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Hopes for historic Pacific visit dashed after President Joe Biden cancels trip to Papua New Guinea

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:43:20 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Papua New Guinea had declared next Monday a public holiday in anticipation of an historic visit by U.S. President Joe Biden and other leaders from the region.Police were tightening security, billboards were going up, and people were getting ready to sing and dance in the streets. Expectations were high for what would have been the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to any Pacific Island nation.“I am very honored that he has fulfilled his promise to me to visit our country,” Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape had written on Facebook.Those expectations were dashed Wednesday when Biden canceled the visit to focus on debt limit talks at home. To be sure, many of the festivities will still be going ahead. Biden’s planned three-hour stopover — sandwiched between the G-7 meeting in Japan and a now scrapped trip to Australia — was timed to coincide with a trip by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will still meet with Pacific Island ...

G-7 leaders likely to focus on the war in Ukraine and tensions in Asia at summit in Hiroshima

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:43:20 GMT

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — The symbolism will be palpable when leaders of the world’s rich democracies sit down in Hiroshima, a city whose name evokes the tragedy of war, to tackle a host of challenges including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and rising tensions in Asia.The attention on the war in Europe comes just days after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy completed a whirlwind trip to meet many of the Group of Seven leaders now heading to Japan for the summit starting Friday. That tour was aimed at adding to his country’s weapons stockpile and building political support ahead of a widely anticipated counteroffensive to reclaim lands occupied by Moscow’s forces.“Ukraine has driven this sense of common purpose” for the G-7, said Matthew P. Goodman, senior vice president for economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.He said the new commitments Zelenskyy received just ahead of the summit could push members of the bloc to step up their support...

Regional partners like Kazakhstan can be assets for US non-proliferation efforts

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:43:20 GMT

Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent trip to Central Asia, where he emphasized that the United States supports the territorial integrity of regional countries and hopes to expand economic ties, missed the opportunity to highlight more substantial areas of cooperation—namely, nuclear proliferation and arms control. Amid Russia postponing New START meetings in late 2022 and China steadily increasing its nuclear warhead count, the prospects of arms control between Russia and the United States seem bleak. Moreover, worsening U.S.-Russia arms control relations could also threaten future cooperation on nonproliferation. However, one Central Asian country can play a critical role in these dire circumstances: Kazakhstan, writes Alex Little.Kazakhstan has been and can continue to be a partner for the United States in the nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). After the fall of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan was left with one of the most significant remnants of the Soviet...

From Courtroom to Spotlight: Ricardo Vargas’ Inspiring Journey from Lawyer to Actor

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:43:20 GMT

Photo credit: Cathryn FarnsworthIn a world where countless individuals tread paths they didn’t choose, shackled by fear of the unknown, Ricardo Vargas emerges as an emblem of courage. A successful lawyer turned actor, Ricardo symbolizes the power of pursuing passion over predictability. Leaving behind a flourishing legal career, he dared to embrace his dream, stepping onto the gleaming stages of Hollywood. His story illustrates how the courage to follow your heart can lead to a life beyond what you dare to imagine.A lawyer from Monterrey, Mexico, Ricardo is now a budding actor with an unyielding determination to live his lifelong passion. He has harbored a deep-seated love for acting since childhood. However, Ricardo understood the value of a stable career and pursued law, securing his degree in 2019. “Law was always plan B in case plan A (acting) didn’t work,” he says. For two years, Ricardo diligently worked as a lawyer, all the while saving enough to fund his dr...

Single family residence sells in San Ramon for $2.6 million

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:43:20 GMT

4032 Greenwich Drive – Google Street ViewA 3,547-square-foot house built in 1983 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 4000 block of Greenwich Drive in San Ramon was sold on April 21, 2023. The $2,618,000 purchase price works out to $738 per square foot. The property features four bedrooms, three baths, an attached garage, and three parking spaces. It sits on a 0.4-acre lot, which also has a pool.Additional houses that have recently been sold close by include:A 3,184-square-foot home on the 10100 block of Nantucket Drive in San Ramon sold in August 2022, for $2,250,000, a price per square foot of $707. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Greenwich Drive, San Ramon, in August 2022, a 2,374-square-foot home was sold for $1,750,000, a price per square foot of $737. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In February 2023, a 1,601-square-foot home on Loreto Drive in San Ramon sold for $1,320,000, a price per square foot of $824. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bat...

