ap-breaking
Indonesian troops kill Papuan rebel commander
JAYAPURA, Indonesia (AP) Two Papuan independence fighters, including a rebel commander, were killed in ongoing clashes between Indonesian security forces and a rebel group in the country s troubled easternmost region, authorities said Thursday.The clashes began last month in restive Papua province after rebels set fire to several schools and killed two teachers in Beoga village in Puncak district.Police and military forces launched a joint operation to find the attackers, who authorities believe belong to the West Papua Liberation Army, the military wing of the Free Papua Organization.A joint military and police force killed two of the Papuan fighters during a battle Wednesday with dozens of rebels who were armed with military-grade weapons as well as axes and arrows in Wuloni village in mountainous Puncak district, said Iqbal Alqudussy, spokesperson for the joint operation.He said the rebels fled into the jungle and two were found dead by soldiers combing the area. Security forces seized a military helmet, separatist flags, documents and scores of axes, machetes and arrows from the battle scene, he said.One of the dead men, identified as Lesmin Waker, was a rebel commander who killed a member of the joint security forces in a gunfight two weeks ago, Alqudussy said.A spokesperson for the rebels couldn t immediately be reached for comment.Wednesday s clash happened weeks after the chief of Papua s intelligence agency, Brig. Gen. Gusti Putu Danny Nugraha, was killed in a rebel ambush while on a patrol after the guerrillas set fire to an elementary school and houses in a village.An independence movement and low-level insurgency has simmered in the Papua region since the early 1960s, when Indonesia took control of the former Dutch territory. Papua was formally incorporated into Indonesia in 1969 after a U.N.-sponsored ballot that was seen as a sham by many.Nowadays, indigenous Papuans, largely shut out of their region s economy, are poorer, sicker and more likely to die young than people elsewhere in Indonesia.
Hayes psychological methods keep Chelsea women flying high
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes has deployed the right tactics while leading her team to its first Women s Champions League final. And her psychological methods have paid off, too.Before facing Bayern Munich in the second leg of the semifinals and down 2-1, she showed her players a video of a female UFC champion repeating the phrase I m the best moments before a fight.Hayes gives teamwork and leadership lessons by encouraging players to learn from the habits of geese, who fly in formation, take turns at the front and hold each other accountable.That s a big part of who I am developing mentality, mindsets, Hayes said recently. I might have some performance psychology support for individuals but ... the best psychologist is the coach.Hayes will be trying to become the first Englishwoman to coach a team to victory in the tournament when Chelsea faces Barcelona on Sunday in Gothenburg, Sweden. Chelsea got there by beating Bayern 4-1 nearly two weeks ago, eliminating the German club 5-3 on aggregate.Only two female coaches have won Europe s premier club competition, the last coming 12 years ago with Martina Voss-Tecklenburg of German club Duisburg. Finalists since then have all been coached by men.For someone who once hoped to become an intelligence officer I had no ambition to be a football coach. I wanted to be a spy for MI5 or MI6, she said in 2019 it s perhaps no surprise that the 44-year-old Hayes emphasizes the mental side of the game.Hayes always-entertaining news conferences and interviews have included references to brain-function analysis as well as cups of tea, days out with her young son, and the occasional expletive.Hayes, who grew up in a working-class family in north London, has a no excuses philosophy in which she asks the team each week if there s anything she missed in preparation, thereby transferring responsibility to the players.She makes us used to having the pressure so whenever the moments come where it s a pressured game, it s not that big of a deal for us because we deal with that pressure every day, said Chelsea captain Magdalena Eriksson, who cleared a ball off the line late in the win over Bayern.She s taken Chelsea to this point, the Sweden defender continued. She s pushed us every year.Hayes became Chelsea manager in 2012 and has built one of the world s best teams, amassing international talent like Australia striker Sam Kerr, Denmark forward Pernille Harder and England forward Fran Kirby.Under Hayes, Chelsea has won the Women s Super League four times the most in England in addition to other trophies.The London club has a chance to match Arsenal s quadruple from 2007, when Hayes was an assistant coach there. Chelsea has already won the WSL title and the League Cup. After Sunday s final, there s still the women s FA Cup.You can t have that many days off in this business, Hayes said after clinching the WSL title last Sunday.Hayes has credited her experience in the United States with shaping her, telling Chelsea TV that she was born in England but I was definitely made in America that I m certain of, from winning mentality to determination.In search of coaching opportunities, she left London in her early 20s and led a semi-pro team in Long