Arrests in deadly Honolulu fireworks explosion grow to 10

World

February 5, 2025

HONOLULU (AP) – The total number of people arrested in the deadly explosion of illegal fireworks in a Honolulu neighbourhood on New Year’s Eve has grown to 10.

More arrests are expected.

The latest arrests: A man, 32, and a woman 31, were arrested on suspicion of reckless endangering, endangering the welfare of a minor and multiple fireworks offenses.

A man, 29, was arrested on suspicion of endangering the welfare of a minor and multiple fireworks offenses. A woman, 28, faces potential charges of endangering the welfare of a minor. The explosion killed three women, one man and a three-year-old boy and injured about 20 others. It happened when a lit bundle of mortar-style aerials tipped over and shot into crates of unlit fireworks, causing a rapid-fire series of blasts.

Three couples were arrested previously. Police have not said whether those arrested include the parents of the boy, or anyone who was injured.

The igniting of illegal fireworks – many of them aerials normally used in professional fireworks shows – has become increasingly common in Hawaii in recent years. People set off fireworks year-round, ramping up during the year-end holidays, often on cramped residential streets.

Police said last week that they confiscated 227 kilogrammes of unused fireworks from the scene of the blast.

Police have been sending the cases to the Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney.

Three children perish in Detroit house fire

World

February 5, 2025

WEST BLOOMFIELD (AP) – Three children died in a weekend house fire in suburban Detroit, authorities said.

The siblings, a 16-year-old girl and two boys ages 15 and 12, could not escape the fire, said fire marshal Byron Turnquist in West Bloomfield Township.

One of them called 911 to report the fire. Turnquist said investigators found no smoke detectors in the home. “Having working smoke alarms gives you that early notification to exit your home,” he told The Associated Press.

Firefighters had to force their way into the home. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Turnquist said no adults were present at the time.

“There was so much smoke on the street we couldn’t even breathe, so imagine children being in the house. I’m sure they couldn’t either,” said neighbour Jewelette Estes.

The house affected by the fire in Michigan, United States. PHOTO: AP

Experts challenge evidence in nurse Letby’s murder conviction

World

February 5, 2025

LONDON (AP) – A panel of expects has disputed the medical evidence used to convict British nurse Lucy Letby of murdering seven newborns and trying to kill seven others, a doctor who led the examination said yesterday.

A retired neonatologist from Canada, Dr Shoo Lee, said the group of 14 doctors concluded the newborns either died of natural causes or from bad medical care.

“In summary then, ladies and gentlemen, we did not find murders,” Lee said at a London news conference.

Letby, 35, is serving multiple life sentences with no chance of release after being convicted of murder and attempted murder while working as a neonatal nurse at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northwestern England between June 2015 and June 2016.

Defense lawyer Mark McDonald said there was now “overwhelming evidence” that Letby was wrongly convicted.

It was the second news conference held in part by McDonald to challenge the conclusions of Dr Dewi Evans, who was the prosecution’s key expert witness.

Prosecutors said Letby left little trace when she killed babies and in some cases had injected air into their bloodstreams or stomach, causing an embolism.

But Lee said Evans had misinterpreted his 1989 academic paper on embolism. Lee said he assembled a prestigious group of international medical experts who volunteered to review the records of 17 babies Letby was accused of injuring or killing.

Evans diagnosed the babies with air embolism in the absence of finding another cause of death, Lee said.

But Lee said embolism is very rare and the skin discolouration described at trial was not consistent with what is seen when there is an embolism.

“The notion that these babies can be diagnosed with air embolism because they collapsed and had these skin discolourations has no evidence in fact,” Lee said.

Letby has already lost two bids for an appeal. Her lawyer submitted an application on Monday to get the Criminal Case Review Commission to examine her conviction, which could lead to another shot at an appeal.

A separate public inquiry into failures at the hospital that led babies to repeatedly be harmed is due to conclude next month.

That probe is not examining evidence used to convict Letby but is aimed at accountability of hospital staff and management and looking at how parents were treated.

Professor Neena Modi, barrister Mark McDonald, David Davis MP and retired medic Dr Shoo Lee in a press conference in connection with the conviction of British nurse Lucy Letby, in London, United Kingdom. PHOTO: AP

Italian politician says Trump Jr shot rare duck in Venice

World

February 5, 2025

ROME (AFP) – A politician from Italy’s Veneto region said yesterday he had denounced Donald Trump Jr to authorities for allegedly killing a protected species of duck while hunting in Venice lagoon.

Regional counsellor and environmentalist Andrea Zanoni said an online video from Field Ethos – published by Trump Jr and marketed as a “premier lifestyle publication for the unapologetic man” – showed “some people, including Donald Trump Jr, killing various ducks”.

