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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."

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HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court Monday dismissed all appeals arising the city'sbiggest casebrought under a Beijing-imposed national security law.

Hong Kong Activists Appeal

The pro-democracy advocates were among47 activists chargedin 2021 with conspiracy to commit subversion for their involvement in anunofficial primary election. The mass prosecution involving some of the best-known activists crushed much of the city's once-thriving pro-democracy movement that reached a height with massive anti-government protests in 2019.

Forty-five of the defendants weresentencedto between four years and 10 years in 2024, with their punishmentsdrawing criticismfrom foreign governments and rights groups.

Eleven activists who appealed their convictions lost their bids. They included former lawmakers Leung Kwok-hung, Lam Cheuk-ting, Raymond Chan and Helena Wong.

All appeals over sentences were also dismissed by the Court of Appeal.

Lawrence Lau, a pro-democracy former district councilor, was one of two activists acquitted in the case. Judges upheld his acquittal following an appeal from the prosecution.

A primary led to convictions

Riding on the 2019 protests, the pro-democracy camp had been looking to make gains in the 2020 legislative election. The unofficial primary was meant to shortlist pro-democracy candidates for the official election.

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The camp hoped to secure a majority in the legislature to press for protesters' demands, which included greater police accountability and democratic elections for the city's leaders.

During the trial, prosecutors said the activists aimed to paralyze Hong Kong's government and force the city's leader to resign. The judges saidin their verdictin 2024 that the activists' plans to effect change through the unofficial primary would have undermined the government's authority and created a constitutional crisis.

Critics said the activists' convictions illustrated how authorities crushed dissent following the2019 protests. The Beijing and Hong Kong governments insist the national security law was necessary for the city's stability.

Some finished serving their terms

The case involved democracy advocatesacross the spectrum, including legal scholar Benny Tai, who got a 10-year prison term, and former student leaderJoshua Wong, whose sentence was four years and eight months.

Nearly 20 activists in the case have been released from prison over the past year. Among them were former district councilorsJimmy Shamand Lester Shum. Sham and Lee Yue-shun, another acquitted activist, chatted with Lau before Monday's hearing.

As those who were still in prison entered the courtroom, some waved and smiled at their families and supporters, who waved back.

Some residents stayed outside the court building in line since Saturday to secure a seat in the courtroom. Retiree Margaret Chan arrived Monday morning, hoping to show her support to those she considered to be innocent.

Seeing some activists released from prison relieved her. "They have survived it," she said.

Tensions flared Sunday across Iran as anti-government protests reignited at major universities and in the streets of Tehran, with reports of tear gas and shots fired in the capital.

Students gathered in Tehran and the northeastern city of Mashhad to mark 40-day memorials for those killed duringJanuary's nationwide anti-government demonstrationsbefore violence broke out.

Ali Safavi, a member of Iran's Parliament-in-Exile, theNational Council of Resistance of Iran(NCRI), told Fox News Digital anti-government protests at the University of Tehran featured chants such as, "This is the year of blood," and noted that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot at protesters at another location in the city.

"At Khajeh Nasir University in Tehran, students trampled on Khamenei's picture, while similar acts took place at Ferdowsi and Sajjad universities," Safavi said.

Iran Operating Secret 'Black Box' Sites Holding Thousands In Detention: Reports

"Students were shouting 'death to the oppressor, whether the Shah or the Leader,' while in Tehran's Vali Asr Street forces fired at the crowds, which were mostly young people," he added.

Read On The Fox News App

Safavi also claimed that two motorcycle units composed of men and women affiliated with resistance groups paraded through parts of Tehran carrying flags of the National Liberation Army (NLA), the armed wing associated with the NCRI.

Iran Locks Nation Into 'Darker' Digital Blackout, Viewing Internet As An 'Existential Threat'

In a statement circulated online, university students also condemned what they described as renewed attempts by authorities to suppress dissent.

"Once again we see that the tainted hands of monopolists seek to turn this sacred space into a playground for reactionary forces," the statement read. "We who have tasted the bitter experience of repression accept no form of dictatorship, whether with a turban or with boots," it said.

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Iran Operating Secret 'Black Box' Sites Holding Thousands In Detention: Reports

Iran's state TV showed videos of what it said were people "pretending to be students" attacking pro-government students in Tehran who were taking part in protests to condemn January's protests.

