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Colombia’s president has a plan for ‘total peace.’ But militias aren’t putting down their guns yet

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:31:28 GMT

BUENAVENTURA, Colombia (AP) — Officers wade through rows of abandoned wooden homes teetering above a mangrove-cloaked river – one of the key channels used by gangs to move drugs and weapons through this long-neglected swath of Colombia’s Pacific coast.Each step for them is a reminder: Control here remains not with the law, but with those whose names are spoken in whispers in their city. Los Shottas and Los Espartanos.The two gangs are the latest to lay siege to Buenaventura, Colombia’s busiest port and the crown jewel of narcotrafficking routes, the jump point from which drugs pour out to the rest of the world. Now, they’re among a growing set of armed groups lining up to negotiate peace deals with Colombia’s new government. Upon his historic election last year, Colombia’s rebel-turned-president Gustavo Petro promised to cement “total peace” and end one of the world’s longest-running conflicts. But as his government moves to fulfill that bold promise, Buenaventura has grown to exemp...

Brazil’s Lula pitches his nation – and himself – as fresh leader for Global South

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:31:28 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — “Brazil is back.” That has been Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s refrain for the better part of the last year, with the president deploying the snappy slogan to cast Brazil — and himself — as a leader of the Global South no longer content to abide the world’s outdated workings.Last year, Lula thwarted the reelection bid of the far-right Jair Bolsonaro, who showed little interest in geopolitics or diplomacy during his four years in office. Lula, by contrast, has crisscrossed the globe and visited 21 countries in recent months, from the United States to China, Italy to India, Argentina to Angola. He has sought to boost Brazil’s cred with each state visit and speech, one multilateral forum after another. On Tuesday, his address at the U.N. General Assembly will mark his return to that rostrum for the first time since 2009, the last year of his previous presidency’s second term.“We will see references to the ‘Brazil is back’ narrative, as Brazil seeks ...

North Korea says Kim Jong Un is back home from Russia, where he deepened ‘comradely’ ties with Putin

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:31:28 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Tuesday that leader Kim Jong Un has returned home from a trip to Russia where he deepened a “comradely fellowship and friendly ties” with President Vladimir Putin. The official Korean Central News Agency didn’t give many specifics on the six-day trip that was Kim’s longest foreign travel since he took power in late 2011. Kim visited several military sites in Russia and said in live comments last week that his country offered “full and unconditional support” to Putin. KCNA also said in an earlier report from his trip that Kim and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu discussed expanding “strategic and tactical coordination” between the countries’ armed forces.His comments and itinerary raised concerns about possible arms deals, in which North Korea could supply ammunition to refill Russia’s drained inventory in the second year of the war in Ukraine in return for receiving Russian technologies to modernize his nuclear weapons arsenals. U.S. ...

Hunter Biden has gone on the offensive against Republicans. That could be tricky for the president.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:31:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden has gone on the offensive against his Republican critics, arguing in a new lawsuit that although he is the son of the president of the United States, he shouldn’t be treated differently than any other American.The lawsuit against the IRS is only the latest in a series of counterpunches by the president’s son. But while Hunter Biden’s lawyers might think that an aggressive approach is the best legal strategy for Biden the son, that might not be what’s best for Biden the father as he seeks reelection and tries to keep the public focused on his policy achievements. The president has had little to say about his son’s legal woes — which now include a felony indictment — beyond that Hunter did nothing wrong and he loves his son. The White House strategy has been to keep the elder Biden head-down and focused on governing, reasoning that that’s what voters will prioritize, while working to keep Hunter’s troubles at arm’s dis...

Florida jury pool could give Trump an advantage in classified documents case

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:31:28 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — The classified documents indictment of Donald Trump would seem, on paper at least, to be the most straightforward of the four criminal cases the former president is facing.Reams of classified files were stashed in Trump’s office and storage room and he boastfully showed off to guests one such document he acknowledged was “secret,” federal prosecutors have alleged. His own lawyer is quoted in the indictment as saying Trump encouraged him to mislead investigators who demanded the documents back, and prosecutors have since secured the cooperation of a Mar-a-Lago staffer who says the ex-president asked about deleting surveillance footage at the Palm Beach property.But that doesn’t make the path to conviction easy, particularly with the case set for trial in a Florida courthouse expected to draw its jury pool from a conservative-leaning region of the state that supported Trump in the 2020 election. Those built-in demographics may be a challenge for prosecutors de...

