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Top US and Chinese diplomats agree to build on recent progress in ties

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:40 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — The top U.S. and Chinese diplomats agreed Wednesday to keep building on recent progress in bilateral ties and work together to keep the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza from spreading.Both Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken referred in a telephone call to last month’s closely watched meeting between the two countries’ leaders in San Francisco following years of frigid ties.“The important task for both sides at present is to continue the positive impact of the San Francisco meeting, implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, and consolidate the momentum of stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations,” Wang said, according to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Blinken also emphasized that the two sides should build on progress at the summit, according to the U.S. State Department. President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping agreed at their meeting to keep channels of communication open and resume military-to-...

A British financier sought for huge tax fraud is extradited to Denmark from UAE

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:40 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Dubai-based British hedge fund trader sought by Danish authorities for allegedly orchestrating a $1.7 billion tax fraud, considered one of the largest in the Scandinavian country, has been extradited from the United Arab Emirates, officials said Wednesday.Financier Sanjay Shah was convicted in May in Dubai of masterminding a scheme that ran from 2012 to 2015 in which foreign businesses pretended to own shares in Danish companies and claimed tax refunds for which they were not eligible. A court in the United Arab Emirates had cleared his extradition.“It goes without saying that we as a society cannot accept that our state treasury is exposed to it,” Danish Taxation Minister Jeppe Bruus said, calling it “one of the biggest criminal fraud cases in Danish history.” Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen added that Denmark was “sending an important signal that you cannot achieve impunity by staying abroad.”Shah’s British lawyer Chris Waters told Danish b...

NATO member-to-be Sweden and the US sign defense deal, saying it strengthens regional security

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:40 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — On the brink of joining NATO, Sweden has signed a defense cooperation agreement with Washington that will allow the United States access to all of the military bases across the Scandinavian country, saying the deal would bolster regional security.Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson said the deal, signed in Washington Tuesday, “will create better conditions for Sweden to be able to receive support from the United States in the event of a war or crisis.”Jonson told Swedish broadcaster SVT that it didn’t mean that “all 17 locations will be used“ but ”where it is most important from a military perspective for them to be able to store defense equipment, for example.”The deal was signed at the Pentagon by Jonson and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin who said that by adding the capabilities of the Swedish armed forces to NATO, ”we will get even stronger.”The deal “sends a strong signal that we remain committed to addressing security challenges together,” Austin said. Swe...

Biden to sign executive order on federal funding for Native Americans

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden will sign an executive order on Wednesday during a tribal nations summit that aims to make it easier for Native Americans to access federal funding and have greater autonomy over how to invest those funds. “Tribal nations still face unacceptable barriers to fully exercising their inherent sovereignty, and really too often that occurs because of the way we are administering federal funding programs,” said Neera Tanden, White House domestic policy adviser. Historically, Tanden said, federal policies attacked Native people’s rights to self-governance and caused lasting economic damage. The Biden administration is working to undo that damage, she said. The order in part creates a clearinghouse for Native American tribes to find and access federal funding, and requests that federal agencies ensure that funding is accessible and equitable. The order will be unveiled on the first day of an annual summit, when Biden is expected to address Na...

Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson admits to making mistakes but defends COVID record at inquiry

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:40 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his handling of COVID-19 on Wednesday at a public inquiry into the pandemic, saying the government “got some things wrong” but did its best.Johnson began two days of being grilled under oath by lawyers for the judge-led inquiry about his initial reluctance to impose a national lockdown in early 2020 and other fateful decisions.Johnson opened his testimony with an apology “for the pain and the loss and the suffering of the COVID victims,” though not for any of his own actions. Four people stood up in court as he spoke, holding signs saying: “The Dead can’t hear your apologies,” before being escorted out by security staff.“Inevitably, in the course of trying to handle a very, very difficult pandemic in which we had to balance appalling harms on either side of the decision, we may have made mistakes,” Johnson said. “Inevitably, we got some things wrong. I think we were doing our best at the time.”Johnson had arriv...

