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Pakistan releases Chinese national charged with blasphemy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A Chinese national who was arrested in Pakistan on charges of blasphemy has been released from a high-security prison after a court granted him bail, a defense lawyer and local police said Friday.Atif Khan Jadoon, the lawyer for the man who has been only identified as Mr. Tian said the Chinese national was granted bail by a judge in the northwestern city of Abbottabad on Thursday. Tian was released after he filed a surety bond of 200,000 rupees ($700), Jadoon said. The latest development comes weeks after Tian, who worked on a dam project, was detained after hundreds of residents and laborers in the town of Komela in northwestern Pakistan blocked a key highway and demanded his arrest. They alleged that Tian used insulting remarks about Islam, a charge the man denies.Tian was part of a group of Chinese working on the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in Pakistan. He was accused of blasphemy on April 15 after he criticized two drivers working on the pr...

Prince’s Trust gala draws plenty of celebrities, donations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The star-studded Prince’s Trust Global Gala raised more than $1.7 million Thursday night at Casa Cipriani in New York City, as a wide range of grantees — past and present — explained how King Charles III’s charity has improved their lives.“Luther” star Idris Elba revealed that without a grant from The Prince’s Trust when he was 17, he would not have been able to join the National Youth Music Theatre, which launched his career. “One thing The Prince’s Trust gave me was confidence,” said Elba, who mingled among celebrities including actress Sienna Miller, supermodels Kate Moss and Winnie Harlow and fashion designers Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors among others. “It gave me the confidence to believe in what I do, who I am and what I can be.”The Prince’s Trust hopes to offer that kind of support in the United States, where it plans to further expand this year.“His Majesty couldn’t be with us this evening – I know he wanted to be,” said Charlotte Mensah, owner of the Hair...

Turkey’s Erdogan cancels third day of election appearances

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled his election appearances for a third day Friday after falling ill with what officials described as an intestinal infection.Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for two decades as prime minister and then president, is seeking a third presidential term in Turkey’s May 14 elections. He had been due to appear at a bridge opening and a political rally in the southern city of Adana, but his schedule changed to show he would attend the opening ceremony via video link.Erdogan became ill during a TV interview on Tuesday evening with what Health Minister Fahrettin Koca later said was a “gastrointestinal infection.” His election rallies planned for Wednesday and Thursday were canceled. He looked pale Thursday as he inaugurated a nuclear power plant via video in his first public appearance since his illness.Other officials sought to dispel concerns over the 69-year-old leader’s health ahead of next month’s presidential a...

Japan ocean policy vows tougher security amid China threat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan adopted a new five-year ocean policy on Friday that calls for stronger maritime security, including bolstering its coast guard’s capability and cooperation with the military amid China’s increasing assertiveness in regional seas.The new Basic Plan on Ocean Policy adopted by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s Cabinet also says Japan must accelerate the development of autonomous underwater vehicles and remotely operated robots to bolster its surveillance capability.It cited a list of threats: Chinese coast guard ships’ repeated intrusions into Japanese territorial waters, growing unauthorized maritime activity by “foreign survey boats” inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, increasing joint military exercises by China and Russia, and North Korea’s repeated missile launches.“The situation in the ocean around Japan is increasingly tense,” Kishida said at a policy meeting Friday. “It’s time for us to unite our wisdom among the ind...

EU voices optimism on Ukraine grain transit deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

The European Union agriculture chief expressed optimism on Tuesday (25 April) that neighbouring countries will accept a deal allowing Ukrainian grain to be imported into their countries to export elsewhere.Last week, the European Commission proposed measures of emergency in relation to wheat, maize and sunflower seeds, as well as sunflower oil, after certain central European countries unilaterally banned imports from Ukraine.The Russian invasion of February 2022 forced Ukraine to abandon its Black Sea ports and export grain through Bulgaria, Hungary Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.The European Agriculture commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski stated that the transit agreement would only cover five products, representing 80-90% imports, and not eight other products, such as honey, poultry, or milk, which Ukraine's neighbors have also proposed.He told a press conference following a meeting in Luxembourg of the agriculture ministers that he believed they were very, very near to a good agreem...

