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Singapore’s prime minister tests positive for COVID-19

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:22 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Monday he tested positive for COVID-19 for the first time after returning home from work trips in Africa and Asia. Due to his age, the 71-year-old said he was prescribed the Paxlovid antiviral medication.“I tested positive for COVID-19 for the first time this morning,” Lee said on Facebook, where he posted a photo of a positive antigen rapid test. “I am generally feeling ok, but my doctors have advised me to self-isolate until I am asymptomatic.”Lee was on an official visit to South Africa from May 14 to 16, and Kenya from May 17 to 19. He also attended the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Indonesia from May 10 to 11.Lee said his last COVID-19 vaccine booster was in November. He urged Singaporeans to keep their vaccinations up to date to reduce the risk of severe illness. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung was reported by local media as saying recently in Parliament that fewer seniors were keeping u...

Plane crashes in Croatia, rescuers search for crew

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:22 GMT

Rescuers have found the wreckage of a small aircraft that crashed in the mountains of northwestern Croatia on Saturday (20 May), but they could not confirm if there were any crew members, according to the HINA news agency.A 120-strong team of rescuers searched in the forest of Lika Senj for the "Cirrus 20," an aircraft that had gone off radar during a flight between the Slovenian city of Maribor and the Adriatic City of Pula.Local media reported that army helicopters and drones had been sent to search an area suspected of having mines from the 1990s war.Rescuers did not know the number of passengers on board the Dutch registered aircraft.

Greeks head to polls, no outright winner seen

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:22 GMT

Greece's general elections on Sunday (21 May) are unlikely to produce a winner. A second vote is expected in July if the parties of the country cannot agree to a government coalition.Although opinion polls show the conservative New Democracy Party in the lead, changes to the country's electoral system mean it will likely fall short of a majority.The polling stations will open at 0700 local (0400 GMT), and close at 1600 GMT. Only a little under 10 million Greeks are eligible to vote. Six polling agencies are releasing an exit poll at 1900 GMT.New Democracy led by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is polling at between 31 and 38 percent, while Syriza of the opposition, which trails by 4 to 7 points, is in third place. A party needs to have more than 45 percent of the vote in order to win.The cost of living is at the forefront of the campaign. Parties are trying to win voters over with promises to raise the minimum wage and to create jobs. The spiraling prices have had a profound effe...

Vigil held in Compton for victim of fatal street takeover

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:22 GMT

A vigil was held Sunday night in Compton for a man killed during a street takeover.  The incident occurred in February. Raymond Olivares was struck and killed during the illegal takeover. His fiancé was also struck but survived.  On what would’ve been Olivares 28 birthday, friends, family members and local officials spoke in honor of him.  “Things like this shouldn’t happen, especially to people that don’t deserve it...he didn’t associate with these types of activities and that’s what took his life,” Olivares’ sister-in-law said at the event.  Raymond Olivares, 27, was struck and killed by vehicle involved in an illegal street takeover in February. (KTLA)Those who attended the vigil also spoke about the dangers of street takeover and expressed support for California bill AB 645. If it becomes law, Los Angeles and other cities would install speed-safety cameras at streets prone to illegal racing and takeover activity.  The bill just recently passed a committe...

El tifón Mawar sigue fortaleciéndose, se emiten alertas de tifón para Guam y Rota

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:22 GMT

(CNN) — El tifón Mawar sigue fortaleciéndose y también disminuyó su velocidad, según la última actualización del Centro Conjunto de Alerta de Tifones (JTWC). Mawar tiene ahora vientos ligeramente inferiores a 160 km/h, lo que equivale a un huracán de categoría 2 en el Atlántico.Las bandas exteriores están empezando a afectar a la región. Se espera que el centro de la tormenta pase por la isla de Guam este miércoles por la mañana o a primera hora de la tarde.El Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (NWS) en Tiyan, Guam emitió alertas de tifón para las islas Guam y Rota, en el archipiélago de las Marianas. Una advertencia de tormenta tropical está ahora en vigor para Saipán y Tinian.Cómo ayudar a las víctimas del ciclón Mocha“Se esperan vientos con fuerza de tormenta tropical de 55 km/h a 111 km/h tan pronto como este martes por la mañana, lo más probable el martes por la tarde o por la noche. Vientos con fuerza de tifón de 138 km/h o más tan pronto como el miércoles por la maña...