Political divide emerges on Ukraine aid package as Zelenskyy heads to Washington

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:31:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington this week comes at a critical juncture for his alliance with the United States as Republican leaders in Congress diverge on how to send more military and humanitarian aid to the country. President Joe Biden is seeking an additional $24 billion in security and humanitarian aid for Ukraine, in line with his promise to help the country for “as long as it takes” to oust Russia from its borders. But ratification of Biden’s request is deeply uncertain thanks to a growing partisan divide in Congress about how to proceed. Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has told reporters that he wants more Ukraine aid to be debated on its own merits as a standalone bill, rather than attaching it to other priorities like government funding. But the Senate has other ideas. Leaders in the chamber would like to combine the Ukraine aid with other priorities, such as a short-term spending bill that will likely be ...

Most Americans view Israel as a partner, but fewer see it as sharing US values, AP-NORC poll shows

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:31:28 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — As President Joe Biden prepares to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week in New York, a new poll finds that while Americans generally view Israel as a partner or ally, many question whether his far-right government shares American values.The poll results from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the meeting come during a new period of tension between the Biden administration and Israel. Those tensions are caused by Netanyahu’s proposed judicial overhaul that has sparked mass protests in major Israeli cities, ongoing disagreements over how to deal with Iran and how to approach the Palestinians, and comments from Netanyahu political allies that have irked U.S. officials.Despite the friction, Biden, who spoke out in barely disguised opposition to the judicial plan, and Netanyahu are expected to project a solid partnership in which the U.S. continues to support Israel’s security.Biden will also emphasize that the...

US firms in China say vague rules, tensions with Washington, hurting business, survey shows

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:31:28 GMT

American companies operating in China view tensions with Washington over technology, trade and other issues as a major hindrance for their businesses there, according to a survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. The survey released Tuesday showed a continued downgrading of China’s importance as an overseas destination for investment, even though two-thirds of the 325 companies responding said they had no immediate plans to change their China strategy. Just over one in five of the companies surveyed said they were decreasing their investment in China this year, with the top reason being uncertainty about the U.S.-China trade relationship, followed by expectations of slower growth in China, it said.Overall, the survey showed sentiment worsened from last year, when companies were embroiled in disruptions from “zero-COVID” policies that caused parts of entire cities, transport networks and travel to be shut down, sometimes for weeks at a time.Such disruptions were ...

Control of the Pennsylvania House will again hinge on result of a special election

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:31:28 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Control of Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives will again be determined by the results of a special election, this time a race being held Tuesday to fill the seat of a Pittsburgh lawmaker whose resignation put the chamber at a 101-101 partisan tie.If voters in the heavily-Democratic district cast their ballots for former congressional staffer Lindsay Powell, Democrats will keep the slight majority they previously had. The party has defended its majority in a series of special elections since November. A win for Erin Connolly Autenreith, a real estate agent and local Republican chairperson, would tilt the partisan divide back to the Republicans, who lost their majority for the first time in 12 years last year.With either outcome, Pennsylvania’s government will remain divided with Democrat Josh Shapiro in the governor’s office and Republicans holding a Senate majority.Powell, 32, highlighted recent legislation that Democrats advanced with their n...

Families upended by school shootings share trauma in push for gun law changes, but get mixed results

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:31:28 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — For nearly a week, families whose lives were upended by a Nashville elementary school shooting took turns sharing dark details to Tennessee lawmakers.Their children thought they were going to die. A teacher told students to race each other, knowing they needed to get some place safe quickly to avoid the spray of bullets. Children died after fire alarm evacuation protocols led one class to collide with the shooter in a hallway.The parents who testified spilled their own stories, but also carried the weight of representing and speaking for the six people — including three children — who were killed by a shooter on March 27 inside The Covenant School. They hoped that doing so during a brief special session in August would compel lawmakers to pass meaningful legislation.“To me, that was the most nerve-wracking piece,” said Melissa Alexander, whose child attends Covenant. “Trying to tell someone else’s story in the most perfect way, it’s not easy.̶...