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Walker hits 100th homer, Diamondbacks beat Rockies 6-0 for 4th straight win

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:11 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — As the calendar turns to June, the Arizona Diamondbacks look as if they’re easily one of the most improved clubs in the big leagues.If guys like second-year lefty Tommy Henry keep turning in performances like he did Wednesday night, the good times might just keep rolling for the remainder of the season.Henry threw seven strong innings, Christian Walker hit his 100th career home run and the D-backs won their fourth straight game, beating the Colorado Rockies 6-0. Arizona has won 13 of 18 games and is just a half-game behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top of the NL West.“We’re in a good spot,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’re a good baseball team with a lot to prove. We’ve worked hard to put ourselves in this position.”Arizona improved to 33-23 on Wednesday, the first time it has been 10 games over .500 since 2018. To illustrate how far they’ve come, the D-backs didn’t win their 33rd game until June 26 last season and didn’t hit th...

Encuentran a 10 migrantes ahogados en la selva del Darién, en Panamá

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:11 GMT

(CNN Español) — Al menos unas 10 personas, presumiblemente migrantes, fueron encontradas ahogadas en la selva del Darién, en Panamá, informó este miércoles la directora del Servicio Nacional de Migración del país, Samira Gozaine.La funcionaria dijo en declaraciones a la prensa local que en las últimas semanas los servicios nacional de Fronteras, Aeronaval y Migración han rescatado varios cadáveres. “Hemos rescatado unos 10 cadáveres (…) en los ríos, lamentablemente”.Gozaine agregó que algunas personas “siguen insistiendo en cruzar a pesar de lo caudaloso de los ríos”. Informó que hasta este miércoles unos 170.000 migrantes han ingresado de forma irregular a la selva del Darién, en la frontera entre Panamá y Colombia.Mira lo que arriesgan los migrantes que intentan atravesar el Tapón del Darién para llegar a EE.UU.“El 20% de esa población son niños, 50% de esa población son menores de 5 años, bebés recién nacidos. Hemos visto madres con bebés recién nacidos caminand...

Earthquakes end long road skid with 1-0 victory over Sounders

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:11 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Jeremy Ebobisse scored out of the gates in the second half and Daniel de Sousa Brito made it stand up as the San Jose Earthquakes snapped a 14-match winless skid on the road with a 1-0 victory over the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday night.Ebobisse ended a scoreless match when he took passes from Rodrigues and Cristian Espinoza in the 48th minute and scored his sixth goal of the season.Daniel, as the Earthquakes goalkeeper prefers to be called, finished with eight saves to earn the clean sheet. Stefan Frei saved two shots for the Sounders, who have lost three of four at home after a 10-match unbeaten run.The Earthquakes (6-5-4) beat Seattle (8-6-2) for a third straight time. San Jose’s seven road wins in Seattle are the most by any opponent. The Earthquakes came into the match 0-10-4 in their previous 14 matches away from home.Seattle entered play with a one-point lead over St. Louis City and defending champion Los Angeles FC atop the Western Conference standings....

Singapore prime minister tests positive for COVID again in rare rebound case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:11 GMT

SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Thursday that he tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time in less than two weeks, in a rare case of a rebound.Lee, 71, was diagnosed with COVID-19 for the first time on May 22, following work trips to Africa and Asia. He tested negative six days later. But in a Facebook post Thursday, Lee shared a photo of a positive antigen rapid test that he took.“I feel fine but I am afraid I have turned COVID-19 positive again. My doctors say it is a COVID rebound, which happens in 5-10 percent of cases,” he said in his post.Lee said he has been advised to self-isolate as the virus is still infectious, although the risk is lower compared to the initial infection. He said he had looked forward to attending the consecration ceremony of an Indian temple early Thursday but has to “miss it to keep others around me safe.”In his earlier diagnosis, Lee said he was prescribed the Paxlovid antiviral medication due to his age....

Australian judge rules in civil court war crime allegations against hero soldier proved

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:11 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia’s most decorated living war veteran unlawfully killed prisoners and committed other war crimes in Afghanistan, a judge ruled Thursday in dismissing the claims by Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith that he was defamed by media.Federal Court judge Anthony Besanko ruled that the articles published in 2018 were substantially true about a number of war crimes committed by Roberts-Smith, a former Special Air Service Regiment corporal who now is a media company executive.These allegations included that Roberts-Smith, who was also awarded the Medal of Gallantry for his Afghan war service, killed a prisoner who had a prosthetic leg by firing a machine gun into the man’s back in 2009.He kept the man’s prosthetic as a novelty beer drinking vessel.The accusations also included Roberts-Smith had kicked an unarmed, handcuffed farmer off a cliff into a riverbed where an SAS colleague shot the farmer dead in 2012.Reports of domestic violence allegedly com...