The individuals were allegedly injuring students by throwing rocks,Reuters reported.

Some witness accounts and opposition groups described a moreforceful response by authorities.

Security forces reportedly fired tear gas at crowds of demonstrators, many of them young people.

At other locations, the protesters also confronted groups of pro-regime demonstrators.

Reports from opposition sources indicated that shots were also fired as security units attempted to disperse gatherings that had spilled beyond campus grounds into surrounding streets.

Click Here To Download The Fox News App

Nighttime mobilizations also continued for a second time, with large-scale protests reported across several campuses.

The clashes marked one of the most visible displays of unrest since January's crackdown and came as Iran faces apotential military strike by the U.S.and amidongoing talks to negotiateover Iran's nuclear program.

Original article source:Iran unrest escalates as gunfire, tear gas hit universities amid looming US strike

Tensions flared Sunday across Iran as anti-government protests reignited at major universities and in the streets of Tehran, with reports of tear gas and shots fired in the capital.

Students gathered in Tehran and the northeastern city of Mashhad to mark 40-day memorials for those killed duringJanuary's nationwide anti-government demonstrationsbefore violence broke out.

Ali Safavi, a member of Iran's Parliament-in-Exile, theNational Council of Resistance of Iran(NCRI), told Fox News Digital anti-government protests at the University of Tehran featured chants such as, "This is the year of blood," and noted that Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot at protesters at another location in the city.

"At Khajeh Nasir University in Tehran, students trampled on Khamenei's picture, while similar acts took place at Ferdowsi and Sajjad universities," Safavi said.

Iran Operating Secret 'Black Box' Sites Holding Thousands In Detention: Reports

"Students were shouting 'death to the oppressor, whether the Shah or the Leader,' while in Tehran's Vali Asr Street forces fired at the crowds, which were mostly young people," he added.

Read On The Fox News App

Safavi also claimed that two motorcycle units composed of men and women affiliated with resistance groups paraded through parts of Tehran carrying flags of the National Liberation Army (NLA), the armed wing associated with the NCRI.

Iran Locks Nation Into 'Darker' Digital Blackout, Viewing Internet As An 'Existential Threat'

In a statement circulated online, university students also condemned what they described as renewed attempts by authorities to suppress dissent.

"Once again we see that the tainted hands of monopolists seek to turn this sacred space into a playground for reactionary forces," the statement read. "We who have tasted the bitter experience of repression accept no form of dictatorship, whether with a turban or with boots," it said.

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Iran Operating Secret 'Black Box' Sites Holding Thousands In Detention: Reports

Iran's state TV showed videos of what it said were people "pretending to be students" attacking pro-government students in Tehran who were taking part in protests to condemn January's protests.

The individuals were allegedly injuring students by throwing rocks,Reuters reported.

Some witness accounts and opposition groups described a moreforceful response by authorities.

Security forces reportedly fired tear gas at crowds of demonstrators, many of them young people.

At other locations, the protesters also confronted groups of pro-regime demonstrators.

Reports from opposition sources indicated that shots were also fired as security units attempted to disperse gatherings that had spilled beyond campus grounds into surrounding streets.

Click Here To Download The Fox News App

Nighttime mobilizations also continued for a second time, with large-scale protests reported across several campuses.

The clashes marked one of the most visible displays of unrest since January's crackdown and came as Iran faces apotential military strike by the U.S.and amidongoing talks to negotiateover Iran's nuclear program.

Original article source:Iran unrest escalates as gunfire, tear gas hit universities amid looming US strike

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican army killed the country's most powerful cartel leader and one of the United States' most wanted fugitives on Sunday, notching a major victory while cartel members responded with a wave violence across the country.

Mexico Cartel Death

Thekilling of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leaderNemesio Oseguera Cervantes during an attempt to capture him in Jalisco state was the highest-profile blow against cartels since therecapture of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmána decade ago.

Following Oseguera Cervantes' death, gunmenunleashed violenceacross the country.Cars burned out by cartel members blocked roadsin 20 Mexican states and left smoke billowing into the air. People locked themselves in their homes in Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city and Jalisco's capital, and school was canceled Monday in several states as security forces were placed on alert all over the country. Even Guatemala reinforced security on its border with Mexico.