Sale closed in San Ramon: $2.9 million for a five-bedroom home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

2223 Britannia Drive – Google Street ViewThe spacious property located in the 2200 block of Britannia Drive in San Ramon was sold on April 13, 2023 for $2,900,000, or $753 per square foot. The house, built in 2004, has an interior space of 3,850 square feet. The property features five bedrooms, four baths, an attached garage, and two parking spaces. There’s also a pool in the backyard. The unit sits on a 0.3-acre lot.Additional houses that have recently been purchased close by include:On Feathermint Drive, San Ramon, in September 2022, a 4,558-square-foot home was sold for $3,155,000, a price per square foot of $692. The home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.In September 2022, a 4,509-square-foot home on Britannia Drive in San Ramon sold for $2,686,000, a price per square foot of $596. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 2,627-square-foot home on the 1800 block of Hollyview Drive in San Ramon sold in August 2022, for $1,950,000, a price per square foot of $742. The home has 4 be...

Foreign companies in China face growing scrutiny, pressure

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Foreign companies are under growing pressure in China from anti-corruption, security and other investigations as President Xi Jinping’s government tightens control over business, clashing with efforts to lure back investors after the pandemic. This week, Bain & Co. said police questioned staff in its Shanghai office. It gave no details of what they were looking for. Last month, the corporate due diligence firm Mintz Group said its Beijing office was raided by police who detained five employees. Also last month, an employee of a Japanese drug maker was detained on spying charges and the government announced a security review of memory chip maker Micron Inc.The actions run counter to efforts by the ruling Communist Party to reignite investor interest i n China despite increased political control over the economy. Business groups have said global companies are shifting investment plans to Southeast Asia, India and other economies.“At a time when China is proactively ...

Koepka among 1st-round leaders at storm-hit LIV Singapore

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

SINGAPORE (AP) — Brooks Koepka, British Open champion Cam Smith and Sergio Garcia were among those tied for the first-round lead at 5-under when storms suspended play at the LIV Singapore tournament at Sentosa Golf Club on Friday.Talor Gooch, the winner of last week’s tournament at Adelaide, Australia, was also at 5-under. Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau were among those tied for second, a stroke behind, when play was suspended with most golfers having four holes to play on the par-71 course.Gooch, Smith and Mickelson were in a featured group which started on the first tee in the shotgun-start format of the LIV Tour’s 54-hole tournaments.___More AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

OLAF probes potential fraud involving EU recovery funds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

The European Union’s anti-fraud office, OLAF, is investigating potential fraud using the bloc’s post-pandemic recovery cash in a number of EU countries.The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), agreed at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, is a €724 billion cash-pot financed through common EU debt, which disburses funds through grants and loans to EU countries in exchange for investment and reforms. So far, €150 billion has been disbursed under the facility, with Italy and Spain the largest recipients, accounting for over a quarter of the total to date.“OLAF is looking into the use of [RRF] funds in member states. There are currently a number of ongoing investigations into allegations of irregularities with [RRF] funds concerning different member states,” an OLAF press officer told POLITICO and Belgian news weekly Knack. A spokesperson declined to answer further questions on how many and which countries were involved, or how much money was potentially at risk.OLAF’s mandate ...

Heavy clashes rock Sudan’s capital despite truce extension

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Heavy explosions and gunfire rocked Sudan’s capital, Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman early Friday, residents said, despite the extension of a fragile truce between the county’s two top generals whose power struggle has killed hundreds.Turkey also said one of its evacuation aircrafts was hit Friday by gunfire outside Khartoum with no causalities. The escalation came hours after both sides accepted a 72-hour extension of the truce, apparently to allow foreign governments complete the evacuation of their citizens from the chaos-stricken African nation.Multiple short truces have not stopped the fighting, but they created enough of a lull for tens of thousands of Sudanese to flee to safer areas and for foreign nations to evacuate thousands of their citizens by land, air and sea.Residents reported fierce clashes in Khartoum’s upscale neighborhood of Kafouri, where the military earlier had used warplanes to bomb its rivals, the Rapid Support Forces, in the area.Clashes ...