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Decorated Australian war veteran unlawfully killed prisoners in Afghanistan, judge says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia’s most decorated living war veteran unlawfully killed prisoners and committed other war crimes in Afghanistan, a judge ruled Thursday in dismissing the claims by Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith that he was defamed by media.Federal Court judge Anthony Besanko ruled that the articles published in 2018 were substantially true about a number of war crimes committed by Roberts-Smith, a former Special Air Service Regiment corporal who now is a media company executive.Besanko found Roberts-Smith, who was also awarded the Medal of Gallantry for his Afghan war service, “broke the moral and legal rules of military engagement” and disgraced Australia through his conduct.Proven allegations included that Roberts-Smith, the son of a judge, killed a prisoner who had a prosthetic leg by firing a machine gun into the man’s back in 2009. He kept the man’s prosthetic as a novelty beer drinking vessel.The accusations also included Roberts-Smith had kicked ...

Russian bombardment of Ukraine’s capital kills at least 3 people, wounds others

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched yet another aerial bombardment of Kyiv on Thursday, killing at least three people and wounding others, authorities said.Following a reported 17 drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital in May, Russian forces hit the capital in the early morning with ground-launched missiles. The Kyiv City Administration reported one child was among the dead, and 10 people were wounded. The casualty toll was the most from one attack on Kyiv in the past month. The attack also damaged apartment buildings, a medical clinic, a water pipeline and cars. Earlier, the city government had said that two children were killed before revising the number to one.Ukraine’s General Staff reported that the Air Forces intercepted all 10 missiles, which it identified as short-range Iskander cruise and ballistic missiles.One explosion sent missile fragments ripping into an apartment building in a leafy neighborhood. In the morning light, paramedics escorted an elderly woman ...

Jordan’s royal wedding day gets underway with surprise arrival of Britain’s William and Kate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan’s highly anticipated royal wedding day got underway on Thursday with the surprise announcement that Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate had arrived to witness the nuptials of Crown Prince Hussein and his Saudi Arabian bride.The attendance of the British royals had been kept under wraps, and was only confirmed by Jordanian state media a few hours before the start of the palace ceremony.The wedding of Jordan’s 28-year-old heir to the throne and Rajwa Alseif, a 29-year-old architect linked to her own country’s monarch, emphasizes continuity in an Arab state prized for its longstanding stability. The festivities, which are to start Thursday afternoon, also introduce Hussein to a wider global audience.The celebration buttresses the royal family’s order of succession, refreshes its image after a palace feud and may even help resource-poor Jordan forge a strategic bond with its oil-rich neighbor, Saudi Arabia.On Thursday morn...

European summit opens in Moldova with Ukraine war, regional conflicts on agenda

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

BULBOACA, Moldova (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived at a sprawling summit of some 50 European leaders in Moldova on Thursday, becoming the focal point of an event that seeks to quell regional conflicts and shore up unity in the face of Russia’s war. The meeting of the European Political Community, a pan-continental gathering of heads of state and government from 47 countries, brings together leaders from European Union nations and others to the 27-member bloc’s south and east — a region pushed to a turning point in its relationship with Moscow by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.The EU, represented at the summit by the bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel, wants to use the summit to reach out to many Eastern European countries that spent decades either within the Soviet Union or under its immediate sphere of influence, and to bolster the contin...

North Korean leader’s sister says US hypocritical for criticizing failed satellite launch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday accused the United States of “gangster-like” hypocrisy for criticizing her country’s failed launch of a military spy satellite and insisted a successful launch will be made soon.Kim Yo Jong said North Korea’s efforts to acquire space-based reconnaissance capabilities were a legitimate exercise of its sovereign right and restated the country’s rejection of U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban it from conducting any launch involving ballistic missile technology.Her comments on state media came a day after the rocket carrying the satellite failed. North Korea said the rocket lost thrust after a stage separation and crashed in waters off the Korean Peninsula’s western coast.Washington, South Korea and Japan had quickly criticized the launch. Adam Hodge, a spokesperson at the U.S. National Security Council, said Washington strongly condemns the North Korean launch because it used banned bal...

