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China ‘strongly opposes’ Biden’s dictator remark

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:22:28 GMT

China’s foreign ministry denounced President Joe Biden’s comment Thursday calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator” for the second time this year.“This statement is extremely wrong and irresponsible political manipulation,” foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters on Thursday, according to Reuters.China’s foreign ministry said it “strongly opposes” Biden’s remarks, without mentioning him by name. “It should be pointed out that there will always be some people with ulterior motives who attempt to incite and damage U.S.-China relations, they are doomed to fail,” she said.When asked by a reporter on Wednesday if Biden still believed Xi was a dictator, Biden stood by the assessment that he made earlier this year.“Look, he is. He’s a dictator in the sense that he’s a guy who runs a country that is a communist country,” Biden said during a news conference, just after he announced agreements on a number of confidence-building measures with his Chinese co...

EU closing eyes to Belarus sanctions loopholes, opposition leader says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:22:28 GMT

MÁLAGA, Spain — The EU is wilfully ignoring flaws in its sanctions regime against Belarus, said the country’s opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.“The sanctions have such huge loopholes that they don’t work effectively,” Tsikhanouskaya told POLITICO in an interview at an international meeting of social democrat parties in Spain.Brussels slapped waves of sanctions on Alexander Lukashenko’s authoritarian regime in Belarus after the sham presidential election of 2020, the hijacking of a Ryanair plane and the instigation of a migration crisis on the EU’s borders in 2021. Lukashenko has also supported Russia’s war against Ukraine since 2022. EU sanctions on Belarus range from targeting the air travel, financial and arms sectors to hydrocarbons, timber and potash exports. But those sanctions are often circumvented, Tsikhanouskaya said, including sanctioned Belarusian birchwood being exported to the EU by being labeled as coming from Kyrgyzstan. “It’s no...

Protesters demanding ceasefire in Gaza block traffic on BU Bridge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:22:28 GMT

A crowd of protesters demanding a ceasefire in Gaza are blocking traffic on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston during the morning commute.State police are diverting traffic around the demonstration on the Boston University Bridge. The group, called If Not Now, is made up of American Jews and their allies and is calling for the release of hostages and a ceasefire.https://twitter.com/SabSilv/status/1725146670818599089https://twitter.com/MassStatePolice/status/1725141406052683962No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

What did Providence’s Molly Knight learn from her sisters? ‘Don’t stop shooting.’ Turns out to be good advice.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:22:28 GMT

Junior point guard Molly Knight can shoot the 3-pointer for Providence and isn’t afraid to attack a zone defense head on. Who did she learn that from? Family and friends.And it also helps to have sisters.Her oldest sister, Lauren, a 2020 Providence graduate, is now playing at Carthage. Kelly, a 2022 alum, is playing at Coe. You can count on them as being the biggest influences.What did she learn from them?“Keep moving the ball, and no matter what, don’t stop shooting, basically,” Knight said with the big smile of someone who likes to shoot the ball. “They always had that range.”Knight felt at home from any range Wednesday night, sending the Celtics to a 39-29 victory over Lincoln-Way West in a WJOL Tournament second-round game at Joliet Junior College.The 5-foot-9 Knight led all scorers with 16 points and added four rebounds, four assists and four steals for Providence (2-0). She hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter and another at the end of...

Pilot killed in small plane crash near Torrey Pines

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:22:28 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The pilot of a small plane that crashed near homes in La Jolla overnight has been confirmed dead.Around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday night, the FFA received a message from the pilot saying he was low on fuel, said the San Diego Police Department.The pilot, who was flying in rainy weather conditions, was then diverted to Montgomery Field.The pilot lost rack of his location and went off radar soon after, SDPD explained. Authorities searched for the possibly downed aircraft in the area of Torrey Pines Gliderport. Police confirmed Thursday morning that the plane was located along Caminito Sueno near Gilman Drive in Ja Jolla Heights. The plane came in through some trees.The pilot of a small plane that crashed near homes in La Jolla overnight has been confirmed dead. (KSWB)A resident in the area reported seeing lights from the plane and directed authorities to the area, SDPD told FOX 5. The department's drone team located the plane soon after. Expect rain through this weekend in San...

