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UK’s Sunak raises ‘strong concerns’ over alleged China spy in parliament

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:59 GMT

NEW DELHI — British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak raised “very strong concerns” with a top Chinese official about Beijing’s alleged interference in the U.K. parliament.Sunak relayed his concerns to Chinese Premier Li Qiang at the G20 summit in India following the arrest of a purported Chinese spy working in the parliament.Sunak told broadcasters in New Delhi that he expressed “very strong concerns about any interference in our parliamentary democracy, which is obviously unacceptable.”He added that his meeting with Li in the margins of the G20 gathering was an example of the benefits of engagement rather than “shouting from the sidelines.” “We discussed a range of things and I raised areas where there are disagreements,” Sunak said. “And this is just part of our strategy to protect ourselves, protect our values and our interests, to align our approach to China with that of our allies like America, Australia, Canada, Japan and others, but also to engage where it makes ...

Azerbaijan pledges to reopen Lachin Corridor to Nagorno-Karabakh

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:59 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia — Azerbaijan has agreed to reopen the only highway linking Armenia to the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh provided local leaders accept aid from Azerbaijan as well, a senior Azerbaijani official told POLITICO on Saturday.The news comes after authorities in the ethnic Armenian-controlled exclave — inside Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized borders — announced earlier in the day that it would accept humanitarian shipments from the Russian Red Cross via an alternative road from Aghdam, inside Azerbaijani government-held territory.According to Hikmet Hajiyev, foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, “Azerbaijan expressed its consent as a goodwill gesture to ensure simultaneous opening” of the so-called Lachin Corridor for ICRC cargo. The road connects the mountainous territory to Armenia. The acceptance, he said, would pave the way for a separate deal to allow passage from Armenia. “In the Lachin checkpoint, Azerbaijan’s customs a...

MLB Notes: Yoshida excited by prospect of former teammate Yamamoto coming to MLB

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:59 GMT

Yoshinobu Yamamoto might be the best pitcher in the world most Americans have never seen. The Japanese ace has posted preposterous numbers in Nippon Professional Baseball since going pro as a teenager, and now the 25-year-old is expected to become one of the most highly coveted arms on the market when he makes the jump to MLB this coming offseason.One person who knows Yamamoto’s talents better than almost anyone, however, is Masataka Yoshida. The Red Sox outfielder played with Yamamoto for most of his career and is relishing the prospect of seeing his old teammate again.“It’s going to be a great experience if we can face each other in the United States,” Yoshida said this week via translator Keiichiro Wakabayashi.Yoshida and Yamamoto were teammates for six seasons with the Orix Buffaloes, leading the club to back-to-back pennants and the 2022 Japan Series championship, Orix’s first in 26 years. The two also helped lead Samurai Japan to a gold medal at t...

Australian, and Indonesian forces deploy battle tanks in US-led combat drills amid Chinese concern

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:59 GMT

BANYUWANGI, Indonesia (AP) — Thousands of soldiers from the United States, Indonesia, Australia and other allied forces demonstrated their armor capabilities on Sunday in combat drills on the Indonesian island of Java at a time of increased Chinese aggression in the region. President Joe Biden’s administration has been strengthening an arc of military alliances in the Indo-Pacific to reassure allies alarmed by Beijing’s increasingly provocative actions in the disputed South China Sea, which has become a battleground for U.S-Chinese rivalries.During the drills, Australian forces deployed five M1A1 Abrams battle tanks and the Indonesian military, deployed two Leopard-2 tanks for the two-week combat exercises in Banyuwangi, a coastal district in East Java province which began Sept. 1. It will include live-fire drills.It was the first time Australia deployed battle tanks outside its territory since the Vietnam war.The Garuda Shield drills have been held annually between American a...

A drone attack kills at least 23 in Sudan’s capital as rival troops battle, activists say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:59 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — A drone attack Sunday on an open market south of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, killed at least 23 people, activists and medical workers said, as the military and a powerful paramilitary group battle for control of the country. At least three dozen others were injured in the attack in Khartoum’s May neighborhood, according to an activist group known as the Resistance Committees and two health care workers at the Bashair University Hospital, where the casualties were treated. The activist group posted footage on social media showing bodies wrapped in white sheets in an open yard at the hospital.It was not immediately clear which side was behind Sunday’s attack.Sudan has been rocked by violence since mid-April, when tensions between the country’s military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, burst into open fighting.The clashes have since spread to several parts of the country, reducing Khar...

