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Pakistani police besiege Imran Khan’s home as deadline for him to hand over suspects is to expire

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:36 GMT

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police kept up their siege around the home of Imran Khan as a 24-hour deadline given to the former premier to hand over suspects allegedly sheltered inside was about to expire on Thursday. The siege and the authorities demand for the suspects, wanted in violent protests over Khan’s recent detention, has angered the former prime minister’s many followers and is raising concerns about more clashes between them and the security forces. Last week, Khan’s supporters attacked public property and military installations after he was dragged out of a courtroom and arrested. At least 10 people were killed in clashes with police across the country. The violence subsided only when Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered Khan’s release.The popular opposition leader was freed from custody over the weekend and returned to his home in an upscale district of Lahore, Pakistan’s second largest city and the capital of the Punjab region. Dozens of his s...

Russia targets Kyiv, Odesa with missiles, Ukraine says most were shot down

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:36 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched cruise missiles at Ukraine’s capital and the Odesa region early Thursday, officials said, in an escalation ahead of a much-anticipated counteroffensive. Most of the missiles were shot down, and one death was reported from the attacks.Loud explosions were heard in Kyiv, and falling debris caused a fire in a non-residential building.It was the ninth Russian air raid that targeted the capital this month, a clear escalation after weeks of lull and ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive using newly supplied advanced Western weapons.The attack was carried out by strategic bombers from the Caspian region, probably using cruise missiles, and Russia later deployed reconnaissance craft over the capital. According to preliminary information, all enemy targets were destroyed, Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv Military Administration, said in a Telegram post.Debris fell on two Kyiv districts and the fire at a garage complex was extinguished...

Stock market today: Asian stocks follow Wall St higher on hopes for US debt deal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:36 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher on Thursday on hopes U.S. political leaders can reach agreement to avoid a potentially disastrous default on government debt.Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Oil prices edged lower.Wall Street rallied Wednesday after President Joe Biden expressed confidence “America will not default” despite lack of agreement on Republican demands for cuts in aid to poor families to pay for food, medical care and rent in exchange for raising the amount the government can borrow.“Markets are now fully pricing an in-time resolution of the crisis,” said Clifford Bennett of ACY Securities in a report. “No one wants to sell ahead of an announcement of a deal being made.”Speaker Kevin McCarthy of the House of Representatives said Tuesday the two sides were far apart but could reach a deal by the end of the week. The U.S. government will run out of cash if they don’t agree by June 1 to increase its borrowing limit.Any...

Kazakhstan: HR/VP Josep Borrell meets with new deputy prime minister and foreign minister

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:36 GMT

On Monday (15 May), High Representative/Vice President Josep Borrell (pictured) welcomed the newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu on his first official visit to Brussels, to discuss ways to further strengthen relations between the European Union and Kazakhstan. HR/VP Borrell expressed the EU’s firm support to Kazakhstan’s reform and modernization process, writes EEAS Press Team.HR/VP Borrell recalled that EU-Kazakhstan partnership is strong and built on mutual trust, and confirmed the EU’s commitment to develop further the mutually beneficial cooperation on the basis of the EU-Kazakhstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. Priority areas of cooperation include sustainable connectivity, green transition, and critical raw materials. The EU is the biggest investor and Kazakhstan’s key trading partner. Enhanced cooperation will aim to improve the investment climate to attract even more European investors to Kazakhstan.HR/VP Borre...

Do we need a framework of engagement with the Taliban?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:36 GMT

The Taliban’s take-over of Afghanistan was swift and silent. Barring a few news reports in the first two weeks, there appears to be complete silence on Taliban with little progress on this matter. What happens now? A one-day conference was organized at the Indian Institute of Management-Rohtak, a top management institution in the national capital region of India. The primary objective of the conference was to ascertain what had been done for Afghanistan in the last twenty years by the international community and what could be the way forward. The deliberation of conference suggest that there is a need for measured approach towards possible engagement with Afghanistan through United Nation, writes Professor Dheeraj Sharma, Indian Institute of Management-Rohtak and Dr Marvin Weinbaum.In the last twenty years, the international community poured in trillions of dollars to help build structures, systems, institutions, and processes to stimulate economic activity and create a civil societ...