“In the video, Trump Jr is seen with a Ruddy Shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) in the foreground – a duck that is very rare throughout Europe and protected by the European Union Birds Directive and Italian wildlife protection law,” Zanoni wrote on social media.

Zanoni said killing the protected bird was a crime.

In the video, republished by the Corriere della Sera daily, Trump Jr is seeing shooting at ducks from a pit blind before addressing the camera.

“Great morning, lots of Widgeon, Teal. This is actually a rather uncommon duck for the area. Not even sure what it is in English,” Trump Jr said pointing to an orange-brown duck among at least six other dead waterfowl around him.

Zanoni said he had filed a question to regional authorities to know “what sanctions it intends to impose”.

He asked if these would include suspending or revoking the licence of the wildlife shooting company “and those responsible for acts in violation of Italian and European regulations.”

Zanoni said the video was filmed recently in the Pierimpie’ valley south of the city of Venice, a special conservation area protected by European regulations that is known as the Middle Lower Lagoon of Venice.

Asked for comment, the regional council told AFP it would “respond to the question in the time and manner it deems appropriate”.

The Ruddy Shelduck spends the winter in South Asia and migrates to southeastern Europe and Central Asia to breed.

Danish prime minister visits UK counterpart amid Greenland tensions

World

February 5, 2025

COPENHAGEN (AFP) – Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen met United Kingdom counterpart Keir Starmer, as she seeks European support to counter United States (US) President Donald Trump’s remarks about taking over Greenland.

The meeting in London will focus on “security in Europe”, according to Frederiksen’s office.

While the statement did not specifically mention Greenland – which is an autonomous Danish territory – or the US, Frederiksen was quoted saying: “We need a stronger Europe that contributes more to NATO and stands more on its own.”

“At the same time, we must do our part to maintain the transatlantic partnership that has been the foundation for peace and prosperity since World War II,” Frederiksen added.

Trump has repeatedly signalled that he wants the Arctic island – which is strategically important and is believed to hold large untapped mineral and oil reserves – to become part of the US.

In an interview with broadcaster Fox News over the weekend, US Vice President
JD Vance said Greenland was “really important” to US “national security”.

“Frankly, Denmark, which controls Greenland, it’s not doing its job and it’s not being a good ally,” Vance said.

On Monday, Frederiksen insisted Denmark was “one of the US’ most important and best allies”.

Last week, she visited Paris and Berlin to seek backing from the European Union’s traditional powerhouses against Trump’s threats.

A day after Trump was sworn in as president, Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede insisted that Greenlanders “don’t want to be American”.

Danish leaders have insisted that Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. PHOTO: AP

Former NATO chief returning to government in Norway as finance minister

World

February 5, 2025

OSLO (AP) – Former NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday that he is returning to government in his native Norway as finance minister.

Stoltenberg led NATO from 2014, until he handed over to current Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the beginning of October.

Before taking over at NATO, Stoltenberg served as Norway’s prime minister from 2000 to 2001, and 2005 to 2013.

He is returning to government after Norway’s governing coalition split last week with the junior partner, the Centre Party, announcing its departure, in a dispute over European Union energy market regulations.

That left current Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, the leader of Stoltenberg’s center-left Labour Party, with several Cabinet posts to fill, among them that of outgoing Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, the leader of the Centre Party.

Stoltenberg and Gahr Støre appeared together at an event in Oslo yesterday, where the prime minister was presenting his new team, but Gahr Støre didn’t explicitly mention Stoltenberg’s new job.

But in a statement released by the Munich Security Conference in Germany, which Stoltenberg was due to take over as chairman after its annual meeting later this month, Stoltenberg said he was “deeply honoured to have been asked to help my country at this critical stage.”

“Having carefully considered the current challenges we face, I have decided to accept Prime Minister Støre’s request to serve as his Minister of Finance,” he said.

At least 19 dead in Syria car bomb explosion

World

February 5, 2025

DAMASCUS (AP) – Another car bomb exploded on the outskirts of a city in northern Syria, killing at least 19 people and leaving over a dozen wounded, hospital workers and emergency responders said.

Eighteen women and one man were killed, a nurse at the local hospital, Mohammad Ahmad, told The Associated Press. Another 15 women were wounded, some in critical condition, according to the local civil defence.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast that occurred next to a vehicle carrying agricultural workers on the outskirts of Manbij.

It was the seventh car bombing in Manbij in over a month, said the deputy director of civil defence Munir Mustafa, warning that the attacks near Syria’s second city are a threat to Syria’s efforts to bring about post-war security and economic recovery.

