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US plans to build a $553 million terminal at Sri Lanka’s Colombo port in rivalry with China

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:32 GMT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The U.S. announced a $553- million project Wednesday to build a new, deep-water shipping container terminal in the Port of Colombo as it competes with China in international development financing.The project, financed with private loans, is billed as providing critical infrastructure for the South Asian nation with the potential to “transform Colombo into a world-class logistics hub at the intersection of major shipping routes and emerging markets,” according to the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. The DFC’s commitment of $553 million in private loans for the West Container Terminal will “expand its shipping capacity, creating greater prosperity for Sri Lanka — without adding to sovereign debt — while at the same strengthening the position of our allies across the region,” said DFC Chief Executive Officer Scott Nathan. The U.S.-backed financing comes at a time when Sri Lanka is struggling to recover from a dire financial and economic...

Ivanka Trump set to testify in civil fraud trial, following her father’s heated turn on the stand

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Her father gave caustic testimony. Her brothers each spent more than a day on the witness stand.Now it’s Ivanka Trump’s turn to face questioning in the civil fraud trial that is publicly probing into the family business. Ex-President Donald Trump’s eldest daughter, who has been in his inner circle in both business and politics, is due on the stand Wednesday, after trying unsuccessfully to block her testimony. Unlike her father and her brothers, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., she is no longer a defendant in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit. James alleges that Donald Trump’s asset values were fraudulently pumped up for years on financial statements that helped him get loans and insurance. The non-jury trial will decide allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records — but Judge Arthur Engoron already has resolved the lawsuit’s top claim by ruling that Trump engaged in fraud. That decision ...

Governments plan more fossil fuel production despite climate pledges, report says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:32 GMT

Despite frequent and devastating heat waves, droughts, floods and fire, major fossil fuel-producing countries still plan to extract more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than is consistent with the Paris climate accord’s goal for limiting global temperature rise, according to a United Nations-backed study released Wednesday.Coal production needs to ramp sharply down to address climate change, but government plans and projections would lead to increases in global production until 2030, and in global oil and gas production until at least 2050, the Production Gap Report states. This conflicts with government commitments under the climate accord, which seeks to keep global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). The report examines the disparity between climate goals and fossil fuel extraction plans, a gap that has remained largely unchanged since it was first quantified in 2019.“Governments’ plans to expand fossil fuel production are undermini...

Want to tune in for the third GOP presidential debate? Here’s how to watch

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:32 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — It’s time for the third Republican presidential debate, and there’s going to be an even smaller lineup onstage than the last gathering.Here’s all of the information on how to watch:What time is the Republican debate? The two-hour debate will start at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday. It’s being moderated by NBC’s Lester Holt and Kristen Welker, as well as nationally syndicated Salem Radio Network talk show host Hugh Hewitt.What channel is the Republican debate on?NBC says the event will air on its television, streaming and digital platforms, including streaming on NBCNews.com. As with the other two debates, the Republican National Committee has partnered with Rumble — a video-sharing platform popular with some conservatives — to livestream this one, in lieu of the network’s YouTube channel. RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said earlier this year this was a decision aimed toward “getting away from Big Tech.”Where is the Republican debate?The setting for the third GOP ...

Can Nikki Haley take a big step forward? What to watch during the Republican debate

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Five Republicans will appear on stage Wednesday night in Miami for the GOP’s third presidential primary debate. The group is the smallest to qualify for the debate stage so far, but it’s unclear whether the increased airtime for the shrinking group will fundamentally change the 2024 Republican presidential nomination fight. Donald Trump remains the overwhelming front-runner in the race. He has decided to skip this debate, as he has the first two, citing his big polling advantage. Almost exactly one year after he launched his 2024 campaign, a clear Trump alternative has yet to emerge.Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who was expected to fill that role earlier in the year, is stuck in a fierce fight for second place. He’s betting that a strong debate performance — two days after winning the endorsement of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds — will help convince a skeptical GOP that he has fully recovered from his early stumbles. Nikki Haley, the former United Nations amb...

