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China secretly sends enough gear to Russia to equip an army

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:51 GMT

The pictures posted on the Chinese company’s website show a tall, Caucasian man with a crew cut and flattened nose inspecting body armor at its factory.“This spring, one of our customers came to our company to confirm the style and quantity of bulletproof vests, and carefully tested the quality of our vests,” Shanghai H Win, a manufacturer of military-grade protective gear, proudly reported on its website in March. The customer “immediately directly confirmed the order quantity of bulletproof vests and subsequent purchase intention.”The identity of the smiling customer isn’t clear, but there’s a fair chance he was Russian: According to customs records obtained by POLITICO, Russian buyers have declared orders for hundreds of thousands of bulletproof vests and helmets made by Shanghai H Win — the items listed in the documents match those in the company’s online catalog.Evidence of this kind shows that China, despite Beijing’s calls for peace, is pushing right up to a red line in ...

Fukushima nuclear plant water release within weeks raises worries about setbacks to businesses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:51 GMT

IWAKI, Japan (AP) — Beach season has started across Japan, which means seafood for holiday makers and good times for business owners. But in Fukushima, that may end soon.Within weeks, the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is expected to start releasing treated radioactive wastewater into the sea, a highly contested plan still facing fierce protests in and outside Japan.The residents worry that the water discharge 12 years after the nuclear disaster could deal another setback to Fukushima’s image and hurt their businesses and livelihoods.“Without a healthy ocean, I cannot make a living.” said Yukinaga Suzuki, a 70-year-old innkeeper at Usuiso beach in Iwaki about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the plant. And the government has yet to announce when the water release will begin. It’s not yet clear whether, or how, damaging the release will be. But residents say they feel “shikataganai” — meaning helpless. Suzuki has requested officials to hold the p...

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba says it will not sell shares in Ant’s buyback program

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:51 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba says it does not plan to sell any shares in its one-third shareholding in financial technology company Ant Group because it wants to retain its stake in an “important strategic partner.”Alibaba Group Holdings said in a filing Sunday that it will not participate in Ant’s share buyback program. It allows shareholders to sell back up to 7.6% of their holdings at an unspecified price that values the company at 567.1 billion yuan ($78.8 billion).Ant, which operates one of China’s leading mobile payments services Alipay, has seen its valuation fall nearly 70% from about $280 billion ($38.9 billion) at the time it was planning an IPO in 2020. That was derailed by regulators who conducted an investigation into the firm and then fined it nearly $100 billion for violating laws and regulations in the payments sector.Given the plunge in Ant’s valuation, investors who sell their shares to Ant will likely get far less than they would have go...

Greta Thunberg is appearing in a Swedish court on a charge of disobeying police at a climate protest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:51 GMT

MALMÖ, Sweden (AP) — Climate activist Greta Thunberg will appear in court on Monday on a charge of disobeying police at a protest in southern Sweden last month.Local newspaper Sydsvenskan reported that Thunberg and other activists were detained after they stopped traffic in the oil terminal of the port in Malmö on June 19.Thunberg was charged because she refused to comply with police orders to leave the scene during the protest, according to Swedish Prosecution Authority spokeswoman Annika Collin and a statement from prosecutors. Prosecutor Charlotte Ottosen told the newspaper that the crime of disobedience is typically punishable with fines.Thunberg inspired a global youth movement demanding stronger efforts to fight climate change after staging weekly protests outside the Swedish Parliament starting in 2018.The Associated Press

Netanyahu leaves hospital as Israel faces a key vote – and a crisis – over divisive legal changes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:51 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was released from the hospital on Monday after an emergency heart procedure, facing an unprecedented national crisis ahead of parliament’s vote on the first major piece of legislation to remake the country’s justice system.Demonstrators, many of whom feel the very foundations of their country are being eroded by the government’s plan, stepped up their opposition, blocking a road leading up to parliament. Businesses across the country shuttered their doors in protest of the vote.Driven by a governing coalition made up of ultranationalist and ultra-religious parties, the judicial overhaul has divided Israel, testing the delicate social ties that bind the country, rattling the cohesion of its powerful military and repeatedly drawing concern from even its closest ally, the United States.Efforts to find a last-ditch compromise were underway, with Israel’s President Isaac Herzog shuttling between the sides, incl...

