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ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey has launched a new ground and air cross-border operation against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, Turkey’s defense minister announced Monday morning.

Turkish jets and artillery hit suspected targets of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and commandos – backed by helicopters and drones – then entered the area by land or by helicopter, Defense Minister Hulusi Akbar said in a video posted. Ministry website.

Acker said the jets successfully hit shelters, bunkers, caves, tunnels, ammunition depots and PKK headquarters. The group maintains bases in northern Iraq and has used the area to attack Turkey.

Turkey has conducted several cross-border air and ground operations against the PKK over the past few decades. The latest offensive, called Operation Clock Lock, focused on the areas of Matina, Zap and Avashin-Basian in northern Iraq.

There was no word on the number of troops or jets involved in the latest attack.

“Our heroic commandos and Maroon Barrett – assisted by helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles – reached the scene by land and air and captured the targets,” Aqar said in a second video. “Many terrorists have been deactivated.”

“At the moment we arrive, all the planned targets have been captured,” he said.

The Defense Ministry said the new offensive was launched after it was determined that the militants were regrouping and preparing for a “large-scale attack.”

The attack was carried out in coordination with “friends and allies” of Turkey, the ministry added, without elaborating. Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Prime Minister Masroor Barzani of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, who controls areas under attack.

The Turkish minister said the attack was aimed at “terrorists” and was showing “maximum sensitivity” to avoid damage to civilian and cultural and religious structures.

There was no immediate word from the Kurdish militant group.

The PKK, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, has killed thousands of people since the uprising began in 1984 in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeastern region.

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea is testing a new type of tactical-guided weapon designed to enhance its nuclear warfare capabilities, state media reported Sunday, with its main rivals the United States and South Korea conducting an offensive exercise a day before the start of annual military exercises. As the answer comments.

The test, the 13th round of weapons launches by Pyongyang this year, came amid concerns that North Korea could soon launch a major provocation, such as a nuclear test, in an effort to expand the country’s arsenal and increase pressure on Washington and Seoul amid stagnant diplomacy.

The official Korean Central News Agency reported that leader Kim Jong Un had observed the successful launch of the weapon. It released a photo showing a surprised Kim clapping with military officers.

KCNA said the weapons tests were “significant improvements in the firepower of frontline long-range artillery units, enhanced (North Korea’s) strategic nuclear weapons handling capabilities and diversification of their firepower missions.”

The KCNA did not elaborate, but suggested that the use of the term “strategic atom” meant that the weapon could possibly carry a nuclear warhead on the battlefield that could hit South Korean strategic targets, including US military installations. KCNA did not say when or where the launch took place.

“North Korea is not only trying to deploy long-range nuclear missiles aimed at American cities, but also to deploy strategic nuclear weapons for US bases in Seoul and Asia,” said Leif-Eric Izley, a professor at Seoul’s Iowa University. “Pyongyang’s intentions will probably go beyond resistance and the survival of the regime. Russia has exploited fears that it could use strategic nuclear weapons, and North Korea may seek such weapons to limit political coercion, the escalation of the battlefield and the desire of other countries to intervene in the conflict. “

Some observers have suggested that the weapon shown in the North Korean photo may have been a smaller, lighter version of its nuclear-capable KN-23 missile, which has a highly propelled flight aimed at defeating the missile defense system. Others say it could be a new missile that combines the technical features of the KN-23 and another short-range ballistic missile called the KN-24.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement on Sunday that they had identified two projectile launches from the north-eastern coastal city of Hamhung on Saturday evening.

It said the missiles flew about 110 kilometers (68 miles) at 25 kilometers (16 miles) apogee and a maximum speed of 4 mph. The South Korean president’s office said officials had met twice this weekend to discuss North Korea’s military activity.

South Korea’s military said on Sunday that its nine-day spring military exercise with the United States would begin on Monday. It said the Allies decided to practice computer-simulated command post after reviewing issues such as the Covid-19 epidemic and the Allies’ combined defense preparations that do not involve field training.

The exercises could intensify hostilities on the Korean Peninsula as North Korea has previously responded with its own weapons tests and arson.