Third GOP debate will focus on Israel and foreign policy, but also on who could beat Donald Trump

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:32 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Foreign policy and the Israel-Hamas war are expected to be prominent in Wednesday’s third Republican primary debate, as a narrowing field of candidates seeks to cut into Donald Trump’s lead without being able to challenge the former president in person.Trump will again skip the debate in Miami, instead holding a rally in a nearby suburb. He says he won’t participate due to his large lead in national and early state polls.With voting set to start in leadoff Iowa in January, no one has thus far been able to shake Trump’s dominance of the Republican primary. Many of the candidates have gone after each other hoping to break out as a viable alternative to the former president, emphasizing their differences on foreign policy but also ripping Trump for his criticisms of the Israeli prime minister and claims that a group attacking Israel was “very smart.”Republican strategist David Kochel, who has advised several past presidential campaigns, said despite Trump...

CMA Awards set to honor country’s superstars and emerging acts and pay tribute to Jimmy Buffett

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:32 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The CMA Awards are back Wednesday to honor the top artists in country music, with Lainey Wilson, Jelly Roll, Ashley McBryde and Morgan Wallen among the acts hitting the stage.Wilson is the leading nominee for the second year in a row, competing for entertainer of the year along with Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs.Stapleton, Dan + Shay and the War and Treaty are among the performers scheduled to take the stage at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. The show airs live on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern and will stream the next day on Hulu.Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning will host the ceremony, which will feature a musical tribute to the late singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett.Wilson is up for nine awards, including her collaborations with HARDY (“Wait in the Truck”) and Jelly Roll (“Save Me.”) Rapper-turned-singer Jelly Roll, who earlier this year topped the CMT Music Awards, has five nominations, including best new arti...

India bars protests that support the Palestinians. Analysts say a pro-Israel shift helps at home

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:32 GMT

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — From Western capitals to Muslim states, protest rallies over the Israel-Hamas war have made headlines. But one place known for its vocal pro-Palestinian stance has been conspicuously quiet: Indian-controlled Kashmir.Indian authorities have barred any solidarity protest in Muslim-majority Kashmir and asked Muslim preachers not to mention the conflict in their sermons, residents and religious leaders told The Associated Press.The restrictions are part of India’s efforts to curb any form of protest that could turn into demands for ending New Delhi’s rule in the disputed region. They also reflect a shift in India’s foreign policy under populist Prime Minister Narendra Modi away from its long-held support for the Palestinians, analysts say.India has long walked a tightrope between the warring sides, with historically close ties to both. While India strongly condemned the Oct. 7 attack by the militant group Hamas and expressed solidarity with Israe...

Americans divided over Israel response to Hamas attacks, AP-NORC poll shows

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans have become more likely to describe Israel as an ally that shares U.S. interests and values since the war with Hamas began, but they’re divided over whether Israel has gone too far in its response to last month’s attack, according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.The survey, which was conducted from Nov. 2 to 6, also reveals skepticism among Democrats toward Israel, which could present a challenge for President Joe Biden as he tries to balance support for the country’s defense and his party’s shifting priorities.The result is a rather muddled picture that presents few easy options for the White House as it keeps one eye on public opinion with an election year on the horizon.“It’s just so complicated,” said Carolyn Reyes, a 36-year-old Democrat in New York. “And I will not even pretend to understand the complicated nature of the relationship between the United States and Israel.”During an August po...

Two residents in the tiny Caribbean island of Barbuda fight government in land rights case

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:32 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — When Hurricane Irma slammed into the tiny Caribbean island of Barbuda as a powerful Category 5 storm in 2017, the government temporarily evacuated the entire population of some 1,600.Even before many of them had trickled back, U.S. developers were allowed in and given permission to build an airport and luxury resort, a project that has angered islanders and that the U.N. warns is a danger to a wetland and other fragile environments. Barbudans have been waging largely unsuccessful legal fights against the project. But two islanders are to appear Wednesday before the London-based Privy Council, hoping to win a ruling that will lead to local communities having the right to protect pristine lands coveted by foreign investors amid the climate crisis.The Privy Council, which is the final court of appeal for the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, is being asked whether Jacklyn Frank, a former member of Barbuda’s local governing council, and scient...