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Desperate Ukrainians take long and uncertain journey to escape Russian occupation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:54:48 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — For Rima Yaremenko, the 5,000-kilometer (3,000-mile) odyssey to escape Russian occupation ended within sight of where it started. The 68-year old Ukrainian woman traversed three countries over six days only to settle across the river from her beleaguered hometown.She came a long way by bus through Russia, Latvia and Poland to be this close. From the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kherson, where she now lives, the faint outline of Oleshky is visible from a distance. But the community with a prewar population of 25,000 may as well be a world away.Yaremenko lived under Moscow’s rule for 15 months, putting up with the rumble of constant shelling just be near her beloved home and blooming garden. Then it was gone after the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in June triggered catastrophic flooding and reduced the property to clay.She faced a tough choice: Endure homelessness as the war raged nearby or take the only way out — a long, circuitous and uncertain journey t...

EU faces cliffhanger vote on major bill protecting nature and fighting climate change

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:54:48 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Protesters and legislators converged on the European Union parliament Tuesday as the bloc faces a major vote on protecting its threatened nature and shielding it from disruptive environmental change, in a test of the EU’s global climate credentials.Spurred on by climate activist Greta Thunberg, hundreds of demonstrators were set to demand that the EU pushes through a bill to beef up the restoration of nature in the 27-nation bloc that was damaged during decades of industrial expansion.Inside the legislature in Strasbourg, France, parliamentarians were bracing ahead of Wednesday’s vote for a brutal debate over whether to push the plan off the table. The legislature’s environment committee last month was deadlocked at 44-44 on it.“We urge them to not reject it but vote for the strongest law possible. To mitigate the climate crisis and halt biodiversity loss, we must #RestoreNature,” Thunberg wrote on her Twitter feed.The bill is a key part of the EU’s vaunted Eur...

Hong Kong will ban more products from Japan if treated wastewater is discharged, its leader says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:54:48 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader warned Tuesday that the city will ban marine products from “a large number prefectures” if Japan discharges treated radioactive wastewater into the sea.Chief Executive John Lee said in a press briefing that his government would err on the side of caution because the planned release of wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean is an unprecedented exercise. He said he has to take the issue seriously because it affects not only the current population of Hong Kong but also the next generation.“The action we will take, if the exercise really starts, is that we will be banning a large number (of) prefectures’ sea products,” he said. But he did not name which prefectures and what products will be affected. A massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant’s cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt and releasing large amounts of radiation. The tanks storing the ...

In US Southwest, residents used to scorching summers are still sweating out extreme heat wave

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:54:48 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Even Southwestern desert residents accustomed to scorching summers are feeling the grip of an extreme heat wave smacking Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Southern California this week with 100-degree-plus temps and excessive heat warnings.To add insult to injury, the region has been left high and dry with no monsoon activity, which can help offset the blazing temperatures. In Arizona, the monsoon season officially begins June 15 and can bring powerful storms with high winds, lightning and heavy bursts of rain. In Phoenix, Martin Brown and his black Labrador, Sammy, escaped the heat Monday in the lobby of Circle the City, an air-conditioned walk-in health clinic for homeless people that is also a designated hydration station. Anyone can come in, sit and get bottled water or snacks like a burrito or ramen. “We’re homeless, so we don’t have a choice. Well, we have a choice: We can sit at the park and swelter in the heat, but no thank you. This is much better,” Brown said....

Lancang-Mekong co-operation media summit kicks off, aims at brighter future

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:54:48 GMT

Recently, the 2023 Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Media Summit hosted by People's Daily kicked off in Beijing, write Yang Ou, Qiang Wei and Qu Song, People's Daily.Themed "Promoting People-to-people Bonds for a Better Shared Future," the summit was joined by over 130 representatives from relevant departments and mainstream media of China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, who had in-depth exchanges on promoting economic recovery and deepening media co-operation.Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) mechanism has achieved fruitful results since it was initiated in 2016. It has demonstrated a Lancang-Mekong speed and efficiency, and fostered a Lancang-Mekong culture featuring equal treatment, sincerity, mutual assistance and family-like closeness.President of People's Daily Tuo Zhen said in his speech that it is important that media outlets dig deep into the concrete actions and measures of LMC to demonstrate its progress and potential, and present the tangible benefits created by...