North Korea has started several weapons tests this year, including the first flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. homeland since 2017. South Korean and U.S. officials say Pyongyang could soon offer additional provocations, such as another ICBM test. Launch a rocket to put a spy satellite into orbit or even a nuclear test explosion which would be the seventh of its kind. South Korea’s military says it has identified signs that North Korea is rebuilding a tunnel at the site of a nuclear test that was partially dismantled in 2018, just weeks before it entered into now-dormant nuclear talks with the United States.

Cheong Seong-chang, an analyst at South Korea’s private Sejong Institute, said North Korea’s potential nuclear test would involve a strategic nuclear warhead. He predicted that North Korea would press this weekend to mount a strategic nuclear warhead on tested weapons and deploy such nuclear missiles near the South Korean border.

In a statement sent to KCNA on Sunday, Kim was quoted as saying that North Korea’s nuclear warfare was “indefinite.” The sophisticated weapons system involved in the North’s recent experimental activities, which Kim has promised to deal with in what he calls American hostility.

“North Korea needs to build an internally compliant and sophisticated weapon that the United States did or did not order Kim Jong Un to do last year. The test also tells its people that their country is strong despite their apparent economic difficulties, “said Dwayne Kim, a senior analyst at the Washington Center for New American Security. One reason for the political turmoil could be the expected US-South Korea military exercise.

On Friday, Kim took part in a massive civilian parade in Pyongyang marking the 110th birth anniversary of his state-founding grandfather Kim Il Sung. The country appears to have passed its most important national holiday without a highly anticipated military parade to demonstrate its new weapons system.

Kim could still hold a military parade on April 25, the anniversary of the founding of the North Korean military. But if that anniversary goes without a military parade again, some experts say it means Kim has no new powerful missiles to demonstrate, and his next provocative move could possibly be a nuclear test.

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Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.

Douglas Siddens’ mother was among those who made it with clothes on his back when a deadly, wind-fueled fire engulfed a mountain community in southern New Mexico.

The RV Park where he lived was reduced to “metal-framed rails and steel wheels,” said Sidens, who manages the site.

“About 10 of me were displaced. They lost their home and everything, including my mother, “he said.

The blaze has destroyed more than 200 homes and killed two since a fire broke out near the village of Ruidoso on Tuesday, a holiday that attracts thousands of tourists and horse racing fans every summer.

There are hundreds of houses and summer cabins along the surrounding hills. An elderly couple was found dead outside their burnt-out residence this week near the RV Park run by Siddens.

Elsewhere in the United States, crews are battling major wildfires this week in Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado, where a new fire broke out Friday along the eastern front of Rocky Mountain near Lyon, about 18 miles (29 kilometers) north of Boulder.

The blaze broke out at Blue Mountain, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southeast of Estes Park, the eastern entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, near the Larimer-Boulder County Line.

In New Mexico, power was restored to all but a few hundred customers, but evacuation orders remain in place for about 5,000 people.

Grants have been poured in from nearby communities which are very familiar with how devastating wildfires can be.

The fire, which spread to parts of the village of Ruidoso a decade ago, puts the holiday site on the map with the most devastating wildfires recorded in New Mexico’s history when more than 240 homes were burned and about 70 square miles (181 sq km) were blackened by lightning.

On Friday, Mayor Lynn Crawford was again gathering heartbreaking residents as firefighters tried to stop the wind-whip flame from creating another race in the village. He said the response from their neighbors has been amazing.

“So we have plenty of food, we have lots of clothes, we have these kinds of things but we still appreciate your prayers and your thinking and need,” the mayor said during a briefing. “Again, our hearts go out to the families of the dead, to those who lost their homes.”

Authorities have not yet released the names of the dead couple. Concerned family members contacted police and found their bodies, the couple had planned to evacuate when the fire broke out on Tuesday but their accounts were not found later that day.

Although many older residents call Ruidoso home all year round, the population of about 8,000 people expands to about 25,000 during the summer months as Texans and New Mexicans seek rest from the hot climate.

Fans also flock to Ruidoso Downs, one of the sport’s richest quarter-horse competitions. The racing season is expected to begin on May 27, and the horses are safe, as firefighters use the facility as a stage.

Part-time residents have been on social media for the past few days, requesting fire officials for updates on certain neighborhoods, hoping their family cabins were not among those damaged or destroyed.

Hotlines lit up on Friday afternoon when villagers called for more smoke to be reported. Fire Information Officer Mike Defridge said there were flames inside the fire because the flames found pockets of incomplete fuel.

