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Australian government distances itself from Donald Trump Jr.’s postponed tour

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:54:47 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s center-left government distanced itself Thursday from the postponement of Donald Trump Jr.’s speaking tour in Australia.His promoters said the eldest son of the former U.S. president was deferring visits to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane because his Australian visa was only approved on Wednesday, 24 hours before he was to board a flight.“It seems America isn’t the only country that makes it difficult for the Trumps,” said Turning Point Australia, a local version of the U.S. conservative political organization.Some conservatives accuse Australia’s Labor Party administration of delaying Trump Jr.’s visa process.But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government was not responsible for Trump Jr.’s change of plans.“Donald Trump Jr.’s visa was dealt with in the normal way and like anyone else he was entitled to come here,” Albanese said. “The deferral of his travel is a matter for him.”More than 20,000 people had joined an online pe...

Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama celebrates 88th birthday

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:54:47 GMT

DHARMSALA, India (AP) — The Dalai Lama celebrated his 88th birthday on Thursday, as hundreds of his supporters and exiled Tibetans thronged his hillside Indian headquarters in Dharamsala.Artists played traditional welcome tunes as the Tibetan spiritual leader arrived in his open mobile van to preside over the celebrations in the courtyard of the Tsuglakhang Temple, which was festooned with Tibetan and Buddhist flags and portraits.“We are celebrating my 88th birthday but look at me, I look barely 50,” the Dalai Lama said, smiling.He has made the hillside town of Dharmsala his headquarters since fleeing from Tibet after a failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. India considers Tibet to be part of China, though it hosts Tibetan exiles.The Dalai Lama denies being a separatist and says he only advocates substantial autonomy and protection of Tibet’s native Buddhist culture.In April, the Dalai Lama faced widespread criticism after a video circulated online showed him kissing a young...

Kazakhstan skyrockets 21 positions up to 76th place in 2023 Global Peace Index Rankings

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:54:47 GMT

Kazakhstan ranked 76th in the Global Peace Index (GPI), climbing 21 places, according to the June 2023 report published by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP).With the third highest rank of all countries in the Eurasia region, Kazakhstan experienced the most considerable improvement in overall peacefulness, rising by 4.2%.In the overall ranking, the country was placed after the United Arab Emirates (UAE), surpassing Jamaica. Iceland ranked first out of 163 countries in total.Kazakhstan recorded an improvement in both the Militarization and Safety and Security domains, with five indicators increasing, including the largest one in violent demonstrations, which improved by 50%.This year, 15 of the 23 GPI indicators remained unchanged in Kazakhstan; only three indicators on the incarceration rate, political instability, and military expenditure as a percentage of GDP deteriorated.Produced by the IEP, the GPI is the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness, presenting the m...

Single family residence in Pleasanton sells for $2.6 million

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:54:47 GMT

Pioneer Trail Drive – Google Street ViewA 3,097-square-foot house built in 1994 has changed hands. The spacious property located on Pioneer Trail Drive in Pleasanton was sold on May 30, 2023, for $2,570,000, or $830 per square foot. The property features four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a garage. It sits on a 0.3-acre lot.Additional houses have recently been sold nearby:On Sycamore Road, Pleasanton, in July 2022, a 2,398-square-foot home was sold for $2,225,000, a price per square foot of $928. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In November 2022, a 3,440-square-foot home on Amber Lane in Pleasanton sold for $2,475,000, a price per square foot of $719. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 3,445-square-foot home on the 800 block of Sunny Brook Way in Pleasanton sold in June 2022, for $3,460,000, a price per square foot of $1,004. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. 

Rishi Sunak could face fifth by-election after Chris Pincher report

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:54:47 GMT

LONDON — Suspended Tory MP Chris Pincher could be permanently forced from parliament following a damning report into groping allegations against him.In a report Thursday, the standards committee recommended an eight-week suspension for the MP after finding that he drunkenly “groped two individuals” during visits to Westminster’s Carlton Club.Under parliament rules for removing MPs, this level of punishment — if approved by MPs — could lead to a recall petition, ultimately triggering a by-election at a time Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is already facing four.In their report, the standards committee — made up of cross-party MPs — found that Pincher’s behavior was “completely inappropriate, profoundly damaging to the individuals concerned, and represented an abuse of power.” Pincher’s conduct played a key role in the downfall of Boris Johnson, whose handling of the scandal involving an ally prompted disgruntled ministers to resign en masse. The f...

