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NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Children across parts of the U.S. Northeast will stay home on Monday as a powerful winter storm forced school closures and pushed offices and transit systems onto emergency schedules, with officials across the ‌region warning of heavy snow, strong winds and dangerous travel conditions.

Winter snow storm hits New York City

The storm has already snarled travel along the East Coast from ‌Washington to New England, with airlines canceling thousands of flights and officials urging people to stay off the roads. Winter weather in the Northeast may also slow the ​processing, transport and delivery of mail and packages, the U.S. Postal Service said.

New York City, the nation's largest school district, ordered all public school buildings closed for a traditional snow day, with no remote instruction and all after-school programs canceled.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared a state of emergency and ordered non-essential vehicles off city roads from Sunday night to noon Monday, saying plows and emergency crews needed the streets clear as snowfall intensified. ‌The city is under its first blizzard warning ⁠since 2017.

City offices will close for in-person services, and non-essential municipal employees may work remotely. "I'm urging every New Yorker to please stay home," Mamdani said.

REGIONAL EMERGENCIES

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she had activated 100 National ⁠Guard members to assist in Long Island, New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley - areas expected to bear the brunt of the heavy snow and coastal winds. The storm also forced closure of the U.N. headquarters complex in Manhattan on Monday.

Parts of the Northeast could see up to two ​feet of ​snow and wind gusts could reach 70 mph, raising the risk of ​falling trees and power outages, according to the Department ‌of Homeland Security.

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In an update on Sunday, the agency said despite its ongoing funding lapse, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster‑response work continues uninterrupted, including staff travel, emergency operations, and critical assistance for people affected by active disasters, with life safety and property protection remaining top priorities.

Last week, Reuters reported that President Donald Trump's administration had ordered FEMA to suspend the deployment of hundreds of aid workers to disaster-affected areas around the country while the DHS is shut down.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey declared an emergency and told state workers to stay home. Connecticut ‌barred commercial vehicles from limited-access highways Sunday evening, exempting only emergency and essential ​deliveries.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill declared a statewide emergency effective noon Sunday and urged ​residents to take the storm seriously. "People need to take ​this very seriously," she told CNN.

TRAVEL DISRUPTIONS

Air travel was among the earliest casualties. Flight-tracking site FlightAware showed more ‌than 5,000 flights already canceled for Monday. Aviation analytics firm ​Cirium said more than 25,000 flights ​were scheduled to depart from the United States on Monday, with cancellations also rising for Tuesday, especially at major Northeast airports.

NJ TRANSIT suspended bus, light rail and Access Link service Sunday evening and halted statewide rail service by Sunday night, with operations ​resuming only when conditions allow.

In New England, the ‌Rhode Island Public Transit Authority said it would suspend all service — including its RIde paratransit program — from Sunday night ​through Monday and would announce plans to resume service only when conditions improve.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago; ​Additional reporting by Tatiana Bautzer in New York; editing by Diane Craft)

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's top diplomats are set to meet Monday with the director of the Board of Peace in Brussels after a shaky and controversial embrace of U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to secure and rebuild the war-ravaged Gaza Strip.

Board of Peace Explainer

Nikolay Mladenov,a former Bulgarian politician and U.N. diplomat chosen by Trumpto manage the Board of Peace, will meet the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and foreign ministers from across the 27-nation bloc. The EU diplomats are also expected to discuss the war in Ukraine and fresh sanctions on Russia.

Just across the Mediterranean Sea from the Middle East,the EU has deep links to Israel and the Palestinians. It now plays a crucial oversight role at the Rafah border crossing, and is the top donor to the Palestinian Authority.

The question of whether to work with the Trump-led board has split national capitals from Nicosia to Copenhagen. The EU is supportive of the United Nations' mandate in Gaza.

EU members Hungary and Bulgaria are full members of the board, as are EU candidate countries Turkey, Kosovo and Albania.

Twelve other EU nationssent observers to the inaugural meeting in Washingtonon Thursday: Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. The EU flag was displayed at the event alongside EU observer and member nations.

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European leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen turned down invitation to join, as did Pope Leo XIV. But von der Leyen did send European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica to the meeting in Washington as an observer.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said sending Šuica without consulting the European Council, the group of the bloc's leaders, broke EU regulations.

