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Afghan farmers lose income of more than $1 billion after the Taliban banned poppy cultivation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:15 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Afghan farmers have lost income of more than $1 billion from opium sales after the Taliban outlawed poppy cultivation, according to a report from the U.N. drugs agency published Sunday. Afghanistan was the world’s biggest opium producer and a major source for heroin in Europe and Asia when the Taliban seized power in August 2021. They pledged to wipe out the country’s drug cultivation industry and imposed a formal ban in April 2022, dealing a heavy blow to hundreds of thousands of farmers and day laborers who relied on proceeds from the crop to survive. Opium cultivation crashed by 95% after the ban, the report from the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime said.Until 2023, the value of Afghanistan’s opiate exports frequently outstripped the value of its legal exports. U.N. officials said the strong contraction of the opium economy is expected to have far-reaching consequences for the country as opiate exports before the ban accounted for between 9-14% of the national GDP....

Warplanes strike Gaza refugee camp as Israel rejects US push for a pause in fighting

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:15 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli warplanes struck a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip early Sunday, killing at least 33 people and wounding dozens, health officials said. The strike came as Israel said it would press on with its offensive to crush the territory’s Hamas rulers, despite U.S. appeals for a pause to get aid to desperate civilians.The soaring death toll in Gaza has sparked growing international anger, with tens of thousands from Washington to Berlin taking to the streets Saturday to demand an immediate cease-fire.Israel has rejected the idea of halting its offensive, even for brief humanitarian pauses proposed by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his current tour of the region. Instead, it said that the besieged enclave’s Hamas rulers were “encountering the full force” of its troops.“Anyone in Gaza City is risking their life,” Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant said.Large columns of smoke rose as Israel’s military said it had encircled Gaza Ci...

Live updates | Israeli warplanes hit refugee camp in Gaza Strip, killing at least 33 people

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:15 GMT

Israeli airstrikes hit a refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip early Sunday, killing at least 33 people, health officials said. The strikes came a day after the U.S. urged Israel to take a humanitarian pause from its bombardment of Gaza, where Palestinians reported multiple fatalities on Saturday.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made another push Saturday to help civilians and met with Arab foreign ministers in Jordan. That was after his talks in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who insisted there could be no temporary cease-fire until all hostages held by Hamas are released. President Joe Biden suggested Saturday that progress was being made on the humanitarian pause.The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war reached 9,448, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, more than 140 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids.More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them in the Oct. 7 Ha...

Californians bet farming agave for spirits holds key to weathering drought and groundwater limits

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:15 GMT

MURRIETA, Calif. (AP) — Leo Ortega started growing spiky blue agave plants on the arid hillsides around his Southern California home because his wife liked the way they looked.A decade later, his property is now dotted with thousands of what he and others hope is a promising new crop for the state following years of punishing drought and a push to scale back on groundwater pumping. The 49-year-old mechanical engineer is one of a growing number of Californians planting agave to be harvested and used to make spirits, much like the way tequila and mezcal are made in Mexico. The trend is fueled by the need to find hardy crops that don’t need much water and a booming appetite for premium alcoholic beverages since the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s attracted entrepreneurs such as Ortega, as well as some California farmers. They’re seeking to shift to more water-efficient crops and irrigation methods to avoid fallowing their fields with looming limits on how much groundwater they can ...

Victims of abusive Native American boarding schools to share experiences in Montana

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:15 GMT

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — Victims of government-backed Native American boarding schools are expected to share their experiences Sunday as U.S. officials make a final stop in Montana on their yearlong tour to confront the institutions that regularly abused students to assimilate them into white society.Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, has prioritized examining the trauma caused by the schools. She was scheduled to visit Montana State University in Bozeman to wrap up her “Road to Healing” tour. For over 150 years, Indigenous children were taken from their communities and forced into the boarding schools. Religious and private institutions ran many of the schools and received federal funding as partners in government programs to “civilize” Indigenous students.The U.S. enacted laws and policies in 1819 to support the schools and some continued to operate through the 1960s. An investigative report released last year by the Interior Department identifie...

