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China’s foreign minister airs concerns in phone call with Blinken ahead of planned visit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:20 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang shared concerns on a phone call Wednesday ahead of a planned visit by the U.S. official to China meant to shore up relations.“Spoke tonight with PRC State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang by phone,” Blinken’s official Twitter account read. “Discussed ongoing efforts to maintain open channels of communication as well as bilateral and global issues.”The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on one of its social media pages that Qin urged the United States to respect “China’s core concerns” such as the issue of Taiwan’s self-rule, “stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and stop harming China’s sovereignty, security and development interests in the name of competition.”Qin noted China-U.S. ties “have encountered new difficulties and challenges” since the beginning of the year, and the two sides’ responsibility is to work together to properly manage diff...

Ukraine's Zelenskyy vows action on air raid shelters

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:20 GMT

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed unhappiness on Monday (12 June) at the results of an inspection he ordered into all Ukrainian shelters after three people were killed when they were unable to access one during a Russian air strike in Kyiv.In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said he had received summary reports on the shelters' "preparedness and unpreparedness" from Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, Oleksandr Kamyshyn, the minister for strategic industries, and Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov."The results, to put it mildly, are unsatisfactory," he said. "Relevant draft decisions will be prepared by Friday regarding those responsible and ensuring the proper level of protection for our people in all Ukrainian cities."The deaths on 1 June caused a public outcry and a promise by Zelenskyy of a harsh response, which appeared aimed at Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, who has clashed with him before.Klitschko acknowledged he bore some responsibility but said others were also ...

Silvio Berlusconi, who has died at 86, wanted Israel to join the European Union

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:20 GMT

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (left) is welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the latter's office in Jerusalem on 1 February, 2010.Under his premiership, Israel had become one of Israel’s strongest allies in Europe. His efforts to strengthen ties with Israel followed decades of a pro-Arab tilt by previous Italian governments. "My greatest desire, as long as I am a protagonist in politics, is to bring Israel into membership of the European Union,” said former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi as he visited Israel in February 2010.Berlusconi, who died on Monday (12 June) at 86, was considered a true friend of Israel. Under his premiership, Israel had become one of Israel’s strongest allies in Europe. His efforts to strengthen ties with Israel followed decades of a pro-Arab tilt by previous Italian governments.“Not every day do we get the privilege to host one of Israel’s greatest friends, a brave leader who is a great fighter for freedom and an ent...

Messi, Argentina set to pull a big crowd in Beijing exhibition game against Australia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:20 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Lionel Messi and his World Cup-winning Argentina teammates are expected to draw almost 70,000 fans to Beijing Worker’s Stadium for an exhibition against Australia.With tickets starting at around $80 for Thursday’s game, local supporters are excited to see Messi and continue the World Cup celebrations. Fans have flocked to all opportunities to see the Argentine star since the team arrived in China, with large crowds angling for photographs and chanting his name.Messi’s move to “continue my path” in Miami last week made global headlines after he turned down extremely lucrative offers from Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia in favor of Major League Soccer.He said that after winning the World Cup, it was his time to go the United States and “live football in another way.”Before then, he’s with the Argentina squad that is scheduled to play Australia in the Chinese capital and take on Indonesia in Jakarta four days later.Australia coach Graham Arnold said he was looking fo...

Smith and Peralta go deep early to back Gonsolin, Dodgers beat White Sox 5-1

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:20 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tony Gonsolin’s velocity was down, not that it mattered. He delivered six shutout innings after getting a couple extra days of rest as the result of experiencing body soreness.Will Smith and David Peralta staked Gonsolin to an early lead with two-run homers in the first inning and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago White Sox 5-1 on Tuesday night.Gonsolin (4-1) allowed singles to Andrew Vaughn and Yoán Moncada. The right-hander struck out six and walked two.“The extra couple days really helped me,” said Gonsolin, who was supposed to start last Sunday in Philadelphia but instead the Dodgers went with a bullpen game. “For whatever reason, I just didn’t come out of this last start super great. Just wasn’t bouncing back right away. It was kind of just weird. I hadn’t really experienced something like that but I feel a lot better now.” Smith went deep on his bobblehead night, sending a 413-foot drive to the left-field pavilion that scored F...

