GREEN MAG

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Hindu holy men and mostly young devotees openly puffed on cannabis smoke on Sunday, marking one of Nepal's biggest annual festivals.

Tens of thousands lined up to pray at the Pashupatinath, the temple of the Hindu god Shiva in the capital Kathmandu, during theShivaratri festival.

Marijuana is usually banned in the South Asian country, but exceptions are made to celebrate Shiva, who has strong links to the practice and has often been depicted smoking pot.

Devotees prayed and danced to religious songs at the temple, a landmark for Hindus who constitute about 81% of Nepal's population. Others from neighboring India also traveled to Kathmandu for the festival.

Across the Bagmati River from the temple, holy men with their bodies smeared in ashes could be seen smoking marijuana, as well as many Nepali men and some women, on the forested Bankali hills.

Generally, the use of marijuana in Nepal is punishable by prison sentences of up to a month for users and 10 years for traffickers.

Nepal was famous for marijuana and other narcotics in the 1960s, when hippies made their way to the Himalayan nation. Shops and tea houses used to advertise and sell it legally. However, marijuana was outlawed in 1976.

There have beenefforts to decriminalize marijuanain Nepal by both campaigners and parliament members to legalize its farming and use, but progress has stalled.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Steven Scheer

Funeral of Palestinians killed in an overnight Israeli strike, according to medics, at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis

CAIRO/JERUSALEM, Feb 15 (Reuters) - At least nine Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in the northern and southern Gaza Strip ‌on Sunday, Palestinian civil defence and health officials said, in what Israel's military ‌called a response to Hamas ceasefire violations.

Medics said an Israeli airstrike on a tent encampment housing displaced families ​killed at least four people, while health officials said another strike killed five in Khan Younis in the south.

"In recent hours, the IDF has begun striking in response to Hamas's blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement yesterday in the Beit Hanoun area," an Israeli military official ‌said, adding that "terrorists emerged from ⁠a tunnel east of the yellow line".

The official called Sunday's strikes "precise" and in line with international law, and said the Palestinian militant group ⁠had committed more than six violations of an October ceasefire, including deploying east of the "Yellow Line" agreed under the ceasefire to demarcate Israeli- and Hamas-controlled areas.

"Crossing the yellow line in the ​vicinity of ​IDF troops, while armed, is an explicit ceasefire ​violation - and demonstrates how Hamas systematically violates ‌the ceasefire agreement with intent to harm IDF troops," the official said.

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Israel and Hamas have repeatedly accused each other of violating the ceasefire deal, a key element of U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end the Gaza war.

On Saturday, the military said it had identified armed "terrorists" near IDF personnel operating in the northern Gaza Strip.

The IDF said it continued ‌to destroy underground tunnels in the northern Gaza ​Strip in accordance with the agreement.

It said it observed ​several gunmen emerging from what it ​said was a tunnel and entering beneath the rubble of a ‌building east of the Yellow Line.

The military ​said Air Force aircraft ​had attacked the building and eliminated two gunmen and that it was likely that additional militants were eliminated in the strike.

The Gaza health ministry said at least ​600 Palestinians have been ‌killed by Israeli fire since the Gaza deal began. Israel said four soldiers ​were killed by militants in Gaza over the same period.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi ​and Steven Scheer; Editing by William Mallard)

(Corrects paragraph 9 reference 18,000-strong distant-water fleet, not 18-million, after US official clarification)

By David Kirton

GUANGZHOU, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is promotingartificial intelligenceexports and maritime surveillance ‌technology at Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings in southern China this week, as Washington seeks to counter ‌Beijing's technological and maritime influence.

Casey Mace, the U.S. senior official to APEC, said the Trump administration had launched a $20 million fund ​to support adoption of American AI technologies by partner economies in the region, part of a broader effort to strengthen U.S. leadership in emerging technologies.

The initiatives come ahead of President Donald Trump's expected visit to China in April and China's hosting of APEC's annual leaders' summit in Shenzhen in November, events likely to spotlight ‌intensifying U.S.-China competition over technology and economic ⁠influence across the Asia-Pacific.

China is looking to narrow the technological gap with the U.S. in advancing artificial intelligence-related sectors, though the lack of advanced chipmaking tools is ⁠hobbling China's advances.

"China's AI technology promotes CCP propaganda and censorship, while its vision for AI governance seeks to enable authoritarian repression," a State Department spokesperson told Reuters, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

China says it supports global ​cooperation on ​AI governance and has previously rejected Western accusations that ​its technology exports enable censorship.

In July last ‌year, President Trump signed an executive order aiming to "ensure that American AI technologies, standards, and governance models are adopted worldwide."

The United States is also using APEC to promote American private-sector technologies designed to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, which Washington says threatens food security and maritime sovereignty in parts of the Pacific.

Ruth Perry, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, said ‌on Tuesday China's 18,000-strong distant-water fleet posed enforcement challenges for ​smaller coastal states.

