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Gabon Military officers say they’re seizing power just days after the presidential election

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:00 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Nearly a dozen soldiers took to state television and said they were overturning the presidential election and called for calm among the population.“We reaffirm our commitment to respecting Gabon’s commitments to the national and international community,” said a spokesperson for the group.The soldiers on television were comprised of members from the gendarme, the republican guard and other factions of the security forces.Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba, 64, was seeking a third term in elections this weekend that could extend his family’s 55-year political dynasty. He served two terms since coming to power in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled the country for 41 years.There was concern of violence before the election due to deep-seated grievances among the population of some 800,000 people. Nearly 40% of Gabonese ages 15-24 were out of work in 2020, according to the World Bank.After last week’s vote, the Central African nation’s Com...

India protests China’s land claim ahead of the G20 summit President Xi Jinping is expected to attend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:00 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India is protesting a new Chinese map that lays claim to India’s territory ahead of next week’s Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, a foreign ministry official said, exacerbating tensions during a three-year military standoff between the two nations.The timing of the protest is key, as Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the summit of industrialized and developing countries. “We reject these claims as they have no basis. Such steps by the Chinese side only complicate the resolution of the boundary question,” the External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in a statement on Tuesday.He said India on Tuesday formally lodged the objection through diplomatic channels with the Chinese side on the so-called 2023 “standard map” of China that lays claim to India’s territory.The version of the Chinese map published on the website of the Ministry of Natural Resources clearly shows Arunachal Pradesh and the Doklam Plateau, over which the two ...

Logging is growing in a Nigerian forest home to endangered elephants. Rangers blame lax enforcement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:00 GMT

OMO FOREST RESERVE, Nigeria (AP) — Roaring chainsaws sent trees crashing to the ground, and bare-chested men hacked away at the branches beside a muddy road. Others heaved logs onto a truck, where they were tied in place with wire.The work was similar on the other side of the road, with a timber-laden truck coughing dark plumes of smoke as it pulled away. This was miles into the conservation zone of Omo Forest Reserve in southern Nigeria, a protected area where logging is prohibited because it’s home to threatened species like African elephants, pangolins and white-throated monkeys. But forest rangers, seeing the impunity, were hesitant to act.“We see people we arrested and turned over to the government back in the forest, and they get emboldened,” ranger Sunday Abiodun told The Associated Press during a recent trip to the reserve.Conservationists say the outer region of Omo Forest Reserve, where logging is allowed, is already heavily deforested. As trees become scarce, logger...

Idalia projected to hit Florida as Category 4 hurricane with ‘catastrophic’ storm surge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:00 GMT

CEDAR KEY, Fla. (AP) — Florida residents living in vulnerable coastal areas were ordered to pack up and leave as Hurricane Idalia gained steam in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and authorities warned of a “catastrophic storm surge and destructive winds” when the storm moves ashore Wednesday morning.Idalia was packing sustained winds of 110 mph (177 kph) early Wednesday, after growing into a Category 2 system on Tuesday afternoon. It was projected to make landfall later Wednesday morning as a Category 4 storm with winds of at least 130 mph (209 kph) in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves into the peninsula. The result could be a big blow to a state still dealing with lingering damage from last year’s Hurricane Ian.The National Weather Service in Tallahassee called Idalia “an unprecedented event” since no major hurricanes on record have ever passed through the bay abutting the Big Bend.On the island of Cedar Key, Commissioner Sue Colson jo...

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to outline remaining 2023 priorities in Democrat-controlled state

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:00 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday will outline Democratic plans for the final months of the year after a first half of 2023 that saw the party roll back decades of Republican measures while implementing their own liberal agenda.The second-term Democratic governor’s policy priorities, which will be outlined during a “What’s Next Address,” include a call for paid family and medical leave, a 100% clean energy standard and the codification of protections ensured by the Affordable Care Act, according to her office. The governor’s speech comes as lawmakers are set to return to the state Capitol Sept. 5 after a two-month summer break. Michigan is one of the few states with a full-time legislative session and Democrats are looking to take advantage of every minute with control of the state House up for grabs next year. Michigan Democrats hold a “trifecta” — control of the state House, state Senate and the governor’s office — for the first ti...

