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Syria and China will announce strategic partnership as Asian Games diplomacy kicks off

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:24 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China and Syria will announce the formation of a strategic partnership, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said Friday at the start of a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad in southern China.The meeting at a Chinese state guesthouse kicked off a series of diplomatic meetings ahead of Saturday night’s opening of the Asian Games sports competition in the city of Hangzhou.“In the face of the unstable and uncertain international situation, China is willing to work with Syria to firmly support each other … and jointly safeguard international fairness and justice,” Xi said in a video clip posted online by state broadcaster CCTV.Assad’s visit parallels in some ways that of Russian President Vladimir Putin last year for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics. Both leaders are virtual pariahs in the West but welcomed by China as it tries to expand its global influence and promote an alternative to the U.S.-led international order.The Syrian leader ...

Azerbaijan sends food, other aid to Nagorno-Karabakh after ending an offensive against Armenians

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:24 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — Azerbaijan said it was delivering food and other humanitarian aid to Nagorno-Karabakh on Friday, two days after the region’s ethnic Armenian separatist government called a cease-fire in a short but intense fight with Azerbaijani forces. Nagorno-Karabakh’s 120,000 people have suffered severe shortages of food and medicine since late last year when a blockade began of the road connecting the region to Armenia. Improving the supply of food and other basic needs will be a key issue in building stability in the region, which is within Azerbaijan but had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces since 1994. Azerbaijan on Tuesday launched intense fire on Armenian positions in what it called an “anti-terrorist operation,” demanding that the Armenians lay down their arms and the separatist government disband. A day later, Nagorno-Karabakh authorities agreed to the military demands, but talks on how the region will be reintegrated into Azerbaijan hav...

Stock market today: World shares are mixed, Chinese markets surge, after latest retreat on Wall St

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:24 GMT

Shares in Europe were mostly lower Friday after mixed trading in Asia following a broad retreat on Wall Street driven by worries over interest rates. Germany’s DAX shed 0.3% to 15,526.55 and the CAC 40 in Paris sank 0.7% to 7,163.97. Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.3%, at 7,702.08.The future for the S&P 500 edged 0.1% higher while that for the Dow industrials was virtually unchanged. On Thursday, the S&P 500 lost 1.6% for its worst day since March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.1% and the Nasdaq composite lost 1.8%. Shares in Chinese markets surged late Friday, with Hong Kong’s benchmark up more than 2% following a report by Bloomberg saying that regulators are considering lifting limits on share ownership by foreigners. The report cited unnamed people “familiar with the matter” who said Beijing is considering relaxing rules that cap foreign ownership in domestic publicly traded firms to help lure investors to the local market. The report could not be im...

Toddler lost in Michigan woods found asleep using family dog as a pillow

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:24 GMT

FAITHORN, Mich. (AP) — A 2-year-old girl who walked away from her home in Michigan's Upper Peninsula alongside two family dogs was found in the woods hours later sleeping on the smaller dog like a furry pillow, state police said.“She laid down and used one of the dogs as a pillow, and the other dog laid right next to her and kept her safe,” Lt. Mark Giannunzio said Thursday. “It’s a really remarkable story.”Troopers used drones and police dogs in the search while local police and citizens from both Michigan and adjacent Wisconsin helped look for the girl in the remote wooded area.Troopers from Michigan State Police’s Iron Mountain post had been called to a home in the Faithorn area of Menominee County about 8 p.m. Wednesday after the girl wandered away.Around midnight, a citizen on an ATV found the girl about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from her home, state police said.Giannunzio said the girl was checked by medical staff and appeared to be in good health.Faithorn is an unincorporated ...

Shaker survives road scare at Albany to remain unbeaten

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:24 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Midway through the regular season, the Shaker boys soccer team has looked every bit the part of a reigning sectional champion. The Blue Bison improved to 8-0 Thursday night with a gritty, 2-1 road win against an upset-minded Albany High team. Dan Fountain's bunch has now outscored their opponents 34-5 this year. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! After a pair of early scoring opportunities for Shaker were thwarted by alert defensive plays from the Falcons' back line, the 2022 Class AA champs finally cracked the scoreboard with a goal off a penalty kick from Owen Brant.Albany did not back down, though. In the 34th minute, junior midfielder Christian Bermejo put a corner kick into the box. Shaker goalkeeper PJ Strand came out to make a play on the ball, but was tripped by one of his teammates, leaving a wide-open goal for Albany's Hameed Zadran, and the senior forward capitalized, tying the game at one. The ...

