Strongest earthquake in 25 years rocks Taiwan, killing 9 people and stranding 70 workers in quarries
HUALIEN, Taiwan (AP) — The strongest earthquake in a quarter-century has rocked Taiwan during the morning rush hour. Wednesday’s quake killed nine people, stranded dozens of workers at quarries and sent some residents scrambling out the windows of damaged buildings. The quake also injured more than 1,000. It was centered off the coast of rural, mountainous Hualien County, where some buildings leaned at severe angles, their ground floors crushed.
Just over 150 kilometers away in the capital of Taipei, tiles fell from older buildings, and schools evacuated students to sports fields. The numbers of people missing, trapped or stranded fluctuated as authorities learned of more in trouble and worked to locate or free them.
Bodies of 6 foreign aid workers slain in Israeli strikes are transported out of Gaza
RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The bodies of six foreign aid workers killed in Israeli airstrikes have started the journey back to their home countries. They were transported Wednesday out of the Gaza Strip and into Egypt. That’s according to Egyptian state television.
The three British citizens, a Polish citizen, an Australian and a Canadian American dual national worked for World Central Kitchen, an international charity. Their Palestinian driver was also killed. They were distributing food that had been brought into Gaza through a newly established maritime corridor late Monday when Israeli airstrikes targeted their three vehicles, killing everyone inside. Israel has acknowledged carrying out the strikes by mistake and says it has launched an independent investigation.
Family and friends recall dedication of World Central Kitchen aid workers killed in Gaza
Israeli airstrikes that killed seven aid workers in Gaza have reverberated around the world. Friends and relatives are mourning the losses of those who were delivering food with the charity World Central Kitchen. Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha was a 25-year-old Palestinian man who had worked since early this year as a driver for the group. Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom was born in Australia and had worked all over the world helping those in need. Damian Soból was a 35-year-old from Poland who colleagues say quickly rose through the charity’s ranks. Three British victims were military veterans providing security for the mission. They were John Chapman, James Henderson and James Kirby. And Jacob Flickinger was a 33-year-old dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada. He was reportedly the team lead.
Prosecutors in Trump’s classified documents case sharply rebuke judge’s unusual and ‘flawed’ order
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors are scolding the judge presiding over ex-President Donald Trump’s classified documents case in Florida. The prosecutors are trying to warn her off potential jury instructions they say rest on a “fundamentally flawed legal premise.” The late Tuesday filing from special counsel Jack Smith’s team responded to an unusual order from U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that asked prosecutors to file proposed jury instructions. The order asked them to respond to competing interpretations of the law that appeared to accept the Republican ex-president’s argument he’s entitled under the Presidential Records Act to keep sensitive documents he’s now charged with possessing. Trump’s lawyers are renewing their demand for the judge to dismiss the indictment.
Ukraine lowers its conscription age to 25 to replenish its beleaguered troops
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has lowered the military conscription age from 27 to 25 in an effort to replenish its depleted ranks after more than two years of war following Russia’s full-scale invasion. The new mobilization law came into force Wednesday, a day after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed it. Ukraine’s parliament passed it last year. Zelenskyy didn’t say how many new soldiers the country expects to gain by lowering the conscription age. But Oksana Zabolotna, an analyst with the Center for United Actions, a government watchdog in Kyiv, estimates it might add 50,000 troops. Conscription has been a sensitive matter amid Ukraine’s growing shortages of infantry and ammunition, which have helped hand Russia the battlefield initiative.
Powell: Fed still sees rate cuts this year; election timing won’t affect decision
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials will likely reduce their benchmark interest rate later this year, Chair Jerome Powell said, despite recent reports showing that the U.S. economy is still strong and that U.S. inflation picked up in January and February. “The recent data do not ... materially change the overall picture,” Powell said in a speech at Stanford University, “which continues to be one of solid growth, a strong but rebalancing labor market, and inflation moving down toward 2 percent on a sometimes bumpy path.” Powell also sought to dispel any notion that the Fed’s interest-rate decisions might be affected by this year’s presidential election.
How brown rats crawled off ships and conquered North American cities
New research suggests that brown rats crawled off ships earlier than previously thought and quickly out-competed rival black rats to take over North American cities. The study, published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances, suggests the species first appeared on the continent before 1740. Brown rats were bigger and more aggressive, and scientists say they may have eaten food that black rats otherwise would have. Today, brown rats are so ubiquitous in North American cities that they’re known as common rats or street rats. Experts say knowing which rats lead the pack can help cities better manage their populations.
AP PHOTOS: 10 years after her killing, Anja Niedringhaus’ photos speak for her
On April 4, 2014, outside a heavily guarded government compound in eastern Afghanistan, Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus was killed by an Afghan police officer as she sat in her car. She was 48 years old. She was best known as a conflict photographer. Her work helped define the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. Some of the most memorable images from those dark pages in history — ones you might well recognize — came from her camera and her vision. She expertly told small stories of everyday life in dozens of countries. And despite her reputation as a war photographer, very often she found beauty and joy on assignment.
Scathing federal report rips Microsoft for shoddy security, insincerity in response to Chinese hack
BOSTON (AP) — A Biden administration-appointed review board has issued a scathing indictment of Microsoft corporate security and transparency. The panel says in Tuesday’s report that “a cascade of errors” by the tech giant let state-backed Chinese cyber operators break into email accounts last year of senior U.S. officials including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. The Cyber Safety Review Board describes what is says is shoddy cybersecurity, a lax corporate culture and a lack of sincerity about the company’s knowledge of the targeted breach, which affected multiple U.S. agencies that deal with China. Microsoft said it appreciated the board’s investigation. It added that recent events “have demonstrated a need to adopt a new culture of engineering security in our own network.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0