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Karabakh teaches harsh lessons to those who accepted a ‘frozen conflict’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:48 GMT

By agreeing to surrender their weapons, Armenian rebels in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan have ended their attempt to create a breakaway state. Although a so-called ‘frozen conflict’ enabled them to hold out for decades, their final defeat was swift, sudden and ultimately inevitable in the face of Azerbaijan’s determination to reassert sovereignty over its sovereign territory, writes Political Editor Nick Powell.Even frozen conflicts do not last for ever. Russia, the United States and the European Union should have been shaken out of their complacency in 2020, when Azeri forces liberated all parts of their country that had been under Armenian occupation, with the exception of part of Kararabakh.This mountainous and beautiful region, considered to be the Azeris’ cultural heartland, has long had Armenians living there. But it had always been recognised as part of Azerbaijan, both by the Soviet Union and by the entire international community after independence from Moscow.Ever since...

Protesters gather outside Karen Bass' L.A. Mayor's Mansion; demand meeting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:48 GMT

Families displaced by a 2021 explosion in South Los Angeles have gathered outside the Mayor's Mansion in Hancock Park Wednesday morning demanding a meeting with Karen Bass.The protesters, carrying megaphones, signs and a banner calling for the arrest of the officers involved in the blast, were seen outside the mansion by 5:30 a.m.It's been more than 800 days since the Los Angeles Police Department attempted to safely detonate 16 tons of illegal fireworks found at a home on East 27th Street. Protest grows outside Karen Bass' L.A. Mayor's Mansion on Sept. 20, 2023. (KTLA)Unfortunately, the armored containment vessel the fireworks were placed in exploded, injuring at least 17 people, and damaging or destroying 37 vehicles, 13 businesses and 22 residential properties.Some of the displaced residents have been living in a hotel since the blast because their homes still have not been repaired. Many are experiencing financial hardships due to the incident and say they have not received help...

Pro-Armenian demonstrators block 101 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:48 GMT

Pro-Armenian demonstrators shut down the 101 Freeway near downtown Los Angeles late Tuesday night to highlight the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan that some fear could escalate into a war.The protest occurred around 10:30 p.m.A large group of demonstrators were seen waving Armenian flags along with a large sign that read, "Joe Biden Don't Ignore Us."Sky5 video showed the crowd stopped outside on the freeway while their vehicles were parked in a cluster. Traffic was backed up for miles as California Highway Patrol officers directed drivers.Demonstrators shut down the 101 Freeway calling attention to the ongoing crisis between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Sept. 19, 2023. (KTLA)Demonstrators shut down the 101 Freeway calling attention to the ongoing crisis between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Sept. 19, 2023. (KTLA)Demonstrators shut down the 101 Freeway calling attention to the ongoing crisis between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Sept. 19, 2023. (KTLA)Demonstrators shut down the ...

Arson suspect spotted leaving scene of Hollywood fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:48 GMT

A man was seen walking away from a fire that had just been set in a Hollywood intersection early Wednesday morning. The incident occurred around 3:50 a.m. near Wilcox and Franklin avenues along the border of Hollywood and Hollywood Hills.The man who allegedly set the fire was seen walking westbound on Franklin and eventually disappeared into a nearby building, an OnScene.TV stringer news reporter said. A man is seen walking away from a fire in the Hollywood area. (OnScene.TV)The reporter called 911 as flames shot into the air near a Prius that was parked on the street. Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters responded to the scene and quickly doused the flames. The fire did cause damage to the tire and back bumper of the Prius.

Apashe is the Antagonist

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:48 GMT

Apashe is the Antagonist: Brussels-born/Montreal-based electronic artist Apashe got started with production first in different stages.“Around the age of 9, I started messing in Fruity Loops that my sister had installed on my dad’s computer,” he says. “It was kind of a game to me, you click on little boxes and it makes a simple beat. It’s only a few years later around the age 14/15, I realised that the same ‘game’ is actually a very powerful tool that I can use to make music similar to the one I listen to. That’s when I took this whole thing more seriously. Then later on when my music got some attention I started DJ-ing so I could play it at parties.”Apashe says that his sound today is hard to nail down.“It’s always hard to pinpoint because it goes in all directions but the one thing that often ties it all together is the classical or orchestral side of it,” Apashe says. “I can do a rap song, house or even drum and bass but the one thing that...

