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Why China is not as powerful as the West might think

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

President Xi Jinping wants to project China as a powerful trade partner — or dangerous adversary — to virtually any country hoping to be successful in the 21st century. “The rise of the East, and the decline of the West” is his motto. As Chinese growth rocketed and Western politicians fretted over how to respond, it became a national catchphrase, too.But among the Chinese people — and increasingly in the chancelleries and boardrooms of Europe — a different story is beginning to be told: Beijing’s march toward global economic domination may not be invincible after all. China managed only weak GDP growth after belatedly liberating itself from pandemic restrictions. The property market is in crisis and youth unemployment has risen to hazardous levels, with one estimate putting it at 50 percent. Private entrepreneurs increasingly live in fear of what the state will do to their businesses and consumers have stopped spending the way they did in the pre-COVID good times. In ...

Mets Notebook: Steve Cohen met with Pete Alonso after trade rumors involving star surfaced

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

KANSAS CITY — Pete Alonso is still a Met. But following the Tuesday trade deadline, the question becomes, for how much longer?One day after word leaked that the Mets were looking into a potential trade of their homegrown first baseman, Steve Cohen came to town to talk to the slugger. The owner of the Mets pulled aside several different players in the Kauffman Stadium visitor’s clubhouse Wednesday afternoon, one day after the club shed significant talent at the trade deadline.Alonso was one of them. Cohen said he received a promise from the three-time All-Star that he would continue to play hard for the rest of the season. But Alonso is only under team control for one more season, so he would be a steal for a contending team on the trade market and would net the team a haul of prospects.“We love him as a Met,” Cohen said. “He’s an integral part of the Mets. He’s still with us for another year and we hope we work things out. Even with [outfiel...

What you need to know about Trump’s arraignment and upcoming trial in Jan. 6 probe

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

By Dave Goldiner, New York Daily NewsFormer President Donald Trump will face arraignment Thursday after his historic indictment for allegedly trying to overturn the 2020 election, a scheme that culminated with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.Trump says he will turn himself in to authorities and will plead not guilty at the initial hearing in Washington, D.C., before a federal magistrate judge.The four-count indictment accuses Trump of scheming with six unindicted co-conspirators to stay in power in what amounted to an unprecedented coup after he lost the election to President Joe Biden.Trump, 77, is likely to seek delaying his trial until after the 2024 vote when he hopes to return to the White House and order the case scrapped.But it’s far from clear that such stalling tactics will work with Judge Tanya Chutkan, who has already presided over 31 trials of Trump loyalists charged in the Jan. 6 attack.What will happen at Trump’s arraignment?Trump could appear remotely via vide...

Niger’s civil society mobilizes the nation to fight for freedom from foreign interference

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Niger ‘s ruling junta and civil society groups called on the nation to mobilize in the capital on Thursday to fight for the country’s freedom and push back against foreign interference.“We are talking about the immediate departure of all foreign forces,” Mahaman Sanoussi, interim coordinator for the M62 civil society group that’s organizing the protest, told The Associated Press. “(We’ll mobilize) against all forms of threats to continue the struggle for the sovereignty of the people. The dignity of the Nigerian people will be respected by all without exception.”The march falls on the West African nation’s independence day from its former colonial ruler, France, and as anti-French sentiment spikes, more than one week after mutinous soldiers ousted the country’s democratically elected president. Protests are expected throughout the capital, Niamey, to push back against foreign meddling.The coup has been strongly condemned by We...

Israeli protesters are calling for democracy. But what about the occupation of Palestinians?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel is being rocked by a wave of mass protests calling for the country’s democracy to be upheld. But the pro-democracy movement lacks any clear message of opposition to Israel’s open-ended military rule over millions of Palestinians. This contradiction reflects a widely held belief among Jewish Israelis that the conflict with the Palestinians is both intractable and somehow separate from Israel’s internal strife.Critics of the protest movement, including Palestinians, say this is a significant blind spot and that such selective advocacy of democratic ideals shows how disconnected Israelis are from the harsh reality of those living under Israel’s occupation.“It’s so ironic that they’re talking and protesting for democracy while at the same time it’s been a dictatorship for Palestinians for 75 years,” said Diana Buttu, a Palestinian commentator. “They’re afraid that their own privileges and rights are going to somehow be affected, but they won’t make the connection...

