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Beijing strikes cautionary tone on protests in Hong Kong

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:16 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — China’s senior official overseeing Hong Kong’s affairs said Saturday that protests are not the only way for people to express their views, weeks after the city’s strict protest rules sparked controversy while signaling Beijing’s vision for the financial hub. Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, said the anti-government movement sparked by an extradition bill in 2019 is a scar that will not fade away and he warned against a repeat of such chaos.Xia’s remarks at a ceremony on China’s National Security Education Day indicated Beijing’s views on the city, which is promoting its return to normalcy following strict pandemic-related restrictions and political turmoil over the past three years. Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997 and was promised it could keep its Western-style civil liberties intact for 50 years after the handover. But after the enactment of a Beijing-imposed nationa...

1 hospitalized in multi-vehicle crash in Valley Glen

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:16 GMT

One person is in critical condition following a multi-vehicle crash in Valley Glen on Friday night.At least seven vehicles, including a Lamborghini Urus SUV, were involved in a high-speed crash on Coldwater Canyon Avenue just before 10 p.m., said Los Angeles Police.Sky5 images show a ton of debris dispersed across the roadway just south of Vanowen Street. The Lamborghini is seen destroyed and stopped in the center of the road.A multiple-vehicle crash involving a Lamborghini SUV left one person in critical condition in Valley Glen on April 14, 2023. (KTLA)A multiple-vehicle crash involving a Lamborghini SUV left one person in critical condition in Valley Glen on April 14, 2023. (KTLA)A multiple-vehicle crash involving a Lamborghini SUV left one person in critical condition in Valley Glen on April 14, 2023. (KTLA)A multiple-vehicle crash involving a Lamborghini SUV left one person in critical condition in Valley Glen on April 14, 2023. (KTLA)A multiple-vehicle crash involving a Lambor...

Lindor hits grand slam, drives in 7 as Mets beat A’s 17-6

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:16 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Francisco Lindor took a couple of monster swings and the erratic Oakland pitching staff did plenty to help in a big night by the New York Mets.Lindor hit a grand slam and a three-run double to match his career high of seven RBIs, powering the Mets past the Athletics 17-6 on Friday night.The A’s walked an Oakland-record 17 batters, second-most in franchise history only behind 18 surrendered by the Philadelphia A’s in 1916. The club hadn’t issued 16 walks since 1950.“Walks nowadays are like hits. It was huge,” Lindor said. “We passed the baton. No one was trying to be the hero. We really focused on trying to get a good pitch, and if it wasn’t there, we’ll take it.”Kodai Senga was done after 4 2/3 innings, then Stephen Nogosek relieved and allowed one run on four hits with a pair of strikeouts in one inning of relief before Dennis Santana (1-0) pitched 2 1/3 innings for the win. Nogosek took a ball off his pitching elbow and needed a...

On trip to Ireland, Biden was in his element while in his ancestral home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:16 GMT

DUNDALK, Ireland — They came by the thousands, crammed several lines deep along the narrow sidewalks, clutching flags and braving rain and bitter cold in hopes of catching a glimpse of the most Irish of American presidents.And for a moment, it seemed as if Joe Biden might greet every single one of them.Wearing a blue cap and an ear-to-ear smile, Biden lingered in the main thoroughfare of this county town along Ireland’s eastern coast. He shook hands, posed for photos and soaked in the warm embrace that its residents had prepared for a president many refer to simply as “Joe.”“When you’re here, you wonder why anyone would ever want to leave,” Biden marveled soon after his arrival at the Windsor Bar and Restaurant. A capacity crowd had waited for hours to see him in the rustic pub. “Coming here feels like coming home.”When presidents travel abroad, they are traditionally tight, focused affairs calibrated with a specific goal in mind: To advance the White House’s interests and shape the...

Macron signs pensions reform into law after top court clears measure

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:16 GMT

PARIS — France’s Constitutional Council ruled Friday in favor of the most contentious part of President Emmanuel Macron’s pensions reform bill, which raises the legal age of retirement to 64 from 62.However, it chose to block several other measures, including a “senior index” which aims at encouraging the employment of senior workers. Some of them were added as “sweeteners” to the bill, to make it more acceptable to trade unions and opposition MPs.“The Constitutional Council examined the application of the articles invoked [by the government], it found that none of the applications have fallen foul of the rules of the National Assembly,” said one of the Council’s officials on Friday. Following the ruling, Macron signed the measure into law early Saturday morning. The government had come under fire during parliamentary debates about the reforms, because it had invoked a controversial constitutional maneuver — known as article 49.3 — as well as other moves that curtaile...