Although the fire did not make a run on the lines that line crews had set up, he said it was still a difficult day for firefighters due to the single-digit humidity, warm temperatures and wind.

Authorities reiterated that it was too early to begin letting people see the damage. They said to be patient as the fire crew pulled out the hot spots and tried to create a stronger enclosure around the fire.

“It’s still an active fire area there and it’s not a safe place,” DeFries said. “It simply came to our notice then. At the same time, every step we take is designed to put out the fire and get people back home as soon as possible. “

New Mexico authorities say they suspect the fire, which burned more than 9.5 square miles (24 square kilometers) of forest and grass, was sparked by a power line, and an investigation continued Friday.

Firefighters say hot and dry weather has contributed to the increase in the number of acres burned by fires over decades. The problem has been exacerbated by more than 20 years of western erosion that have been linked to man-made climate change studies.

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Cedar Attanasio contributed to the report from Santa Fe. Atanasio is a corps member of the Associated Press / Report for the America State House News Initiative. Reporting for America is a non-profit national service program that puts journalists in the local newsroom to cover things.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden said Friday he plans to nominate Michael Barr, dean of the University of Michigan’s School of Public Policy, as vice chairman of the Federal Reserve’s oversight.

Biden’s first choice for the Fed post comes after Sarah Bloom Raskin, a Republican and a Democrat, withdrew her nomination a month ago in the face of opposition from Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Critics of Raskin argued that he would apply the Fed’s regulatory authority for climate change and perhaps discourage banks from lending to energy companies.

With the bar, however, Biden noted the importance of politics in a statement Friday that said his nominee had previously cleared the Senate on a bipartisan basis.

“Michael brings the skills and experience needed for this important position at a critical time for our economy and family across the country,” Biden said.

The Democratic president said Barr “has spent his career protecting consumers, and while at the Treasury, has been instrumental in creating both the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection and the position for which I am nominating him.”

Gerald R. Ford of Michigan Dean of the School of Public Policy. During the Obama administration, he was the Assistant Treasury Secretary for Financial Institutions who helped design the 2010 Dodd-Frank Regulations after the catastrophic financial crisis of 2008.

Barr, a Rhodes scholar who worked as a clerk for Justice David Souther in the Supreme Court, also served in the White House, the Treasury Department, and the State Department during the Clinton administration.

Despite this credentials, some liberal critics last year blocked the Biden administration’s candidacy for control of the currency, a position responsible for controlling national banks. These critics are skeptical of Bar’s role on the advisory boards of financial institutions Lending Club and Ripple Labs. They further stressed that during the Obama administration he helped weaken proposals for stricter banking regulations.

But Ohio Sen Sherrod Brown, the Democratic chairman of the banking committee, has given his full support to the bar.

“Michael Barr understands the importance of this role at this crucial time in our economic recovery,” Brown said. “I strongly urge my Republican colleagues to abandon their personal attacks and the old playbook of demagoguery and to put Americans and their pocketbooks first.”

Others praised the bar and said it seemed appropriate for the Fed’s position.

David Dwarkin, president of the National Housing Conference, which advocates for affordable housing, suggested that the bar’s understanding of Wall Street gives him the right mix of “central competencies and progressive policy views” to win the confirmation of a closely divided Senate.

Barr will join the Fed at a particularly challenging and high-risk time for the central bank and the economy.

The Fed will aggressively raise interest rates next month in an effort to reduce persistently high inflation. However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell – who is awaiting Senate confirmation for a second term – said it would be difficult to slow inflation by increasing the cost of borrowing without weakening the economy and possibly even creating a recession.

“It’s about getting a very complex plane to land smoothly on the runway,” Dwarkin said. “It’s very difficult to do.”

KLENDENIN, WASHINGTON, Virginia – A historic flood caused by torrential rains has wiped out almost all cities in the mountainous coal-rich country of West Virginia, killing 23 people and causing ক্ষতি 1 billion in damage. Six years later, many survivors are paralyzed by the growing threat of climate change and urgent calls to stop greenhouse gases from burning coal.

“It’s all weather, you know what I mean. I’m not a scientist, but I don’t believe it,” said Klendenin’s mayor, K. Summers, who was elected Republican two years ago for reconstruction. “Every time it rains or storms, I stay awake at night. I know it can happen, but I don’t think it will happen again.”