Finland to close 4 border crossing points after accusing Russia of organizing flow of migrants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:22:28 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Finland will close four crossing points on its long border with Russia to stop the flow of Middle Eastern and African migrants that it accuses Moscow of ushering to the border in recent months, the government said Thursday.Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Interior Minister Mari Rantanen said the southeastern crossing points — Imatra, Niirala, Nuijamaa and Vaalimaa — will be closed at midnight Friday on the Finland-Russia land border that serves as the European Union’s external border.It runs a total of 1,340 kilometers (832 miles), mostly in thick forests in the south, all the way to the rugged landscape in the Arctic north. There are currently nine crossing points with one dedicated to rail travel only.“Operations of the Russian border authorities have changed,” Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo told reporters.He referred to dozens of migrants, mostly from the Middle East and Africa, who have arrived in recent days at the Nordic nation without p...

Demonstrators calling for Gaza ceasefire block bridge in Boston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:22:28 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Demonstrators seeking a ceasefire in Gaza blocked traffic on the Boston University bridge during rush hour Thursday, slowing traffic to a trickle.The group chanted “Ceasefire now!” during the protest amid an Israeli ground offensive in Gaza that followed Hamas-led attacks in Israel on Oct. 7. They also held signs that said, “Let Gaza Live.” The bridge connects Boston and Cambridge.Activists were demanding that Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts support an immediate ceasefire and use her influence to stop the Israeli government’s military action.Boston Police were at the scene of the protest, which was organized by IfNotNow, which said it represented members of Jewish community in Boston.The protest came as Israeli forces dropped leaflets warning Palestinians to flee parts of southern Gaza, residents said Thursday, signaling a possible expansion of their offensive.The Associated Press

CMHC says annual pace of housing starts in October up 1% from September

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:22:28 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts for October ticked up from September.The national housing agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in October came in at 274,681, up one per cent from 270,669 in September.The increase came as the pace of urban housing starts rose two per cent to 257,357 units, with multi-unit urban starts up one per cent at 209,887 and single-detached urban starts up nine per cent at 47,470.CMHC says the annual pace of housing starts in Montreal fell 43 cent and Toronto saw a 24 per cent decline, while the pace of starts in Vancouver rose 35 per cent, boosted by a 40 per cent increase in multi-unit starts.The annual pace of rural starts for October was estimated at 17,324.The six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts in October was 256,280, up one per cent from 253,957 in September.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 20...

U.S. applications for jobless claims rise in a labor market that remains very healthy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:22:28 GMT

More Americans filed for jobless claims last week, but the labor market remains broadly healthy in the face of retreating inflation and elevated interest rates.Applications for unemployment benefits rose by 13,000 to 231,000 for the week ending Nov. 11, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the most in three months.Jobless claim applications are seen as representative of the number of layoffs in a given week.The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure, rose by 7,750 to 220,250.Overall, 1.87 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended Nov. 4, about 32,000 more than the previous week and the most since March.Analysts suggest that those so-called “continuing claims,” are steadily rising because many of those who are already unemployed may now be having a harder time finding new work.Still, the American labor market continues to show resiliency in the midst of the Federal Reserve’s campaign to get inflation back down to its...

Nicaragua’s exiled clergy and faithful in Miami keep up struggle for human rights at Mass

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:22:28 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — When the Rev. Silvio Báez finished his homily on a recent Sunday, applause broke out among the hundreds of faithful in St. Agatha Catholic Church, on the outskirts of Miami, that has become the spiritual home of the growing Nicaraguan diaspora.For the auxiliary bishop of Managua, his fellow priests and many worshippers who have fled or been exiled from Nicaragua recently, the Sunday afternoon Mass is not only a way to find solace in community. It’s also a means of pushing back against the regime’s violent suppression of critics, including many Catholic leaders.“For me, it’s the moment when I am closest to the people of Nicaragua. It’s like going back for an hour,” Báez told The Associated Press after greeting a long line of congregants outside the sacristy. “My constant message is, ‘Let’s not lose hope, let’s not get used to a situation that God doesn’t want.’”Báez said he left Nicaragua in the spring of 2019 only because Pope Francis told him to, “to save my life – he ...