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Crowds gather near funeral home, lay flowers as former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is laid to rest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:26 GMT

HEFEI, China (AP) — Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people gathered Thursday near a state funeral home in Beijing as China’s former second-ranking leader, Li Keqiang, was put to rest, while a steady stream of mourners showed their respects at the ex-premier’s childhood home in central China. Li, who was China’s top economic official for a decade, died last Friday of a heart attack at age 68. “The remains of Comrade Li Keqiang … were cremated at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing on Thursday,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported. State broadcaster CCTV showed President Xi Jinping accompanied by his wife, Peng Liyuan, bowing before Li’s body, which was surrounded by greenery and covered with a Communist Party flag. Xi was followed by the other six members of the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee. “Li was extolled as an excellent (Communist Party) member, a time-tested and loyal Communist soldier and an outstanding proletar...

Akie Iwai of Japan leads LPGA’s Japan Classic with an opening round 9-under 63.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:26 GMT

OMITAMA, Japan (AP) — Akie Iwai of Japan shot a 9-under 63 on Thursday to lead the first round of the LPGA’s Toto Japan Classic. Three other Japanese players — Nasa Hataoka, Yuna Nishimura, and Mone Inami — were a stroke back after rounds of 64 at the Taiheiyo Club in north central Japan.Defending champion Gemma Dryburgh of Scotland was four back after a 67. American Rose Zhang was four back with a 68 in a very crowded field at the top.Dryburgh’s victory last year was her first on the LPGA Tour. She also received a special prize — a toilet — for the Japanese sponsor Toto, which makes bathroom appliances and fixtures.“Hoping for another one of these to add to the collection!” she said on Instagram while posing on Tuesday with the sponsor’s products.Dryburgh said the victory a year ago changed her career.“I know I can compete out here and win also,” she said. “Competing under that pressure, seeing the shots that you can do under that pressure as well, it gives ...

Sri Lanka wins the toss and will bowl against India in a replay of 2011 Cricket World Cup final

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:26 GMT

MUMBAI, India (AP) — Captain Kusal Mendis called correctly at the toss and Sri Lanka opted to bowl against India in their Cricket World Cup match Thursday.The match is a replay of the 2011 final, when India won by six wickets and the Wankhede Stadium venue became hallowed turf for the cricket-crazed nation. A sea of blue had poured out onto the streets of Mumbai that night after MS Dhoni lifted India’s second World Cup trophy.India has set the pace in this tournament in a bid for a third title. It is currently second in the points’ table — equal on 12 points with South Africa but trailing on net run-rate. It has the chance to go to the top of the table with another win, which will confirm the hosts’ spot in the semifinals.Sri Lanka is seventh in the standings, with four points from six games. It has two wins against the Netherlands and England. The 1996 champions need to win all its remaining three games to have a mathematical chance of qualifying for the last four.India has fielded...

Amenazas contra la comunidad judía, un estudiante detenido y clases canceladas: ¿qué está sucediendo en la Universidad de Cornell?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:26 GMT

(CNN) — La Universidad de Cornell canceló las clases de este viernes en reconocimiento de la “extraordinaria tensión” a la que se ha visto sometido su campus luego de que uno de sus estudiantes fuera acusado de proferir violentas amenazas antisemitas contra personas judías en la universidad, donde el malestar por la guerra entre Israel y Hamas ha ido en aumento durante semanas.Patrick Dai, de 21 años, estudiante de tercer año de la universidad, fue detenido y acusado federalmente en relación con una serie de publicaciones en Internet durante el fin de semana en las que amenazaba con matar y hacer daño a los estudiantes judíos de Cornell, informó la fiscalía de Nueva York.Dai compareció este miércoles ante un tribunal federal acusado de amenazar utilizando el comercio interestatal y quedó bajo custodia del servicio de Marshalls de Estados Unidos. Su abogada defensora, Gabrielle DiBella, declinó hacer comentarios tras la vista.Cornell celebrará este viernes una jorna...

DC-native and chart-topping R&B star Kevin Ross ‘super excited’ to come home to Bethesda Theater

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:26 GMT

He’s written tunes for Trey Songz, Jamie Foxx, Nicki Minaj and Toni Braxton, not to mention his own R&B hits.This Friday night, Southeast D.C.-native Kevin Ross comes home to Bethesda Theater in Bethesda, Maryland.“I’m super excited about being back home on Friday,” Ross told WTOP. “For those who have seen me around, riding the Metro bus or the train, I was just a very unassuming kid. It was never where people would look at me like, ‘Oh my gosh, he’s a star,’ but it was a blessing in disguise being from the inner city … the entrepreneurial spirit, the swag, the whole entire vibe of being from Washington D.C.”Ross said he is grateful to have attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Northwest D.C.“Ellington was like a training ground,” Ross said. “Honestly, I feel like we worked harder than every high school student in America because we had academia from 8 [a.m.] to 4 [p.m.] … then putting on a show ...