According to government scientists, communities in central Apalachia are the most vulnerable in the country to the effects of global warming and the most resistant to government-led efforts to mitigate the effects.

They are also at the forefront of a landmark environmental case before the US Supreme Court, which will decide this spring how much authority the Environmental Protection Agency has over controlling global warming emissions from coal-fired power plants.

“I’ve never seen such a flood here in the last 20 years,” said Maria Guno, a longtime environmentalist whose family has been living and digging in West Virginia for generations. “We can’t risk everything for energy, you know, I mean – coal lights up, they say, but at what cost?”

The region’s recovery from the 2016 floods – and its continued reliance on the fossil fuel economy – illustrates the dual humanitarian and economic partnership in the West Virginia lawsuit against the EPA.

A coalition of eighteen states and U.S. power agencies, led by West Virginia, wants tougher restrictions on EPA authorities to enact rules that could transform the entire industry. The Biden administration argues that Congress has given the EPA significant opportunity under the Clean Air Act to write regulations to prevent climate change.

Kevin Minoli, a former EPA acting general counsel and career civil servant, Kevin Minoli, Kevin Minoli, Kevin Minoli, Kevin Minoli, spoke about the case.

The results could dramatically shape the future of coal-dependent communities like Klendenin and the future of coal-fired power plants that employ thousands of workers but also emit millions of tons of greenhouse gases each year.

Experts say strict EPA authority restrictions could halve U.S. carbon emissions by 2030 and completely shut down fossil fuels such as coal by 2050 – the White House’s top objective.

“While the EPA has a narrow mandate to work on carbon emissions, it is nowhere near what the Biden administration is advising,” said West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey, a Republican who has warned of thousands of jobs, industry gains. . , State tax revenue, and a reliable source of electricity is on the line.

Although the extreme flood that engulfed Klendenin was exceptional, government and academic climatologists have warned that the threat of extreme rainfall is growing across West Virginia, which is already the third-largest country in terms of flood disasters in the last 70 years.

At the same time, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that more frequent and stronger storms in the region have caused 55% more rainfall.

Coal, one of West Virginia’s most lucrative exports, is used to generate about 90% of the state’s electricity in unequal amounts, according to the Energy Information Administration. (Less than a quarter of the country’s electricity is generated from coal.)

The EPA argues in legal documents that Congress gave it clear prudence under the Clean Air Act to determine the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to protect human health, and officials said this month that they were ready to release strict new limits on power plant pollution. With the verdict of the Supreme Court.

“Our people want clean air. They want clean water. Absolutely. But you have to go through the process properly,” Morrissey said. “Letting unelected bureaucrats just make decisions in the guise of good government – that’s not right. It’s a decision of Congress, not the EPA.”

The state’s largest coal-fired power plant – the John Amos plant in Winfield, West Virginia – is located 40 miles west of Klendenin on the banks of the Kanaoha River. It is one of 174 coal-fired power plants nationwide that could be affected by the Supreme Court decision.

“They want to make rules but they don’t understand because they don’t walk in those shoes,” Mayor Summers said of EPA regulators.

American Electric Power, one of the largest utilities in the country that owns the John Amos facility, has given ABC News Live rare access to see first-hand how its 1,000 full-time workers and contract workers create enough power for two million homes and businesses across three. States

The plant burns 27,000 tons of coal per day during peak season, drawing on daily shipments of regional coal supplied by barges and rail. Its three power units emitted 10.8 million tons of earth-warming carbon dioxide last year – or the equivalent of more than 2 million vehicles a year, according to official records.

In the mid-2000s, EPA regulations forced many US power plants to invest in upgrading smokestacks with scrubbers that removed almost all sulfur dioxide – a pollutant that could harm human health and contribute to acid rain.

Since then, the company has sought to set new limits on power plant carbon dioxide emissions, the primary driver of global warming. Litigation has complicated that plan, but the EPA hopes to unveil a new approach this summer.

Power companies across the country, including American Electric Power, are slowly turning to cheaper alternatives to coal. By 2035, 28 percent of coal-fired power plants will be shut down.