Island before becoming head coach at Iona College. After the Arsenal stint, she was hired in 2008 as head coach and director of operations for the Chicago Red Stars ahead of the inaugural season of Women s Professional Soccer, the precursor to the current NWSL.A fan of former Chicago Bulls head coach Phil Jackson, Hayes was fired early in the 2010 season after only one win in the team s first six games.Today, though, her high-flying Chelsea team is the first English club since Arsenal in 2007 to reach the European final. Like geese, she said, any of her players are capable of stepping up. Alex Ferguson had used a similar metaphor when he managed Manchester United.I have shown them why they fly in V-formations, Hayes said, what its purpose is, what everybody s role is, how they communicate, how they support each other, and importantly that you fly further together and that s the bottom line. Same for my team. Sometimes different people take the lead.___More AP soccer: https: apnews.com hub soccer and https: twitter.com AP_Sports
Miami TV crew attacked filming fight on South Beach
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) A television news crew was attacked while filming a fight that broke out in Miami Beach on Wednesday night, police said.CBS4 reporter Bobeth Yates and photojournalist Ebenezer Mends were reporting a story about recent unruly behavior in South Beach when a group of people turned on them, Yates said during an 11 p.m. news broadcast.Just really shaken up. Been reporting for a very long time, don t want to date myself, but about 20 years, and I ve never been attacked like this on a story, Yates said. The ironic part was, we were actually covering crime on South Beach.The Miami Beach City Commission voted Wednesday to restrict early-morning alcohol sales as a way to combat unruly behavior. Starting May 22, last call will be rolled back from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. during a seven-month pilot program.An entertainment-only district has given us something we just can t control, said Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber during the commission meeting.Just before 9 p.m. Wednesday, a 911 call came in regarding a large fight that had broken out on Ocean Drive, according to Miami Beach police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez. He said the crew was attacked when they began filming the fight.Video shows several men asking the cameraman to stop filming. One man is then seen pushing the camera away.I tried to push them back, Yates said during the broadcast.At some point, Yates and Mends had what they believe was alcohol thrown at them. The crew was not injured, but police said their equipment was damaged.Two men were arrested and charged with criminal mischief and battery. Their names have not been released.
Hamas, Israel fighting escalates even amid truce efforts
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) Hamas sent a heavy barrage of rockets deep into Israel on Thursday, and Israel pounded Gaza with more airstrikes. The relentless escalation of hostilities came even as Egyptian negotiators held in-person talks with the two sides, intensifying efforts at mediation.Previous fighting between Israel and Gaza s Hamas rulers, including a devastating 2014 war, was largely confined to the impoverished and blockaded Palestinian territory and Israeli communities on the frontier. But this round seems to be rippling farther and wider than at any time since the 2000 Palestinian intifada, or uprising.While some rocket attacks have reached the Tel Aviv area, Arab and Jewish mobs have rampaged through the streets, savagely beating people and torching cars. Flights have been canceled or diverted away from the country s main airport.Weary Palestinians, meanwhile, somberly marked the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Thursday as militants fired one barrage of rockets after another and Israel carried out waves of bone-rattling airstrikes. Since the rockets began Monday, Israel has toppled three high-rise buildings that it said housed Hamas facilities after warning civilians to evacuate.Gaza s Health Ministry said the death toll has climbed to 83 Palestinians, including 17 children and seven women, with more than 480 people wounded. Islamic Jihad confirmed the deaths of seven militants, while Hamas has acknowledged 13 of its militants killed, including a senior commander. Israel says the number of militants dead is much higher.Seven people have been killed in Israel. Among them were a soldier killed by an anti-tank missile and a 6-year-old child hit in a rocket attack.Many world leaders have condemned the violence and urged restraint, and a visit by Egyptian security officials was a significant development in international efforts to bring about a cease-fire; such efforts have been key to ending past rounds of fighting. The officials met first with Hamas leaders in Gaza before holding talks with the Israelis in Tel Aviv, two Egyptian intelligence officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.Still, both Israel and Hamas seemed determined to press ahead.Even as word came of the mediators presence, Gaza militants fired a volley of some 100 rockets nearly simultaneously, raising air raid sirens around southern and central Israel.There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties but the barrage appeared aimed at demonstrating that Hamas arsenal was still full even after three nights of airstrikes and the killing Wednesday of several Hamas leaders involved in the rocket program.The decision to bomb Tel Aviv, Dimona and Jerusalem is easier for us than drinking water, a spokesman for Hamas military wing declared in a video message. Dimona is the site of Israel s nuclear reactor. Our conflict will reach you whenever you turn any aggression against our people, he said.