Manbij in northeastern Aleppo province continues to see violence two months after the fall of President Bashar Assad in an insurgent offensive. The Syrian National Army have clashed with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The factions took the city from the SDF in early December during the insurgency.

Not long after accusations against the SDF surfaced on social media, the SDF in a statement condemned the attack and accused of some groups of possibly being involved with the aim of causing more strife in Syria. The statement said the SDF will communicate with Syria’s new interim government in Damascus to investigate. In a statement, Syria’s presidency said that “the perpetrators will face the harshest penalties to serve as a lesson to anyone who dares to threaten Syria’s security or harm its people.” Another car bombing in Manbij on Saturday killed four civilians and wounded nine, state news agency SANA reported, citing civil defence officials.

The attacks have forced residents to become more vigilant, one said. “There are efforts from the people of Manbij to focus on protecting some neighbourhoods as well as setting up surveillance cameras in the main neighbourhoods,” said an activist and journalist Jameel al-Sayyed.

Syrian White Helmet civil defence workers inspect the area of a car bomb attack in the city of Manbij, Syria. PHOTO: AP

Turkiye to accept 15 released Palestinian prisoners under Gaza deal

World

February 5, 2025

XINHUA – Turkiye said yesterday that it will accept 15 Palestinian prisoners released by Israel under the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The National Intelligence Organization will oversee the transfer of 15 exiled Palestinians to Turkiye via Egypt in the initial phase, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

Israel said in the ceasefire agreement that some prisoners serving life sentences would not be allowed to return to Palestine.

In this context, Turkiye has agreed to accept some individuals on humanitarian grounds, the statement said.

Since the ceasefire deal took effect on January 19, Hamas has released 18 hostages in exchange for Israel freeing hundreds of Palestinians from its prisons.

Palestinians imprisoned by Israel, arrive on buses at the European hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. PHOTO: AFP

Jordanian king urges increased efforts to ensure sustainability of Gaza ceasefire

World

February 5, 2025

AMMAN (XINHUA) – Jordanian King Abdullah II stressed the need to step up Arab and international efforts to ensure the sustainability of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and continue the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian enclave.

The king made the remarks during a meeting in Amman with Kuwaiti First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, and Minister of Interior Fahad Yousef Saud Al Sabah, according to a Royal Court statement.

The king warned of the dangers of escalating tensions in the West Bank and violations of the holy sites in Jerusalem. He also reiterated Jordan’s support for Syria’s unity, security, and stability. The meeting addressed the deep-rooted relations between Jordan and Kuwait, and their keenness to consolidate cooperation across all fields.

The Jordanian king also met with Slovenia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon. During the meeting, he stressed that the two-state solution is the only way to achieve peace and stability in the region, commending Slovenia’s support for peace efforts. The Jordanian king called for upholding the ceasefire in Gaza and intensifying international efforts to improve the humanitarian response.

Bridget Jones returns

Entertainment

February 5, 2025

LONDON (AFP) – Hollywood star Renee Zellweger today will mark the return of Bridget Jones at the world premiere of the franchise’s upcoming film Mad About the Boy.

Taking place in London, scene of all Bridget’s greatest catastrophes, the red carpet showing is also due to be attended by rising star Leo Woodall, 28, who plays her latest and much younger love interest.

Texan actor Zellweger famously piled on a few pounds and successfully cultivated a British accent to star as Bridget alongside Hugh Grant and Colin Firth in the original 2001 smash hit Bridget Jones’s Diary.

In the latest instalment, Bridget – now a 51-year-old widow and single parent – navigates new levels of embarrassment as she grapples with texts, tweets, dating apps and Botox after the death of her husband, Mark Darcy.

The fourth and latest instalment comes nearly a decade after the previous one – Bridget Jones’s Baby.

In that movie, Bridget ended up pregnant and unsure who the father was after flings with a handsome American Internet billionaire, played by Patrick Dempsey, and ex Mark Darcy, played by Firth, whom she eventually marries.

Bridget Jones creator Helen Fielding previously said she wrote Mark Darcy, Daniel’s one-time love rival for Bridget’s affections, out of the series because she did not want Bridget to become smug and married.

Yet in Mad About the Boy Hugh Grant reprises his role as Daniel Cleaver, Bridget’s former boss and boyfriend, while Emma Thompson also returns as her gynaecologist.

Grant has described the film as “extremely funny, but very sad”.

The Love Actually star, 64, told the BBC last year there had been “no obvious role” for him in the film.

But producers had “crammed” him in and Grant had managed to “make up a good interim story for him” nonetheless.

The London premiere is also expected to be attended by Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, who plays another of Jones’s love interests, and director Michael Morris.

Jones began life in a newspaper column by Fielding in 1995 before she turned it into a series of bestselling books.

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