San Jose man convicted of random, deadly stabbing is fatally stabbed in L.A. County prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:48 GMT

A man convicted of a random, fatal stabbing in San Jose in 2017 died in a Southern California prison last month after he was stabbed by another inmate, authorities said.Alan Christopher Gaeta, 46, was stabbed to death in a state prison in Los Angeles County in August 2023. He was convicted in 2019 of randomly and fatally stabbing 31-year-old Rodolfo Lopez in San Jose two years prior. (San Jose Police Dept.) Alan Christopher Gaeta was attacked Aug. 16 at the California State Prison, Los Angeles County and died at a hospital the same day. The county medical examiner’s office confirmed that he died of a stab wound in his neck.The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told this news organization that another inmate at the facility in Lancaster, Michael Lloyd Clark, 54, is alleged to have committed the stabbing, presumably with a homemade knife that “was recovered nearby.”Gaeta, 46, was serving a life sentence in state prison after he was convicte...

Bay Area News Group high school football predictions: Week 5, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:48 GMT

It’s that time of the week again — 16 more picks as we head into the fifth week of the high school football season.My advantage has widened over the two others in the Bay Area News Group’s all-in-fun competition — Mike Lefkow and Joseph Dycus — after I went 10-6 in Week 4.Lefkow finished 9-7. Dycus went 7-9.Dycus is eight games back in the season standings, and Lefkow is five games out of first.As was the case last week, Dycus can make up ground if he has a good week. He went against yours truly in five of the 16 games on this week’s list, choosing Logan over Heritage, Palo Alto over Menlo-Atherton, Bellarmine over Valley Christian, Folsom over De La Salle and (yes) Milpitas over California.Lefkow and I agreed on every game but two: He picked Castlemont over Mt. Diablo and St. Ignatius over Riordan.In this week’s video, I lost track of the games we were picking. Oops. My apologies to Logan and Heritage and Lincoln and Silver Creek. Our picks...

Insurance premiums could surge in these U.S. cities because of climate disasters, new data shows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:48 GMT

By Ella Nilsen and Krystina Shveda | CNNMillions of American homeowners could see insurance rates surge in the coming years in part due to worsening climate disasters, new data shows.An analysis of from nonprofit research group First Street Foundation found nearly 39 million homes and commercial properties – about 27% of properties in the Lower 48 – are at risk of their premiums spiking as insurers struggle to cover the increasing cost of rebuilding after disasters.It’s another alarming sign for the future of America’s homeowners’ insurance market. In the last few years, major insurers have pulled out of or stopped writing new policies in California, Florida and Louisiana – in part citing increased climate risks like more destructive wildfires and stronger hurricanes.But while insurance prices have already surged in those states, First Street found it’s still growing in other places we think of as less risky.“This is not just isolated to particular areas of the country, but also wil...

After 3 years of pandemic, Los Cilantros restaurant reopens in Berkeley

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:48 GMT

For a while, folks who dared duck past the truly gnarly 3-D mural at Berkeley’s La Peña Cultural Center would find a hidden gem of a restaurant – Los Cilantros, serving simple but satisfying Mexican fare like enchiladas verdes and grilled rockfish tacos.Then the pandemic came, and the restaurant shut its doors for the first time since 2014. Dilsa Lugo, chef and owner, packed up shop and moved to a kiosk at the shared commercial kitchen La Cocina Municipal Marketplace in San Francisco. Of course, things weren’t the same – but now they are, and also aren’t, as Los Cilantros reopened last week after three years of closure with a revamped interior and menu highlighting the chef’s hometown of Cuernavaca.The Mexican restaurant Los Cilantros has reopened at its old location in Berkeley’s La Peña Cultural Center after three years of pandemic. Pictured: Dilsa Lugo, chef and owner of Los Cilantros (Eric Wolfinger) Fish tacos are still on offer at the joint, ...

Gas is rapidly approaching $6 in California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:36:48 GMT

By Matt Egan | CNNNew York  — Pain at the pump is returning across the United States, especially on the West Coast.In California, gas prices are rapidly approaching $6 a gallon. According to AAA, the state average has spiked by 31 cents in the past week alone, to $5.79 gallon.The move has been even more dramatic in the Los Angeles-Long Beach metro area, where gas prices hit $6.07 a gallon on Wednesday, up 49 cents in a week.But it’s not just California drivers experiencing sticker shock. Drivers in 11 states on average now face gas at $4 a gallon, including $5 or higher in Washington and Nevada.Nationally, gas prices remain well below the record of $5.02 set last June. Still, US gas prices climbed this week to $3.88 a gallon, the highest level of the entire year, according to AAA.And oil prices — the main driver of retail pump prices — continue to set new highs in large part because that’s what Saudi Arabia and Russia want.Boosted by those two nations’ aggressive supply cuts, US oil...