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Desperate people dig out dead and injured from quakes that killed over 2,000 in Afghanistan.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:58:22 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Men dug through rubble with their bare hands and shovels in western Afghanistan Sunday in desperate attempts to pull victims from the wreckage left by powerful earthquakes that killed at least 2,000 people. Entire villages were flattened, bodies were trapped under collapsed houses and locals waited for help without even shovels to dig out bodies.Living and dead, victims were trapped under rubble, their faces grey with dust.“Most people were shocked ... some couldn’t even talk. But there were others who couldn’t stop crying and shouting,” photographer Omid Haqjoo, who visited four villages Sunday, told The Associated Press by phone from Afghanistan’s fourth largest city, Herat.Saturday’s magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit a densely populated area near Herat. It was followed by strong aftershocks. A Taliban government spokesman on Sunday provided the toll that, if confirmed, would make it one of the deadliest earthquakes to strike the country in two decades. An earthquake t...

Blinken: US ‘working overtime’ to confirm reports Americans among those killed in Israel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:58:22 GMT

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that U.S. officials have received reports that several Americans have been killed in Israel as a result of Hamas’s attacks on the country. In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Blinken said the U.S. is working to verify those reports. “Yes, we have reports that several Americans were killed,” Blinken told CNN’s Dana Bash when asked whether Americans were killed or kidnapped in Israel.“We're working overtime to verify that. At the same time, there are reports of missing Americans, and there again, we're working to verify those reports,” Blinken said. Blinken’s comments come after the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in decades Saturday, killing an estimated 500 Israelis, according to reports. Blinken reiterated American support for Israel and described the war as “a massive terrorist attack on Israeli civilians, indiscriminate firing of rockets against civilia...

Five people injured in Oakland shootings Saturday night

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:58:22 GMT

OAKLAND — Five people, one a 16-year-old girl, were injured in four Oakland shootings that happened within 3.5 hours Saturday night, authorities said.The shootings do not appear to be related at this time, authorities said.A shooting that left two men wounded happened about 7:53 p.m. Saturday outside in the 5900 block of San Pablo Avenue in North Oakland.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | East Bay pursuit following robbery ends in highway crash Crime and Public Safety | One dead, one arrested following three-person stabbing in Union City Crime and Public Safety | In Fremont, two carjackings lead to four arrests. All the suspects are juveniles Crime and Public Safety | Oakland man settles pimping case with plea deal, two-year prison term Crime and Public Safety | 2 girls got into a fight at an East Bay high school. Three days later, one of their cousins allegedly shot up the other girl’s hom...

Investigators: Pilot error was cause of 2021 plane crash that killed 4 in Michigan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:58:22 GMT

BEAVER ISLAND, Mich. (AP) — A pilot’s error during landing caused a 2021 plane crash that killed four people on a Michigan island, federal investigators concluded. The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigated the Nov. 13, 2021 crash on Beaver Island, said in a report released Thursday that the pilot lost control during landing and crashed 300 feet (91 meters) from the airport’s runway.While approaching the airport, the plane was observed flying slowly and “‘wallowing’ as if nobody was flying,” the report said. The pilot exceeded the “airplane’s critical angle of attack during final approach, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control at an altitude too low to recover,” according to the NTSB report. The pilot and three others were killed in the crash; a young girl survived.The pilot was flying for Island Airways, which takes travelers between Beaver Island in northern Lake Michigan and Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula. Source

A surge in rail traffic on North Korea-Russia border suggests arms supply to Russia, think tank says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:58:22 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Recent satellite photos show a sharp increase in rail traffic along the North Korea-Russia border, indicating the North is supplying munitions to Russia, according to a U.S. think tank.Speculation about a possible North Korean plan to refill Russia’s munition stores drained in its protracted war with Ukraine flared last month, when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un traveled to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin and visit key military sites. Foreign officials suspect Kim is seeking sophisticated Russian weapons technologies in return for the munition to boost his nuclear program.“Given that Kim and Putin discussed some military exchanges and cooperation at their recent summit, the dramatic increase in rail traffic likely indicates North Korea’s supply of arms and munitions to Russia,” Beyond Parallel, a website run by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said in a report Friday.“However, the extensive use o...