“I grew up in a coal country. I come from a community where we are seeing massive job losses, massive job losses,” said Kin Mullins, co-founder of Revolt Energy and a solar developer. “Coal and solar must coexist here.”

Mullins operates the largest commercial solar installation in West Virginia in the shadow of the John Amos Power Plant. He says the legal battle over coal draws attention to the need to diversify the state’s power portfolio.

“If we could maximize every available roof space and all usable land in this state, we would be able to reach 30 percent of the grid power – maybe,” he said.

The West Virginia Public Utilities Commission last year leased the John Amos plant and two other coal-fired facilities a new lifeline, approving more than $ 448 million in environmental upgrades for burning coal by 2040. A portion of the cost will be passed To the losers.

“I think we need coal until we have enough, you know, until they find an alternative source,” said Ricky Brookover, a union boiler maker who works on installing overnight upgrades to the Amos facility. “We have a lot of clean energy, clean things [the plant]. For example, when you see white smoke coming out of a pile, it’s clear. “

Brookover, a 41-year-old father whose family has close ties to the coal industry, said he did not oppose the EPA but questioned a campaign to tackle the climate crisis that he did not see.

“I really feel like it was worse when I was younger. You know what I mean? We had more snow when I was younger. There seemed to be more flooding,” he said.

As both sides prepare for the Supreme Court’s decision, environmental lawyers say they fear for the worst.

“The impact here is going to be increasing mining, increased pollution,” Gunnoe said. “The coal industry has always kept our people in the dark, and I’m not looking to change that.”

JAKARTA, Indonesia – An overloaded truck carrying 29 people overturned on a hillside near an illegal gold mine in Indonesia’s western Papua province on Wednesday, killing 17 people and injuring others, police said.

The truck, carrying miners and their families, was heading to Mankwari, the capital of West Papua province, to celebrate Easter. Local police chief Parisian Herman Gultom said they hit a hill on their way to a mining area in the village of Miniambou in the Arfaq Mountain district and overturned before dawn.

Survivors say the truck’s engine apparently lost power while climbing the mountain. It rolled backwards before crashing, killing 13 people instantly, including a child and the driver. The remaining 16 were taken to two hospitals, some in critical condition and four died while undergoing treatment.

Television reports showed rescuers from the local search and rescue agency fighting to find their prey with their bare hands and finding black body bags in the semi-vertical terrain.

Informal mining is commonplace in Indonesia, providing a meager livelihood for thousands of people who work in situations with a high risk of serious injury or death.

Landslides, floods and tunnel collapses are some of the dangers faced by miners. Most gold ore processing involves highly toxic mercury and cyanide, and workers often use little or no protection.

The last major mining-related accident in the country occurred in February 2019, when a temporary wooden structure at an illegal gold mine in North Sulawesi province collapsed due to landslides and a large number of mining holes. More than 40 people have died, buried in mine pits.

For the thousands of civilians stranded in Ukraine’s active war zone, the establishment of a humanitarian corridor could mean the difference between living and dying, experts say.

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk says at least nine humanitarian corridors are expected to open this week in war-torn areas of eastern Ukraine to save civilians from heavy fighting.

But designated passages outside the besieged cities, such as the separatist-controlled regions of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine and Donbass in eastern Ukraine, could be more risky than sheltering in the basement if not done with proper and complete transparency, said Crystal Wells, a spokesman for International. The Red Cross Committee told ABC News.

“We see humanitarian corridors, which we refer to as safe passages, as a measure of desperation in a truly horrific time,” Wells said.

What is a human corridor?

The Humanitarian Corridor is a way for civilians to escape from the most dangerous war zones. For a safe route, Russian and Ukrainian leaders must agree on a specific route, and a ceasefire must be agreed with those routes to give civilians a window of opportunity to get out of the crossfire.

Safe travel routes during the war dates back to World War II, when 10,000 children from Nazi-controlled countries were renamed “Kinder Transport” for humanitarian rescue. In 1949, the Geneva Conventions established rules for ensuring access to humanitarian supplies, including food and medicine, to civilians during wartime.

“It’s important, first of all, to remember that civilians are actually protected under international humanitarian law. These are the laws that govern armed conflict,” Wells said. “And civilians should be protected from hostilities whether they are in their homes, hospitals, schools or so-called humanitarian corridors.”