Former French President Sarkozy loses appeal on corruption conviction; prison sentence upheld

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:43:20 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A French appeals court on Wednesday upheld a one-year prison sentence for former President Nicolas Sarkozy on a conviction for corruption and influence peddling.His lawyer said he will take the case to France’s highest court and insisted that Sarkozy is innocent. The 68-year-old ex-president would not have to serve time until a final ruling, and if definitively convicted, he could ask to serve his sentence at home.Sarkozy, 68, was convicted in 2021 of trying to bribe a magistrate in exchange for information about a legal case in which he was implicated. It was the first time in modern French history that a former president had been convicted of corruption and sentenced to prison.Sarkozy, who was president from 2007 to 2012, denies wrongdoing and appealed the original ruling. The Paris appeals court on Wednesday upheld the conviction and the sentence, according to a court official.His lawyer, Jacqueline Laffont, called the decision “stupefying” and “unjust.”Sarkozy is en...

Trudeau in South Korea warns of growing authoritarianism : In The News for May 17

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:43:20 GMT

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of May 17 …What we are watching in Canada …Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says authoritarianism is gaining ground in an address to South Korean National Assembly Wednesday morning.The prime minister is in Seoul for his first official visit to South Korea and as Canada vies to strengthen ties between the two countries, and become “the best of friends.”In his address, he says “antagonistic countries” are taking advantage of economic interdependence to their own geopolitical advantage.Trudeau’s visit to South Korea follows on commitments from both countries to strengthen economic and military ties to counterbalance the influence of China.Trudeau goes on to tell parliamentarians the “world is facing a moment of uncertainty” as countries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, while ec...

5 go on trial in Germany over far-right extremist plot to kidnap health minister, topple government

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:43:20 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Five people go on trial in Germany on Wednesday accused of planning a far-right coup and plotting to kidnap the country’s health minister.The four men, aged 44 to 56, and a 75-year-old woman are accused of founding or being members of a terrorist organization and treason. Federal prosecutors say the group is linked to the Reich Citizens scene that rejects the legitimacy of Germany’s postwar constitution and has similarities to the Sovereign Citizens and QAnon movements in the United States.Prosecutors say they intended to create “conditions similar to civil war” by using explosives to cause nationwide blackouts, then kidnapping Health Minister Karl Lauterbach — a prominent advocate of strict coronavirus measures.There were no indications the group, which called itself United Patriots, was close to launching a coup. But prosecutors said the group’s procurement of weapons and money showed they were “dangerous criminals who wanted to implement their plans.”The...

Liberals downgrade Africa strategy to framework, but insist continent is a priority

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:43:20 GMT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has downgraded its long-delayed plan for relations with Africa from a strategy to a framework, saying this better reflects the original intent of the policy — despite criticism the Liberals are not taking the region seriously.For at least a year, the Liberals have promised an Africa strategy that would outline Canada’s relationship with dozens of countries and seize on opportunities to engage with a new intercontinental trade bloc.Rob Oliphant, the parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, said in interviews last summer and fall that he was working on an “emerging Africa strategy” and “a strategy document for our engagement diplomatically.”Yet in an interview with The Canadian Press earlier this month, Joly said the plan is not a full-blown strategy.“Regarding the Africa strategy, well, this is a term that was used by my colleague, Rob Oliphant. I would say it’...

Authoritarianism gaining ground, Trudeau tells South Korea’s National Assembly

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:43:20 GMT

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says authoritarianism is gaining ground in an address to South Korean National Assembly Wednesday morning.The prime minister is in Seoul for his first official visit to South Korea and as Canada vies to strengthen ties between the two countries, and become “the best of friends.”In his address, he says “antagonistic countries” are taking advantage of economic interdependence to their own geopolitical advantage.Trudeau’s visit to South Korea follows on commitments from both countries to strengthen economic and military ties to counterbalance the influence of China.Trudeau goes on to tell parliamentarians the “world is facing a moment of uncertainty” as countries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, while economic anxiety and climate change add stress to people’s lives.He argues Canada and South Korea can be partners in addressing climate change, which he says is also a way to safeg...