The killing could give the government a leg up in its dealings with the U.S. Trump administration, which has beenthreatening tariffsorunilateral military actionif Mexico does not show results in the fight against the cartels.

But the long-term effect on Mexico's security landscape remains unclear.

Here's what to know:

'El Mencho' was the leader of a fast-growing criminal group

Oseguera Cervantes, better known as "El Mencho," was 59 years old and originally from the western state of Michoacan. His ties to organized crime went back at least three decades.

In 1994, he was tried for trafficking heroin in the U.S. and sent to prison for three years. Upon returning to Mexico, he quickly rose through Mexico's drug trafficking underworld.

Around 2009, he founded theJalisco New Generation Cartel, which became Mexico's fastest-growing criminal organization, moving cocaine, methamphetamines, fentanyl and migrants to the United States, and innovating in violence with the use of drones and improvised explosive devices.

The cartel earned a reputation for brazen attacks on Mexican security forces, includingdowning a military helicopterin Jalisco in 2015 and attempting aspectacular, but unsuccessful, assassinationof Mexico City Police Chief Omar García Harfuch, who is now Mexico's federal security secretary.

It recruited aggressively, experimenting withnew ways to reach potential members online.

Oseguera Cervantes died in a battle with troops sent to capture him

Oseguera Cervantes was killed during an attempt to capture him, as his followers attempted to fight off Mexican troops.

Mexico's Defense Department said in a statement that the army launched an operation in the southern part of Jalisco state to capture Oseguera Cervantes, involving the Mexican Air Force and special forces.

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The cartel counterattacked, and in the ensuing confrontation, federal forces killed four members of the criminal group, including its leader, and wounded three others who died later during transfer by air to Mexico City, according to the statement.

Three soldiers were injured and two people were detained in the action. Rocket launchers capable of shooting down aircraft and destroying armored vehicles were seized at the scene.

Mexico is keen to show Trump results in the fight against cartels

Oseguera Cervantes' will help Mexico's government show results to the U.S., which is pressuring its neighbor to pursue drug cartels more aggressively. Both countries said intelligence collaboration helped lead to Sunday's operation.

Oseguera Cervantes was facing multiple indictments in the United States and the U.S. State Department had offered a$15 million rewardfor information leading to his arrest. The Trump administration designated his cartel and others foreign terrorist organizations a year ago.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who was U.S. ambassador to Mexico during the first Trump administration, applauded the operation via X, writing "The good guys are stronger than the bad guys. Congratulations to the forces of law and order in the great Mexican nation."

Mike Vigil, former chief of international operations for the DEA, said Mexico had sent a "a strong message to Donald Trump's administration that they are fighting aggressively and effectively" against the most powerful cartels. He added that "the majority of the information came from the Mexican armed forces and all credit goes to Mexico."

Cartel leader's death leaves a power vacuum

It's not clear who will succeed Oseguera Cervantes, or if any one person can.

The Jalisco cartel has a presence in at least 21 of Mexico's 32 states and is active in almost all of the United States, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. But it is also a global organization and the loss of its leader could be felt well beyond Mexico.

"El Mencho controlled everything, he was like a country's dictator," Vigil said.

His absence could slow the cartel's rapid growth and expansion and leave it initially weakened against the Sinaloa cartel on several fronts where they or their proxies are fighting. The Sinaloa is locked in its owninternal power struggle, however, between the sons of "El Chapo" and the faction loyal to Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who is in U.S. custody.

Vigil said Mexico should seize the moment to launch "an effective frontal assault based on intelligence."

"This is a big opportunity for Mexico and the United States if they work together," he said.

Security analyst David Saucedo said that if relatives of Oseguera Cervantes take control of the cartel, the violence seen Sunday could continue. If others take power, they could be more willing to turn the page and continue operations.

The greatest fear would be that the cartel turns to indiscriminate violence. They could decide to "launch narcoterrorism attacks ... and generate a scenario similar to what Colombia lived in the 1990s," a full on attack against the government "car bombs, assassinations and attacks on aircraft."

Winter Storm Hernandois making its way up the East Coast, bringing winter weather impacts to millions in cities like Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York City and Boston.

On this page, you'll find maps to help you track the storm. Check back throughout the event, as the maps will update frequently with the latest information.

