Today: October 09, 2024
Today: October 09, 2024

Latest From The Los Angeles Post

World

Russia's currency hits the lowest level since beginning of the war in Ukraine

The Russian ruble has reached its lowest value since the early weeks of the war in Ukraine as Western sanctions weigh on energy exports and weaken demand for the national currency. On Monday, the Russian currency passed 101 rubles to the dollar, continuing a more than 25% decline in its value since the beginning of the year and hitting the lowest level in almost 17 months. President Vladimir Putin’s economic adviser, Maksim Oreshkin, on Monday blamed the weak ruble on “loose monetary policy” in an op-ed for state news agency Tass. He said a strong ruble is

Russia's currency hits the lowest level since beginning of the war in Ukraine
World

Poland's government wants to ask voters loaded questions on border security as part of election

Poland’s government said Monday it wants to ask voters whether they want dismantled a recently-built border wall that blocks unauthorized migration from Belarus. The loaded question is one of four the right-wing ruling party wants to ask in a referendum it intends to hold alongside the Oct. 15 parliamentary elections. The Law and Justice party is intent on winning an unprecedented third term in the elections. Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said on social media that the question will ask: “Do you support the pulling down of the barrier on the border on the Polish Republic with

Poland's government wants to ask voters loaded questions on border security as part of election
World

Sweden calls for vigilance abroad after Quran desecrations and protests

A senior Swedish official said Monday Swedes abroad and businesses linked to Sweden“should observe increased vigilance and caution,” following recent Quran burnings in the country and protests in the Muslim world. Henrik Landerholm, Sweden’s National Security Adviser, said there are signs of “a heightened threat” to the country and to Swedish interests abroad, adding the security situation has worsened. In a statement, Landerholm said that “representatives of terrorist groups have called for attacks against Sweden. States and other actors have helped amplify such messages.” He said Sweden has gone from being considered a “legitimate” target to

Sweden calls for vigilance abroad after Quran desecrations and protests
World

Hawaii mourns the dead in ferocious wildfires while officials warn the full toll is not yet known

As Hawaii residents mourned those killed in ferocious wildfires, officials warned that the full human and environmental toll was not yet known and the recovery only just beginning. Twenty dogs and dozens of people will make their way through neighborhoods reduced to ash, searching burnt out cars and homes for the dead. With the toll at 96, this is already the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. Two fires have not yet been completely contained, including the one that demolished the historic town of Lahaina, according to an update from Maui County late Sunday.

Hawaii mourns the dead in ferocious wildfires while officials warn the full toll is not yet known
World

Sudan’s top army general accuses paramilitary of war crimes in televised speech

In a rare televised speech Monday, the head of Sudan’s military accused the rival paramilitary force of committing war crimes as all-out civil war threatens to engulf the northeast African country. Sudan was plunged into chaos in April when months of simmering tensions between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open fighting in Khartoum and elsewhere. In a speech broadcast on Sudan TV, Burhan accused the RSF and Dagalo of committing violations under the falsehood of promising to restore democracy. “How can you

Sudan’s top army general accuses paramilitary of war crimes in televised speech
World

Heavy rains trigger floods and landslides in India's Himalayan region, leaving at least 22 dead

Heavy monsoon rains triggered floods and landslides in India’s Himalayan region, leaving at least 22 people dead and many others trapped, officials said Monday. A cloudburst in mountainous Himachal Pradesh state’s Solan district on Sunday night killed nine people in the area, and nine more bodies were pulled out from under mud and debris after two landslides in Shimla, the state’s capital, authorities told the Press Trust of India news agency. Four others were killed in heavy rains and a landslide in the state’s Hamirpur district, they added. The state’s chief minister, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, said

Heavy rains trigger floods and landslides in India's Himalayan region, leaving at least 22 dead
World

German foreign minister stuck in Abu Dhabi after another government plane problem

Germany’s foreign minister was stuck in Abu Dhabi on Monday after a technical problem on her government plane — the latest in a succession of such incidents — forced it to return to the airport rather than continue to Australia. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was due to arrive in Canberra on Monday night at the start of a visit to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. But her German air force Airbus A340 had to return to Abu Dhabi after a refueling stop because of “a mechanical problem with the landing flaps,” ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer wrote on

