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Australia credits improving relations with Beijing after China lifts some meat export bans

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:02:41 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — China has lifted import bans on three Australian meat suppliers in another sign of improving trade relations between the two countries, Australian officials said Tuesday.China’s customs agency announced overnight it was removing bans on imports of beef and mutton from Australian plants of JBS, a global foods company, and from the Australian Lamb Company, both in Victoria state. Also from Teys Australia in South Australia state, a government statement said.China had banned imports of red meats from 11 Australian abattoirs since 2020, citing cases of COVID-19 among staff and incorrectly labeled products. The bans were seen as part of various official and unofficial trade barriers China imposed to punish Australia over policies that included calling for an independent inquiry into the origins of and responses to the pandemic.China still bans meat from the other eight Australian slaughter houses. Australian officials were working toward resolving “technical im...

Malaysian leader appoints technocrat as second finance minister in Cabinet shuffle

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:02:41 GMT

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim appointed a technocrat as second finance minister on Tuesday in a Cabinet shuffle aimed at strengthening his administration and winning public trust a year after taking power.The shuffle was widely expected and expanded the number of portfolios with the appointment of five new ministers. Anwar said the changes were needed to meet current demands and cope with global trends, including the growing impact of artificial intelligence.Anwar, who appointed himself as finance minister after taking office last year, revived the post of second finance minister and named the head of the country’s largest pension fund, Amir Hamzah Azizan, to the portfolio in a move that could ease criticism of the prime minister.While he still heads the Finance Ministry, Anwar said having a professional team will ensure “we are on right track and can focus on the economy.”Several key ministers swapped portfolios. Mohamad Hasan, dep...

Meloni's vision for the European Union

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:02:41 GMT

Slightly more than a year has passed since Italy’s new government got elected and it is time to make a sense of Giorgia Meloni’s (pictured) vision for the European Union, writes Simone Galimberti, Kathmandu.She has been defined pragmatic and cunning, capable but also populist.At the same time, almost unexpectedly, she showed steadfast stewardship in the international affairs especially in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.Italian Prime Minister Meloni sought a cooperative stance with the European Union, something that, in reality, many had already and, correctly, predicted as inevitable as Italy is the biggest recipient of the EU post pandemic recovery funds.Yet she proved staunchly conservative on social issues.Multiple times, her demagogic credentials were confirmed, for example, during the recent campaign in Spain where she had released a brief video intervention to support VOX, the far-right party or when, last week, she spoke at conference convened by the Hungarian Go...

Mother talks about being targeted in anti-Mexican rant at Disneyland

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:02:41 GMT

A mother who was the target of a woman's anti-Mexican rant at a Disneyland bathroom recalls the startling confrontation as her toddler was with her.The bathroom exchange happened on Dec. 5 when Eva Ramirez filmed the woman’s racist remarks after she reportedly heard the mother and son speaking Spanish in the bathroom.  Ramirez was celebrating her 2-year-old son’s birthday at the park when the altercation allegedly started with a disagreement over a bathroom stall.She and her son were in a Disney parking garage bathroom outside of the park's front entrance when she suddenly became the target of the woman’s racist remarks.“As we were walking into the restrooms, the stalls were empty and so I went ahead and used the big stall with my child and also with my stroller,” Ramirez said.She heard two people outside the stall making rude comments but she was preoccupied with her son and didn't realize they were actually directed towards her. An unidentified woman at Disneyland c...

LAPD helicopters cost taxpayers nearly $50 million a year

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:02:41 GMT

The Los Angeles Police Department’s air support division is the largest of its kind in the nation with 17 helicopters and over 90 employees. However, in the first-ever audit of the LAPD helicopter program, the L.A. City Controller's Office found that 61% of its flight time is spent on low-priority incidents, costing L.A. taxpayers nearly $50 million a year. "Some transportation and ceremonial flights were an inefficient and inappropriate use of city funds, including passenger shuttle flights for a “Chili Fly-In” and a flyby at a golf tournament,” said L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia.Mejia says his office spent nearly a year conducting the audit sifting through and finding information for the first time since the LAPD helicopter program started in the 1970s. “There is no persuasive empirical evidence that shows a clear link between helicopter patrols and crime reduction,” Mejia said.According to the report, there is little oversight in the air support division which costs mor...