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(MORE:Winter Storm Hernando Forecast)

Current Radar

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Caitlin Kaisergraduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with both an undergraduate and graduate degree in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences before starting her career as a digital meteorologist withweather.com.

By Leila Miller, Emily Green and Lizbeth Diaz

Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, commonly known as "El Mencho," killed in military operation, triggering blockades in Mexico

Feb 22 (Reuters) - Within hours of the killing of Mexican drug lord Nemesio Oseguera, better known as El Mencho, in a military raid on Sunday, gunmen suspected to be his supporters blocked highways across several states and set cars and businesses ablaze.

In some towns tourists ‌and residents were urged to stay indoors, while truckers were advised to take safe routes or return to their depots until the violence abated.

Several airlines, including ‌Air Canada, United Airlines and Aeromexico, on Sunday cancelled flights to Puerto Vallarta, a beachside resort town where stunned tourists filmed plumes of smoke rising into the sky from fires.

The burst of violence across more than half a ​dozen states painted a familiar scene for Mexicans who have spent two decades watching successive governments wage war on drug cartels, ravaging broad swaths of the country.

A member of Oseguera's Jalisco New Generation Cartel told Reuters that the blazes and sporadic gunfire were carried out in revenge for the government's killing of Oseguera, and warned of further bloodshed as groups move to take control of his cartel.

"The attacks were carried out in revenge for the leader's death, at first against the government and out of discontent," the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"But later the internal ‌killings are coming, by the groups moving in to take ⁠over."

In Mexico's Pacific coast, a five-hour drive from the military operation in the town of Tapalpa that took down the leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, stunned beachgoers on a pier in Puerto Vallarta took out their cell phones to film thick waves of smoke obscuring blue ⁠ocean views, showed a video shared with Reuters.

Daniel Drolet, a Canadian who has wintered in Puerto Vallarta for years, said in a phone interview that he was concerned of a new era of violence taking root in the typically placid resort zone.

"I have never seen anything like this before," he said.

In the state of Jalisco, authorities reported that gunmen had attacked a base for the National Guard ​military ​police, and recommended guests remain inside hotels and suspended public transit.

Other scenes of criminal activity and military response ​were captured in videos shared by government security sources with Reuters: ‌A green military tank made its way through a residential neighborhood in the state of Aguascalientes. Roadblocks paralyzed the highly transited Mexico-Puebla highway. In the state of Colima, cartel members standing in pick-up trucks blocked a road.

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A trucking industry group said in a statement it was "profoundly worried" by the highway violence and recommended that truckers keep to safe areas or return to their operating yards until conditions improved.

The state of Guanajuato, a CJNG stronghold, reported 55 incidents across 23 municipalities, with 18 arrests, but said by evening all incidents were under control.

Carlo Gutierrez, who lives in Guadalajara, Jalisco's capital, said that friends on WhatsApp groups were encouraging people to stay home.

"There is fear and a lot of caution," he said of the city, one ‌of three main Mexican venues for World Cup soccer matches this summer.

VIOLENCE IN WAKE OF CARTEL ARRESTS, ​KILLINGS

Authorities have not reported any casualties beyond several cartel members and officials killed during the military operation.

Previous cartel ​arrests and killings have led to outbreaks of violence - whether by members avenging ​their fallen leader or rival gangs muscling in on their territory - prompting Mexican authorities to hesitate before launching major campaigns.

In 2019, Ovidio Guzman, a son ‌of Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was detained but quickly released, ​setting off widespread gun battles. His arrest in ​2023 set off more violence.

The 2024 arrest of Sinaloa Cartel boss Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada triggered a bloody power struggle in the criminal group that continues unabated more than a year later.

"I'm watching the scenes of violence from Mexico with great sadness and concern," said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, who previously served as ambassador ​to Mexico, in a post on social media.

"It's not surprising ‌that the bad guys are responding with terror. But we must never lose our nerve."

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum in a social media post acknowledged the violence, ​but struck a tone of calm.

"In most of the national territory activities are happening with absolute normalcy," she said.

(Reporting by Leila Miller in Buenos Aires, Emily ​Green and Lizbeth Diaz from Mexico City, Editing by Daina Beth Solomon and Michael Perry)