Gunmen kill 5 people in an apparent dispute over fuel theft in central Mexico, police say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:15 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Gunmen on motorcycles shot five men to death Saturday on the outskirts of the Mexican city of Puebla in an apparent dispute over stolen fuel, authorities said. The Puebla police department said the five victims appeared to have been guarding two gas tanker trucks when the attack occurred. The department said the attack was “presumably for fuel theft.” It said two of the victims had been arrested in October for alleged involvement in the explosion of a gas tanker truck, though it gave no specifics on their role in that incident.Puebla is just east of Mexico City and has long been plagued by gangs that drill illegal taps into government pipelines to steal fuel.Shootouts between the gangs and authorities are not uncommon.The Associated Press

Jamal Murray’s hamstring tightness is kind of injury that “can stick around for a while,” Michael Malone says.

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:15 GMT

Collin Gillespie didn’t have any texts from family waiting for him after he scored his first career NBA points.“Honestly, my parents are probably asleep,” Gillespie said after playing almost 12 minutes in Denver’s 123-101 win over the Bulls on Saturday night. “They probably have no idea this happened. They’re back on the east coast. It’s midnight there.”Jamal Murray (27) of the Denver Nuggets brings the ball down the court against the Chicago Bulls in the first quarter at Ball Arena on October 15, 2023 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)Instead of sending his parents something about the occasion, Gillespie said he was expecting to wake up to a text  Sunday morning.“I’m just gonna let them figure it out,” he said. “They were probably like, ‘Oh, he’s not gonna play.’ Hey, they learned their lesson.”Gillespie’s five points and two assists were a heart-warming ...

CU Buffs vs. Oregon State quick hits: Making Pat Shurmur offensive play-caller doesn’t fix Buffs’ problems

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:15 GMT

Initial observations from the CU Buffs’ 26-19 loss to No. 16 Oregon State at Folsom Field on Saturday evening.Oregon State emphasized on running the rock: The Beavers made it clear in the first quarter that they were going to take advantage of the Buffs’ defense with the ground game. During Oregon State’s nine-play, 71-yard scoring drive, the Beavers ran the ball eight times for 56 yards. Backup quarterback Aidan Chiles ended the drive with a 23-yard rushing touchdown to take a 7-0 lead with under two minutes left in the quarter. The Beavers had 84 rushing yards on 13 attempts in the first quarter.After the Buffs held Oregon State to six rushing yards in the second quarter, the Beavers regained momentum in the run game in the third. On the Beavers’ first drive, running back Damien Martinez had 12- and 11-yard gains. Running back Deshaun Fenwick rushed for 17 yards then quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei scrambled for 15 yards before he powered into the end zone for a 1-yard score.Ore...

West Hollywood thief allegedly stole actress Lily Collins' wedding ring

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:15 GMT

A wanted West Hollywood thief is allegedly responsible for stealing the wedding and engagement rings of actress Lily Collins, TMZ reports.Collins is best known for her starring role on the hit Netflix series, "Emily in Paris."The suspect, Andreea Catalina Rosca, 34, also known as “Nicole Morri,” is wanted for at least two burglaries where she stole jewelry and credit cards out of lockers at a hotel spa and yoga studio, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Rosca was identified by authorities to TMZ as the thief who reportedly escaped with Collins’ jewelry while the actress was relaxing at a hotel spa in May.Collins had placed her personal items inside a spa locker, including her wedding band, engagement ring, and several electronics.Andreea Catalina Rosca, also known as Nicole Morri, is known to travel the country committing thefts, authorities said. (LASD)PARIS, FRANCE - DECEMBER 06: Stephen Brown, Kate Walsh, William Abadie, Samuel Arnold, Philippine Leroy...

Southern California woman escapes Gaza amid Israel-Hamas War

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:07:15 GMT

After several failed attempts to escape war-torn Gaza to safety in Egypt — one Southern California woman has finally made it to safety.Naela Elshorafa, a 66-year-old Camarillo resident, said although she is deeply traumatized by the war, she remains thankful to be back in the U.S. very soon after being trapped in the middle of a living nightmare that she never saw coming. “They’re bombing the area,” Naela is heard saying in a cell phone video as rumbling echoes are heard in the distance. “No electricity, no water, no nothing,” she said of their current state.Naela Elshorafa, a 66-year-old Camarillo resident. seen in a family photo.Naela Elshorafa, a 66-year-old Camarillo resident. seen in a family photo.Naela Elshorafa, a 66-year-old Camarillo resident. seen in a family photo.A large group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched in West Los Angeles on Nov. 4, 2023 calling for the end to Israel’s bombardment and occupation of Gaza. (KTLA)A large group of pro-Palestinian demonstrator...