court, including six of the seven G7 members, are obliged under international law to respect and implement the court's decisions. Host Italy put the ICC warrants on the G7 agenda at the last minute, but there was no consensus on the wording of how the G7 would respond given the U.S., Israel's closest ally, has called the warrants ''outrageous.'' Italy, too, has said it respects the court but expressed concern that the warrants were politically motivated and ill-advised given Netanyahu is necessary for any deal to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. ''Like it or not, the International Criminal Court is a court as powerful as any national court,'' Borrell said. ''And if the Europeans don't support International Criminal Court then there would not be any hope for justice,'' he said. (edited)Peter Andre captures Princess and baby Arabella's 'special sister bond' in heartwarming video
France Industrial Air Compressor Market Size 2024: Global Share, Industry And Report Analysis By 2031 | Airman Asia Sdn Bhd (Hokuetsu Industries Co., Ltd.) Atlas Copco AB BAUER COMPRESSORS INC.It looked like a recipe for disaster. So, when his country's swimmers were being accused of doping earlier this year, one Chinese official cooked up something fast. He blamed it on contaminated noodles. In fact, he argued, it could have been a culinary conspiracy concocted by criminals, whose actions led to the cooking wine used to prepare the noodles being laced with a banned heart drug that found its way into an athlete's system. This theory was spelled out to international anti-doping officials during a meeting and, after weeks of wrangling, finally made it into the thousands of pages of data handed over to the lawyer who investigated the case involving 23 Chinese swimmers who had tested positive for that same drug. The attorney, appointed by the World Anti-Doping Agency, refused to consider that scenario as he sifted through the evidence. In spelling out his reasoning, lawyer Eric Cottier paid heed to the half-baked nature of the theory. “The Investigator considers this scenario, which he has described in the conditional tense, to be possible, no less, no more,” Cottier wrote. Even without the contaminated-noodles theory, Cottier found problems with the way WADA and the Chinese handled the case but ultimately determined WADA had acted reasonably in not appealing China's conclusion that its athletes had been inadvertently contaminated. Critics of the way the China case was handled can't help but wonder if a wider exploration of the noodle theory, details of which were discovered by The Associated Press via notes and emails from after the meeting where it was delivered, might have lent a different flavor to Cottier's conclusions. “There are more story twists to the ways the Chinese explain the TMZ case than a James Bond movie,” said Rob Koehler, the director general of the advocacy group Global Athlete. "And all of it is complete fiction.” In April, reporting from the New York Times and the German broadcaster ARD revealed that the 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive for the banned heart medication trimetazidine, also known as TMZ. China's anti-doping agency determined the athletes had been contaminated, and so, did not sanction them. WADA accepted that explanation , did not press the case further, and China was never made to deliver a public notice about the “no-fault findings,” as is often seen in similar cases. The stock explanation for the contamination was that traces of TMZ were found in the kitchen of a hotel where the swimmers were staying. In his 58-page report , Cottier relayed some suspicions about the feasibility of that chain of events — noting that WADA's chief scientist “saw no other solution than to accept it, even if he continued to have doubts about the reality of contamination as described by the Chinese authorities.” But without evidence to support pursuing the case, and with the chance of winning an appeal at almost nil, Cottier determined WADA's “decision not to appeal appears indisputably reasonable.” A mystery remained: How did those traces of TMZ get into the kitchen? Shortly after the doping positives were revealed, the Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations held a meeting on April 30 where it heard from the leader of China's agency, Li Zhiquan. Li's presentation was mostly filled with the same talking points that have been delivered throughout the saga — that the positive tests resulted from contamination from the kitchen. But he expanded on one way the kitchen might have become contaminated, harkening to another case in China involving a low-level TMZ positive. A pharmaceutical factory, he explained, had used industrial alcohol in the distillation process for producing TMZ. The industrial alcohol laced with the drug “then entered the market through illegal channels,” he said. The alcohol "was re-used by the perpetrators to process and produce cooking wine, which is an important seasoning used locally to make beef noodles,” Li said. “The contaminated beef noodles were consumed by that athlete, resulting in an extremely low concentration of TMZ in the positive sample. "The wrongdoers involved have been brought to justice.” This new information raised eyebrows among the anti-doping leaders listening to Li's report. So much so that over the next month, several emails ensued to make sure the details about the noodles and wine made their way to WADA lawyers, who could then pass it onto Cottier. Eventually, Li did pass on the information to WADA general counsel Ross Wenzel and, just to be sure, one of the anti-doping leaders forwarded it, as well, according to the emails seen by the AP. All this came with Li's request that the noodles story be kept confidential. Turns out, it made it into Cottier's report, though he took the information with a grain of salt. “Indeed, giving it more attention would have required it to be documented, then scientifically verified and validated,” he wrote. Neither Wenzel nor officials at the Chinese anti-doping agency returned messages from AP asking about the noodles conspiracy and the other athlete who Li suggested had been contaminated by them. Meanwhile, 11 of the swimmers who originally tested positive competed at the Paris Games earlier this year in a meet held under the cloud of the Chinese doping case. Though WADA considers the case closed, Koehler and others point to situations like this as one of many reasons that an investigation by someone other than Cottier, who was hired by WADA, is still needed. “It gives the appearance that people are just making things up as they go along on this, and hoping the story just goes away," Koehler said. “Which clearly it has not.” AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games