"The European Commission should never have attended the Board of Peace meeting in Washington," Barrot said in a post on X. "Beyond the legitimate political questions raised by the 'Board of Peace,' the Commission must scrupulously respect European law and institutional balance in all circumstances."

"It is in the remit of the Commission to accept invitations," von der Leyen spokesperson Paula Pinho said Friday.

While the executive is not joining the board, it is seeking to influence reconstruction and peacekeeping in Gaza beyond being the top donor to the Palestinian Authority, she said.

Trump'sballooning ambitionsfor the board extend from governing and rebuilding Gaza as a futuristic metropolis to challenging the U.N. Security Council's role in solving conflicts. But they could be tempered by the realities of dealing with Gaza, where there has so far been limited progress in achievingthe narrower aimsof the ceasefire.

The Department of Homeland Security on Sunday walked back its decision to suspend the Transportation Security Administration's PreCheck program, after initially sparking confusion for travelers when it said it was temporarily halting the popular service.

TSA "will evaluate on a case-by-case basis and adjust operations" according to staffing changes, a spokesperson for the agency told CNN on Sunday.

DHS said in a statement earlier in the day that PreCheck, along with the Global Entry program, would shut down at 6 a.m. ET amid apartial government shutdown.

But as of Sunday morning, travelers were still able to pass through lines servicing TSA PreCheck at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC.

CNN has reached out to Customs and Border Protection about the status of Global Entry.

Both programs are funded by fees charged to members.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had said in a statement to CNN that TSA and CBP "are focusing on the general traveling public at our airports and ports of entry."

"Shutdowns have serious real-world consequences, not just for the men and women of DHS and their families who go without a paycheck, but it endangers our national security," the statement added. The Washington Postfirst reportedon the measures.

US Travel Association President Geoff Freeman said after the reversal his organization was "glad that DHS has decided to keep PreCheck operational and avoid a crisis of its own making."

"We are urging the same for Global Entry," Freeman said. "These Trusted Traveler Programs strengthen aviation security and improve screening efficiency. They are funded by user fees, and there is no reason at this time for them to be suspended."

The move to suspend the programs would be a significant escalation in how the DHS shutdown would impact travelers, effectively dismantling expedited airport security lanes and fast‑track customs processing relied on by millions of frequent flyers who are US citizens or legal permanent residents as well as international passengersfrom more than 20 countries.

The confusion comes during a partial government shutdown affecting only DHS, after Congress failed to reach a funding agreement amid a standoff overimmigration enforcement policy.

Democrats have pushed for new restrictions on agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and CBP after the fatal shootings of two US citizens by federal officers in Minneapolis this year. Republicans have largely opposed the proposed changes, while pressing Democrats to agree to measures such as stricter enforcement against so‑called sanctuary cities.

DHS also said it is suspending all courtesy and family escorts at airports for members of Congress, saying that service "is drawing staff away from the critical mission of getting passengers screened." TSA said in a statement Sunday the escort service was "suspended to allow officers to focus on the mission of securing America's skies."

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Meanwhile, DHS employees deemed essential, including an estimated63,000TSA agents,have continued working without pay.

Noem: 'Tough but necessary' decisions

Noem said in her statement that "The American people depend on this department every day, and we are making tough but necessary workforce and resource decisions to mitigate the damage inflicted by these politicians."

Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committeecondemnedthe initial move to suspend these programs, accusing DHS' leadership of "punishing travelers" and "ruining your travel on purpose."

US Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman said in a statement his organization was "disgusted" that "Democrats and Republicans have used air traffic controllers, TSA, CBP and the entire travel experience as a means to achieve political ends."

"Travelers should be prioritized, not leveraged," Freeman wrote. "Travel is the gateway to the American economy and Americans should not have their mobility, security or travel experience diminished because elected leaders fail to resolve their differences."

What would immediately change for travelers?

The suspension of TSA PreCheck lanes at US airports would require enrolled travelers to use standard security screening. It's uncertain how international passengers returning or entering the US through Global Entry would be impacted as most of this process is done at automated kiosks. The eventual disruptions are likely to increase wait times at customs and passport control.

CNN has also reached out to the three TSA PreCheck providers processing enrollments as their websites still seem to be accepting applications.

TSA PreCheck, which costs between $76.75 and $85 for a five‑year membership, surpassed 20 million active members in 2024,according to TSA.

More than 12 million travelers are enrolled in Global Entry,according to CBP.The program charges a $120 application fee, also for a five-year membership.

