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China’s Xi awarded third term as president, extending rule

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:06 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping was awarded a third five-year term as president Friday, putting him on track to stay in power for life.The endorsement of Xi’s appointment by the ceremonial National People’s Congress was a foregone conclusion for a leader who has sidelined potential rivals and filled the top ranks of the ruling Communist Party with his supporters since taking power in 2012.The vote for Xi was 2,952 to 0 by the NPC, members of which are appointed by the ruling party.Xi, 69, had himself named to a third five-year term as party general secretary in October, breaking with a tradition under which Chinese leaders handed over power once a decade. A two-term limit on the figurehead presidency was deleted from the Chinese constitution earlier, prompting suggestions he might stay in power for life.No candidate lists were distributed, and Xi and those awarded other posts were believed to have run unopposed. The election process remains almost entirely shrou...

Fiji’s former leader Frank Bainimarama released on bail

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:06 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Fiji’s former leader Frank Bainimarama was released on bail Friday after pleading not guilty to a charge that he abused his power as prime minister by stopping a police investigation. Both Bainimarama and the nation’s suspended police commissioner had spent the night in jail after they were arrested Thursday.“I served as Fiji’s prime minister with integrity and with the best interests of Fijians at heart,” Bainimarama told reporters outside the courtroom, adding that he would fight the charge not only for his legacy but also for democracy. The development adds another twist to the volatile political situation on the Pacific island nation, where Bainimarama in December lost a tense election to Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. Last month, Bainimarama, 68, was suspended from parliament for three years for insulting the president, and this week he resigned from parliament in protest.Bainimarama and Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho each face a ...

Japan parliament OKs Ueda as BOJ chief to tackle inflation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:06 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The appointment for the next head of Japan’s central bank won parliamentary approval Friday, challenging a new monetary leadership with steering the world’s third-largest economy through inflation and other looming risks. The nomination of Kazuo Ueda and his deputies was approved by the upper house of parliament, a day after its approval in the lower house. Ueda hails from a scholarly background unusual for a Bank of Japan governor. He has promised a smooth transition from his predecessor’s “Abenomics” — the ultra-loose monetary policies of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.Until recently, the Japanese economy was stuck in deflation, a continuous spiraling down of prices, for decades. “Abenomics” policies centered around zero or negative interest rates were designed to combat deflation. But Japan’s consumer inflation rate hit a 41-year high of 4% in December. The central bank has set a 2% inflation target, but recent data show prices are rising higher than that rat...

2 teens charged in separate online threats to Mississauga, Brampton schools

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:06 GMT

Two teenagers have been charged in connection to separate online threats against high schools in Mississauga and Brampton.Peel Regional Police officers were called to Lincoln Alexander Secondary School in Mississauga around 8:45 a.m. on Thursday to investigate an online threat.Investigators identified a suspect and arrested and charged a 16-year-old female youth from Mississauga with one count of uttering threats.Just over an hour later, police were called to Chinguacousy Secondary School in Brampton for a separate, unrelated online threat. A 14-year-old boy was arrested and charged with uttering threats.No injuries were reported in either incident.The youths were released with conditions and are expected to appear in court in Brampton at a later date. The pair were not identified through the Youth Criminal Justice Act.The pair of arrests comes after Peel Regional Police investigated online threats targeting high schools in Mississauga and Brampton, including Chinguacousy Secondary ...

At a glance: Jehovah’s Witness beliefs, history in Germany

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:06 GMT

Several people were killed and injured Thursday night after shots were fired inside a building where Jehovah’s Witnesses met in the northern German city of Hamburg, officials said. The international Christian denomination founded in the United States has a more than 100-year history in Germany. Today, about 170,000 members call the European country home, according to the denomination’s website.The denomination itself dates back to the 19th century. It was founded by Charles Taze Russell, a minister from Pittsburgh. Now headquartered in Warwick, New York, it claims a worldwide membership of about 8.7 million. Members are known for their evangelistic efforts including knocking on doors and distributing literature in public squares.Here is a quick look at the international denomination’s beliefs and their history in Germany:— In Germany, there are about 2,020 Jehovah’s Witness congregations and 170,491 ministers. One in 498 Germans practice the faith, according to the denomination’s we...

