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Russia’s reliance on China rises amid Ukraine sanctions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:20 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Like a salesman buttering up his best customer, President Vladimir Putin gushed about China’s economic success as he welcomed Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the Kremlin.“We even feel a bit envious,” Putin said Monday as Xi grinned.That was more than idle flattery. China isn’t just Moscow’s diplomatic partner in opposing what they see as U.S. domination of global affairs. Its thriving economy is the biggest buyer of Russian oil and gas exports, pumping billions of dollars into Putin’s treasury and helping the Kremlin resist Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine.Putin welcomes the lifeline, but that reliance is accelerating Russia’s slide into the junior role in an uneasy relationship with Xi’s government. Beijing has ambitions that diverge from Moscow’s and sometimes conflict.“Russia may worry about increasing reliance upon China, but it has no other good options,” said Li Xin, director of the Institute of European and Asian Studies...

Pakistan court grants Imran Khan bail in terrorism cases

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:20 GMT

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistani court on Tuesday granted former Prime Minister Imran Khan a weeklong bail in two new cases in which he faces terrorism charges, officials said. The ruling gave the embattled ousted premier and now popular opposition leader another brief reprieve from arrest. Since his ouster in a no-confidence vote in Parliament last April, the 70-year-old former cricket player turned Islamist politician has become embroiled in a series of legal cases against him, including on terrorism charges and graft while in office. Khan’s standoff with the government of his successor, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, has turned increasingly violent in recent days. In the latest terrorism cases, Khan is accused of inciting people to violence when he traveled to Islamabad last Saturday to face indictment in a graft case. His followers clashed with police outside the court and Khan never appeared before the judge. The graft case was later postponed till later in March. A se...

Doctors spread awareness during National Kidney Month

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:20 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — March is National Kidney Month, and medical experts at DaVita are trying to raise awareness for kidney disease. One in seven people have some sort of kidney dysfunction and often, many of those can be asymptomatic and it's not always hereditary. Jason Brightman was diagnosed at birth with hydronephrosis. "Basically, my kidneys were taking on too much fluid. And I had to have some reconstructive surgeries. But ultimately, my kidneys had gone into a disease state because of that," Brightman said.  He had a slow progression of kidney disease until he was a teenager when he ultimately had kidney failure. Doctors were able to get him a transplant at 16 years old, but three years later the kidney failed. Mountain lion attacks man in Colorado hot tub He started doing dialysis three times a week, four hours a day for eight and a half years. He was a college student at the time trying to work 40 hours a week, and his goal was to improve his health in order to ge...

Rapidly spreading fungus already in 28 states including Colorado, presents 'urgent' threat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:20 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – A fungus that poses "an urgent antimicrobial resistance threat," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has already been detected in more than half of U.S. states. Candida auris, or C. auris, is so concerning because it is often resistant to anti-fungal drugs, making it hard to treat infections. It can also be hard to identify with standard lab tests, making it even more difficult to treat properly and early. The fungus was first detected in the United States in 2016. The fungus "spread at an alarming rate" between 2020 and 2021 in healthcare facilities, the CDC wrote in a memo released Monday and has continued to spread in 2022. ‘Ozempic face’: Doctors explain side effect of weight loss drugs By the end of 2022, there were more than 8,000 instances of Candida auris identified across 28 states and Washington, D.C. The map below shows confirmed cases of the fungus, with states shaded in red having the most infections. While it usually isn't a sign...

High-speed police chase ends in crash on Don Shula expressway after shooting, vehicle theft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:20 GMT

A police chase that started around 3 a.m. on Tuesday has come to a dramatic end on the Don Shula expressway. The pursuit began in the Homestead area and continued for miles on State Road 874 before the suspect crashed into a car and came to a stop in the middle of the highway near Killian Parkway.According to officials, Miami-Dade Police responded to a shooting in the 13600 block of Southwest 268 Street. The victim had been involved in an argument with a known individual and was shot in the arm. The victim was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital South by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and is currently in stable condition.It was later discovered that the suspect had stolen a vehicle and fled the scene. A “be on the lookout” (BOLO) was issued, and Palmetto Bay officers observed the vehicle several hours later. The officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but the driver refused and the pursuit ensued.Following the crash, the suspect’s car sustained significant damag...

