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Beijing says no meeting between US, Chinese defense chiefs at Singapore gathering

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:15 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Prospects for a renewed high-level military dialogue between China and the U.S. remain dim, with Beijing saying their defense chiefs will not hold a bilateral meeting while both are attending a weekend security conference in Singapore.Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Tuesday blamed the U.S., saying Washington should “earnestly respect China’s sovereignty and security interests and concerns, immediately correct the wrongdoing, show sincerity, and create the necessary atmosphere and conditions for dialogue and communication between the two militaries.”Mao gave no details, but tensions between the sides have spiked over Washington’s military support and sales of defensive weapons to self-governing Taiwan, China’s assertions of sovereignty to the contested South China Sea and its flying of a suspected spy balloon over the U.S.U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is scheduled to address the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday, while Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Sha...

Russia says drones lightly damage Moscow buildings before dawn, while Ukraine’s capital bombarded

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:15 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A rare drone attack jolted Moscow early Tuesday, causing only light damage but forcing evacuations as residential buildings were struck in the Russian capital for the first time in the war against Ukraine. The Kremlin, meanwhile, pursued its relentless bombardment of Kyiv with a third assault on the city in 24 hours.The Russian Defense Ministry said five drones were shot down in Moscow and the systems of three others were jammed, causing them to veer off course. It called the incident a “terrorist attack” by the “Kyiv regime.”The attack, causing only what Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called “insignificant damage” to several buildings, brought the war home to civilians in Russia’s capital. Two people received treatment for unspecified injuries but did not need hospitalization, he said in a Telegram post, adding that residents of two high-rise buildings damaged in the attack were evacuated.Andrei Vorobyov, governor of the wider Moscow region, said some of the dron...

Stock market today: US futures mostly higher ahead of debt ceiling vote, oil falls again

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:15 GMT

TOKYO — Wall Street pointed mostly higher early Tuesday after President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reached an agreement on a deal to raise the U.S. national debt ceiling. Futures for the Dow were flat the S&P 500 rose 0.7% before the bell. Biden and McCarthy are now working to gather votes needed to gain congressional approval in time to avert a default. Biden spent part of the Memorial Day holiday working the phones, calling lawmakers in both parties, as the president worked to deliver the votes. A number of hard right conservatives are criticizing the deal as falling short of the deep spending cuts they wanted, while liberals decry policy changes such as new work requirements for older Americans in the food aid program.A key test comes Tuesday afternoon when the House Rules Committee is scheduled to consider the package and vote on sending it to the full House for a vote expected Wednesday.“I feel very good about it,” Biden told reporters Monday as he left Wash...

Crowd in China clashes with police over plans to demolish mosque

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:15 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s government is calling on protesters to turn themselves in after a crowd clashed with police over plans to demolish a mosque in the country’s southwest as President Xi Jinping’s government tightens control over religion and society.Protesters threw water bottles at officers with helmets and shields outside the blue-domed Najiaying Mosque in Yuxi, a city in Yunnan province, according to videos on social media. One punched a police officer’s helmet but little other violence was shown.The Associated Press confirmed the location of the protest. Videos showing the protests were removed from Chinese social media.Police called on “criminal suspects” to turn themselves in following Saturday’s incident and said those who do might receive lighter punishment. A police statement vowed “zero tolerance” toward “criminal activities that impede social management.”People who answered the phone Tuesday at the police headquarters referred questions to the local govern...

Israeli army says Palestinian gunmen kills Israeli civilian in West Bank shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:15 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Palestinian gunmen shot and killed an Israeli civilian on Tuesday near the entrance to a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army said.The Israeli military said in a statement that a man was shot near the settlement of Hermesh, in the northern West Bank. It said troops were pursuing suspected gunmen. Paramedics said they treated a man in his 30s in a serious condition with a gunshot wound. He was taken to a local hospital, which later pronounced him dead. The incident was the latest in more than a year-long surge of violence that has wracked the West Bank under Israel’s most right-wing government in history. During that time, Israel has expanded near-nightly military raids throughout the area in response to an increase in Palestinian attacks.At least 117 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this year, with nearly half of them members of armed militant groups, according to an Associated Press tally. But stone-th...