Wagner chief Prigozhin isn’t in Belarus, says Lukashenko

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:54:47 GMT

Mutinous Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin is not currently in Belarus, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said Thursday morning. “As for Yevgeny Prigozhin, he is in St. Petersburg. Where is he this morning? Maybe he went to Moscow, maybe somewhere else, but he is not on the territory of Belarus,” Lukashenko said, according to Belarusian state media. The mercenary chief was supposed to be in Belarus, after being exiled from Russia following an aborted mutiny he led against Moscow’s military establishment in June. Last week, Lukashenko said Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus.

Zuckerberg’s Twitter rival Threads reaches 10M users in 7 hours

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:54:47 GMT

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday that his Threads app, a micro-blogging competitor to Elon Musk’s Twitter, had more than 10 million sign-ups in just seven hours.Announcing the Threads launch, Meta — also the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — said it would offer “a new, separate space for real-time updates and public conversations.” It added that Threads users will require an Instagram account to log into the new app, and “posts can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes in length.” The app has launched in the U.K., the U.S. and other countries, but Meta not yet made it available in the EU.Meta’s launch of the Threads app comes amid turbulence at Twitter, where thousands of staff have been laid off since billionaire entrepreneur Musk bought the platform for $44 billion late in 2022. Over the weekend, Musk announced that some accounts would be limited in the numbers of tweets ...

Stock market today: World markets extend losses after Wall Street drifts lower

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:54:47 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares slipped in Europe and Asia on Thursday as U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen headed to China seeking to soothe friction between the two largest economies. Germany’s DAX lost 1% to 15,773.57 and the CAC 40 in Paris gave up 1.7% to 7,190.42. Britain’s FTSE 100 dropped 1.2% to 7,352.98. The future for the S&P 500 was 0.4% lower while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5%. Share prices had soared recently amid signs the U.S. economy is stronger than had been feared, fending off recession so far despite high interest rates. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting released Wednesday showed that some central bank officials wanted to raise rates in mid-June, though in the end they voted unanimously to keep rates steady. The threat of further rate hikes has been weighing on investor sentiment. The next major focus for the U.S. will be jobs data due out on Friday.Markets are also watching for updates from Yellen’s ta...

Visit by Solomon Islands leader to Beijing underscores rising China-US rivalry in South Pacific

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:54:47 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare will visit China next week, highlighting the accelerating contest between Beijing and Washington for influence in the South Pacific. Sogavare will visit from Sunday to Saturday, meeting top officials in Beijing and traveling to Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces, among China’s most developed, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily briefing Thursday. His visit will “inject new momentum” into relations and “deepen mutual political trust, expand pragmatic cooperation and strengthen people-to-people exchanges,” Wang said. “Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the Solomon Islands, our relations have developed rapidly and achieved fruitful results, benefiting the people of both countries and promoting regional peace and stable development,” Wang said. Sogavare’s switching of diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China and signing of a secretive security agreement that could see Chine...

Wagner chief Prigozhin is in Russia, president of Belarus says

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:54:47 GMT

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Russia’s mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is in St. Petersburg and his Wagner troops have remained at the camps where they had stayed before an abortive mutiny, the president of Belarus said Thursday.Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko helped broker a deal for Prigozhin to his rebellion on June 24 in exchange for security guarantees for himself and his soldiers and permission to move to Belarus.After saying last week that Prigozhin was in Belarus, Lukashenko told international reporters Thursday that the mercenary chief is in St. Petersburg and Wagner troops still were at their camps. He did not specify the location of the camps, but Prigozhin’s mercenaries fought alongside Russian forces in Ukraine before their revolt. The rebellion saw them quickly sweep over the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and capture military headquarters there before marching on the Russian capital in what Prigozhin described as a “march of justice” to oust th...