Cambridge/Salem aware of challenge Stillwater poses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:24 GMT

CAMBRIDGE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- It hasn't been the start to the season that Section II football fans have come to expect out of the Cambridge/Salem program. But the reigning Class D champs have an opportunity for a season-altering win Friday night when they battle Stillwater in our 1st & 10 "Game of the Week." Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! Following a 14th sectional title under head coach Doug Luke last year, Cambridge/Salem has gotten out to an uncharacteristically slow start at 1-2. Now it's preparing for a Stillwater team that moved back down from Class C to D ahead of the season, and has won its' first three games by an average of 22 points an outing. Last Saturday, Cambridge/Salem took care of Chatham for its' first win of the year in a rematch of last season's Super Bowl. That victory gave new life to the group after dropping the first two games of the season, but they know the challenge this Stillwater team presents."W...

Garnet Chargers' run game has lead to early success

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:24 GMT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Union College football team has dominated since the season kicked off under new head coach John Poppe. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The Garnet Chargers are 3-0, averaging 50 plus points per game, and their rushing attack has been a big part of the offense's success. That unit is coming off a big showing against Springfield College, where they scored on the ground three times en route to a 34-7 victory.Freshman running back Stephen Petruzziello credits the effort of the offensive line and the numerous playmakers on offense to the success they've been experiencing."I'm just honored I give it all to my linemen, they do everything for me. It's all because of them that I can get the yards I get," Petruzziello said. "Our offense has just been doing amazing. We got an outstanding o-line, we got a dynamic quarterback just a bunch of playmakers on the offensive side, so we're doing really good we got...

EIB approves €6.3 billion for business, transport, climate action and regional development around the world

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:24 GMT

€2.4bn for business investment€1.7bn for sustainable transport€1bn for climate action and clean energy€670 million for regional development€410m for education and healthThe Board of Directors of the European Investment Bank (EIB) on 21 September approved €6.3bn of new financing to support new business investment, transport, climate action, education and health, and regional development Europe and around the world.“World leaders gathering in New York this week are calling for increased engagement to tackle the climate crisis and deliver the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Together with European and global partners the EIB continues to deliver on this aim and is unlocking crucial investment to enhance economic opportunities, improve lives and mobilise financing.” said Werner Hoyer, President of the European Investment Bank.€ 2.4bn for corporate innovation and business investment New financing for targeted business investment includes improving access to finance by innovative cleante...

Bridge: Sept. 22, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:24 GMT

The “Rule of 11” is not why football teams are penalized for having 12 men on the field. The rule obtains when a lead is known to be fourth-highest. Subtract the spot led from 11; the remainder is the number of higher cards the other three hands hold.Against today’s 3NT, West led a low diamond, and South guessed to play dummy’s ten. He captured East’s king and led a club. East took the ace and returned the six of diamonds: three, eight, queen. When West won the next club, he cashed the jack of diamonds, but South had the rest.ORIGINALWest should have been flagged. East’s six was his original fourth-highest diamond. Applying the Rule of 11, West could find that he, dummy and declarer held five diamonds higher than the six — and West had seen all five: the king, queen, jack, ten and eight.Since South had no more diamonds higher than the six, West could unblock his jack on the second diamond. When he took the king of clubs, the defense could ru...

Word Game: Sept. 22, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:40:24 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — OLDSTER (OLDSTER: OLD-ster: An old or elderly person.)Average mark 32 wordsTime limit 40 minutesCan you find 38 or more words in OLDSTER? The list will be published tomorrow.YESTERDAY’S WORD — ABUNDANCE abed aced acne aubade baaed bade band bandeau bane banned bead bean beau bend bund unbend naan nana nuance nude dance daub dean duenna dunce dune cane canna canned cube cuedTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.Contact Word Game creator Kathleen Saxe at [email protected].