German soccer club punished for walking off field after alleged racist slur

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:15 GMT

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — A lower-level German soccer team called its punishment for stopping a game in protest after racist abuse was apparently directed at team captain Marcus Coffie “a slap in the face.”Hamburg-based Teutonia Ottensen was leading 2-1 at Bremer SV in the fourth-division game on Saturday when Coffie, who is Black, said he was racially abused by an opposing player. Coffie’s teammates reacted by walking off the field and the game was abandoned before halftime.The North German Soccer Federation said Monday it had no evidence that Coffie had been racially abused. It awarded Bremer SV a 5-0 victory. It also questioned “whether when such an accusation justifies calling off a game or not continuing it.”Teutonia criticized the federation’s response on Tuesday.“This judgement and the way it was written demonstrate a tolerant attitude towards the problem of racism underlying this incident,” Teutonia said in a statement.Bremer SV said it believed its player, saying he didn’t ra...

Fire rages near Halifax: ‘Their house was already burning’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:15 GMT

In today’s Big Story podcast, a wildfire 20 kilometers northwest of Halifax has burned out of control causing chaos. More than 14,000 people have evacuated from their homes, while crews race to close roads behind the evacuees. The fire was noted to be one of the fastest-moving fires to occur in the province, reaching just outside the city in a short time.Dan Ahlstrand, news director at CityNews 95.7 in Halifax, says firefighters are surprised by how fast the fire moved and the amount of destruction, giving residents limited time to evacuate. “Lots of people don’t know what’s in front of them. They left with the shirts on their backs. This fire took less than an hour to go from a fire call to the first set of evacuations of a large subdivision in Tantallon,” says Ahlstrand.A state of emergency has been declared in Halifax, and resources have been deployed from other provinces. Currently, more than 200 firefighters are digging in to halt the fire where it stands, but...

UK government fights demand to hand over Boris Johnson’s messages to COVID-19 inquiry

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:15 GMT

LONDON (AP) — As Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson established an independent inquiry into the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.Now the inquiry wants to see, in full, what Johnson wrote to other U.K. officials as the outbreak raged — but the government is fighting a demand to hand over the material.Inquiry chairwoman Heather Hallett, a retired judge, has asked the government to produce full copies of Johnson’s WhatsApp messages and notebooks, after initially being given redacted versions.Government officials said they only cut out material that was “unambiguously irrelevant” to the investigation, but Hallett wants to be the judge of that. She said “the entire contents of the specified documents are of potential relevance to the lines of investigation being pursued by the inquiry.”Hallett — who has the power to summon evidence and question witnesses under oath — set a deadline of 4 p.m. (1500 GMT) Tuesday for the government to hand over the documents, covering a t...

Joliet residents asked to shelter as police search for 4 burglary suspects

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:15 GMT

JOLIET, Ill. — A shelter in place order has been issued as police in Joliet search for four burglary suspects.At around 5 a.m., Joliet police received a request for assistance from other area departments regarding a police pursuit.Police were in pursuit of a vehicle that was believed to be stolen with five male burglary suspects inside.Officers learned that the five fled from the vehicle in the area of Black Road and Junie Court.Police said the five may be armed and a perimeter was established. One of the suspects was placed into custody in the 1200 block of Taylor Street.Residents in the area were notified of a shelter in place order via a reserve 911 call. As of Tuesday morning, it remains in place.Due to Joliet Catholic Academy being in the area, the school is closed Tuesday.WGN News will update this story once more information becomes available.

Over 50 shot, 11 killed over holiday weekend in Chicago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:15 GMT

CHICAGO — Over 50 people were shot over the Memorial Day Weekend in Chicago. Eleven of those have died from their injuries.Two 2-year-olds were among those who were wounded. Police said both of the toddlers shot themselves. One shot herself on the 1500 block of West Jonquil Terrace Sunday around 6 p.m. Two hours later, officers responded to a call of a 2-year-old boy who shot himself in the forearm in the 7900 block of South Hermitage. Chicago Ridge festival canceled over safety concerns The weekend violence began Friday evening with shots fired at North Avenue Beach. Chicago police released their official numbers Tuesday morning. CPD reports 53 people were injuring in 42 shooting incidents. They report there were 12 murders, 11 fatal shootings and one fatal stabbing.