Together, DHS trusted-traveler programs cover more than 40 million vetted airline passengers, according to TSA.

While previous government shutdowns disrupted enrollment operations and led to longer airport lines, TSA PreCheck lanes and Global Entry kiosks remained open.

During last year's record shutdown, the programs were not formally suspended, but staffing shortages contributed to longer security lines, temporary checkpoint closures at some airports, and lingering flight delays and cancellations as congestion spread across the US air travel system.

This story and headline have been updated with additional information.

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THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Prosecutors at theInternational Criminal Courtwill begin presenting evidence Monday to support their charges against former Philippine PresidentRodrigo Duterte, detailing his alleged involvement in dozens of killings as part of his so-called war on drugs.

The ex-leader is facing three counts ofcrimes against humanityfor deadly anti-drugs crackdowns he oversaw, first while he served as mayor of the southern Philippine city of Davao and later as president.

Rights groups and families of victimshailed Duterte's arrest in March, saying it was a step forward for justice.

"We have waited for this for so long, for years we have waited, but we did not relent," Llore Pasco told reporters at a news conference ahead of the hearing. She said both of her sons left for work in May 2017 and never returned. Their bodies were later found riddled with bullets.

The hearing is not a trial, but allows prosecutors to outline their case in court. After weighing the evidence, judges have 60 days to decide whether or not to confirm the charges.

Duterte will not be present for the hearing at The Hague-based court. He waived his right to appear, writing in a letter to judges that he did not want to attend legal proceedings "that I will forget within minutes. I am old, tired, and frail."

He also called the charges against him an "outrageous lie."

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Last month, judges found the octogenarianwas fit to stand trial, afterpostponing an earlier hearingover concerns about his health.

Supporters of Duterte criticized the administration of current Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Duterte's political rival, for arresting and surrendering the former leader to a court whose jurisdiction they dispute. Detractors include his daughter, current Philippine Vice President Sara Dutertewho announced last weekthat she would seek the presidency in the 2028 elections.

Sheerah Escudero is worried about what will happen if another Duterte comes to power. The body of her 18-year-old brother was found wrapped in packaging tape in 2017. "We know that the same policy of killings will continue," she told reporters ahead of the hearing.

Prosecutors at the ICC announced in February 2018 that they would open a preliminary investigation into the violent drug crackdowns. In a move that human rights activists say was aimed at escaping accountability, Duterte, who was president at the time, announced a month later that the Philippines would leave the court.

Judgesrejected a requestfrom Duterte's legal team to throw out the case on the grounds that the court did not have jurisdiction because of the Philippine withdrawal. Countries can't "abuse" their right to withdraw from the court's foundational Rome Statute "by shielding persons from justice in relation to alleged crimes that are already under consideration," the September decision says.

An appeal of that decision is still pending.

Estimates of the death toll during Duterte's presidential term vary, from the more than 6,000 that the national police have reported to up to 30,000 claimed by human rights groups.

NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Children across parts of the U.S. Northeast will stay home on Monday as a powerful winter storm forced school closures and pushed offices and transit systems onto emergency schedules, with officials across the ‌region warning of heavy snow, strong winds and dangerous travel conditions.

Winter snow storm hits New York City

The storm has already snarled travel along the East Coast from ‌Washington to New England, with airlines canceling thousands of flights and officials urging people to stay off the roads. Winter weather in the Northeast may also slow the ​processing, transport and delivery of mail and packages, the U.S. Postal Service said.

New York City, the nation's largest school district, ordered all public school buildings closed for a traditional snow day, with no remote instruction and all after-school programs canceled.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared a state of emergency and ordered non-essential vehicles off city roads from Sunday night to noon Monday, saying plows and emergency crews needed the streets clear as snowfall intensified. ‌The city is under its first blizzard warning ⁠since 2017.

City offices will close for in-person services, and non-essential municipal employees may work remotely. "I'm urging every New Yorker to please stay home," Mamdani said.

REGIONAL EMERGENCIES

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she had activated 100 National ⁠Guard members to assist in Long Island, New York City and the Lower Hudson Valley - areas expected to bear the brunt of the heavy snow and coastal winds. The storm also forced closure of the U.N. headquarters complex in Manhattan on Monday.

Parts of the Northeast could see up to two ​feet of ​snow and wind gusts could reach 70 mph, raising the risk of ​falling trees and power outages, according to the Department ‌of Homeland Security.