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited batteries of the Iron Dome missile defense system, which the military says has intercepted 90% of the 1,200 rockets that have reached Israel from Gaza so far.It will take more time, but with great firmness ... we will achieve our goal to restore peace to the State of Israel, he said.The previous evening, Israeli TV reported Netanyahu s Security Cabinet authorized a widening of the offensive that the military says has already hit 600 targets in Gaza.In Gaza, a pall was cast over Eid al-Fitr, the holiday at the end of Ramadan s month of daily fasting. It is usually a festive time when families shop for new clothes and gather for large feasts.Instead, Hamas urged the faithful to mark communal Eid prayers inside their homes or the nearest mosques instead of out in the open, as is traditional.Hassan Abu Shaaban tried to lighten the mood by passing out candy to passers-by after prayers, but acknowledged there is no atmosphere for Eid at all.It is all airstrikes, destruction and devastation, he said. May God help everyone.In Gaza s southern town of Khan Younis, dozens of mourners marched through the streets carrying the bodies of an 11-year-old and a 13-year-old killed when an Israeli airstrike hit near their home Wednesday.In Israel, rocket fire brought life to a standstill in southern communities near Gaza, but also reached as far north as the Tel Aviv area, about 70 kilometers (45 miles) away, for a second straight day.Israel diverted some incoming flights from Ben Gurion International Airport, near the city, to the Ramon airfield in the country s far south, the Transportation Ministry said. Several flights have also been canceled.Hamas said it fired its most powerful rocket, the Ayyash, toward Ramon, 180 kilometers (110 miles) from Gaza. The rocket landed in a desert area, and no air raid sirens sounded, Israeli media reported. Still, flights were briefly suspended at the airport, with several planes left circling before landings and takeoffs were resumed, according to tracking websites.We re coping, sitting at home, hoping it will be OK, said Motti Haim, a resident of the central town of Beer Yaakov and father of two children. It s not simple running to the shelter. It s not easy with the kids.U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the indiscriminate launching of rockets from civilian areas in Gaza toward Israeli population centers, but he also urged Israel to show maximum restraint. U.S. President Joe Biden called Netanyahu to support Israel s right to defend itself, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was sending a senior diplomat to the region.The current eruption of violence began a month ago in Jerusalem, where heavy-handed Israeli police tactics during Ramadan and the threatened eviction of dozens of Palestinian families by Jewish settlers ignited protests and clashes with police. A focal point of clashes between Palestinians and Israeli police was Jerusalem s Al-Aqsa Mosque, built on a hilltop compound that is revered by Jews and Muslims.Israel regards Jerusalem in its entirety as its capital, while the Palestinians want east Jerusalem to be the capital of their future state.Hamas, claiming to be defending the city, launched a barrage of rockets at Jerusalem late Monday, in a dramatic escalation. Hamas banners could be seen outside Al-Aqsa on Thursday as thousands gathered there for Eid prayers.The recent fighting has also set off violent clashes between Arabs and Jews in Israel, in scenes unseen in more than two decades. Netanyahu warned that he was prepared to use an iron fist if necessary to calm the violence.Ugly confrontations erupted again late Wednesday. Jewish and Arab mobs battled in the central city of Lod, the epicenter of the troubles, despite a state of emergency and nighttime curfew. In nearby Bat Yam, Jewish nationalists dragged an Arab motorist from his car and beat him until he was motionless.Israeli police said two people were shot and wounded in Lod and an Israeli Jew was stabbed. An Arab citizen was stabbed and seriously wounded in Jerusalem s central Mahane Yehuda market.In the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military said it intervened in a Palestinian shooting attack that wounded two people. The Palestinian Health Ministry said the suspected gunman was killed.Still unclear is how the fighting in Gaza will affect Netanyahu s political future. He failed to form a government coalition after inconclusive parliamentary elections in March, and now his political rivals have three weeks to try to form one.They have courted a small Islamist Arab party, but the fighting could hamper those efforts.___Krauss reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo, Isabel DeBre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Karin Laub in the West Bank and Ashraf Sweilam in al-Arish, Egypt, contributed.