G20 leaders pay respects at Gandhi memorial as they wrap up Indian summit and hand over to Brazil

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:59 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — G20 leaders paid their respects to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi as their summit came to a close Sunday, a day after the group added a new member and reached agreement on a range of issues but softened their language on Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Group of 20 rich and developing nations welcomed the African Union as a member — part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s drive to uplift the Global South. And host India was also able to get the disparate group to sign off on a final statement despite pointed disagreements among powerful members, mostly centered on the European conflict. India also unveiled an ambitious plan with the United States, the European Union and others to build a rail and shipping corridor linking it with the Middle East and Europe in a bid to strengthen economic growth and political cooperation.With those major agenda items taken care of, the leaders shook hands Sunday and posed for photos with Modi at the Rajghat m...

Patricia Arquette, Spike Lee and Pedro Almodovar to be toasted at TIFF Tribute Awards

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:59 GMT

TORONTO — Actress Patricia Arquette and filmmakers Spike Lee and Pedro Almodovar are among the names being honoured at tonight’s TIFF Tribute Awards.The annual gala fundraiser, held as part of the Toronto International Film Festival, has selected the three Oscar winners to be among the filmmakers it celebrates during an evening that’s likely to be short on star power as the dual Hollywood writers and actors strikes drag on.Arquette will receive the TIFF Share Her Journey Groundbreaker Award for her decades-long screen career that includes a supporting actress Oscar win for “Boyhood.” She’s at the film festival with her feature directorial debut “Gonzo Girl.”Lee has been selected for the Ebert Director Award, which celebrates his influence, including his groundbreaking 1989 film “Do the Right Thing” and 2019’s “BlacKkKlansman,” which won him the Academy Award for adapted screenplay.Almodovar will receive the Jeff...

B.C.’s wildfire crisis was forecast, but it arrived decades sooner than expected

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:59 GMT

The onset of large, severe wildfires that threaten communities year after year has occurred earlier in British Columbia than previous research projected, and experts say the record-shattering 2023 season must serve as a springboard for action.The surge stems from a combination of climate change and entrenched forest management practices, which have together created a landscape more conducive to large, high-intensity blazes, says Lori Daniels, a professor in the department of forest and conservation sciences at the University of B.C.“Society is already paying a huge cost for these climate change-fuelled fires,” she says. “The thing we can control in the short term is the vulnerability of the landscape.”Reducing that vulnerability means transforming how B.C.’s diverse landscape is managed. Shifting away from a timber-focused approach that prioritizes conifers over less-flammable broadleaf trees and ramping up prescribed burningare key steps toward protect...

Daily horoscope for September 10, 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:59 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or important decisions from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT today (5:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. PDT). After that, the Moon moves from Cancer into Leo.Happy Birthday for Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023:You have strong opinions and a strong will. You are versatile, independent and a survivor. This is a wonderful year for you, because now you are getting credit or acknowledgement for your past efforts. Expect a promotion, an award or kudos of some sort. You deserve this.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★★Look for ways to enjoy fun plans, entertaining diversions, sports events, playful activities with kids and a chance to appreciate the arts. Kick back and relax today. Ignore people who have an agenda. Tonight: Work. This Week: Work opportunities and improved health.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★★★Although this is a playful time, today you might want to relax among familiar surroundings. You might entertain. Efforts to make your home look more beautiful will be rewarding. Tonight: Socialize. Th...

EU confirms official from Sweden detained in Iran

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:35:59 GMT

The European Union has confirmed that a Swedish man working for its diplomatic service has been detained in Iran for more than 500 days and vowed to work "relentlessly" to secure his release.Johan Floderus, a 33-year-old official based in Brussels, was arrested in Tehran in April 2022 while on holiday.Iran announced three months later that it had arrested a Swedish national on espionage charges but did not name him.His identity was also kept secret by the EU and Sweden's government.But on Monday it was revealed in a report by the New York Times.The Swedish foreign ministry subsequently confirmed that a Swedish citizen in his 30s had been "arbitrarily deprived of his freedom" and urged Iranian authorities to release him. It said it could not go into any more detail because doing so "would complicate the handling of the case".As he arrived at a meeting in the Spanish city of Cadiz on Tuesday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters that Mr Floderus was inde...