El avistamiento de una araña gigante provoca un accidente de coche en el Parque Nacional del Valle de la Muerte

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:26 GMT

(CNN) — Un turista intentó evitar chocar a un animal salvaje en un parque nacional y tuvo un accidente de coche. Pero no fue un oso ni un bisonte lo que hizo que el conductor se asustara: fue una tarántula.Según un comunicado de prensa emitido por el Parque Nacional del Valle de la Muerte, en California, dos turistas suizos iban en una autocaravana el 28 de octubre cuando el conductor vio la araña y frenó en seco. Eso hizo que un hombre en moto, que iba detrás de la furgoneta, chocara contra la parte trasera de su vehículo.El motorista fue trasladado a un hospital cercano. La araña, según el comunicado del parque, “salió ilesa”.Aunque las tarántulas son solo uno de los muchos animales salvajes que se encuentran en el Valle de la Muerte —el parque nacional más caluroso y seco del país—, no son los que se ven con más frecuencia.Descubren en Tailandia una especie de tarántula azul eléctricaComo explica el comunicado de prensa del parque, estos arácnidos pasan la mayor...

Ukraine’s top general: War with Russia has reached stalemate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:26 GMT

Russia’s war with Ukraine has become totally bogged down in the trenches, according to Ukraine’s top general. And the prospect of a long war gives Vladimir Putin and Russia an advantage, Ukraine’s Army Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny said in a sobering interview with the Economist published Wednesday night. In the five months since Ukraine launched an eagerly awaited counteroffensive, its troops have advanced only 17 kilometers through heavily fortified and mined Russian defense lines.The counteroffensive has already disappointed many Ukrainian partners, some of whom are now demanding an end to military aid with the war deadlocked. However, the West’s cautious provision of weapons to Ukraine has allowed the Russians to mobilize thousands and fortify positions in occupied Ukraine, according to Zaluzhny. “There will most likely be no deep and beautiful breakthrough,” the commander said.Western arms supplies have been sufficient to sustain Ukraine in the war,...

18-year-old arrested in deadly shooting of Salem State University student

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:26 GMT

An 18-year-old has been arrested in connection with the deadly shooting of a Salem State University student early Wednesday morning, officials announced. The Essex District Attorney’s Office said Carl Hens Beliard, also 18, was found inside a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds around 1:30 a.m. after officers were called to a scene on Forest Avenue for a report of a shooting. Officials said Beliard was pronounced dead after he was taken to Salem Hospital.Speaking shortly after 9 p.m., authorities announced investigators had taken Missael Pena Canela of Salem into custody. Pena Canela is expected to be arraigned in Salem District Court on one charge of murder on Thursday.—WATCH: Officials announce arrest in connection with shooting of Salem State University student—“He just graduated high school this year and he’s at Salem State University, so this morning, police came here and they told me that he got shot and he was dead – I couldn’t belie...

Battenfeld: Democrats’ opposition to Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists could impact Biden in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:26 GMT

Democratic opposition to Israel’s war against Hamas could erode the party’s huge advantage among U.S. Jewish voters despite President Biden’s strong stance for Israel.Biden’s repeated statements in support of Israel’s right to defend itself from the terrorist attacks could also alienate him from liberal and Muslim voters who support the Palestinian cause.“We know for a fact that our community will make a difference in the battleground states,” National Muslim Democratic Council chair Basim Elkarra told VOA, noting that more than a million Muslims cast votes in 2020.A poll by the Arab American Institute found that support for Biden has plummeted to just 17%.The three-pronged worry over Muslims, liberals and Jewish voters comes as polls show Biden’s favorability down and the president locked in a tight race with former President Donald Trump.Democrats have long had a huge advantage among Jewish voters. A June 2023 survey by the non-partisan Jewish Electorate Institute found that Jewis...

How Craig Breslow can avoid fate of short-lived Red Sox predecessors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:26 GMT

Since Theo Epstein left the Red Sox after the 2011 season, the average Red Sox baseball boss has enjoyed roughly the same lifespan as a well-cared-for hamster. Each of Boston’s last three top decision-makers were out after nearly four years on the job, and among the challenges new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow faces is figuring out how to buck that trend.Will winning be enough? It wasn’t for Ben Cherington or Dave Dombrowski, who both won World Series championships during their brief tenures. How about building a sustainable farm system? You could argue Chaim Bloom did exactly the job he was hired to do, and yet he was still canned after consecutive last place finishes.Obviously Breslow will have to thread a particular needle, but there are a few things he can do to ensure his time in the big chair lasts a little longer.Swing big, don’t missThe one thing all three of Boston’s recent baseball bosses struggled with was nailing the big moves. There have b...