But Wales said some humanitarian routes open in Ukraine had to be closed quickly or not used at all because Russian forces had allegedly bombed the passage despite both sides agreeing to a ceasefire.

“It’s not like a magic wand to end a sudden humanitarian corridor and end civilian suffering,” Wells said. “It simply came to our notice then that they had agreed not only in principle but also on specific terms so that not only the people in the capital city would agree. It has to come down to operational, concrete, logistical details, and for it to work safely, the ground forces have to liaise with the chain of command. “

He said that if the details of the humanitarian corridor, including the exact route and time of the ceasefire, were not communicated to the front line troops, it could create a dangerous – and deadly – situation.

“It’s not just about the safety of our team, it’s about leading people or not associating them with anything where they could be at a loss,” Wells said.

In the absence of humanitarian corridors, Ukrainian civilians have tried to flee the war zone at the risk of their lives. Many have been killed.

“What is happening in cities like Mariupol is that in the absence of this concrete agreement, you are leaving civilians, but they are doing it in a very ad hoc way. They are deciding life and death to go, and there is no ceasefire agreement and no definite route, time and all this. So it’s very risky for people. “

100,000 people are trapped in Mariupol

Mariupol, a port city of about 400,000 people, has been under siege since the Russian invasion began on February 24.

Mariupol Mayor Vadim Boychenko told the Associated Press by telephone Monday that the death toll in his city had exceeded 10,000 and could double as attacks continue. Boychenko further alleged that Russian forces had brought mobile crematoriums to Mariupol to collect and burn civilian bodies to cover up war crimes.

Russia denies atrocities in Ukraine and claims it is not targeting civilians.

In a statement posted on social media on Monday, Vereshchuk said the route of humanitarian evacuation has been agreed for travelers in private vehicles from Mariupol.

Wales estimates that more than 100,000 civilians remain in Mariupol.

“For us, Mariupol really remains a lot more focus and a priority,” Wells said. “It’s a city that has been without humanitarian aid for weeks now. They’ve been out of town for weeks without any proper safe passage for civilians.”

He said ICRC teams had been trying for weeks to deliver humanitarian aid to Mariupol without success.

“We tried again a few Fridays ago to gain access to Mariupol, and our teams tried to cross the street for five days and five nights, and the security situation did not allow it,” Wells said.

Successful humanitarian corridor

Wells said the ICRC had successfully used the designated safe route for evacuation of civilians from the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumi and for security in Zaporizhia between the Russian-controlled city of Bardiansk, which is about 120 miles long.

He said last week an unarmed ICRC convoy from Bardiansk to Zaporizhia included buses and Red Cross land cruisers that were clearly marked by the agency’s symbol on the front and back of the convoy. Wells said many of the civilians who joined the convoy fled Mariupol.

“We had seven buses with seven volunteer bus drivers, and that would allow about 350 people to board,” Wells said. “But then our private cars started joining the caravan from Berdynsk to Zaporizhia. By the end of that caravan to Zaporizhia, they estimated that there were about 100 civilian vehicles, which reached about 1,000 of us.”

Wells said it took two days to evacuate from Bardiansk to Zaporizhia. He said similar missions in Mariupol would take more time.

Wells said: “To do this for 100,000 people, we need a contract to keep up with the day, not just the hours.”

No matter how much time is spent on humanitarian corridors, Wells said some civilians are forced to leave behind.

“What will happen to the elderly? What will happen to people with disabilities? Not everyone is able to get in their own car or get on the bus,” Wells said. “So, there is also the need to bring help to these places and civilians still need to be protected and respected from hostilities.”

SAN FRANCISCO – Tesla CEO Elon Musk will not join Twitter’s board of directors as previously announced. The tycoon remains the largest shareholder on Twitter.

Twitter CEO Parag Agarwal tweeted the news, following Musk’s tweets over the weekend, suggesting possible changes to Twitter, including the site being ad-free. About 90% of Twitter’s 2021 revenue comes from advertising.

“Elon’s appointment to the board was supposed to take effect on 4/9, but Elon shared the same morning that he would not be joining the board,” Agarwal wrote in a reposted note sent to Tesla staff. “I believe it’s for the best.”

Agarwal did not provide an explanation for Musk’s apparent decision, although he did omit a key clue. The Twitter board “believes Elon is a trusted person in the company, where he, like all board members, must act in the best interests of the company and all of our shareholders. That was the best way forward.”

