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Congo votes for president as conflict and smudged ballots lead to fears election won’t be credible

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:41 GMT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Congo headed to the polls Wednesday to vote for president as authorities scrambled to finalize preparations in an election facing steep logistical and security challenges.Some 44 million people — almost half the population — are expected to vote, but many including several million displaced by conflict in the vast country’s east could struggle to cast their ballots. The fighting has prevented 1.5 million people from registering to vote.Both outside observers and locals have warned that such challenges could affect the credibility of the vote in one of Africa’s largest nations and one whose mineral resources are increasingly crucial to the global economy.On the eve of the vote, some polling stations in the capital, Kinshasa, told Associated Press journalists they were still waiting for materials. Thousands of stations, particularly in remote areas, still might not have what they need on Wednesday. A major concern is that ink on voting cards has smud...

Japan’s trade shrinks in November, despite strong exports of vehicles and computer chips

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:41 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s exports fell slightly in November from a year earlier, the first decline in three months, while imports were down nearly 12%, the government reported Wednesday.Tepid global demand has been a drag on Japan’s economy, which depends heavily on export manufacturing. Recent weakness of the Japanese yen against the dollar has meanwhile undercut its purchasing power for imports, though costs for oil and gas have fallen with a decline in oil prices since September. Preliminary customs data show that exports in November fell 0.2% to 8.8 trillion Japanese yen ($61 billion) while imports declined 11.9% to 9.6 trillion yen ($66 billion). That left a deficit of 776.9 trillion yen ($5.4 billion). Exports to the rest of Asia were down 4%, while exports to the U.S. rose more than 5%. Shipments to China, Japan’s biggest single overseas market, fell more than 2%. Japan’s exports of vehicles were a strong point, rising 11% from a year earlier, while computer chip shipm...

Putin ratchets up military pressure on Ukraine as he expects Western support for Kyiv to dwindle

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:41 GMT

After blunting Ukraine’s counteroffensive from the summer, Russia is building up its resources for a new stage of the war over the winter, which could involve trying to extend its gains in the east and deal significant blows to the country’s vital infrastructure.Russian President Vladimir Putin seems to be hoping that relentless military pressure, combined with changing Western political dynamics and a global focus on the Israeli-Hamas war, will drain support for Ukraine in the nearly 2-year-old war and force Kyiv to yield to Moscow’s demands.“As far as the Russian leadership is concerned, the confrontation with the West has reached a turning point: The Ukrainian counteroffensive has failed, Russia is more confident than ever, and the cracks in Western solidarity are spreading,” said Tatiana Stanovaya, senior fellow with Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, in a recent analysis.An aid package for Ukraine has stalled in the U.S. Congress as Republicans insist on linking any more mon...

Descendants fight to maintain historic Black communities. Keeping their legacy alive is complicated

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:41 GMT

DAUFUSKIE ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Sallie Ann Robinson proudly stands in the front yard of her grandmother’s South Carolina home. The sixth-generation native of Daufuskie Island, a once-thriving Gullah community, remembers relatives hosting meals and imparting life lessons on the next generation.“I was born in this very house, as many generations of family have been as well,” said Robinson, a chef and tour guide. “I was raised here. These woods was our playgrounds.”Long dirt roads were once occupied by a bustling community that had its own bartering system and a lucrative oyster industry.“There were at one point over a thousand people living on this island,” Robinson said. Now, she and several cousins are the only ones of Gullah descent who remain.Historic Black communities like Daufuskie Island are dying, and descendants like Robinson are attempting to salvage what’s left of a quickly fading history.“The towns are the authentic source or sources of much of our culture, our history, our ...

UN resolution on Gaza hampered by issues important to US: cessation of hostilities and aid monitors

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:41 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The Security Council’s adoption of a new U.N. resolution to spur desperately needed aid to Gaza has been bogged down by two issues important to the United States: a reference to a cessation of hostilities and putting the U.N. in charge of inspecting trucks to ensure they are actually carrying humanitarian goods.A vote on the Arab-sponsored resolution, first postponed from Monday, was pushed back again until Wednesday as council members continued intense negotiations to avoid another veto by the United States.“We’re still working through the modalities of the resolution,” U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday afternoon when the vote was still set for 5 p.m. “It’s important for us that the rest of the world understand what’s at stake here and what Hamas did on the 7th of October and how Israel has a right to defend itself against those threats.”It was canceled as the U.S. asked for more time and is now scheduled to take place a...