Ohtani ready to pitch vs Trout, USA in relief at WBC final

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:20 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — That matchup between Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani in the World Baseball Classic may not happen.Japan rallied in the ninth inning to beat Mexico and advance to Tuesday night’s championship game against the United States, but Shota Imanaga will start on the mound for the Samurai Warriors.If Trout is to bat against his Los Angeles Angels teammate, it would only be if Ohtani makes a rare relief appearance.Japan manager Hideki Kuriyama said he likely will use the same starting lineup as he did in the semifinal Monday night against Mexico, when Ohtani batted third as the designated hitter and doubled to start the ninth-inning comeback.Asked before the game what chance Ohtani had of pitching Tuesday, Kuriyama replied through a translator: “I won’t say it’s a zero.”While Ohtani has never relieved since joining the Angels for the 2018 season, he came out of the bullpen twice for the Pacific League’s Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2013 and once in 2016.“I’ll definitely be pre...

Cavinder twins reach March Madness Sweet 16 after transfer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:20 GMT

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Women’s basketball practice at Miami had been over for 30 minutes. Most of the coaches were gone. Almost all the players were gone. The scoreboard had long been turned off.The Cavinder twins were still working.Haley and Hanna Cavinder made their way around the 3-point arc, one shooting, then the other, over and over with a couple male practice players rebounding. The guys didn’t have to do much, since most every shot went through the net with a soft swish.“What nobody knows about the twins,” Miami coach Katie Meier said, “is that they’re gym rats.”Sweet 16 bound gym rats, that is, after ninth-seeded Miami upset No. 1 seed Indiana in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday. The Hurricanes face No. 4 seed Villanova on Friday.The twins are major influencers with 4.4 million followers on TikTok alone, two of the bigger stars of the NIL era in college athletics, a pair of 22-year-olds who didn’t set out to get famous through short videos. They’re ...

Zoo Miami’s 18-Year-Old female jaguar undergoes medical exam after experiencing health issues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:20 GMT

Reina, an 18-year-old female jaguar at Zoo Miami, has been undergoing a series of examinations after experiencing lethargy and appetite loss for several days. The 105-pound jaguar was anesthetized and transferred to the zoo’s animal hospital for a full set of examinations to determine the cause of her health issues.Dr. Marisa Bezjian, the Associate Veterinarian at Zoo Miami, led the Animal Health Team through the various procedures, which included radiographs, blood and urine collection, an oral examination, tooth cleaning, and an abdominal ultrasound examination conducted by consulting veterinary internist, Dr. Luis Macho.While the initial results did not reveal any critical issues, several small cysts were found in Reina’s abdominal cavity. These cysts were previously noted during previous exams, and it is believed that they may be hormonal and age-related.Reina has since been returned to her habitat enclosure, where she has recovered well from the anesthesia and will ...

France’s arms heartland tiptoes into the war economy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:20 GMT

LA CHAPELLE-SAINT-URSIN, France — Across industrial plants reeking of metal, where booming machines drown out voices, French arms manufacturer Nexter hasn’t waited for the EU’s nod to ramp up production. With factories located in Bourges’ wider region — the country’s defense heartland since the 19th century — Nexter has been building the Caesar truck-mounted howitzers delivered to Kyiv in recent months and producing the 155-millimeter shells Ukraine needs to rapidly restock. But now the company has also been thrust into the heart of Europe’s arms race, as EU officials seek out manufacturers to rapidly expand their output even further and create a true “wartime economy.”On a cold, sunny Monday morning, Nexter was the latest stop for Thierry Breton, the EU commissioner tasked with championing homegrown production. He also popped over to visit the nearby missile manufacturer MBDA. In the same way as the hyperactive French commissioner toured factories to boost vaccine pr...

Is there a war on? Big EU powers still short of NATO spending targets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:20 GMT

Not even a war has succeeded in pushing Europe’s biggest powers to reach their defense spending targets.The Continent’s largest economies all fell short of a common goal of spending 2 percent of economic output on defense, according to a NATO report published Tuesday. And across the entire military alliance, only seven out of 30 members spent at least 2 percent of their GDP on defense last year. Germany: 1.49 percent. Italy: 1.51 percent. France: 1.89 percent. And although that amounts to billions, officials and experts warn the organization’s members will need to spend much more to assure its security. The figures, all NATO estimates for 2022, show that while allies have been pouring significantly more money into their militaries for years, many are still largely lagging behind an alliance spending target, set in 2014, to spend 2 percent on defense within a decade. Of 30 members, only Greece, Poland, the Baltic states, the United Kingdom and the United Stat...