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Russian PM to visit Beijing as China renews criticism of Western arms sales to Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:19 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will visit Beijing next week for talks, China’s Foreign Ministry said Friday, marking the latest exchange in a relationship in which Russia is becoming increasingly reliant on China for economic and diplomatic support.“During the visit, the two sides will have an in-depth exchange of views on practical cooperation in bilateral relations and issues of common concern,” ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a daily briefing.“We look forward to further strengthening cooperation between the two sides, deepening people-to-people and local exchanges (and) injecting strong momentum into the recovery of the world economy,” Wang added.Mishustin’s visit is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.Meanwhile, China’s Deputy Permanent U.N. Representative Geng Shuang again criticized Western arms sales to Ukraine, saying it would only lead to escalation, more civilian casualties and displacement, and make it harder to obtain a ceas...

Lebanon receives Interpol notice for its central bank governor who was no-show at Paris questioning

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:19 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon on Friday received an Interpol notice for the country’s embattled central bank governor who failed to show up in Paris earlier in the week for questioning in a key corruption case, officials said. France, Germany, and Luxembourg are investigating the governor, Riad Salameh, and his associates over myriad financial crimes, including illicit enrichment and the laundering of $330 million. A French investigative judge on Tuesday issued an international arrest warrant for Salameh after he did not answer summons for questioning in Paris.However, Lebanon is unlikely to comply with the Interpol notice and arrest and hand over Salameh to French authorities. Under the country’s laws, Lebanon does not extradite its own citizens. In 2020, it received two Interpol red notices for tycoon Carlos Ghosn, who faced financial misconduct charges in Japan. Ghosn remains in Lebanon.The Lebanese Interior Ministry confirmed receiving the Interpol Red Notice, but did not co...

First Mission scratched from Preakness by vet 36 hours before Triple Crown race

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:19 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — Brad Cox-trained First Mission has been scratched from the Preakness on the advice of veterinarians, taking one of the top contenders out of the Triple Crown race 36 hours before post time.Godolphin, which owns the horse, announced the scratch early Friday, saying vets identified a left hind issue.“We are obviously very disappointed, but the welfare of the horse is our utmost concern, and we are going to take the necessary steps to determine the best course of action to get him back on the track,” Godolphin bloodstock director Michael Banahan said.Godolphin said First Mission will receive further evaluation in Kentucky at Rood and Riddle hospital with Dr. Larry Bramlage.The removal of First Mission leaves seven horses in the field for the $1.65 million race. He was the early second choice at odds of 5-2 behind only 8-5 favorite Mage, who won the Kentucky Derby.Five horses were scratched in the days and hours leading up to the Derby, including favorite Forte, w...

More protests against violence planned in Serbia as authorities reject opposition criticism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:19 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s government officials rejected opposition criticism of their handling of two mass shootings in the Balkan country earlier this month even as thousands of people are expected to rally later on Friday for a third time this month demanding resignations and other measures in the aftermath of the killings. Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and other government officials attended a parliamentary session on Friday focusing on the May 3 and May 4 shootings and the opposition demands to replace the interior minister and the intelligence chief following the carnage that left 18 dead, many of whom were children.The two shootings stunned the Balkan nation, especially because the first one happened in an elementary school in central Belgrade when a 13-year-old boy took his father’s gun and opened fire on his fellow students. Eight students and a school guard were killed and seven more people wounded. One more girl later died in hospital from head wounds. A da...

Pay Transparency Laws: What Small Businesses Need to Know

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:19 GMT

Eight states have adopted pay transparency laws, including California and New York, with several more considering legislation. Much of the buzz around these laws has been regarding large corporations and their employees, but how do small businesses fit into the picture? Here’s what you need to know.WHO MUST COMPLYIn the states and several localities that have pay transparency laws, employer requirements vary based on number of employees. For example, in Washington state, businesses with 15 or more employees must disclose pay information in job postings, whereas in New York, the number is four or more. If you are a company looking to source remote talent from any state that is subject to laws, you must also include a pay range even if your company isn’t located in that state.WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T COMPLYMonetary penalties, assessed per violation or per job posting, can range from hundreds to several thousands of dollars and are currently only assessed against companies that have b...

Sean Penn, backing WGA strike, calls Producers Guild the ‘Bankers Guild’ at Cannes Film Festival

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:19 GMT

CANNES, France (AP) — Sean Penn strongly backed the current Hollywood screenwriters strike while speaking at the Cannes Film Festival on Friday, saying the dispute over Artificial Intelligence is “a human obscenity.” Penn addressed the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike in a press conference for his new film, “Black Flies,” director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s harrowing, gritty drama about New York paramedics. Asked about the strike, Penn said “the industry has been upending the writers and actors and directors for a very long time.” “There’s a lot of new concepts being tossed about including the use of A.I. It strikes me as a human obscenity for there to be pushback on that from the producers,” said Penn, a veteran writer-director in addition to being an actor. Film and TV screenwriters earlier this month began striking after talks with producers broke off. The WGA is seeking better pay, new contracts for the streaming era and safeguards against the use of AI-scripted work-...

Man charged in shooting that injured 2 boys outside Chicago library

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:19 GMT

CHICAGO — Charges have been filed in a shooting that injured two young boys outside a library in the city's Garfield Park neighborhood, according to Chicago police.Adam Avizius, 37, faces one felony count of aggravated battery discharge of a firearm.Officers responded to a shooting at Henry E. Legler Regional Branch of the Chicago Public Library on the 100 block of South Pulaski in Garfield Park just after 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.A 12-year-old boy was shot in the back near his spine and he is struggling to walk, according to family members. Chicago man arrested in connection with April 2022 homicide in Maywood Police said a 16-year-old boy suffered two gunshot wounds to the legs and was transported to a local hospital in good condition.Family said the 12-year-old attends the nearby Genevieve Melody Elementary School and goes to the library everyday to do his homework. He had just stepped outside to eat a snack when he was shot.Avizius is due in bond court Friday.

Friday Forecast: Mostly cloudy and low 70s

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:19 GMT

Friday: Mostly cloudy, AM & early afternoon rain, W 5-15. High: 72Friday Night: Partly cloudy, NNW 5-15 G20. Low: 49Weather Blog | Chicago | WGN TVSaturday: Mostly sunny, cooler lakeside & NW IN, NE 5-10 G20. High: 67, low: 61Chicago Weather | Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center's Forecast (wgntv.com)7DAY: wgntv.com/weather

The Smiths bass guitarist Andy Rourke dies at 59 after cancer battle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:19 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Andy Rourke, bass guitarist of The Smiths, one of the most influential British bands of the 1980s, has died after a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer, his former bandmate Johnny Marr said Friday. He was 59.In a lengthy post on Instagram, guitarist and songwriter Marr paid tribute to Rourke, who he first met when both were schoolboys in 1975.“Throughout our teens we played in various bands around south Manchester before making our reputations with The Smiths from 1982 to 1987, and it was on those Smiths records that Andy reinvented what it is to be a bass guitar player," Marr said.During their short time together as a four-piece band, The Smiths deliberately stayed away from the mainstream of popular music, garnering a cult following on the independent music scene.Though much of the attention focused on the song-writing partnership of Marr and frontman Steven Patrick Morrissey, better known as Morrissey, the sound of The Smiths owed much to Rourke's bass and his rh...

$5B 'moon' real estate project proposed for skyscraper-studded Dubai

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:01:19 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 far-fetched.“W...