Japan, US agree to cooperate on geothermal energy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:16 GMT

SAPPORO, Japan (AP) — Japan and the United States agreed Saturday to cooperate on developing geothermal energy, one of the most plentiful resources on this volcanic island chain.The memorandum of commitment was signed Saturday on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of Seven energy and environment ministers in the northern city of Hokkaido.Japan’s famed hot springs reflect its abundant geothermal activity, but the spas and resorts clustered around them have slowed efforts to use that resource to generate power. The pact signed by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Japan’s minister of economy, trade and industry, Yasutoshi Nishimura, says that geothermal energy is recognized as a “renewable energy technology that the United States and Japan can work together to advance.”It calls for collaborating in research and development and exchange of information and in pursuing geothermal projects in the U.S., Japan and other countries. It’s one of an array of areas where the...

Zimbabwe’s aspiring female artists still ‘frowned upon’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:16 GMT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A self-portrait shows Nothando Chiwanga covering her face with a yellow miner’s helmet while money spills over the edge of a traditional African reed basket she holds in her lap.The artwork, a collage called “Immortal,” challenges age-old gender roles in a strongly patriarchal country like Zimbabwe by juxtaposing a helmet from an overtly male-dominated job with a delicately woven basket commonly used by women at markets. To art curator Fadzai Muchemwa, the piece speaks directly of a woman’s struggle to break free of those traditional roles.“To survive as a woman in Zimbabwe … one needs a hard hat,” Muchemwa said as she gazed at the collage, which combines photography and paintwork in an intentionally blurred yet striking image.Chiwanga’s “Immortal” is one of 21 works by female artists that have been on show at the southern African country’s national gallery since International Women’s Day on March 8. The exhibition titled “We Sho...

“Es necesario que EEUU pare de incentivar la guerra en Ucrania”: Lula da Silva desde Beijing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:16 GMT

BEIJING – El presidente brasileño, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, afirmó este sábado desde Beijing, tras su visita de Estado a China, que “es necesario que Estados Unidos pare de incentivar la guerra” en Ucrania y “comience a hablar de paz”.“Es necesario que EEUU pare de incentivar la guerra y comience a hablar de paz. Es necesario que la Unión Europea comience a hablar de paz para que podamos convencer” a los presidentes de Rusia y Ucrania, Vladímir Putin y Volodymyr Zelenskyy, de que “la paz interesa a todos”, dijo Lula a los periodistas.El mandatario hizo esas declaraciones a los medios a la salida del hotel de Beijing donde se ha hospedado y antes de embarcar a Abu Dabi, tras culminar su visita de Estado a China, que incluyó una reunión con su homólogo chino, Xi Jinping.Lula, de 77 años y en el poder desde el pasado 1 de enero, también pidió a “los países que están suministrando armas” al conflicto que “paren...

AP PHOTOS: Behind the scenes as Macron visits China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:16 GMT

A week ago, I traveled with a group of journalists assigned to cover French President Emmanuel Macron’s trip to China. It was my first trip to the country, and I was excited. I have covered many state trips in my career as a photojournalist with The Associated Press. Often, photographers are led from one highly choreographed event to the other. It is a challenge to break from the script laid out by press officers, especially in a country like China, where both guests and media are subject to a strict protocol.Here, there are no unforeseen events or delays, which the French president is especially prone to. I was thrown from one meeting to another, from one handshake to another. In the middle of all that, I wanted to catch the moments surrounding the orchestrated diplomacy — to show the other side of the scene. There were security guards in dark green uniforms marching on pavements, white pandemic masks hiding their faces. Young students excitedly pulling up smart phones to snap phot...

St. Louis Cardinals host the Pittsburgh Pirates Saturday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:16 GMT

Pittsburgh Pirates (8-6, third in the NL Central) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (6-8, fourth in the NL Central)St. Louis; Saturday, 2:15 p.m. EDTPITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Roansy Contreras (0-0); Cardinals: Steven Matz (0-0)FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK MLB LINE: Cardinals -199, Pirates +168; over/under is 8 1/2 runsBOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Cardinals host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.St. Louis has a 6-8 record overall and a 3-5 record at home. The Cardinals have a 0-1 record in games decided by one run.Pittsburgh has gone 5-3 in road games and 8-6 overall. The Pirates have gone 5-0 in games when they hit at least two home runs.The teams play Saturday for the third time this season.TOP PERFORMERS:LAST 10 GAMES: Cardinals: 4-6, .000 batting average, 4.03 ERA, outscored by eight runsPirates: 6-4, .000 batting average, 4.35 ERA, outscored by three runsINJURIES: Cardinals: Packy Naughton: 15-Day IL (left forearm), Lars Nootbaar: 10-Day IL (thumb), Paul DeJong: 10-Day IL (back), Wilking Rodrigue...