Defying taboos, Shiite cleric in Iran takes in street dogs and nurses them back to health

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:11 GMT

QOM, Iran (AP) — It’s rare these days for a turbaned cleric in Iran to attract a large following of adoring young fans on Instagram, but Sayed Mahdi Tabatabaei has done it by rescuing street dogs in defiance of a local taboo.Tabatabaei posts regularly — to his more than 80,000 followers — heartbreaking stories of abused and neglected dogs that he has treated in his shelter. His young fans ask for updates on the rescues and send well wishes in the hundreds of comments he receives on almost every post.In some parts of the Muslim world, dogs are considered unclean, driven away with shouting, sticks and stones, and sometimes even shot by city workers in failed attempts to control the feral population.Iran’s ruling theocracy views keeping dogs as pets as a sign of Western decadence, and hard-liners have been pushing for laws that would prohibit walking them in public. But that hasn’t stopped Tabatabaei from opening a shelter in the city of Qom — home to several major re...

China and key US partner Singapore agree to top-level defense hotline

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:11 GMT

SINGAPORE (AP) — China and Singapore laid the groundwork Friday for a hotline between the two countries that would establish a high-level communications link between Beijing and a close American partner in Asia at a time when Chinese tensions with Washington are high and dialogue has stalled.Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, a general in China’s People’s Liberation Army who was named minister in March, signed a memorandum of understanding with his Singaporean counterpart Ng Eng Hen to work toward establishing a secure telephone link “for high-level communications between our defense leaders,” according to a statement released by Singapore.“Such high-level open lines of communications are important for strengthening mutual understanding and trust,” the statement said, without giving a timeline for when it would be established.Li is on his first visit to Singapore as defense minister, and is broadly discussing global and regional security issues with a range of official...

Sri Lanka reduces interest rates for 1st time since bankruptcy as economy shows signs of rebounding

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:11 GMT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The Central Bank of Sri Lanka reduced its interest rates Thursday for the first time since the island nation declared bankruptcy, after stern fiscal controls, improved foreign currency income and help from an International Monetary Fund program resulted in inflation slowing faster than expected. The Central Bank said in a statement that the lending and deposit interest rates were reduced by 250 basis points to 14% and 13%. The hope is that lowering the rates would “provide an impetus for the economy to rebound from the historic contraction activity witnessed in 2022, while easing pressures in the financial markets,” the statement said.According to the Central Bank, the headline inflation stood at 35.3% in April, was reduced to 25.2% in May and is expected to reach single-digit territory by the the third quarter. Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy in April 2022 and said it is suspending repayment of its foreign debt. It reached an agreement in March with th...

June Opens Hot! —A BRIEF COOL DOWN Is Predicted By Mid-Next Week—But Warmth looks to Rebuild

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:11 GMT

CHICAGO's second day with a 91° high amid humid tropical air set the stage for t-storm development Wednesday afternoon. It was an interesting to end a month which has seen the area RAIN-STARVED.The 0.29" which fell at O'Hare pushed the May rainfall tally to 0.71"—FAR SHORT of the 4.49" which is normal for the month. (May is Chicago's wettest month of the year--but certainly hasn't been this year). The month concludes the 4th driest May of the past 153 years with only 16% of the normal. The last day of May 2023 closed hot in Chicago, with the month averaging 2-degrees warmer than normal—but 1.3° cooler than May a year ago.Wednesday's t-storm rains bypassed Midway Airport even though thunder was heard rumbling there. Here is a series of 3-D radar images of the t-storms at their height Wednesday afternoon.Dew points in the city Wednesday hit 70-degree for an hour—a steamy Gulf Coast moisture level and a reading which indicates the city registered its highest atmospheric moisture conten...

Ukraine says it's working with BAE to set up weapons production

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:11 GMT

Ukraine is working with major British defense company BAE Systems (BAES.L) to set up a Ukrainian base to both produce and repair weapons from tanks to artillery, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday (30 May).Zelenskiy spoke after talks with senior officials from BAE, including Chief Executive Charles Woodburn."It is indeed a massive manufacturer of weaponry, the kind of weaponry that we need now and will continue to need," Zelenskiy said in an evening video address."We are working on establishing a suitable base in Ukraine for production and repair. This encompasses a wide range of weaponry, from tanks to artillery," he added. Zelenskiy did not give further details.Earlier in the day, Zelenskiy said the two sides had agreed to start work on opening a BAE office in Ukraine.