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Asia-Pacific leaders condemn war, renew calls for open trade

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Asia-Pacific leaders condemn war, renew calls for open trade

BANGKOK (AP) — Leaders from across the Asia-Pacific known as for an finish to Russia’s warfare on Ukraine and pledged to steer the area’s economies towards sustainable development as they wrapped up summit conferences Saturday.

Host Thailand garnered a diplomatic coup in managing to bridge divisions among the many 21 members of the Asia-Pacific Financial Cooperation discussion board by saying that almost all members had condemned the warfare. Russia is an APEC member, as is China, which typically has avoided criticizing Moscow.

The declaration issued by APEC leaders acknowledged differing views on the warfare and stated the discussion board, which is devoted largely to selling commerce and nearer financial ties, was not a venue for resolving such conflicts.

However it famous that the warfare and different safety points can “can have vital penalties for the worldwide economic system.”

It stated most members had strongly condemned the warfare in Ukraine and pressured it’s inflicting immense human struggling and worsening inflation, provide chain troubles, meals insecurity and monetary dangers.

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The assertion echoed the wording of a March 2 United Nations Normal Meeting decision that “deplores within the strongest phrases the aggression by the Russian Federation in opposition to Ukraine and calls for its full and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine.”

In different developments Saturday, a White Home official stated U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris exchanged transient remarks with Chinese language President Xi Jinping earlier than the ultimate APEC assembly started, calling for either side to maintain traces of communication open.

The 21-member Asia-Pacific Financial Cooperation discussion board ’s long-term mission is selling nearer financial ties, however its summits usually are sidetracked by different extra pressing points.

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha opened Saturday’s assembly by urging the leaders to push forward with APEC’s agenda of selling free commerce within the Pacific area.

“We’ve to provide precedence to turning this plan into motion,” Prayuth stated.

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The conferences Saturday wrap up a flurry of leaders’ conferences in Southeast Asian nations this week. A lot of the exercise at such summits happens on the sidelines and within the interludes earlier than and after conferences start.

The U.S. Vice President and leaders of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea met individually Friday to voice issues about North Korea’s launch earlier within the day of an intercontinental ballistic missile that landed close to Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido.

The summits over the previous week gave leaders an opportunity for face-to-face encounters which have been uncommon previously two years as a result of pandemic.

Each at APEC in Thailand and on the G-20 assembly in Indonesia, officers seem to have chosen to conform to disagree in regards to the warfare. In each Bangkok and Bali, nations that had refused to sentence the invasion avoided blocking the discharge of statements harshly criticizing Moscow.

APEC members account for practically 4 of each 10 folks and nearly half of world commerce. A lot of APEC’s work is technical and incremental, carried out by senior officers and ministers, masking areas resembling commerce, forestry, well being, meals, safety, small- and medium-size enterprises and ladies’s empowerment.

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Different APEC members embrace Brunei, Chile, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, who was to signify the Affiliation of Southeast Asian Nations however didn’t attend after getting COVID-19.

The summit venue, at Bangkok’s most important conference heart close to an unlimited parkland, was cordoned off with some streets closed to site visitors. Riot police stood guard behind barricades at a serious intersection, conserving protesters effectively at bay.

However police clashed in one other space of Bangkok with demonstrators who took the chance of the APEC assembly to resume requires democratic reforms in Thailand and accuse the federal government of selling insurance policies to APEC that favor large enterprise over unusual folks.

Police blocked them, sparking a violent confrontation with some protesters tossing particles and different gadgets at police, who then charged the gang, taking pictures rubber bullets. A number of folks had been injured and plenty of arrests had been made within the standoff, which lasted a number of hours.

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Related Press journalists Grant Peck, Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul, Tian McLeod Ji, David Rising, Chisato Tanaka, Jerry Harmer and Tassanee Vejpongsa contributed to this report.

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Observe AP’s APEC protection at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific-economic-cooperation

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Jay-Z’s Accuser Can Remain Anonymous, Judge Criticizes His Lawyer’s ‘Relentless’ Filings

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Jay-Z’s Accuser Can Remain Anonymous, Judge Criticizes His Lawyer’s ‘Relentless’ Filings

The woman accusing Jay-Z and Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexually assaulting her when she was 13 can proceed anonymously (“at least for now”) in her lawsuit against the rappers, a judge ruled Thursday.

New York Judge Analisa Torres also condemned the legal team representing Jay-Z (real name Shawn Carter) for the “relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks [on accuser’s lawyer, Tony Buzbee],” according to a court order obtained by Variety. “Since Carter’s attorney first appeared in this case seventeen days ago, he has submitted a litany of letters and motions attempting to impugn the character of Plaintiff’s lawyer [Buzbee].”

Judge Torres continues, calling the complaints “inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources, and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client [Jay-Z].”

Jane Doe, who filed her original lawsuit against Combs in October, and re-filed it with Carter’s name in early December, will remain anonymous at this early stage of the litigation. She could still be required by the court to reveal her identity.

Alex Spiro, a lawyer for Carter, recently asked the judge to dismiss the entertainer from the woman’s lawsuit. He cited a report from NBC News that revealed the accuser had admitted to some “inconsistencies and outright impossibilities” in her allegations. His team has also issued public statements referring to Buzbee as a “1-800 lawyer” who is “in the pursuit of money and fame.”

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Judge Torres denied Carter’s request to dismiss the case. Representatives for Carter did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.

In the last few weeks, Buzbee issued his own lawsuit against Roc Nation, the entertainment company owned by Carter, claiming they are using “shadowy operatives” to bribe his former clients into filing “frivolous” complaints against him. Carter has also sued Buzbee for defamation.