Democratic governor pushes back against transgender-related attacks by GOP in Kentucky campaign

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:51 GMT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is pushing back hard against Republican efforts to cast him as an advocate of gender reassignment surgery for minors, saying his detractors have misrepresented his position and invoking his Christian faith and support for parental rights to explain why he vetoed a measure that banned gender-affirming care for children.Beshear, a Democrat seeking a second term in a race that could test the political potency of Republican messaging on transgender issues, said in an interview that he has always opposed gender reassignment surgery for children.“My position on this has always been clear,” Beshear said. “I have never supported gender reassignment surgery for minors, and they don’t happen in Kentucky.”It’s a direct response to what he says is a patently false Republican narrative that suggested he supports such surgeries. The Courier Journal has reported there is no record of such surgeries for minors happening in Kentucky. The GOP att...

Russia wants allies, so it is hosting an Africa summit. Food security and Wagner are key questions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:51 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — As Russia seeks more allies during its invasion of Ukraine, longtime U.S. security partner Kenya might not be an obvious choice. But hours after Russia terminated a deal to keep grain flowing from Ukraine, Moscow’s ambassador saw an opening to appeal to one of the African countries that would feel the effects the most.In an opinion piece for two of Kenya’s largest newspapers, Ambassador Dmitry Maksimychev blamed the United States and European Union for the deal’s collapse, asserting they had “used every trick” to keep Russian grain and fertilizer from the global markets.“Now, my dear Kenyan friends, you know the whole truth about who is weaponizing food,” he wrote.It’s the kind of brash outreach expected this week at the second Russia-Africa Summit. Grain supplies are in question. The future of the Wagner military group is, too. It’s a notable time for Russia to host nearly 50 African countries that rely heavily on Moscow for agricultural prod...

Celebrating its 70th anniversary - that's the Port of Dover

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:51 GMT

It may have passed under the radar but this month marks the 70th anniversary of a key landmark in Great Britain.For seven decades it has “stood as an integral connection between the British Isles and Europe”.The landmark in question is the Port of Dover, home to one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.On 4 July 1953, the Port of Dover’s roll-on, roll-off berths opened for the first time, transforming ferry travel forever. Some 70 years on from the opening of the Port’s first roll-on, roll-off ferry berths, Dover Harbour Board says they “remain proud to be stewards of Dover’s heritage and to be driving the Port into a new age.”The Port of Dover of today facilitates £144bn of UK trade each year, handles 33% of all trade with the EU, and is driving efficiencies and innovations that, it says, “will ensure the next 70 years are even more prosperous.”Due to its geographic position, Dover had been Britain’s connection to Europe for centuries, receiving its royal charter in...

Russian terrorists arrested in Poland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:51 GMT

Russian agents have flooded Europe and are planning terrorist attacks on the Polish rail system, Dispatches, IFBG.On 19 July 15 Kremlin agents were arrested, who had been kept under surveillance between March and July of this year. The terrorist agents were planning attacks on the Polish railway, specifically, the bombing of railway trains carrying weapons for Ukraine, which is defending itself from Russian occupation. Receiving instructions directly from the Kremlin, the criminals installed video cameras in Poland's Województwo przedkarpackie, which borders Ukraine. Russian terrorists have become a threat to Europe, which is the Kremlin's next priority target if it conquers Ukraine.For a long time Russia has meticulously prepared sabotage and reconnaissance groups to operate in the EU. This is part of the Kremlin's growing threat to Europe. The detention of Russian agents who have been planning terrorist attacks on the Polish r...

Burglar disguised as deputy attempts to break into Westwood shop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:56:51 GMT

A local business owner says a wannabe thief that uses different disguises has been trying to break into his Westwood tennis shop for the last several weeks. The most recent break-in attempt at Richard Hartman’s sporting good store, located in the 1000 block of Gayley Avenue, occurred just after 4 p.m. on Sunday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.  “Somebody’s been trying to break into my shop for probably the last two months,” Hartman, the owner of Westwood Sporting Goods, told KTLA. “They’ve been sticking screws in my door and breaking it, so I can’t get in the shop.”  Store surveillance cameras captured a man dressed as sheriff’s deputy trying to gain entry into his shop. Just a few weeks after that, cameras caught a man who appeared to be dressed in a firefighter’s jacket trying to get inside the sporting goods store. Hartman believes it’s the same thief.  “It’s getting very annoying,” the store owner said. “He’s tried to break in at least seven times. I’ve repl...