Rishi Sunak to consult ethics adviser over top minister’s handling of speeding fine

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:22 GMT

LONDON — Rishi Sunak will consult his ethics adviser amid pressure on Home Secretary Suella Braverman over her handling of a speeding offense. According to reports in the Sunday Times and Mail on Sunday this weekend, Braverman — while attorney general in 2022 — asked civil servants to try and arrange a one-on-one driving awareness course after she was caught speeding. In the U.K., people who have broken the speed limit can opt to attend a course rather than pay a fine — but these are usually run as group sessions. A private course could therefore have reduced the likelihood of other motorists recognizing the senior minister in a public session.The officials reportedly refused to pursue the idea on advice from the Cabinet Office, with Braverman instead accepting a fine and points on her license.Sunak will on Monday meet Laurie Magnus, his independent adviser on ministerial interests, to discuss the Braverman situation — which dominated the tail-end of the prime minister’s trip ...

Greece’s center-right in landslide election victory, but will need new vote to form government

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:22 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — It was the most tantalizing of victories. Despite inflicting the most crushing defeat in half a century on the opposition, Greece’s center-right Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected Monday to seek a second national election within weeks, as he lacks the majority in Parliament to govern alone.With 99.55% of the votes counted early Monday, Mitsotakis’ New Democracy party won 40.79% — twice the leftwing main opposition Syriza’s 20.07%. Socialist Pasok came in third at 11.46%.The margin far outstripped pollsters’ forecasts and was the biggest since 1974, when Greece’s first democratic elections were held after the fall of the seven-year military dictatorship.But the one-off proportional representation system in effect Sunday means ND only gains 146 of Parliament’s 300 seats, five short of a governing majority. The new elections, expected in late June or early July, will revert to the previous system that grants the firs...

At Cannes, Polish filmmaker’s ‘In the Rearview’ spotlights Ukrainians escaping war

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:22 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — When Polish filmmaker Maciek Hamela first began evacuating Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s war on their country, he wasn’t intending to make a film. He was one of the many Poles extending humanitarian aid to neighbors under attack, and had turned down an offer to film a television investigation there.But the reflections of the people he was transporting to safety in his van were so poignant that soon he began filming them. He asked a friend who is a director of photography to help him film — and drive — and directed his camera squarely back at his passengers as they traversed their war-scarred land.The result is “In the Rearview,” a documentary film being shown at the Cannes film festival in France as part of a parallel program devoted to independent cinema. It is not in competition.A Polish-French co-production, it takes place almost entirely in Hamela’s van, with the camera capturing the harrowed passengers, one group after another in countless journe...

G20 officials arrive in disputed Kashmir as India largely puts region’s intense security out of view

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:22 GMT

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Delegates from the Group of 20 nations arrived in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Monday to participate in a tourism meeting condemned by China and Pakistan, as authorities significantly reduced visibility of the security in the disputed region’s main city.The meeting scheduled for later Monday is the first significant international event in Kashmir since New Delhi stripped the Muslim-majority region of semi-autonomy in 2019. Indian authorities hope the meeting will show that the controversial changes have brought “peace and prosperity” to the region.The delegates will discuss topics like green tourism and destination management. Side events on ecotourism and role of films in promoting tourist destinations have also been scheduled.On Monday, the region’s main city of Srinagar, appeared calm and roads never as clean. Most of the security checkpoints were removed or camouflaged with cubicle-like security posts made of G20 signages behind which security offici...

Rare earths, Ukraine top agenda on French President Macron’s historic visit to Mongolia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:22 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Access to rare earth minerals and Russia’s war against Ukraine topped the agenda on French President Emmanuel Macron’s historic visit to Mongolia. Macron met with his Mongolian counterpart Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on Sunday in the capital Ulaanbaatar and pledged cooperation on the extraction and trade of minerals used in satellites, cell phones and other key technologies. The visit was the first by a French head of state to Mongolia, a landlocked democracy of 3 million people twice the size of Texas sandwiched between Russia and China. Mongolia’s grasslands, mountains and deserts hold vast deposits of coal, copper and lesser-known minerals vital to the modern economy. Macron’s trip followed his attendance at the Group of Seven summit in Japan, where Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a key topic. The conflict is having a global impact, Macron said, referring to high food prices and more refugees. More than 8 million Ukrainians have been forced from their homes, accor...