UK apologizes for 1971 Belfast deaths; families want more
LONDON (AP) A U.K. government minister stood before lawmakers Thursday and formally apologized for the killing of 10 civilians during unrest in Belfast half a century ago, as Britain and Northern Ireland struggle to come to terms with the events of the past.Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis told the House of Commons that the government profoundly regrets and is truly sorry for the events in the Ballymurphy area of west Belfast in 1971. A coroner s court ruled Tuesday that the nine men and one women killed by British troops were innocent victims who weren t threatening soldiers at the time they were shot.The events of Ballymurphy should never have happened, the families of those who were killed should never have had to experience the grief and trauma of that loss, Lewis said. They should have not had to wait nearly five decades for the judgment this week, nor have been compelled to relive that terrible time in August 1971 again and again in their long, distressing quest for truth.Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized Wednesday in a telephone call with the leaders of Northern Ireland s power-sharing government, which includes representatives of both sides of the region s sectarian divide.He repeated the apology in a letter to the families on Thursday, declaring that the duty of the State is to hold itself to the highest standard and that requires us to recognize the hurt and agony caused when we fall short of those standards.The coroner s verdict comes as veterans groups pressure the British government to block the prosecution of former soldiers, many now in their 70s and 80s, for their actions during the violence in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles. In recent weeks the six-county region that is part of the U.K. has been rocked by violent protests fueled by anger over the perceived unfair enforcement of coronavirus restrictions and concerns about Britain s departure from the European Union.More than 3,000 people died during three decades of conflict between between mostly Catholic supporters of unification with the Republic of Ireland and mostly Protestant backers of continued links with the United Kingdom.The killings in Ballymurphy occurred over three days in August 1971 as the British Army sought to implement a new government policy that allowed for the arrest and internment without trial of suspected militants. Violence flared when protesters confronted soldiers who had moved into the largely Catholic area to arrest suspected members of the Irish Republican Army.High Court Justice Siobhan Keegan ruled Tuesday that all of the victims were entirely innocent and weren t engaged in paramilitary activity at the time they were shot. The dead included a mother of eight and a Catholic priest who was waving a white handkerchief as a sign of peace while assisting a wounded man.Their families had fought for decades for a new inquiry to clear the names of their loved ones after earlier inquests proved inconclusive, fueling suggestions that the victims were somehow responsible for the shootings.The families said the apology from Lewis, though more formal than Johnson s, still was not enough.Former Prime Minister David Cameron, for example, gave a public statement in the Commons beamed to thousands gathered in Londonderry also known as Derry to admit that British troops were fully at fault for the deaths of 13 demonstrators in 1972 during what is now known as Bloody Sunday. Many locals long distrustful of British leaders wept at the act of contrition that followed the release of a fact-finding probe.John Teggart, whose father was killed at Ballymurphy, said the government s public apology should come from Johnson.The right thing to do would be for it to come from the head of state: Boris Johnson, Teggart said. We ll not be rushing him, just whenever he is ready he can come and speak to the families.