German foreign minister stuck in Abu Dhabi after another government plane problem
World

Russia targets Ukrainian city of Odesa again but Kyiv says it shot down all the missiles and drones

Russia launched three waves of nighttime air attacks against the southern Ukraine port city of Odesa, officials said Monday, though the Ukrainian air force said it intercepted all 15 incoming Shahed drones and eight Kalibr missiles. Falling debris from the interceptions damaged the dormitory of an educational facility in the city, a residential building and a supermarket, Odesa Gov. Oleh Kiper said. Two employees of the supermarket were hospitalized, Kiper said. The Kremlin’s forces have pummeled Odesa in recent times, aiming at facilities that transport Ukraine’s crucial grain exports and also wrecking cherished Ukrainian historical sites.

Russia targets Ukrainian city of Odesa again but Kyiv says it shot down all the missiles and drones
World

Landslide at Myanmar jade mine leaves more than 30 people missing, rescue official says

A landslide at a jade mine in northern Myanmar left more than 30 people missing, and a search and rescue operation was underway on Monday, a rescue official said. The incident occurred in Hpakant, a remote mountainous town in Kachin state about 950 kilometers (600 miles) north of Myanmar’s biggest city, Yangon. The area is the epicenter of the world’s biggest and most lucrative jade mines. The leader of a local rescue team coordinating search efforts told The Associated Press on Monday that more than 30 miners who were digging for jade were swept into a lake

Landslide at Myanmar jade mine leaves more than 30 people missing, rescue official says
World

Thousands of pieces of unexploded ordnance found buried in ground at Cambodian school

Cambodian authorities have temporarily closed a high school where thousands of pieces of unexploded ordnance from the country’s nearly three decades of civil war have been unearthed. The ordnance was found at the school in the northeastern province of Kratie after deminers were invited to search for buried landmines on the campus before a new building was constructed, Chheang Heng, the provincial deputy chief for education. More than 1,000 students study at Queen Kossamak high school. The site was an ammunition warehouse during the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s before being turned into a

Thousands of pieces of unexploded ordnance found buried in ground at Cambodian school
World

South Africa's unemployment is a 'ticking time bomb.' Anger rises with millions jobless

As Lebohang Mphuthi works amid the chaos of boisterous children during a lunch break at the Omar H.S. Ebrahim elementary school in South Africa — the kids are pushing, shoving and spilling food everywhere — she can’t help but think how this is as far from her dream job as it can get. Four years after graduating with a degree in analytical chemistry, the only work the 26-year-old has found is as a student assistant at a public school in Pretoria. Her responsibilities include handing out meals to the children and limiting the chaos as best she

South Africa's unemployment is a 'ticking time bomb.' Anger rises with millions jobless
World

Pakistan's caretaker premier is to be sworn in as people celebrate Independence Day

Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar is to be sworn in Monday as Pakistan’s prime minister to head a caretaker national government that will oversee parliamentary elections. Kakar, who is comparatively new to politics, has been representing his Baluchistan province in the Senate since 2018. On Sunday, Kakar quit as the head of his small Baluchistan Awami Party and quit as a senator after being named by outgoing premier Shehbaz Sharif and opposition leader Raza Riaz to oversee the vote and run the day-to-day affairs of the government until the people elect a new government. It is normal practice in Pakistan

Pakistan's caretaker premier is to be sworn in as people celebrate Independence Day
World

Niger’s coup leaders say they will prosecute deposed President Mohamed Bazoum for 'high treason'

Niger’s mutinous soldiers say they will prosecute deposed President Mohamed Bazoum for “high treason” and undermining state security, hours after they said they were open to dialogue with West African nations to resolve the mounting regional crisis. The announcement on state television on Sunday night, by spokesman Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, said the military regime had “gathered the necessary evidence to prosecute before competent national and international authorities the ousted president and his local and foreign accomplices for high treason and for undermining the internal and external security of Niger.” Bazoum, Niger’s democratically elected president, was