South L.A. street food vendors robbed by knife-wielding suspect

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:02:41 GMT

A knife-wielding suspect remains at large after robbing street vendors in South Los Angeles.Surveillance video captured the hooded suspect walking up behind a street vendor worker and demanding all their cash.The incident happened on Dec. 8 as the workers at Tacos El Caguamo were set up on East 78th Street.The victim, Jose Segura Romero, becomes emotional when speaking about the ordeal, saying he was wondering whether he would be coming home to his family that night.“He came from behind me and forcefully applied pressure to my neck,” Jose told KTLA in Spanish.A knife-wielding suspect remains at large after robbing street vendors in South Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2023. (Tacos El Caguamo)The Tacos El Caguamo stand in South Los Angeles. (KTLA)The suspect's getaway car leaves the scene after robbing street vendors in South Los Angeles on Dec. 8, 2023. (Tacos El Caguamo)The victim, Jose Segura Romero, owner of the Tacos El Caguamo food stand. (KTLA)The Tacos El Caguamo stand in South Los A...

49ers raise season ticket prices for 2024

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:02:41 GMT

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (KRON) – As the 49ers continue to win, it’s getting more expensive to see the Red and Gold in person. Some season ticket holders are finding out that ticket prices have doubled for the 2024 season.“Well I was a little surprised,” said 49ers season ticket holder Oona Smith. “We’ve already paid the SBL (Stadium Builder’s License). A little bit more communication would have been nice.”Smith says her season tickets went up 14% on top of paying the SBL. The license lets fans buy season tickets and get access to other perks at Levi’s Stadium. ‘Saturday Night Live’ mocks Draymond Green again in skit Smith says she received an email in October notifying her of the price increase.“We were barely into the season, so I think this had been planned for some time,” she said. In addition to the price hike -- she says she is also frustrated over the 49ers selling standing-room-only club passes. Smith uses the Yahoo Club at Levi’s.“There’s going to be a significant number ...

Zelenskyy says Putin is ‘inspired’ by Capitol Hill deadlock on Ukraine

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:02:41 GMT

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy kicked off his latest visit to Washington Monday by making the case for Ukraine as the West’s only defense against an imperialist Russia, arguing that squabbling in Washington only benefits Vladimir Putin.“Let me be frank with you friends,” Zelenskyy told a room full of military officers from across the globe at the National Defense University, “if there’s anyone inspired by unresolved issues on Capitol Hill it is just Putin and his sick clique.”The Ukrainian leader’s comments kick off two days of meetings with lawmakers and Biden administration officials as U.S. funding for Ukraine dries up, and $60 billion in fresh military and humanitarian aid is snarled in Congress.The funding is part of a $111 billion supplemental that bundles aid for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and border security. Republican disagreements over border policy have kept the legislation from advancing, which has allowed Putin to see his “dreams come true,” Zelenskyy said.D...

A court sets aside the South African president’s recognition of the Zulu king

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:02:41 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A South African court has overturned President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to recognize Misuzulu kaZwelithini as the king of the country’s 15 million-strong Zulu nation in what may spark a lengthy battle for the throne.Ramaphosa has now been ordered to launch an investigation into objections by some members of the Zulu royal house that the correct processes were not followed in selecting kaZwelithini as the rightful heir to the throne.KaZwelithini was chosen as the new king last year after the death of his father, King Goodwill Zwelithini.He was recognized by Ramaphosa as the new king and handed a recognition certificate, but some of his siblings have challenged the process and insisted that he is not the rightful heir to the throne and that due processes were not followed in choosing him.In judgment delivered by Judge Norman Davis in the Pretoria High Court on Monday, Ramaphosa was criticised for not launching an investigation after he became aware th...

Japan court convicts 3 ex-servicemen in sexual assault case brought by former junior soldier

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:02:41 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court on Tuesday convicted three former soldiers in a sexual assault case that authorities had dropped until the victim, a former servicemember, came forward demanding a reinvestigation, prompting a military-wide harassment probe.The Fukushima District Court sentenced the former Japanese army soldiers to two years in prison but suspended the sentences for four years — meaning they won’t actually serve time in prison.The case filed by Rina Gonoi in August 2021 was initially dropped. Nine months later, she came forward — a rare step in a country that often lacks sufficient support for sexual assault victims — and demanded the case be reinvestigated, saying the experience caused her to give up her military career.Her revelation prompted a military-wide investigation into sexual harassment and other abuse allegations in September 2022, and prosecutors reopened her case.The Fukushima court said Tuesday her three former supervisors — Shutaro Shibuya, Akito Sekine a...