China’s earthquake survivors endure frigid temperatures and mourn the dead

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:41 GMT

YANGWA, China (AP) — Surrounded by destruction, the relatives of an earthquake victim mourned her death Wednesday in temporary shelters and frigid temperatures high in the mountains of northwest China.Houses caved in and crumbled in a Monday night earthquake that killed at least 131 people and injured more than 900 others, Chinese media reports said. Most of the casualties were in Gansu province and the rest in the neighboring province of Qinghai.In the predawn darkness, Ma Lianqiang stood next to the body of his deceased wife wrapped in blankets in a tent-like temporary shelter lit by a single overhead light. His wife was hit and buried by debris in her mother’s house, where she had gone to stay because she was ill.Ma and other members of his extended family survived despite extensive damage to their house in Yangwa, a village in Gansu province. His father pulled Ma’s son, whose back was injured, out of the rubble. His uncle said they heard the earthquake and then the house started...

Thunderstorms heading to Southern California, residents prepare for flooding

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:41 GMT

As a storm makes its way to Southern California, many residents are preparing as a major flood watch was issued for multiple counties. “This rain for us is going to be very beneficial especially because we are going to see multiple days of it,” said KTLA Meteorologist Vera Jimenez. Scattered showers have already arrived for some areas and more significant rainfall is expected to arrive late Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning.“Thunderstorms and lightning will be favorable with a remote risk of a small, short-lived tornado,” said the National Weather Service. The counties most at risk include Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.Residents living in recent burn scar areas are preparing for major flooding and mudslides that may threaten homes and even lives.Expected rainfall in Southern California for the week of Dec. 19, 2023. (KTLA)Thunderstorms, flooding and a potential small tornado heading to SoCal on the week of Dec. 19, 2023. (National Weather Service)Expected ...

Five-time Fremont mayor Gus Morrison dies at 88

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:41 GMT

FREMONT – Angus Hugh Morrison, a five-time mayor of Fremont whose tenure overlapped with the city’s rapid growth and ethnic diversification, has died. He was 88.Morrison, who went by the first name Gus, died at home with loved ones close by on Dec. 14, his family said in a statement.First elected to the City Council in 1978, Morrison served more than 25 years in the public spotlight, where he waged political battles for controlled development, environmental preservation and commission appointments, according to a profile published by this news organization on the eve of his retirement from public office in 2004.He earned a reputation as the “slow-growth guy” and aimed to carry out the vision set forth by the city’s forefathers – keeping residential neighborhoods apart from heavy industry, colleagues said in the profile.Morrison loathed big-box stores and campaigned against the construction of a 1,400-unit residential community, school and a golf course in an industrial area where th...

Warriors overcome Boston Celtics in overtime behind Steph Curry’s late-game heroics

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:41 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Steph Curry hit the dagger rainbow 3-pointer in overtime to give the underdog Warriors a thrilling 132-126 win over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night at Chase Center. The Warriors have won three straight and move to 13-14 on the year.The Warriors closed a tense fourth quarter and overtime with Curry, Klay Thompson, Chris Paul, Jonathan Kuminga and rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis.Jackson-Davis had his first double-double with 13 rebounds and 10 points in 28 minutes. He also had a key block in overtime, flying into the paint to deflect Jaylen Brown’s layup and preserve a four-point lead with 2:20 remaining. Jackson-Davis was a team-best plus-25.Curry had six points in overtime and finished with 33 points overall shooting 6-of-11 from 3. He played in some foul trouble having three against him by halftime. Jaylen Brown went at Curry plenty to start the third quarter, resulting in his fifth personal foul with six minutes remaining in the third quarter. That brou...

Stephen Curry scores 33 points, rallies Warriors past Celtics 132-126 in overtime

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:54:41 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry swished a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left in overtime on the way to scoring 33, and the Golden State Warriors rallied past the Celtics 132-126 on Tuesday night to snap Boston’s five-game winning streak. Jonathan Kuminga made a steal and uncontested dunk to put the Warriors ahead in overtime then grabbed a key rebound on the other end that led to another scoring play, and Boston missed key chance after chance when it mattered most. Klay Thompson hit a tying 3-pointer with 2:18 remaining in regulation then Derrick White answered from deep before Curry connected from the top to even it up again at 121. The Celtics then missed four shots their next possession and again before the buzzer sounded for regulation.Other key opportunities were wasted in the final minute of OT.Jaylen Brown finished with 28 points for Boston, while Derrick White scored 30 in Boston’s second loss in the last 10.Jayson Tatum added 15 points, eight rebounds and seven a...