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China removes outspoken foreign minister Qin Gang and replaces him with his predecessor, Wang Yi

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:10 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China on Tuesday removed outspoken Foreign Minister Qin Gang from office and replaced him with his predecessor, Wang Yi, in a move that has already fueled rumors over the personal lives and political rivalries of China’s Communist Party elite. In its announcement on the national evening news, state broadcaster CCTV on gave no reason for Qin’s removal. Qin dropped out of sight almost a month ago and the Foreign Ministry has provided no information about his status. That is in keeping with the ruling Communist Party’s standard approach to personnel matters within a highly opaque political system where the media and free speech are severely restricted.The ministry made no comment at its daily briefing on Tuesday. The move comes amid a foreign backlash against China’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy, of which Qin was a chief proponent. Adding to the mystery around Qin’s removal, it was approved at a meeting of the Standing Committee of China’...

Pakistan’s Imran Khan will face fresh charges of contempt in August, his lawyer says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:10 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s election oversight body said on Tuesday it would indict the country’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan next week on charges of publicly insulting its officials last year.Khan appeared before a special tribunal of the Election Commission of Pakistan along with his lawyers amid tight security in the capital, Islamabad. After a brief hearing, Shoaib Shaheen, one of Khan’s lawyers, said the tribunal decided to charge the former premier with contempt on Aug. 2.Khan is accused of calling the head of the electoral body, Sikandar Sultan Rajaa, and several of its officials “personal servants” to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at several gatherings. Sharif replaced Khan in April 2022 after he was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in parliament.Khan had been avoiding appearances before the tribunal for the past several months, saying the electoral body doesn’t have the authority to charge him with contempt.On Monday, the election overs...

Head-on crash in Etobicoke sends two people to hospital with serious injuries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:10 GMT

Two people are injured following a two-vehicle head-on crash during the Tuesday morning commute in Etobicoke.Toronto police responded to the area of Kipling Avenue and Kingsview Boulevard near Dixon Road around 6:30 a.m.Paramedics say two people, both adults, were taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.Police say the drivers involved remained at the scene.It is not yet known if the two people injured were the drivers or passengers in the vehicles.Kipling is closed between Kingsview and Dixon for the collision investigation.

Residents of two Ontario ridings set to head to the polls for byelections

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:10 GMT

Summer is the time for barbecues, bare feet and beaches – and for residents of two Ontario ridings, byelections.It’s not traditionally thought of as the best season for politicking, when people are out enjoying the weather or away on vacation, but candidates in Thursday’s byelections in Toronto’s Scarborough-Guildwood and the Ottawa area’s Kanata-Carleton swear that voters are engaged — though it was a bit of a slow start.“I’ll be honest, when the writ dropped, and we started door knocking shortly right after, people were kind of confused because they were like, ‘I just had an election,’ or some people were like, ‘I already voted,'” said community organizer Thadsha Navaneethan, the NDP’s Scarborough-Guildwood candidate.“In the last about two weeks, particularly as people have been receiving their Elections Ontario voter’s card, it’s been top of mind for people.”Residents of the Scarborough ridi...

Wildfires in Algeria leave at least 34 people dead and hundreds injured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:10 GMT

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Fires raging through forests, mountain villages and towns in northern Algeria have left at least 34 people dead — with 23 of them in the coastal region of Bejaia, according to authorities and a local radio station keeping track of the grim toll in Bejaia.Among those killed were 10 soldiers encircled by flames during an evacuation, the Defense Ministry reported Monday night.Bejaia, part of the Berber-speaking Kabyle region east of Algiers, was the hardest-hit area, with 23 deaths since Sunday, the local Soummam Radio reported on Tuesday. Counting the deaths from the wind-driven blazes that swept through villages to the seaside, the radio report said that 197 other people were injured in the flames. The official APS news agency reported Monday night that 34 people had died across several regions, or “wilayas.” Some 8,000 firefighters and 530 trucks, backed by military fire-fighting aircraft, fought the blazes in scorching heat, according to the latest update. T...

