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Hong Kong court dismisses pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai’s legal bid to fight for UK lawyer

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:14:29 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court rejected an activist publisher’s latest effort Friday to use a British lawyer to defend him against national security charges as Beijing tries to crush a pro-democracy movement.Jimmy Lai, the 75-year-old founder of the now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily, faces up to life in prison if convicted. In November, the city’s top court approved Lai hiring veteran lawyer Timothy Owen for the case, but the city’s national security authorities blocked that. Lai and most of Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy activists were arrested after Beijing imposed a national security law on the former British colony following massive anti-government protests in 2019. The political saga over Lai’s choice of lawyer is widely seen as part of the city’s crackdown on dissidents after the protests.On Friday, Judge Jeremy Poon rejected Lai’s request to overturn the committee for safeguarding national security’s decision. Poon ruled courts have no jurisdiction over the committee u...

Ukrainian official: Zelenskyy to attend G7 summit in Japan in person Sunday as leaders set new Russia sanctions

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:14:29 GMT

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Ukrainian official: Zelenskyy to attend G7 summit in Japan in person Sunday as leaders set new Russia sanctions.Source

Iran’s judiciary says 3 men executed over violence during last year’s anti-government protests

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:14:29 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s judiciary says 3 men executed over violence during last year’s anti-government protests.Source

Dubai’s next big thing? Perhaps a $5 billion man-made ‘moon’ as the city’s real estate market booms

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:14:29 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Who says you cannot reach for the moon? A proposed $5 billion real estate project wants to take skyscraper-studded Dubai to new heights — by bringing a symbol of the heavens down to Earth.Canadian entrepreneur Michael Henderson envisions building a 274-meter (900-foot) replica of the moon atop a 30-meter (100-foot) building in Dubai, already home to the world’s tallest building and other architectural wonders. Henderson’s project, dubbed MOON, may sound out of this world, but it could easily fit in this futuristic city-state. Dubai already has a red-hot real estate market, fueled by the wealthy who fled restrictions imposed in their home countries during the coronavirus pandemic and Russians seeking refuge amid Moscow’s war on Ukraine. And even though a previous booms-and-bust cycle saw many grand projects collapse, Henderson and others suggest his vision, funded by Moon World Resorts Inc., where he is the co-founder, might not be that ...

El escritor Salman Rushdie alerta contra la prohibición de libros en Florida

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:14:29 GMT

(CNN) — El escritor Salman Rushdie, que sobrevivió a un ataque con arma blanca el año pasado, hizo una rara aparición pública en la Gala PEN América este jueves por la noche en Nueva York para recibir un premio.Rushdie habló en el acto celebrado por el grupo literario y de defensa de la libertad de expresión, y se dirigió a los estruendosos aplausos que siguieron a su presentación en el escenario. “Es agradable estar de vuelta, en contraposición a no estar de vuelta, que también era una opción. Estoy bastante contento de que los dados hayan rodado de esta manera”, bromea el novelista sobre su ataque casi mortal.“Todos los que hemos estado involucrados con PEN hemos pasado gran parte de nuestras vidas luchando en nombre de los escritores de otros países”, dijo Rushdie, expresidente de la organización. “Esta noche, reconocemos la valentía de un escritor iraní, y lo hemos hecho una y otra vez (con) escritores de todo el mundo. Pero ahora mismo, nos e...

Canes, Panthers play longest games in their histories as East final opener hits 4th OT

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:14:29 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers seem determined to keep playing. And playing. And playing.The teams opened their Eastern Conference final playoff series by completing three overtimes with the score tied at 2. That made it the longest game in franchise history for each team, with Game 1 pushing into early Friday five hours after the puck dropped.This marks the 15th four-overtime game in NHL history.Florida’s previous record for longest game was 104:31 in Game 4 of the 1996 Stanley Cup final against Colorado. Carolina’s previous record was 114:47 for Game 3 of the 2002 Stanley Cup final.This is the longest game this season.The only good news for the teams is they had an extended break before this series began. Carolina closed out New Jersey exactly a week earlier, while Florida eliminated Toronto a day later.___AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Tkachuk ends 6th-longest game in NHL history, Panthers outlast Hurricanes 3-2 in 4th OT

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:14:29 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Matthew Tkachuk beat Frederik Andersen in the final seconds of the fourth overtime to give the Florida Panthers a 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes early Friday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final.Tkachuck took a feed from Sam Bennett after Florida won a battle for the puck as Carolina tried to clear the puck, then whipped a shot from the right circle past Andersen with 12.7 seconds left.That sent Tkachuck racing toward center ice to celebrate with teammates in what turned into the longest game in either franchises’ history, as well as the sixth-longest game in NHL history.Florida won its seventh straight road game in these playoffs and improved to 5-0 in overtime. Game 2 is Saturday night in Raleigh.Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe scored in regulation for the Panthers, and Sergei Bobrovsky made a whopping 63 saves in what turned into a goaltender battle as the game got more ragged as players racked up the ice time.Andersen finished wit...

UK moves to ban Russian diamonds, with EU under pressure to follow

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:14:29 GMT

HIROSHIMA, Japan — The U.K.’s decision to impose a ban on Russian diamonds, announced overnight, piles immediate pressure on the EU to follow suit, as G7 leaders gathering in Japan consider new sanctions against Moscow.In announcing the move, the U.K. government said in a statement that it would “legislate later this year to ban imports of Russian diamonds, and end all imports of Russian-origin copper, aluminium and nickel, building on existing bans of Russian iron and steel.”The EU has so far failed to sanction diamonds from Russia — which are playing a part in financing President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine — amid concerns an embargo would hit the Belgian city of Antwerp, which is a major international diamond trading hub.“Russian diamonds are not forever,” European Council President Charles Michel said Friday at a press conference in Hiroshima, the host city of the G7 summit. “We will restrict trade in Russian diamonds,” he adde...

Officials reveal Boston host city logo for 2026 World Cup

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:14:29 GMT

Local leaders were getting ready for kickoff Thursday, unveiling Boston host city branding for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, some of which will be played locally in Massachusetts. Boston was previously selected as one of 16 host cities spanning the US, Mexico and Canada for the 2026 tournament, with Gillette Stadium in Foxboro serving as the actual venue for the games. Boston Soccer 2026 then announced new branding ahead of the tournament, rolling out messages on social media as well as at an event in Boston Thursday afternoon.“We are ready,” Gov. Maura Healey said. https://twitter.com/FWC26Boston/status/16592878159123169282026 will mark the first time the area has hosted men’s World Cup games since 1994. â€œWhen I go back to ‘94 and the world we’re living in now, we need the World Cup more than ever,” New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft said. ...

District Four seat candidates debate homelessness, foster care

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:14:29 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- For the first time, the candidates vying for disgraced District Four Supervisor Nathan Fletcher’s seat are battling it out in a forum debate.The candidates focused their debate on addressing homelessness and the county’s foster care system.However, one candidate did not show up as an empty seat where City Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe was expected to be was placed between two other candidates also vying to be the next District Four county supervisor.Two of the three candidates showed up were LGTBTQ advocate and Marine Corps veteran Janessa Goldbeck and small business owner Amy Reichert who founded “ReOpen San Diego” to reopen schools and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. They differed on how they would address homelessness.“We really need more crisis stabilization centers. I want to read the county definition to you in case you don’t know what that is,” Reichert said. “They’re called CSUs and they provide emergency mental health assessments and serv...