Ground continues to shift in Rolling Hills Estates; 12 homes destroyed, 16 being monitored

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:54:48 GMT

The devastating scene of homes destroyed, and residents evacuated after a massive landslide Saturday night in a Los Angeles County neighborhood continues with the ground shifting another 20 feet in the last 24 hours.  Officials now say it’s only a matter of time before some of the homes on Peartree Lane in Rolling Hills Estates, on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, tumble down the steep canyon.  According to the L.A. County Fire Department, reported cracks led crews to find that damage had progressed to neighboring residences, prompting evacuations. SoCal Edison shut off power in the area, and Southern California Gas Company crews were called in to make sure no gas lines had been ruptured.   “I’ve heard a lot of popping,” Peartree Lane resident Greg Brooks told KTLA. “We’ve watch this over the last four days now, 96 hours basically.”  Brooks spent most of Monday packing his belongings, putting moving boxes into a U-Haul truck after calling Rolling Hills Estat...

Sylmar residents raise concerns about nearby RV encampment

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:54:48 GMT

Residents in a Sylmar neighborhood are raising concerns about a nearby illegal, makeshift RV park due to unsanitary conditions that pose major health and safety concerns. Neighbors gathered at the Sylmar Neighborhood Council Public Safety Meeting on Monday to discuss their expectations regarding 20 RV’s located at 14,000 Hubbard Street. Residents are calling for the RV’s to be cleaned up and for the residents living in them to be rehoused. “I don’t have peace in my own house, in my own house, I have to live with doors and windows closed,” said Maria Macias, who lives directly behind the RV encampment. Residents in a Sylmar neighborhood are raising concerns about a nearby illegal, makeshift RV park due to unsanitary conditions that pose major health and safety concerns. (Source: KTLA)Macias says she’s contacted her representative, Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez of Los Angeles and San Fernando, but feels her concerns have gone unanswered. “It’s been just saying all ...

Average rent in this California city just surpassed San Francisco

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:54:48 GMT

Rent prices may be cooling off nationally, but they continue to rise in California’s largest cities - many of which rank among the priciest in the U.S.According to Zillow’s rent report for June 2023, six California cities are listed among the nation's top ten most expensive rental markets. This includes apartments, condominiums, townhomes and detached single-family homes.If you think Los Angeles and San Francisco are the priciest in the Golden State, think again. Renters in San Jose are paying an average of $3,411 per month, making it the most expensive rental market in the U.S., according to Zillow. It is so competitive that landlords see an average of 11 potential renters for every Silicon Valley apartment that becomes available, the San Jose Mercury News reports.Also, for the first time ever, rent in San Diego has surpassed San Francisco.Renters in America’s Finest City are now paying an average of $3,175 per month, slightly higher than those who live in the City by the Bay ($3,1...

Puppies abandoned outside grocery now store up for adoption in Thousand Oaks

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:54:48 GMT

Three puppies abandoned outside a Bakersfield grocery store are now up for adoption at a shelter in Thousand Oaks and a $2,500 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the man responsible for dumping the animals.  Surveillance video captured a man pulling into the parking lot of Grocery Outlet in Bakersfield, opening his hatchback and pushing three Wheaton-Poodle puppies out his vehicle before driving off.  Fortunately, one of the store’s cashiers found the three animals, all of whom are under a year old.  Shelter Hope Pet Shop in Thousand Oaks rescued the three puppies, now named Trixie, Rick and Alvin, had them vaccinated, spayed and neutered. The shelter is now facilitating the animals’ adoptions. Trixie, Rick and Alvin, Wheaton-Poodle puppies, abandoned outside a Bakersfield grocery store, are now up for adoption in Thousand Oaks at Shelter Hope Pet Shop. Surveillance video captured a man dumping three puppies outside a groce...

12 Palos Verdes Homes Fall Into Canyon After Landslide

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:54:48 GMT

After a weekend of noticeable foundation cracks caused by a landslide, 12 homes in the Rolling Hills Estates crumbled into a canyon Monday.Residents in the Peachtree Lane area were forced to evacuate Saturday night as the cracks in the homes soon turned visible movement.Update: Significant land movement overnight has completely destroyed the homes along a canyon on Peartree Lane here in Rolling Hills Estates.This is just devastating for these residents. My office is ready to offer any assistance we can provide to these families and the city. https://t.co/84gQ0eB9RF pic.twitter.com/eG8oO03oAS— Janice Hahn (@SupJaniceHahn) July 9, 2023By Sunday afternoon, the homes were almost completely collapsed, with the walls and roofs nearly at ground level.By Monday afternoon, the homes were slowly sinking into the canyon behind them.“This is just devastating for these residents,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who represents the area as part of the 4th county district, s...