The Master at Work: Tracking a storm with Tom Skilling

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:06 GMT

As WGN TV celebrates 75 years, we’re looking back with a series of stories on the history and the memoriesCHICAGO — Tom Skilling has reported the weather from the peaks of Alaska to the valleys of Southern Nevada. He has chased tornados and testified before Congress. He’s been awarded three honorary doctorate degrees and earned a place in pop culture as a character on Netflix’s animated series Chicago Party Aunt. “He is a legendary weatherman,” Rick Morris, an associate dean and professor at Northwestern University’s School of Communication, said. “He’s really smart.  He knows his stuff.”Skilling’s folksy demeanor, authoritative delivery and reassuring presence have been constants on Channel 9 for for nearly 45 years. He arrived at WGN on 1978 from WITI-TV in Milwaukee. In a WGN press release he was touted as “the top-rated meteorologist on Milwaukee television.”Skilling’s genuine charm and affability have made him one of the most beloved WGN employees in the station’s 75-year ...

Houstonian sentenced to 60 years in for fatally stabbing girlfriend from Dallas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:06 GMT

HOUSTON-- A 64-year-old Houston man with a history of violence was sentenced to 60 years this week. He was convicted for fatally stabbing his girlfriend as she tried to leave him to go back to Dallas, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said Wednesday.The most dangerous time for a victim of domestic violence is when they are trying to leave the relationship. That is exactly why we take any and all allegations of domestic violence so seriously.Harris County District Attorney Kim OggKenneth B. Howard, was convicted of murder by a jury on Monday. He was then sentenced by a judge in the fatal stabbing of 37-year-old Pamela D. Pratt on July 12, 2019. Pratt was a mother of three who was in a dating relationship with Howard. Howard persuaded Pratt to move to Houston from Dallas.Authorities said that during their relationship, Howard shot at Pratt’s 18-year-old son and was on bond for that charge when he committed the murder. In 1984, he was also convicted of stabbing his ex-wife seven ...

Girls basketball: Eagan upsets Rosemount to earn first state title berth

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:06 GMT

Wednesday and Thursday were second trimester final exam days at Eagan and Rosemount high schools. But for the girls basketball team at each District 196 school, only the classroom tests were over when the last afternoon bell rang.The Wildcats passed another Thursday night, meaning they will be playing when the third trimester begins next week.​Drew Buslee scored 21 points as Eagan upset Rosemount, 63-52, in the Class 4A, Section 3 championship game on Thursday night in Rosemount.“We just played for each other,” Buslee said. “We earned it. We deserve to go to state.”For the first time in school history.Class 4A action begins Wednesday at Williams Arena. Tournament brackets are to be announced Saturday.“I don’t have any words. It’s my first year on varsity. It’s just amazing to be a part of it,” said Jocelyn McClary. She and Madi McCullum each added 14 points for the second-seeded Wildcats (19-10). Eagan has won seven of eight.Rosemount beat Eagan by 12 and 15 points during the regula...

NCAA women’s hockey: Minnesota Duluth bounces Clarkson, 2-0

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:06 GMT

Minnesota Duluth senior defenseman Taylor Stewart scored twice and fifth-year senior goaltender Emma Soderberg recorded yet another shutout as the No. 7-seeded Bulldogs advanced in the NCAA tournament with a 2-0 victory over No. 9 Clarkson on Thursday at Ridder Arena.Stewart scored in the first and third periods, while Soderberg stopped all 16 shots she faced for her school-record 12th shutout of the season and school-record 23rd of her career.The Bulldogs now face No. 2 Minnesota at 2 p.m. Saturday back at Ridder in a rematch of the 2022 regional final that UMD won in Minneapolis. Saturday’s winner will play in the NCAA Frozen Four next week at Amsoil Arena in Duluth.Clarkson was called for two five-minute majors, both late in periods. Freshman wing Sena Catterall was called for a standalone major for boarding in the final minute of the first while junior wing Anne Cherkowski — the Golden Knights’ leading goal scorer who began her college career a Minnesota — was given a checking-f...

3 men charged in alleged ‘cash-only’ card scam at West St. Paul Target

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:06 GMT

Three Michigan men were charged Thursday with swindling a Target store in West St. Paul out of $4,500 worth of goods by using phony “cash-only” transaction cards in a scam police say is playing out across the Twin Cities and elsewhere.The men are also suspected of conning Target and Walmart cashiers in five other metro-area cities over the past week, according to police.“We’re pretty confident that it is part of a larger organized crime spree,” West St. Paul Police Chief Brian Sturgeon said Thursday, noting the three suspects are from out of state and that one has felony theft warrants out of Florida and Washington.Officers were called to the Target along South Robert Street just before noon Tuesday on a report of a theft in progress. As officers pulled up, two of the suspected thieves ran — Jaryn Edreece Turner, 19, and Jamarius Darionta Murray, 18, while the third, JW Marshall Keel, 19, hid under a car in the store’s parking lot. All three were arrested.From left: Jaryn Edre...