Boniface scores again and Leverkusen returns to top of Bundesliga with 3-0 win over Cologne

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:58:22 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Victor Boniface scored again Sunday as Bayer Leverkusen returned to the top of the Bundesliga with a 3-0 win over local rival Cologne.The Nigeria forward completed the scoring in the 68th minute against Cologne, which had won on its previous two visits to Leverkusen but remains bottom with just one point from its opening seven games.Jonas Hofmann opened the scoring in the 22nd when he swept the ball inside the right post after Florian Wirtz set him up with his heel. Boniface had some fortune in the buildup with the bounce of the ball but the visitors’ protests for hand ball were dismissed. Cologne coach Steffen Baumgart was booked for his reaction, as was Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong for telling the referee to book Baumgart.Leverkusen was dominating play and Alex Grimaldo whipped the ball across the face of goal for Frimpong to score the second in the 32nd.Cologne goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe prevented Frimpong from scoring Leverkusen’s third early in the second half, bu...

Biden eyeing major weapons transfer to Israel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:58:22 GMT

The Biden administration is working to fulfill Israel’s request to urgently transfer weapons to Tel Aviv, according to a U.S. official and second person familiar with the talks, a day after Hamas militants launched an unprecedented wave of attacks on southern Israel in a conflict that threatens to erupt into a wider war.Israeli officials have asked the U.S. to transfer specific weapons systems, said the people, who were granted anonymity to speak ahead of any announcement, and Washington is working to make that happen. They did not say what those weapons were, citing operational security.The weapons transfers could be part of a new package of assistance for Israel, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN Sunday morning the administration would make public later in the day.“We are looking at specific additional requests that the Israelis have made. I think you’re likely to hear more about that later today,” Blinken told CNN.‘We are at war’: Netanyahu responds to ...

Israel war with Hamas escalates; death toll for both sides tops 900

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:58:22 GMT

Israeli soldiers battled Hamas fighters in southern Israel on Sunday and launched retaliation strikes that demolished buildings in Gaza as Israel responded to the massive surprise attack by the Hamas militant group on the country on Saturday.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “mighty vengeance” against Hamas after the militants killed hundreds of Israelis and took numerous captives. Israel’s security cabinet officially declared war and Israeli forces began positioning tanks and artillery in the border region with the Gaza Strip.Hamas took the captives back into the Gaza enclave, including women, children and the elderly, who they will likely try to trade for thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, according to media reports.The death toll in Israel has risen to 600, according to several local media outlets; while in Gaza officials said 313 people had died. An Israeli military official said hundreds of militants had been killed and dozens cap...

Brandeis University professor’s daughter, son-in-law among hundreds killed during attacks on Israel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:58:22 GMT

A Brandeis University professor’s daughter and son-in-law were among those killed in Israel after Hamas militants launched a series of attacks that has since turned into all-out war.The university confirmed on Sunday that family members of Ilan Troen, a Professor Emeritus of Israel Studies, had been killed in the conflict that has so far left at least 900 people dead and thousands more wounded.“We at Brandeis are deeply saddened to learn that Professor Troen has lost his daughter and son-in-law in the tragic events that are currently taking place in Israel,” Brandeis University President Ron Liebowitz stated. “Ilan, a Brandeis alumnus, and his family have long been treasured members of the Brandeis community, and we hold Ilan, his wife Carol, and his entire family in our thoughts. We condemn in the strongest way terrorism such as we have seen today perpetrated against innocent civilians and what has amounted to a multi-pronged war launched by Hamas.”As ...

Boston University Bridge closed to traffic as crews respond to encampment fire in Cambridge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:58:22 GMT

Authorities have been diverting traffic at the Boston University Bridge after a fire broke out at an encampment under the structure in Cambridge, according to police.Massachusetts State Police announced the bridge had been closed to all traffic just before 1 p.m. on Sunday “due to a fire at a homeless encampment on the Cambridge side.”https://twitter.com/MassStatePolice/status/1711061231103053855The Cambridge Fire Department said it had been responding to the encampment where it appeared propane tanks in the encampment were involved in the blaze.By 12:45 p.m., the department said the majority of the heavy fire had been knocked down but that firefighters had been evacuated from the area.Cambridge FD also noted that a search for residents had come up “negative.”https://twitter.com/CambridgeMAFire/status/1711060562363171148