Musk posted a few mysterious tweets late Sunday, including a meme showing, “By all means, your honor, my client was in goblin mode,” followed by a “explaining everything.” Another, later tweet was an emoji with a hand on the face.

He now owns 9% of Twitter, raising questions about how he could try to reshape the social media platform as Twitter’s largest shareholder.

Musk’s 80.5 million Twitter followers make him one of the platform’s most popular figures, competing with pop stars such as Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga. But his extensive tweets sometimes got him into trouble, such as when he used it to promote his business ventures, gather Tesla loyalists, question the epidemic, and fight.

In a famous example, Musk apologized to a British cave explorer who complained that the CEO of Tesla had branded him a pedophile by angrily referring to him as “Pedo Guy” – and later deleted the tweet. The plaintiff filed a defamation suit, although the Los Angeles jury later cleared the mask.

He has been embroiled in a long-running dispute with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over his Twitter activity. In 2018, Musk and Tesla agreed to pay 40 million in civil fines, and Musk agreed to have his tweets approved by a corporate lawyer after he tweeted about having অর্থ 420 per share to take Tesla private. That didn’t happen, but Tesla stock prices jumped because of the tweet. His lawyer claims that the SEC is violating Mask’s right to freedom of speech.

Musk described himself as a “free speech liberal” and said he did not think Twitter adhered to the “freedom of speech” principle – an opinion shared by followers of Donald Trump and a number of right-wing political figures whose accounts have been suspended. For violating the rules of Twitter content.

But it is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. Other engagements with the service include arguing for Twitter’s algorithm to be visible to the public, widening the availability of “verified” Twitter accounts, and exploding a profile photo initiative involving non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.

Musk also called it a “crypto spam bot” that searches for tweets for cryptocurrency-related keywords and then pretends to be customer support in empty user’s crypto wallets, which is “the most annoying problem on Twitter.”

Twitter’s CEO and other board members praised Musk, suggesting they take his ideas seriously.

Agarwal’s initial steps since taking over from co-founder Jack Dorsey in November have involved restructuring departments without major changes. The company has long lagged behind its social media competitors and boasts far fewer users.

KYIV, Ukraine – Russia is targeting the whole of Europe with its invasion of Ukraine, and stopping the Moscow invasion is vital to the security of all democracies, says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky when Russian forces were ready to fight before his country.

Addressing the “free people of a brave country”, Zelensky said in a late-night video message to Ukrainians that Russia’s war goal was “not intended to be confined to Ukraine alone” and that “the whole European project is a goal.”

“So it is not just the moral responsibility of all democracies, of all European powers, to support Ukraine’s desire for peace,” he said.

His address came as civilians fled the eastern part of the country before an expected attack, and emergency workers searched for survivors in cities north of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, which are no longer occupied by Russian forces.

Russia has withdrawn its troops from the north of the country and re-focused on the eastern Donbass region, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces for eight years and controlled some territories before the war, now in its 46th day.

Western military analysts say an arcade territory in eastern Ukraine was under attack, from Kharkiv – Ukraine’s second-largest city – to Kherson in the north. A newly released Maxar Technologies satellite image collected on Friday shows an 8-mile (13-kilometer) military vehicle convoy heading south through the town of Veliki Burluk towards Donbass.

However, Western assessments have shown growing confidence in the ability of Ukraine’s defenders to repel Russian aggression, portraying Russian troops as victims of low morale and increasing casualties.

Britain’s defense ministry said on Sunday that the Russian military wanted to respond to “increasing losses” by increasing the number of troops, including those who had been discharged from military service since 2012.

In an update on Twitter, the ministry added that the Russian military’s efforts to “create more combat forces” included attempts to recruit troops from Trans-Nister, an isolated area on Moldova’s border with Ukraine.

Russia-backed separatists in eastern Moldova took up arms in 1992 to establish Trans-Nister, which is not internationally recognized and where Russia maintains about 1,500 troops.

Several European leaders have tried to show solidarity with war-torn Ukraine. In his video address, Zelensky thanked the leaders of Britain and Austria for their visit to Kyiv on Saturday and promised further support.