Advertisement

In an update on Sunday, the agency said despite its ongoing funding lapse, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster‑response work continues uninterrupted, including staff travel, emergency operations, and critical assistance for people affected by active disasters, with life safety and property protection remaining top priorities.

Last week, Reuters reported that President Donald Trump's administration had ordered FEMA to suspend the deployment of hundreds of aid workers to disaster-affected areas around the country while the DHS is shut down.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey declared an emergency and told state workers to stay home. Connecticut ‌barred commercial vehicles from limited-access highways Sunday evening, exempting only emergency and essential ​deliveries.

New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill declared a statewide emergency effective noon Sunday and urged ​residents to take the storm seriously. "People need to take ​this very seriously," she told CNN.

TRAVEL DISRUPTIONS

Air travel was among the earliest casualties. Flight-tracking site FlightAware showed more ‌than 5,000 flights already canceled for Monday. Aviation analytics firm ​Cirium said more than 25,000 flights ​were scheduled to depart from the United States on Monday, with cancellations also rising for Tuesday, especially at major Northeast airports.

NJ TRANSIT suspended bus, light rail and Access Link service Sunday evening and halted statewide rail service by Sunday night, with operations ​resuming only when conditions allow.

In New England, the ‌Rhode Island Public Transit Authority said it would suspend all service — including its RIde paratransit program — from Sunday night ​through Monday and would announce plans to resume service only when conditions improve.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago; ​Additional reporting by Tatiana Bautzer in New York; editing by Diane Craft)

By Xiuhao Chen, James Pomfret and Hyunjoo Jin

BEIJING/HONG KONG/SEOUL, Feb 23 (Reuters) - China is making a "full assessment" of the U.S. Supreme Court's tariff ruling and has urged Washington to lift "unilateral tariff measures" on its trading partners, warning that fighting between the two ‌countries is "harmful".

The comments from China's Commerce Ministry on Monday came days after the highest U.S. court dealt President Donald Trump a stinging ‌defeat by striking down many of the tariffs he has used in a global trade war, including some against rival China.

Within hours of the ruling, Trump said he would impose ​a new 10% duty on U.S. imports from all countries starting on Tuesday, only then to lift it to 15% in a move that seemed to surprise some of his own officials.

"U.S. unilateral tariffs ... violate international trade rules and U.S. domestic law, and are not in the interests of any party," the Chinese ministry said.

"Cooperation between China and the United States is beneficial to both sides, but fighting is harmful," it added.

Trade and tariffs are expected to dominate the ‌agenda for both China and the U.S. ahead of ⁠a highly anticipated visit by Trump to China in late March and early April - when he will meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.

Trump's planned new levies are grounded in a separate but untested law, known as Section 122, that ⁠allows tariffs up to 15% but requires congressional approval to extend them after 150 days. No president has previously invoked Section 122, and its use could lead to further legal challenges.

"China will continue to pay close attention to this and firmly safeguard its interests," the Commerce Ministry said.

Gao Lingyun, a research fellow at the Chinese ​Academy ​of Social Sciences, was cited by state-run Global Times as saying the U.S. tariff ​decisions are "highly arbitrary" and were being wielded as a "political weapon."

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"Tariff ‌policy should be based on rigorous assessment, not political preference," he was quoted as saying.

The U.S. court's ruling invalidated a number of tariffs that the Trump administration had imposed on Asian export powerhouses from China and South Korea to Japan and Taiwan, the world's largest chipmaker and a key player in tech supply chains.

UNCERTAINTY LOOMS AMID NEW GLOBAL TARIFFS

South Korea said it would continue to consult with the U.S. to maintain a "balance of interests" between the two countries, while its industry minister said there was concern among officals across industries, including cars, batteries and chips.

"The public and private sector need ‌to work together to secure Korean companies' export competitiveness and diversify their markets," Industry ​Minister Kim Jung-kwan said on Monday.

India said it had delayed plans to send a trade ​delegation to Washington this week to finalise an interim trade deal, ​chiefly because of fresh tariff uncertainty out of the U.S., according to a source in its trade ministry.

U.S. tariffs on ‌Indian goods were set to be cut to 18%, while ​India agreed to buy U.S. items ​worth $500 billion over five years, ranging from energy supplies to aircraft and parts, precious metals and technology products.