Biden team aware of political perils from pipeline shutdown
The Biden administration swung aggressively into action after a primary gasoline pipeline fell prey to a cyberattack understanding that the situation posed a possible series of political and economic risks.The pipeline shutdown was an all-hands-on-deck situation for a young presidency that has also had to deal with a pandemic, a recession, an influx of unaccompanied children at the U.S.-Mexico border, a troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and high-stakes showdowns globally that carry the specter of war.The administration devoted the first half of the week to showcasing all the steps it was taking to get gas back to service stations in affected areas. It scrambled into action after ransom-seeking hackers on Friday shut down the pipeline, which delivers about 45% of the East Coast s gas. The shutdown caused a supply crunch and spiking prices all of which the administration was preparing to address.President Joe Biden was scheduled to deliver remarks on the pipeline incident Thursday morning, more evidence of his administration s awareness of the political perils associated with the shutdown and of White House efforts to turn the situation into a new reason to argue for his infrastructure package.Hours before the Colonial Pipeline was restarted on Wednesday, Biden had signaled that there were reasons for optimism.The president followed with an executive order to improve cybersecurity. Biden s team seized on the shutdown as an argument for approving the president s $2.3 trillion infrastructure package.Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the cyberattack was a reminder that infrastructure is a national security issue and investments for greater resilience are needed.This is not an extra, this is not a luxury, this is not an option, Buttigieg said. This has to be core to how we secure critical infrastructure.The Department of Homeland Security issued a temporary waiver of a federal law overseeing maritime commerce to an individual company, not identified by the government, to allow the transportation of additional gas and jet fuel between Gulf Coast and East Coast ports.The Transportation Department was surveying how many vessels could carry fossil fuels to the Gulf of Mexico and Eastern Seaboard to provide gasoline. Waivers were issued to expand the hours that fuel can be transported by roadways. The Environmental Protection Agency issued waivers on gas blends and other regulations to ease any supply challenges.The technology firm Gasbuddy.com found that 28% of stations were out of fuel in North Carolina. In Georgia, South Carolina and Virginia, more than 16% of stations were without gas.The sudden supply crunch after last week s hack showed the challenges that can pop up for a White House that must constantly respond to world events.Republican lawmakers were quick to criticize the administration for previously canceling plans to construct the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada. Biden had canceled its permit over risks of spills and worries that climate change would worsen by burning the oil sands crude that would have flowed through the pipeline.The Colonial Pipeline crisis shows that we need more American energy to fuel our economy, not less, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California said on Twitter. He said Biden had left our energy supply more vulnerable to attacks by blocking the Keystone XL pipeline.The cyberattack was but one of many challenges confronting the president.Within just a few days, the Biden administration has also been dealt a disappointing monthly jobs report, a potentially worrisome increase in inflation and lethal violence in Israel. It is still trying to vaccinate the country against the coronavirus, send out hundreds of billions of dollars in economic aid and pass its own sweeping jobs and education agenda.You have to be prepared to juggle multiple challenges, multiple crises at one time, and that s exactly what we re doing at this moment, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday.Higher energy prices often have political fallout, complicating reelection campaigns for incumbents outside oil-producing regions. The 1979 fuel shortage crushed Jimmy Carter s presidential reelection efforts and helped usher in the Reagan era.Research published last year by the World Bank looked at 207 elections across 50 democracies and found an oil price spike a year before the election systematically lower the odds of incumbents being reelected. The findings applied to both conservatives and liberals, showing a degree of pragmatism by voters.The best way for Biden to respond was probably to show that he understands how rising gas prices can hurt family budgets and to move quickly to help fix the pipeline problem.It s important for the president to show empathy and recognize the position that the average American is in vis- -vis gas prices, said Mark Jones, a political science professor at Rice University in Houston. Gas prices are something that don t affect the elite and our politicians are all among the elite.