Israeli doctors walk off the job and more strikes are threatened after law weakening courts passes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:10 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of Israeli doctors walked out of work, labor leaders threatened a general strike and senior justices rushed home from a trip abroad Tuesday, a day after the government approved a law weakening the country’s supreme court that critics say will erode the system of checks and balances.Four leading Israeli newspapers covered their front pages in black ink — an ominous image paid for by an alliance of high-tech companies. The only words on the pages were in a line at the bottom: “A black day for Israeli democracy.”Monday’s vote — on the first of a series of measures that make up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive judicial overhaul — reverberated across the country. It came despite seven months of fierce popular resistance, Netanyahu’s promises of an eventual compromise and a rare warning against the overhaul from Israel’s closest ally, the United States.The bill was unanimously passed by the governing coalition, which includes ultra-nation...

Tuesday Forecast: Hot and hazy conditions with temps in low 90s

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:10 GMT

CHICAGO — Mainly sunny and hazy conditions with temperatures in the low 90s, slightly cooler lakeside. Winds: SSW 5-10. High: 92/87.An Air Quality Alert is in effect until midnight Wednesday morning. Interactive Radar: Track showers and storm here Mostly cloudy tonight with slight early AM thunderstorm chance. Winds: SSE 5-10. Low: 73.Wednesday Forecast: Mostly cloudy, decreasing clouds, humid, chance for storms, S 10-15 G20. High: 91.Full forecast details and more at the WGN Weather Center blog

Hays CISD approves deal with Hays County for 12 school resource officers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:10 GMT

KYLE, Texas (KXAN) – The Hays Consolidated Independent School Board of Trustees Monday night approved an agreement between the district and Hays County where the county would provide 12 school resource officers (SROs) to the district.According to the deal, the school resource officers would be Hays County Sheriff's deputies. The full-time deputies would be assigned to the following campuses, according to the deal: Two deputies to divide their time between Hays High School and Live Oak AcademyTwo deputies assigned to Johnson High School Two deputies assigned to Lehman High School One deputy assigned to Barton Middle SchoolOne deputy assigned to Chapa Middle School One deputy assigned to McCormick Middle SchoolOne deputy assigned to Simon Middle SchoolOne deputy assigned to Wallace Middle School One deputy to divide their time between Dahlstrom Middle School and Impact Alternative Education Program facilityIn Aug. 2022, KXAN reported Hays CISD added two new safety coordinators to as...

A heat record Monday, one possible today

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:10 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Monday's high of 105° at Camp Mabry tied a record first set in 1934, tied in 2011, then tied again last year. Our triple digit heat rolls on. We've now experienced our 17th consecutive day with highs of 100º or hotter, which ties for the 8th longest streak on record at Austin's Camp Mabry. By the end of the month we'll have moved into 2nd place.And, to no one's surprise, it didn't rain on Monday. There was no help from the sea breeze as all the rain stayed well east and southeast of Central Texas. 2023 AUSTIN WEATHER DATA Today will be Day #34 with a high of 100° and higher. The forecast in Austin is for another 105°, also the record for July 25th set in 2011.This afternoon's maximums similar to yesterday'sYesterday's maximum heat index was 106° at Cameron. Most others were in the 101° to 105° range. Look for numbers to be similar today. Only two counties with heat alerts todayThe lower heat index readings for Burnet and Llano Cos. yesterday allowed those two coun...

Gophers football picked third in West behind Iowa and Wisconsin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:10 GMT

The Gophers football program continues to look up at its arch rivals going into the final season of division play.The annual Cleveland.com Big Ten preseason poll has Minnesota behind Wisconsin and Iowa in the West Division. The overall results from 37 voters were released Tuesday ahead of Big Ten Media Days in Indianapolis this week.The U, which has never won a division crown, finished third with 176 votes and one first-place vote. Iowa came in second at 232 and 16 picks for the top spot. Wisconsin and new head coach Luke Fickell were first with 233 total votes and 20 for first.In the East, Michigan edged Ohio State for the top spot for the first time in four years. The defending Big Ten champion Wolverines had 248 overall votes and 27 for first place; the Buckeyes had 226 and eight; Penn State was third with 192 and two.The poll of Big Ten reporters mirrors some other national outlets.Phil Steele’s 2023 College Football Preview predicts Minnesota will be in a tie for third in the W...