"Many countries are negatively impacted and China is ​a perpetrator … the size of the fleet ​can't be ignored across the Pacific," Perry told Reuters, noting reports that suggest an ‌unusual level of state coordination among its actions.

Perry ​said U.S. companies were ​developing technologies including satellite vessel tracking, artificial intelligence-based analytics, acoustic detection systems and sensor-equipped ocean buoys to help governments monitor fishing activity.

Illegal fishing is frequently linked to other transnational crimes including forced ​labour, trafficking and smuggling, Perry said.

Perry ‌noted that China's revised Fisheries Law is due to take effect from May. "They're saying all ​the right things and we want to see if they're going to follow through ​with those actions."

(Reporting by David KirtonEditing by Alexandra Hudson)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Graham Ike had 21 points and a season-high 15 rebounds as No. 12 Gonzaga held off Santa Clara 94-86 on Saturday night.

Graham shot 7 of 12 and had four assists to help the Bulldogs move a half-game ahead of the Broncos for first place in the West Coast Conference. It's Graham's seventh consecutive game with 20 points, matching a similar streak he had in 2024.

Gonzaga (25-2, 13-1) has won 25 games or more in 19 consecutive seasons under coach Mark Few. Few was recently named a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.

Adam Miller scored 20 points, Tyon Grant-Foster added 20. and Emmanuel Innocenti had 16 points and six rebounds for the Bulldogs.

As good as Graham was, the Bulldogs had to do without their star forward for three minutes late in the second half while he was in foul trouble.

Christian Hammond scored 16 points for Santa Clara (22-6, 13-2).

The Broncos forced the Bulldogs into several hurried possessions that had the sold-out crowd at Leavey Center roaring early.

Gonzaga missed seven of its first 10 shots and trailed by eight before going on a 15-7 run midway through the first half. Ike later powered his way past two defenders in the key to score and give the Bulldogs their first lead at 31-29.

After Santa Clara regained the lead briefly, Ike ran past 7-foot-1 center Bukky Oboye for a thunderous one-hand dunk to help Gonzaga to a 44-39 halftime lead.

The Bulldogs made just 3 of 18 (17%) from behind the arc, but shot 56% (36 of 64) overall, scored 66 points in the paint and outrebounded Santa Clara 41-32.

Up next

Gonzaga: Plays Wednesday at San Francisco.

Santa Clara: Visits San Francisco next Saturday.

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Graham Ike recorded 21 points and a season-high 15 rebounds and No. 12 Gonzaga moved into first place in the West Coast Conference with a 94-86 victory over host Santa Clara on Saturday night.

Adam Miller scored 21 points and Tyon Grant-Foster had 20 points and seven rebounds off the bench as the Bulldogs (25-2, 13-1 WCC) won their third straight game and 18th in the past 19. Gonzaga also reached the 25-win mark for the 19th straight season.

Emmanuel Innocenti added 16 points and six rebounds as Gonzaga prevailed in the final regular-season contest between the teams before it departs for the rebuilt Pac-12. The squads were WCC rivals for 46 seasons.

Christian Hammond had 16 points and Elijah Mahi scored 15 for the Broncos (22-6, 13-2), who dropped to 13-1 at home this season. Allen Graves had 13 points before fouling out for Santa Clara, which lost to the Zags for the second time this season.

Gonzaga won for the 23rd time in the past 25 meetings at Santa Clara. The Broncos won in 2011 and 2024.

Gonzaga connected on 56.3% (36 of 64) of its field-goal attempts while making just 3 of 18 from 3-point range. The Bulldogs shot 63% (17 of 27) from the field in the second half.

The Broncos made 46.2% (30 of 65) of their attempts and were 9 of 24 from behind the arc. Sash Gavalyugov added 10 points for Santa Clara.

The Broncos led 60-55 with 12:32 remaining after consecutive 3-pointers by Thierry Darlan and Gavalyugov.

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Gonzaga answered with eight straight points to lead by three. Davis Fogle had two baskets in eight seconds -- the latter one coming after he stole the ball -- during the surge.

The Bulldogs took a 73-66 advantage when Miller drained a 3-pointer with 6:52 left. Ike was called for his fourth foul -- an offensive infraction -- 29 seconds later but the Broncos were unable to take advantage and Ike returned with 3:25 left with Gonzaga holding a 79-72 lead.

Miller made two free throws to give the Zags an 83-74 lead with 2:31 remaining and Grant-Foster slammed home a thunderous dunk to make it 87-77 with 53 seconds remaining as Gonzaga closed it out.

Ike registered 17 points and nine rebounds in the first half to help the Bulldogs hold a 44-39 halftime lead.

Santa Clara led 19-11 after KJ Cochran's layup with 11:11 left in the half and never trailed in the first 13 minutes.

Gonzaga moved ahead for the first time on Ike's basket for a 31-30 edge with 6:25 to play.

Gonzaga finished the half with a 9-3 run. Mario Saint-Supery's putback with under a second left gave the Zags the five-point halftime lead.

--Field Level Media