Niger’s coup leaders say they will prosecute deposed President Mohamed Bazoum for 'high treason'
World

New Zealand, whose pandemic response was closely watched, removes last of COVID-19 restrictions

New Zealand on Monday removed the last of its remaining COVID-19 restrictions, marking the end of a government response to the pandemic that was watched closely around the world. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the requirement to wear masks in hospitals and other healthcare facilities would end at midnight, as would a requirement for people who caught the virus to isolate themselves for seven days. New Zealand was initially praised internationally for eliminating the virus entirely after imposing nationwide lockdowns and strict border controls. But as the pandemic wore on and more infectious variants took

New Zealand, whose pandemic response was closely watched, removes last of COVID-19 restrictions
World

A central Kansas police force comes under constitutional criticism after raiding a newspaper

A small central Kansas police department is facing a torrent of criticism for raiding a local newspaper’s office and the home of its owner and publisher, seizing computers and cellphones, and, in the publisher’s view, stressing his 98-year-old mother enough to cause her weekend death. Several press freedom watchdogs condemned the Marion Police Department’s actions as a blatant violation of the U.S. Constitution’s protection for a free press. The Marion County Record’s editor and publisher, Eric Meyer, worked with his staff Sunday to reconstruct stories, ads and other materials for its next edition Wednesday, even as

A central Kansas police force comes under constitutional criticism after raiding a newspaper
World

Stock market today: Asia follows Wall Street lower after US data revive fears about rate hike

Asian stock markets tumbled Monday after stronger U.S. inflation revived worries the Federal Reserve might hike interest rates again. Hong Kong’s main market index plunged 2.4%. Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney also fell. Oil prices sank. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index slipped 0.1% on Friday after government data showed producer price inflation accelerated in July. Earlier data showed consumer prices also rose faster in July. “Setbacks to optimistic expectations are hard to ignore,” said Tan Boon Heng of Mizuho Bank in a report. “The data need to provide reasons” for the Federal Reserve “not to hike.” The

Stock market today: Asia follows Wall Street lower after US data revive fears about rate hike
World

What to stream this week: 'The Monkey King,' Stand Up to Cancer, 'No Hard Feelings,' new Madden game

Jennifer Lawrence’s R-rated comedy “No Hard Feelings” and the more family friendly animated movie “The Monkey King” from director Stephen Chow are among the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you Among the offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are a Harlan Coben TV adaptation with a young protagonist, Irish singer-songwriter Hozier’s third studio album and sweet Marcie, the introverted member of the “Peanuts” gang gets a special, “Snoopy Presents: One-of-a-Kind Marcie.” NEW MOVIES TO STREAM — Parents looking for fresh animated offerings should rejoice that Netflix has a

What to stream this week: 'The Monkey King,' Stand Up to Cancer, 'No Hard Feelings,' new Madden game
World

Stock market today: Asia follows Wall Street lower after US data revive fears about rate hike

Asian stock markets tumbled Monday after mixed U.S. economic data revived worries the Federal Reserve might hike interest rates again. Hong Kong’s main market index plunged 2.3% and Shanghai, Tokyo and Sydney also fell. Oil prices retreated. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index slipped 0.1% on Friday after government data showed producer price inflation accelerated in July. Earlier data showed consumer prices also rose faster in July. “Setbacks to optimistic expectations are hard to ignore,” said Tan Boon Heng of Mizuho Bank in a report. “The data need to provide reasons” for the Federal Reserve “not to

Stock market today: Asia follows Wall Street lower after US data revive fears about rate hike
World

Former Mississippi officers expected to plead guilty to state charges for racist assault

Six former Mississippi law officers are expected to plead guilty to state charges on Monday for torturing two Black men in a racist assault after recently admitting their guilt in a connected federal civil rights case. Prosecutors say the officers, who are all white, nicknamed themselves the “Goon Squad” because of their willingness to use excessive force and cover it up, including the attack that ended with a victim shot in the mouth. In January, the officers entered a house without a warrant and handcuffed and assaulted the two men with stun guns, a sex toy