Pakistan sees no room for trade revival with Modi’s India

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:20 GMT

Pakistan would welcome a trade revival with India, but State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said she saw no prospect of that because of frosty relations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. Pakistan is enduring a brutal economic crisis and would benefit from improved trade links as the current cross-border flows are barely a trickle. Indian media cited Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel saying that India-Pakistan trade reached only $1.35 billion between April and December 2022, compared with some $87 billion with China. Khar said she was a proponent of trade as a means of restoring ties but cautioned it was impossible to work with a Hindu nationalist administration in New Delhi whose support was “based on dividing India between Hindus and Muslims.” “I don’t think there’s any scope to do anything with a very belligerent [government],” Khar said in an interview with POLITICO, when asked about...

American University of Beirut president says Cyprus campus key to institution’s global outreach

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:20 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus bested 15 other countries as the most suitable to host the American University of Beirut’s first overseas campus, the president of the world-renowned institution said.It’s part of the university’s expansion plan that was initiated in 2018 but was expedited following the catastrophic Beirut port explosion in August 2020. President Fadlo R. Khuri told The Associated Press in an emailed statement Wednesday that Cyprus came out on top because of a string of comparative advantages including European Union membership, a high degree of academic freedom, political and economic stability and close proximity to Lebanon.Khuri was on hand last week in Cyprus’ southeastern coastal town of Paphos for a foundation stone-laying ceremony of the 158-year-old university’s twin campus that will be called American University of Beirut – Mediterraneo.Khuri said the university’s westward expansion was less about Lebanon’s deeply-rooted instability that threa...

Russian missile strike in Ukraine’s south, shelling in east kill at least 6 people

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:20 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces fired cruise missiles at the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa overnight and shelling destroyed homes in the eastern Donetsk region early Wednesday, killing at least six people and injuring more than a dozen others, regional officials said.A Ukrainian military spokesman said Russian forces have stepped up aerial strikes in their 15-month war against Ukraine, just as the country’s troops have reported limited gains in an early counteroffensive.In the east, Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram that at least three people died after shelling destroyed seven homes and damaged dozens more in the cities of Kramatorsk and Konstantinovka.In Odesa, three employees of a food warehouse were killed and seven others injured in a strike that damaged homes, a warehouse, shops and cafes downtown, he regional administration said on Facebook. Another six people — guards and residents of a neighboring house — were injured. Searchers were looking...

At least 9 killed in ethnic clashes in India’s northeast, where 100 have died in month of violence

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:20 GMT

GUWAHATI, India (AP) — Rival ethnic groups fired at each other in fresh violence in India’s remote northeast that left at least nine people dead and some injured, officials said Wednesday.Security forces rushed to Khamenlok village in Manipur state’s Kangpokpi district after clashes broke out Tuesday night between the Kuki and Meitei communities, said L. Sushindro, a state government minister.Police found nine bodies early Wednesday, a police officer said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to reporters.Three people have been reported missing, the officer said.At least 100 people have been killed in severe ethnic clashes in Manipur state since May 3, and thousands of homes have been burned and shops and businesses vandalized.Authorities have moved nearly 40,000 people from troubled areas to safer places. India’s Home Minister Amit Shah visited the state early this month and met community leaders to restore peace.The violence started last month after protests b...

Greece: More than 100 migrants rescued from capsized fishing vessel

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:20 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A large search and rescue operation has been launched off the southern coast of Greece after a fishing boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized and sank. Authorities said 104 have been rescued so far following the nighttime incident that occurred early Wednesday some 75 kilometers (46 miles) southwest of Greece’s southern Peloponnese region. Four of the survivors were hospitalized with symptoms of hypothermia.Six coast guard vessels, a navy frigate, a military transport and an air force helicopter, as well as several private vessels, were taking part in the search for others believed to be missing. The Italy-bound boat is believed to have sailed from the Tobruk area in eastern Libya. Greek authorities and the EU border protection agency Frontex were first alerted about the approaching vessel by the Italian coast guard on Tuesday. Smugglers are increasingly taking larger boats into international waters off the Greek mainland to try to avoid local coast gu...