In Europe, meanwhile, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned of business risks, saying companies want predictability, not legal battles. She said any new tariff plans must be clearly ​defined to avoid further challenges and ensure they ‌comply with the U.S. Constitution.

"To sort of shake it up again is going to bring about disruptions," Lagarde said on CBS' "Face the ​Nation".

(Reporting by Xiuhao Chen, James Pomfret and Ryan Woo in Beijing and Hong Kong; Manoj Kumar in India; Hyunjoo Jin ​in South Korea; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree, Christian Schmollinger and Michael Perry)

MEKELE, Ethiopia (AP) — Gebreegziabher Berehe has stopped waiting for tourists to arrive as many worry about a return to war.

Ethiopia Life Between Wars

The tour guide inEthiopia's northern region of Tigray says his bookings have dried up, ATMs in the city of Mekele are empty and he is considering leaving a country where he can no longer afford to live.

"If war arises again, I think the situation will be even more severe than before," the 37-year-old Berehe said. "My colleagues and I are now facing serious economic and moral crises, even before hearing the sound of any gun."

There is a tense calm in Mekele, the regional capital, but tensions have been rising again between local authorities and Ethiopia's government in Addis Ababa, the federal capital.

The recent conflict

Tigray has been bracing for the possibility of renewed conflict after the parties signeda peace dealin November 2022, ending fighting that killed thousands of people as Ethiopian government troops, backed by allied forces from neighboring Eritrea, fought Tigrayan forces.

Now, Tigray's rulers accuse Ethiopian federal authorities of breaching that agreement with drone strikes. At the same time, Ethiopia's government accuses Eritrea of pivoting to mobilize and fund armed groups in Tigray, with which it shares a border.

In the feared scenario, Eritrea would team up with the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the group that governs Tigray, in armed hostilities against Ethiopian forces.

The conflict that ended in 2022 was brutal, with widespread allegations of sexual violence and the withholding of food as a weapon of war.

Many residents of Mekele are looking for opportunities to escape any new fighting while they can, recalling the communications blackout and travel restrictions that Ethiopia's government imposed on the region during the conflict.

Shifting alliances

Some observers see a possible war trigger in Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed'sforceful stance on efforts to regain Red Sea access for landlocked Ethiopiathrough Eritrea, which was lost when Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after decades of guerrilla warfare.

Abiy told lawmakers earlier this month that the Red Sea and Ethiopia "cannot remain separated forever." Yemane Gebremeskel, the Eritrean government spokesperson, dismissed Abiy's ambition as "delusional malaise" in comments to The Associated Press.

Eritrea, fearing a military strike on its port of Assab, has responded by warming up to its former rivals, Tigray's leaders, even as it denies any alliance. That has caused concern in Addis Ababa, where the Ethiopian government is calling up its reserve forces.

Abiy has tried to build a global image of Ethiopia as a rising power since he took office in 2018. But he has been set back by severalconflictsover the years.

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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called on all parties to exercise restraint, echoed by the European Union and the United Kingdom, which has warned its citizens against traveling to the region.

Ethiopian Airlines, the national carrier, on Jan. 29canceled flights to Tigrayafter clashes broke out between federal troops and Tigrayan forces in Tselemti district, which is part of an area disputed by Tigray and the neighboring Amhara region. The airline resumed flights on Feb. 3.

The violence was followed by drone strikes that killed one person and injured another. Tigrayan authorities accused Ethiopian forces of carrying out the attack. Ethiopia's military didn't publicly respond to the allegation.

'All we can do is pray'

The events have affected travel to Tigray, whose ancient rock-hewn churches and dramatic highland landscapes make tourism a rare but vital source of hard currency and employment.

While Mekele business owners like Berehe worry about lost income, Tigray farmers like Johannes Tesfay worry.

Tesfay lives north of Mekele in Debretsion, where his family grows chili, potatoes and onions at the base of a mountain range that Eritrean troops used to cross into Ethiopia during the last conflict, trampling over farmland and destroying equipment.

Supply chain disruptions tied to the renewed tensions have left him gravely concerned.

"There's no fuel for my irrigation pumps, there's no fertilizer and there's barely any transportation for buyers to bring the produce to market," he said.

Asked what he would do if fighting returned to the region, Tesfay looked to the mountains and said, "What can we do? All we can do is pray. We need help from the global community to make some kind of reconciliation between all the forces."

For more on Africa and development:https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

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