Jane Doe, who alleges she was 13 when Combs and Carter raped her in 2000, says she encountered the pair at an afterparty for the MTV Music Video Awards.

Carter responded to the allegation almost immediately. “You have made a terrible error in judgment thinking that all ‘celebrities’ are the same,” Carter wrote in a letter addressing Buzbee. “I’m not from your moral world. I’m a young man who made it out of the project of Brooklyn. We don’t play these types of games. We have very strict codes and honor. We protect children, you seem to exploit people for personal gain. Only your network of conspiracy theorists, fake physics, will believe the idiotic claims you have levied against me that, if not for the seriousness surrounding harm to kids, would be laughable.”

Combs has been held in a Brooklyn jail since September. He will remain there until his trial is scheduled to begin in May.

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China unveils world's largest amphibious warship

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China unveils world's largest amphibious warship

China has launched the first of its new line of amphibious assault ships and its biggest warship yet, strengthening what is already the world’s largest navy.

The Sichuan, a type 076 new-generation amphibious assault ship, was put into the water at a launch and naming ceremony on Friday. 

With a full load displacement of 40,000 tons, the warship ranks among the world’s largest amphibious assault ships, featuring a dual-island superstructure and full-length flight deck, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) said in a statement.

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A launching ceremony is held to unveil China’s first Type 076 new-generation amphibious assault ship, the Sichuan, at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, a Shanghai-based subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp, on December 27, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (Pu Haiyang/VCG via Getty Images)

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China Bugle, an news outlet associated with the PLAN’s news media center, reported the ship will play a key role in transforming and developing the Chinese navy and enhancing its combat capabilities in the far seas. 

The Sichuan is capable of launching fighter jets and unmanned drones from an electromagnetic catapult. It is designed to carry ground troops in landing craft with air support. 

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China Launches First Type 076 Amphibious Assault Ship

Named after southwest China’s Sichuan Province, the independently-developed new vessel was put into the water at a launch and naming ceremony. (Pu Haiyang/VCG via Getty Images)

The ship also features “arrester technology” that Chinese researchers boast will allow fighter jets to land on its deck, similar to an aircraft carrier.

China launched its first amphibious assault ship, a type 075 class warship called the Hainan, in 2019.

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Launch ceremony for the Sichuan

Chinese military officials celebrate at the launch ceremony for the Sichuan.  (Pu Haiyang/VCG via Getty Images)

The PLANmi has been working on modernizing its forces for more than a decade, with the aim of being able to operate globally rather than being restricted to waters near the Chinese mainland. China first managed to launch fighter jets with the new electromagnetic technology on its homemade aircraft carrier, the Fujian, which launched two years ago.

The Sichuan will now undergo additional tests at sea. 

China has the largest navy in the world and is consistently trying to upgrade its fleet. Recently, researchers found that the country is working on designing a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which would allow it to deploy its ships in distant waters without needing a base to refuel.

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The U.S. Navy currently has 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers deployed in strategic locations globally, including in the Asia-Pacific.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Health worker displaced by Israeli attacks in Gaza dies of ‘extreme cold’

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Health worker displaced by Israeli attacks in Gaza dies of ‘extreme cold’

Many people in Gaza lack adequate shelter and are malnourished after more than a year of Israeli attacks and blockades.

A Palestinian healthcare worker has died due to “extreme” weather conditions, according to a statement by the enclave’s Ministry of Health, as severe cold compounds the hardship faced by people displaced by Israel’s relentless attacks.

The body of Al-Hakim Ahmed al-Zaharneh, who worked at the European Gaza Hospital, was found inside his tent in al-Mawasi area, west of the city of Khan Younis, southern Gaza, the ministry said on Friday.

“This incident comes in light of the difficult humanitarian conditions that displaced citizens are experiencing, as the suffering of Gaza residents increases due to low temperatures and the lack of heating means in tents,” the ministry said.

The ministry said earlier that four Palestinian babies have died in tents in recent days amid the cold weather and widespread malnutrition.

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Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said that the number of casualties in vulnerable groups is increasing due to worsening weather conditions.

“For 14 months now, people here have been lacking basic necessities to help them survive these difficult conditions – even in summer,” he said.

“Now in winter, the temperature has dropped very low, [and] people in tent camps feel the cold as being [colder] than the actual levels.”

He said that mothers often lack the strength or ability to breastfeed as they are malnourished and unwell.

“The conditions are worse for vulnerable groups like babies and, in the absence of [humanitarian aid], it is natural that deaths will happen.”

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The vast majority of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million residents have been displaced at least once since war broke out with the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, 2023, with many people living in tents that offer little protection from the cold, rain and flooding.

The United Nations and other organisations have repeatedly decried the worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza, as Israeli attacks and blockades severely curtail access to food, water, medicine and other supplies.

A leading United States government organisation monitoring food crises around the world withdrew a new report this week warning of imminent famine in north Gaza under what it called Israel’s “near-total blockade,” after the US asked for its retraction, US officials told The Associated Press.

The move follows public criticism of the report from the US ambassador to Israel.

The report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) had warned that a “famine scenario” was unfolding in northern Gaza where Israel launched a renewed offensive in early October.

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Meanwhile, on Friday, the director of Gaza’s Health Ministry told Al Jazeera that Israeli forces stormed the Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few remaining medical facilities in north Gaza, and forced the 350 people there to evacuate, including all the patients and staff. He said contact with the hospital had been lost.

Israel’s war in Gaza has killed at least 45,436 Palestinians and wounded 108,038 since October 7, 2023, according to figures released on Friday by Gaza’s Health Ministry.

An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day and more than 200 were taken captive.

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