US defense chief calls China’s refusal to meet unfortunate during visit to Tokyo for talks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stressed the importance of communication during a stopover with talks Thursday in Tokyo, calling it unfortunate that his Chinese counterpart refused to meet him at an annual security conference in Singapore, which both men are attending.On the way to the annual Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit this weekend, Austin held talks with Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada. Noting China’s increasingly assertive military actions in international airspace and waterways in the region, he told a joint news conference in Tokyo, “The provocative intercepts of our aircraft and also our allies’ aircraft, that’s very concerning, and we would hope that they would alter their action.” The United States military said Tuesday that a Chinese fighter jet flew aggressively close to a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea, forcing the American pilot to fly through the turbulent wake.“I’m concerned about at some point having a...

New Zealand police file 5 murder charges against man accused of starting deadly hostel fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand police on Thursday filed five murder charges against the man they say lit a deadly fire at a Wellington hostel two weeks ago.Police had earlier filed arson charges against the 48-year-old man, accusing him of setting fire to a couch and to the hostel itself. He has remained in jail since his arrest two days after the fire.More than 100 people were staying at the four-story Loafers Lodge hostel when the fire tore through the building soon after midnight on May 16. Some people fled in their pajamas, while others were rescued by firefighters from the roof or jumped from windows. The fire caused parts of the roof and a floor to collapse in a pile of debris.Emergency officials said the building had no fire sprinklers, which are not required in many older buildings. New Zealand lawmakers say they are reviewing building regulations to see if they need changing. Among the five men who died in the fire was 67-year-old Mike Wahrlich, a street perform...

EU imposes sanctions on seven Moldovans, cites destabilizing actions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

The European Union on Tuesday (30 May) imposed sanctions on seven people from Moldova for actions it said destabilized and undermined the territorial integrity of the small impoverished country and neighbouring Ukraine.The 27-nation bloc announced the punitive measures two days before more than 40 European leaders meet in Chisinau in a show of support for the former Soviet republic, which has a pro-western government and denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine.The EU, which has offered generous support to Moldovan President Maia Sandu since her election in 2020, also announced it was doubling its grant of macroeconomic support to €290 million.Three of those targeted by the EU have fled Moldova. Two face charges connected to a bank fraud.EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement that the seven were "responsible for actions aimed at destabilizing, undermining or threatening the sovereignty and independence" of Moldova and Ukraine.Sandu accuses Moscow of plotting to unde...

Single family residence sells in Pleasanton for $1.8 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

985 Riesling Drive – Google Street ViewThe spacious property located in the 900 block of Riesling Drive in Pleasanton was sold on April 6, 2023 for $1,805,000, or $879 per square foot. The house, built in 1968, has an interior space of 2,053 square feet. The property features four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a garage as well as two parking spaces. The unit sits on a 0.3-acre lot.These nearby houses have also recently been purchased:A 1,802-square-foot home on the 900 block of Concord Street in Pleasanton sold in June 2022, for $1,600,000, a price per square foot of $888. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In July 2022, a 1,882-square-foot home on Concord Street in Pleasanton sold for $1,789,000, a price per square foot of $951. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Pinot Court, Pleasanton, in December 2022, a 2,975-square-foot home was sold for $1,988,000, a price per square foot of $668. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. 

Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate arrive in Jordan for country’s royal wedding

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:36:11 GMT

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan’s Al Mamlaka TV says Britain’s Prince William and his wife Kate have arrived in Jordan to attend the highly anticipated wedding of Jordan’s crown prince and a Saudi architect.Jordan’s royal court had been mum about whether Britain’s heir to the throne and his wife would attend Thursday’s ceremony. The report by the TV station, which is see as close to the court, marks the first confirmation.The guest list also includes other senior royals from Europe and Asia, along with First Lady Jill Biden.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — The future king of Jordan and an architect from Saudi Arabia linked to her country’s own monarchy are getting married on Thursday in a palace celebration that introduces him to the world and emphasizes continuity in an Arab state prized for its longstanding stability.The union of Crown Prince Hussein, 28, and Rajwa Alseif, 29, buttresses the royal family’s order of succession,...