Texas woman asks judge to allow abortion after lethal fetal diagnosis

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:40 GMT

(The Hill) - A pregnant Texas woman whose fetus has a lethal diagnosis is suing the state seeking an emergency court order to allow her to get an abortion despite Texas’s strict ban. The lawsuit is believed to be the first of its kind since the state banned virtually all abortions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Texas has overlapping abortion bans. The state outlaws all abortions from the point of fertilization and also enforces a “bounty” law that rewards private citizens who sue others who have helped a person get an abortion.  There are exceptions to save the life of the mother, but the law is vague on what constitutes such a risk, and advocates are trying to force the state to clarify. The lawsuit, filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights, asks the court to temporarily halt Texas’s abortion bans as they apply to Kate Cox, a 31-year-old Dallas woman. Cox is currently 20 weeks pregnant, and her fetus has been diagnosed with ful...

Saint Rose women's basketball speaks on school closure following fifth straight win

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:40 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The College of Saint Rose women's basketball team has shown through just six games they're capable of a putting together a special season. And considering this will be the last basketball season at Saint Rose, doing just that is their primary focus. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The Golden Knights took down Saint Michael's 59-31 Tuesday night at home for their fifth straight victory.After the game, first-year head coach Will Brown delivered a powerful message of unity amongst the team in the wake of last week's announcement that the college would be closing after the current school year."I think our kids have shown tremendous composure, resiliency," said Brown. "I told them, "Hey, let's control the narrative of this. Let's try to do something special. Let's stick together. Come March, I'll help you find another school." This is difficult - nothing I've ever experienced in my career. I'm consumed with ...

UAlbany football's Dylan Kelly named Buck Buchanan award top three finalist

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:40 GMT

ALBANY, NY (NEWS10) – Stats Perform has announced that University at Albany senior linebacker Dylan Kelly has been voted a top-three finalist for the 2023 Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the national defensive player of the year in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and presented by FedEx Ground. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The Buchanan Award, first presented in 1995 and in its 29th season, is named for legendary defensive lineman Junious "Buck" Buchanan, who starred at Grambling State as part of his Hall of Fame career. Past recipients include Dexter Coakley, Rashean Mathis, Jared Allen and Arthur Moats. Joining Kelly as top three finalists are defensive end Terrell Allen of Tennessee State and linebacker Billy Shaeffer of Lafayette. UAlbany teammate Anton Juncaj, who finished the regular season second in the nation in total sacks, finished in fifth place in the voting. Kelly finished the regular...

Catholic Central girls basketball edges Albany Academy in OT

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:40 GMT

MECHANICVILLE, NY (NEWS10) -- The high school basketball season is underway in the Capital Region, and the schedule featured a top-tier girls hoops matchup on Tuesday night. The defending champs in Class B, Albany Academy, visited Class A's Catholic Central in the season debuts for both teams. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! The Bears opened the game on a 16-3 run, but Catholic Central cut into the deficit before the end of the quarter. Academy led 18-13 after one. The second quarter belonged to the Crusaders, taking a 32-27 lead into the half. The back and forth trend continued, as the Bears turned it on in the third quarter to take a 52-47 lead after three. Catholic Central outscored Academy 12-7 in the fourth, as the two teams entered overtime tied at 59. The Crusaders won the extra period and the game, 68-64 the final. Catholic Central's Navi Turpin led all scorers with 26 points. Albany Academy's Alex Leonard led the Bear...

Cyber Resilience Act: Agreement with Council to boost digital products’ security 

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:40 GMT

MEPs have reached a deal with the Presidency of the Council on new cyber resilience rules to protect all digital products in the EU from cyber threats.Parliament and Council negotiators reached an informal agreement on the Cyber Resilience Act, which aims to ensure that products with digital features are secure to use, resilient against cyber threats and provide enough information about their security properties.The rules will put important and critical products into different lists based on their criticality and the level of cybersecurity risk they pose. Two lists will be proposed and updated by the European Commission. During negotiations, MEPs secured an expansion of the list of covered devices with products such as identity management systems software, password managers, biometric readers, smart home assistants and private security cameras. Products should also have security updates installed automatically and separately from functionality ones.MEPs also pushed for the European ...