Former Mississippi officers expected to plead guilty to state charges for racist assault
World

Ecuador was calm and peaceful. Now hitmen, kidnappers and robbers walk the streets

Belen Diaz was walking home from college one evening when a motorcycle carrying two men made a menacing U-turn. Terrified that she was about to be robbed for the eighth time in three years, the teaching student banged on a cab window until the driver drove her home. Diaz got away safe, but there was an unrelated fatal shooting the next day outside her gated community of two-story homes on the edge of the Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil. Ecuador was one of the calmest countries in Latin America until about three years ago. Today, criminals

Ecuador was calm and peaceful. Now hitmen, kidnappers and robbers walk the streets
World

Prominent Hong Kong democracy activists partially win bid to quash convictions over 2019 protest

Seven of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy advocates had part of their convictions quashed Monday over their roles in one of the biggest pro-democracy protests in 2019. Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper; Martin Lee, the founding chairman of the city’s Democratic Party; and five former pro-democracy lawmakers, including barrister Margaret Ng, had been found guilty of organizing and participating an unauthorized assembly. Lai, Lee Cheuk-yan, Leung Kwok-hung and Cyd Ho were jailed between eight to 18 months. Martin Lee, an octogenarian nicknamed the city’s “Father of Democracy,” Ng and Albert Ho were

Prominent Hong Kong democracy activists partially win bid to quash convictions over 2019 protest
World

US Steel rejects a $7.3 billion offer from rival Cleveland-Cliffs; considers alternatives

United States Steel Corp. said Sunday that it rejected a $7.3 billion buyout proposal from rival Cleveland Cliffs and was reviewing “strategic alternatives” after receiving several unsolicited offers. Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel said it rejected the offer because Cleveland-Cliffs was pushing it to accept the terms without being allowed to conduct proper due diligence. “At this juncture, we cannot determine whether your unsolicited proposal properly reflects the full and fair value of the Company. For all of the above reasons, the Board has no choice but to reject your unreasonable proposal,” U.S. Steel CEO David Burritt said

US Steel rejects a $7.3 billion offer from rival Cleveland-Cliffs; considers alternatives
World

North Korea's Kim orders sharp increase in missile production, days before US-South Korea drills

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made another inspection tour of major munitions factories and ordered a drastic increase in production of missiles and other weapons, state media said Monday, days before South Korea and the U.S. begin annual military drills that North Korea views as an invasion rehearsal. Kim’s push to produce more weapons also comes as U.S. officials believe Russia’s defense minister recently talked with North Korea about selling more weapons to Russia for its war with Ukraine. The Korean Central News Agency said Kim visited factories producing tactical missiles, mobile launch platforms,

North Korea's Kim orders sharp increase in missile production, days before US-South Korea drills
World

Cedric Mullins robs homer in 9th, hits 2-run shot in 10th; AL-best Orioles beat Mariners 5-3

Cedric Mullins robbed Ty France of a homer in the ninth inning and hit a two-run homer in the 10th, and the AL-best Baltimore Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners in extra innings for the second straight day, 5-3 on Sunday. Mullins, who entered in the sixth as a defensive replacement, leaped and reached over the wall in center field to snag France’s deep drive off Mike Baumann. Mullins fell face-first to the warning track with the ball in his glove and pumped his fist as he jumped to his feet. Two pitches later, Dominic Canzone hit a

Cedric Mullins robs homer in 9th, hits 2-run shot in 10th; AL-best Orioles beat Mariners 5-3
World

Glover makes it 2 in a row by winning FedEx Cup opener in a playoff over Cantlay

Lucas Glover made three big putts just to stay in the game and then hit the most important shot — on dry land in a playoff — to beat Patrick Cantlay on the first extra hole and win the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Sunday for his second straight victory. And so the amazing run continues for the 43-year-old Glover, who two weeks was No. 112 in the FedEx Cup and preparing for an early end to his season. Now he is assured the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake and perhaps consideration for the Ryder

Glover makes it 2 in a row by winning FedEx Cup opener in a playoff over Cantlay

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