He thanked the President of the European Commission and the Prime Minister of Canada for organizing a global fundraising event that brought in more than 10 billion euros ($ 11 billion) for the millions of Ukrainians who fled their homes.

Zelensky reiterated his call for a complete ban on Russian oil and gas, which he called Russia’s “source of confidence and impunity.” Some European countries rely heavily on imported Russian power.

“There is no time to wait for independence,” Zelensky said. “When dictatorships start aggression against everything that maintains peace in Europe, immediate action must be taken.”

In an interview with the Associated Press at his heavily guarded presidential office complex, Zelensky said Russia had “tortured” Ukraine even though he was committed to negotiating a diplomatic end to the war.

He also acknowledged that peace is unlikely to come soon. So far, the talks have not included Russian President Vladimir Putin or other top officials.

“We have to fight, but we have to fight for our lives. When there is nothing and no people, you cannot fight for the dust. That is why it is important to end this war, “said the President.

Ukrainian authorities have accused Russian forces of committing war crimes against thousands of civilians during the attack, including a hospital airstrike, a missile attack that killed 52 people at a train station on Friday and firing near residents of northern cities.

Graphic evidence of civilian casualties emerged after Russian forces withdrew from Bucha, and firefighters were searching buildings in Borodianka, another settlement outside Kiev. Russia denies involvement in the war and falsely claims that the scene was staged in Bucharest.

Ukrainian authorities say they expect to see more genocide once they arrive in the southern port city of Mariupol, which is also in Donbass and has been the victim of months of blockades and fierce fighting. The location of the city in the Azov Sea is important for the construction of a land bridge over the Crimean peninsula, which Russia occupied from Ukraine eight years ago.

Ukrainian officials have been urging Western powers to send more weapons almost daily and to impose more sanctions on Moscow, including the exclusion of Russian banks from the global financial system and the European Union’s full embargo on Russian gas and oil.

During his visit on Saturday, Austrian Chancellor Carl Nehamar said he expected more EU sanctions against Russia, but defended his country’s opposition to cutting off Russian gas supplies.

A package of sanctions imposed this week “will not end,” the chancellor said, adding that “as long as people are dying, every approval is still insufficient.” Austria is militarily neutral and not a member of NATO.

A day after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit, the United Kingdom has pledged an additional 100 100 million ($ 130 million) in high-grade military equipment. Johnson confirmed further financial assistance, with the World Bank guaranteeing an additional $ 500 million in loans to Ukraine, bringing Britain’s total loan guarantee up to $ 1 billion.

In an interview with the AP, Zelensky noted the increased support but expressed frustration when asked if Ukraine had received weapons and equipment from the West enough to change the outcome of the war.

“Not yet,” he said, switching to English to emphasize. “Of course that’s not enough.”

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Anna reports from Buchara, Ukraine. Associated Press journalists from around the world contributed to this report.

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Follow the War AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Two European divers were rescued by fishermen on Saturday but a third, a 14-year-old Dutchman, died four days after they went missing from an island in southern Malaysia about 70 nautical miles (100 kilometers) away. , Authorities said.

Alexia Alexandra Molina, 18, of France, and Adrian Peter Chester, 46, of Britain, were found in neighboring Indonesian waters early Saturday and taken to a hospital, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency reported.

Chester’s Dutch son Nathan Range Chester was missing but Chester told police he died because he was too weak, the agency said in a statement.

The agency said it had informed Indonesian authorities to continue searching for the bodies. A search operation in Malaysia has been suspended.

Molina and Chester were found 16 nautical miles (30 kilometers) north of the Indonesian island of Bintan, about 70 nautical miles (100 kilometers) from the news of their disappearance on Wednesday, Marsing Police Chief Cyril Edward Nuing said.

The three were diving with their Norwegian instructor Christine Grodem on an island near the town of Marsing in the southern Malaysian state of Johor, about 15 meters (50 feet) deep. Grodem, 35, was rescued by a tugboat on Thursday. He said the four of them got up safely on Wednesday afternoon but later moved away from the boat and were separated by strong currents.

Grodem was training for three other people who wanted to get advanced diving licenses, maritime officials said.

The boat’s captain was detained for further investigation, and diving activities at Marsing were suspended. There are several islands outside the city that are popular dive spots.

The Malaysian border was reopened to foreigners on April 1 after being closed for more than two years during the COVID-19 epidemic.