Cirque du Soleil Big Top set to pitch up in Brussels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:00 GMT

An old favourite is heading back to Brussels this autumn.Cirque du Soleil is back under the big top from September with its latest offering: “Kurios – Cabinet of Curiosities.”It is one its most critically acclaimed touring shows and is the first time the company has appeared in the city for some years.No less than 49 artists from sixteen different countries will be on hand to present the show which has been touring the world since it first premiered in Montreal in April 2014 and which has already been seen by 4.5 million spectators at 2,000 performances in 30 different cities.Around 60% of the artists have already worked with Cirque du Soleil before and the show has been critically acclaimed the world over the show.It revisits the signature Cirque du Soleil style of performance by weaving jaw-dropping acrobatics with a refreshing touch of poetry, artistry and humour.The show has been hailed as a “celebration of the power of the imagination” and Kurios includ...

Councilwoman proposes motion to regulate oversized vehicles parked in L.A.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:00 GMT

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Traci Park on Tuesday presented a motion seeking to regulate oversized vehicles, such as RVs, parked around certain areas like schools, daycare centers, parks and homes.  Westchester resident Venita Wynne has lived near the corner of Flight Avenue and Alvern Circle for nearly a decade and has grown fed up with the number of oversized vehicles parked on her street.  “Had I known this was going to happen in the last two years, I would not have made that move,” she told KTLA.  Wynne explained that the vehicles and their occupants have made the area feel unsafe, leaving the road littered with drug paraphernalia and trash. “It’s been a mess. It’s been a disaster,” another Westchester resident, Chocez Peterson, said.  Peterson lives nearby and decided to take matters into her own hands, handing out flyers to neighbors, urging them to contact local officials about the problem of the oversized vehicles.L.A. Councilwoman Traci Park prese...

Redwood City man arrested on suspicion of hate crime, assault

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:00 GMT

REDWOOD CITY – A 43-year-old Redwood City man was arrested on suspicion of hurling homophobic slurs at another person and then assaulting them Monday in Redwood City.The incident happened around 1:40 p.m. near the intersection of Fourth Avenue and Spring Street, according to the Redwood City Police Department.Police said the suspect was with a group of people who were hanging out and drinking.At one point, the suspect called the victim homophobic slurs, punched him in the face and struck him on the neck with an aluminum pipe from a crutch, according to police.The victim suffered minor injuries to their face and neck, but they declined medical attention.Police said the suspect was booked into San Mateo County jail on assault with a deadly weapon and hate crime charges.

SF Giants’ Alex Cobb comes within one out of a no-hitter against Reds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO —  The blue supermoon rose over the horizon at McCovey Cove as dusk turned to night, a lunar event so rare that it isn’t expected to happen again until 2037. So two rarities in one night would have been a downright marvel.That can be the justification for Alex Cobb losing a rare no-hit bid at the worst possible moment. There wasn’t room this night for more than one rarity.But Cobb’s performance was still marvelous. The San Francisco Giants’ starter was was one away from throwing a no-hitter on Tuesday night in a 6-1 win against the Cincinnati Reds at Oracle Park. His trusty splitter that steered him through 8 2/3 hitless innings betrayed him just once, against Spencer Steer, who nailed a double off the brick wall to score a walked batter from second base.It was one of two times Cobb had to pitch out of the stretch this night, and maybe that can explain the luck.“It’s still fun. I wasn’t mad. Sad. It was just, alright, let...

Monster Jam trucks headed to San Jose damaged in highway fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:00 GMT

(KTXL) — Two of the beloved monster trucks featured in the Monster Jam motorsports event were damaged Tuesday morning when the semi-trailer they were being transported in became engulfed in flames. The tractor-trailer caught fire on Highway 50 in Sacramento around 8:30 a.m., according to the Sacramento Fire Department. A Sacramento driver spotted the fire from an overpass, capturing video, seen in the player above, of flames rising from the trailer as the truck traveled down the highway. Black smoke billowed from the trailer, casting the traffic behind the truck in a dark shadow. Dairy Queen celebrating fall with 85-cent Blizzards Fire officials said the driver was able to release the tractor from the trailer before it could be involved in the fire.Unfortunately, the trailer and its cargo weren't entirely saved from the fire. Two monster trucks — Megalodon and Scooby-Doo — were damaged. Both trucks appear during Monster Jam events held throughout the U.S. and worldwide.Megalodon i...