Dodgers Uninvite Drag Organization It Planned To Honor For Pride Night

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:36 GMT

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced it would no longer host a drag charity organization for its June 16 Pride Night.The L.A. Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence were going to be honored with the Community Hero Award for their  charity work, but the Dodgers pulled back their plans, saying people were offended by the group.“This year, as part of a full night of programming, we invited a number of groups to join us,” the Dodgers said in a statement Wednesday. “Given the strong feelings of people who have been offended by the sisters’ inclusion in our evening, and in an effort not to distract from the great benefits that we have seen over the years of Pride Night, we are deciding to remove them from this year’s group of honorees.”pic.twitter.com/k4v1valfRY— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 17, 2023The Sisters believe the controversy started with Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who penned a letter to Major League Baseball, calling the Sisters “anti-c...

Vivir en peligro: la furia del volcán ya no asusta a habitantes del centro de México

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:36 GMT

PUEBLA, México – Los habitantes de los municipios aledaños al volcán Popocatépetl ubicado en el estado mexicano de Puebla, centro del país, se mantienen en calma ante la actividad que presenta el coloso, debido a que ya se acostumbraron a vivir en “peligro latente”.Durante los últimos 17 días, el volcán ha presentando expulsión de material incandescente y fumarolas de ceniza, cuyo polvo ha llegado a los estados de Puebla, Hidalgo y Estado de México, centro de México, lo que puso en alerta a las autoridades municipales, estatales y federales.Este miércoles, agentes del Ejército mexicano, Guardia Nacional, y de Protección Civil recorrieron las ocho rutas de evacuación que están del lado del estado de Puebla, con el objetivo de verificar que sean transitables o que estén en buen estado para poder evacuar a los ciudadanos en caso de una actividad mayor del volcán.Las autoridades mexicanas analizan a diario la actividad del Popocatépetl desde que en 1994 se inició su ac...

Finlay sparks Austin to 2-1 victory over Sounders

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:36 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Ethan Finlay had a goal and an assist and Austin FC handed the Western Conference-leading Seattle Sounders their second straight loss at home with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday night.Finlay took passes from Adam Lundkvist and Emiliano Rigoni and scored in the 36th minute. Finlay’s first goal of the season gave Austin (3-5-4) a 1-0 lead at halftime.Gyasi Zardes stretched the lead to 2-0 with a goal in the 57th minute off assists from Finlay and Jon Gallagher.Fredy Montero pulled the Sounders (7-4-3) within a goal when he scored in the 79th minute. Héber and Jordan Morris picked up assists on Montero’s first netter of the season.Brad Stuver finished with three saves to help Austin beat Seattle for the first time after going 0-2-2 in the previous four match-ups. Stefan Frei had two saves for the Sounders.The San Jose Earthquakes are now the only team Austin has played at least four times without a victory.Austin entered the match with an 0-4-4 record in its last...

Real Salt Lake, Timbers play to scoreless draw

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:36 GMT

SANDY, Utah (AP) — Real Salt Lake’s Zac MacMath and the Portland Timbers’ Aljaz Ivacic both finished with four saves as the two clubs played to a scoreless tie after a very lengthy weather delay to start the match on Wednesday night.Portland (4-5-4) had lost two straight in the series heading into play. Real Salt Lake (3-6-3) scored seven goals in the two wins over the Timbers — a club record for a two-match span.Real Salt Lake has been shut out in its last four matches and has been blanked in seven of its 12 matches this season. The seven clean sheets ties Sporting KC for most in the league this season.The Timbers couldn’t find the net after scoring twice in the first 18 minutes of a 3-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps last week. Real Salt Lake took 17 shots to just 10 for Portland. Both teams had four shots on goal.Real Salt Lake travels to play the Colorado Rapids on Saturday. Portland returns home to play Minnesota United on Saturday.___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/s...

UK and Japan to boost defense and chips ties ahead of G7

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:16:36 GMT

LONDON — Britain’s Rishi Sunak will sign a new deal on defense cooperation with Japan when he meets with Japanese PM Fumio Kishida later Thursday, ahead of the G7 summit on Friday.Dubbed the “Hiroshima Accord” by No. 10 Downing Street, the deal will boost cooperation between the nation’s armed forces and launch a new “semiconductors partnership” to protect chip supply chains — a measure aimed at safeguarding Western supply of the crucial tech from China, which sees semiconductor-rich self-governing island Taiwan as its territory. Semiconductors are used in everything from iPhones to missiles, but the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the world’s reliance on Chinese and Taiwanese manufacturers. The threat of war in Taiwan, home to TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor company, has made Western governments even more desperate to shore up their supply chains.The U.K. is expected to publish its semiconductor strategy Friday, while the deal with Japan w...