Bank of England set to join Fed in raising interest rates again amid high UK inflation

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England is set to raise interest rates Thursday for the 14th time in a row to a fresh 15-year high and keep the door open for further increases in the months to come as it tries to tamp down persistently high inflation.Most economists think the U.K. central bank will increase its benchmark rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to 5.25%.There had been fears, certainly among hard-pressed households and businesses, that the bank would repeat its outsized half-point increase from June. But figures last month showing that inflation fell more than anticipated to 7.9% eased the pressure to act as aggressively again.“With inflation still four times the 2% target, the Bank of England has little choice but to raise the bank rate again and leave the door open to further hikes in upcoming meetings,” said Kallum Pickering, senior economist at Berenberg Bank.Though the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank raised rates last week, they are thought to be ne...

Pope Francis blasts scandal of clergy sex abuse in Portugal and meets with survivors

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Pope Francis met with survivors of clergy sexual abuse in Portugal on Wednesday and blasted members of the country’s Catholic hierarchy for their response to the long-ignored scandal, which he said had marred the Catholic Church and helped drive the faithful away.Francis dove head-on into the crisis roiling the Portuguese church on the first day of a five-day visit to Lisbon for the Catholic Church’s World Youth Day festival. His trip comes at a delicate moment for the Portuguese church; a panel of experts hired by Portugal’s bishops reported in February that priests and other church personnel may have abuse at least 4,815 boys and girls since 1950.The Vatican said Francis met with 13 abuse victims for more than an hour at the Vatican Embassy and characterized the pope’s role in the meeting as one of “intense listening.” The victims were accompanied by church personnel in charge of child protection programs.The encounter, which had been expe...

Stock market today: Asia mixed after the US government’s credit rating was cut

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stock markets were mixed Thursday after Fitch Ratings cut the United States government’s credit rating.Tokyo’s market benchmark fell more than 1%. Shanghai and Hong Kong gained. Oil prices edged higher.Wall Street turned in its biggest one-day decline in months after Fitch Ratings cut the U.S. government credit rating Wednesday by one level. The agency cited rising debt and a “steady deterioration in standards of governance” after Congress pushed Washington close to defaulting before agreeing to raise the amount it can borrow.“This is largely irrelevant despite some initial shock,” said Kristina Hooper of Invesco in a report, noting that this makes the U.S. rating more consistent with other major economies. “The timing was odd, given that it occurred well after the debt ceiling issue was resolved.”The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo tumbled 1.3% to 32,293.33 while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4% to 3,273.68. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.6% to 19,636...

North Hollywood residents outraged over alleged eviction, displacement by HGTV star

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

A group of North Hollywood renters is outraged at the threat of being evicted and displaced by HGTV reality star Tarek El Moussa for a new real estate project.El Moussa is best known for the hit HGTV renovation series, “Flip or Flop,” which he has co-hosted with his ex-wife Christina Hall since 2013. He launched a second show in 2020 called, “Flipping 101 with Tarek El Moussa.”Residents of the rent-controlled apartment property on Hartsook Street near the Arts District said El Moussa plans to transform the nearly 100-year-old complex into a state-of-the-art residential complex.According to El Moussa, the project, called NoHo 138, would mark the biggest real estate “flip” he’s ever attempted.In a video the reality star posted on social media, he shared plans to build 138 units with “super modern” decor. The building will also boast a rooftop pool.That’s when the eviction notices started showing up, tenants said. But the people who live in the building said they will fight for their h...

Lo ejecutan por matar e intentar violar niña de 6 años en fábrica abandonada

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

Un hombre que secuestró a una niña de 6 años y la golpeó hasta matarla en una fabrica abandonada de Missouri recibió la pena de muerte el martes por la noche, informó KSDK.Según las autoridades, el cuerpo de Casey Williamson fue encontrado el 26 de julio de 2002 en una fábrica de vidrio abandonada, ubicada a menos de una milla de la casa de los familiares de la pequeña. Johnny Johnson confesó haber golpeado a la niña con ladrillos hasta ocasionar su muerte después de intentar violarla. Ejecutan con inyección letal al asesino que mató a martillazos a una anciana Ejecutan a maestra por envenenar a 25 estudiantes y matar a uno de ellos La madre de Casey había sido la mejor amiga en la infancia de la hermana mayor de Johnson, así que este fue invitado a un asado la noche anterior del asesinato, la familia de Casey lo dejó dormir en un sofá de la casa donde ellos también dormían.Los defensores de la pena de muerte aseguran que Johnson ...