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IOC cites support from 120 non-aligned nations to let Russians try to compete at Paris Olympics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:36 GMT

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The International Olympic Committee cited support from 120 nations on Friday for its moves toward letting some Russian and Belarusian athletes qualify for the Paris Olympics.The declaration by the Azerbaijan-chaired Non-Aligned Movement of nations said it “would be a strong symbol of unity of humanity” if all 206 national Olympic teams compete in Paris next year.“Thank you to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, for taking the initiative for this important resolution,” IOC president Thomas Bach said in a statement.The IOC urged Olympic sports bodies in March to evaluate Russians and Belarusians for neutral status to compete — if they have not actively supported the war on Ukraine, nor have been contracted to military or state security agencies since February 2022.The Non-Aligned Movement document was published after a two-day meeting in Baku. Members include most countries in Africa and the Middle East, India and...

Aid group in Haiti suspends treatment after some 20 armed men storm hospital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:36 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Doctors Without Borders announced Friday that it has suspended treatment at one of its hospitals in Haiti after some 20 armed men burst into an operating room and snatched a patient.The incident occurred late Thursday at the Tabarre hospital in the capital of Port-au-Prince shortly after the patient was admitted with gunshot wounds.The organization said two men faked a life-threatening emergency to gain access to the hospital, and that the armed group stormed in when the gate was opened.“The medical staff, who fight daily to save lives, are shocked by this violence and the contempt shown by these armed groups toward them,” the aid group said in a statement.The announcement comes amid a surge in killings and shootings across Port-au-Prince and beyond as gangs become more powerful and fight for control over territory since the July 7, 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moïse.The growing insecurity has forced Doctors Without Borders to take similar action in...

Baltimore police arrest 17-year-old suspect in block party shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:36 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — Authorities have arrested and charged a teen who detectives believe was involved in a mass shooting at a Baltimore block party over the holiday weekend that left two people dead and 28 others wounded, officials announced Friday.Members of the homicide and SWAT teams arrested the 17-year-old boy around 7 a.m. Friday after a search warrant was executed at a home, police said in a news release. He was taken to the Central Booking Intake Facility, where he was charged with possession of a firearm by a minor and possession of an assault weapon, as well as reckless endangerment and having a handgun in a vehicle, police said. Police referred to the teen in the release as a person of interest. He is charged as an adult, but police aren’t identifying him since he is a minor, according to department spokesperson Detective Freddie Talbert.Detectives are still actively investigating the shooting in the Brooklyn Homes area in the southern part of the city, Talbert said. A ...

Stefanos Tsitsipas ends Andy Murray’s Wimbledon by beating him in 5 sets over 2 days

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:36 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Stefanos Tsitsipas eliminated two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray 7-6 (3), 6-7 (2), 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 on Friday in a second-round match that lasted more than 4 1/2 hours spread over two days at Centre Court.Murray was loudly supported by most of the 15,000 or so spectators, who all surely were aware that his 2013 title at the All England Club was the first there for a British man in 77 years. Murray also won Wimbledon in 2016, along with the 2012 U.S. Open and two Olympic gold medals.He is now 36, with an artificial hip after two operations on that joint. Murray could not hold onto the two-sets-to-one lead he built against Tsitsipas before play was suspended Thursday night because it was getting too late to play.On the point before action was halted, Murray slipped and fell at the baseline, but he did not appear to struggle with any sort of injury when they resumed nearly 18 hours later. After so much rain earlier in the week, the pale blue sky was unen...

Indian authorities arrests 3 railway officials over the train crash that killed more than 290

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:36 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s federal crime agency said Friday it has arrested three railway officials in connection with one of the country’s deadliest train accidents, which killed more than 290 people last month.The arrested men have been charged with culpable homicide without murder and destruction of evidence, the Central Bureau of Investigation said in a statement. It identified them as two signal engineers and one technician, and said the investigation is ongoing.June’s train crash in eastern Odisha state occurred when a packed passenger train was mistakenly diverted onto an adjacent loop line where it rammed into a stationary freight train loaded with iron ore. The collision derailed the passenger train’s coaches onto another track where they struck a passing train that was running in the opposite direction.The two passenger trains were carrying more than 2,290 people when the collision took place. Nearly 1,000 people were injured.After the accident, India’s railway minister Ashw...

Donations pour in for Asian American-owned NYC bookstore decimated by fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:36 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — An Asian American-owned bookstore in Manhattan’s Chinatown left gutted by a Fourth of July fire is getting flooded with support from the community, writers and celebrities. Yu & Me Books surpassed its GoFundMe page goal of $150,000 and had generated over $250,000 as of Friday morning. “Shang-Chi” star Simu Liu and authors Celeste Ng and Min Jin Lee were among the donors. The blaze started in a residential unit above the store on Tuesday, store owner Lucy Yu wrote on social media. The cause has not yet been determined.The fire caused massive smoke and water damage to inventory, furniture and the building itself. The store will be closed indefinitely as repairs and renovations are likely to take a year, according to Yu. Donations will go toward replacing equipment, paying staff, new furniture and other needs. Described as New York City’s first female-owned Asian American bookstore, Yu & Me Books opened in December 2021. Yu wanted to have a place tha...

Police rescue baby from locked car during Ontario heat wave

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:36 GMT

Provincial police were called in to rescue a baby from a hot car in Wasaga Beach during the first day of a sweltering heat wave in southern Ontario.Officers responded to a call around 2:40 p.m. on Tuesday for reports that an infant was locked inside a vehicle parked in a driveway.Police say the eight-month-old’s parents called 911 after they weren’t able to unlock the car.The responding officers were able to successfully unlock a door and get the child out. The infant was inside the vehicle for approximately 20 minutes, according to police.“After the baby was safely removed, the baby was assessed by paramedics, however did not need to be transported to the hospital,” says a spokesperson for Huronia West OPP.“There was another young child outside the vehicle while the paramedics assessed the eight-month-old, PC Chalmers and Sgt Goderre distracted the three-year-old by showing him the police car and giving him an OPP teddy bear to play with.”Tuesday...

Drones sweep for sharks along New York coast as encounters rise with beachgoers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:36 GMT

WANTAGH, N.Y. (AP) — Off the coast of Long Island, drones sweep over the ocean, patrolling the water for any danger that might lurk below the surface as beachgoers grow more vigilant because of a recent spate of shark encounters.Over two days this week, five people reported being bitten by sharks at some of New York’s most popular beaches, leading to heightened surveillance of the area’s waters.The sighting of a 10-foot (3-meter) shark on Thursday prompted officials to keep people out of the water at Robert Moses State Park, the same Long Island beach that delayed its opening July 4 after a drone spotted a group of 50 sand sharks off the coast.“We are now more vigilant than ever,” said George Gorman, the state’s park director in Long Island. “We have drones in the sky that watch over the waters. We have lifeguards on WaveRunners that watch over the waters.”Just a few years ago, encounters with sharks were rare. But more recently, reports of sharks biting people hav...

Kansas attorney general sues to prevent transgender people from changing driver’s licenses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:36 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Republican attorney general of Kansas sued in state court Friday to block transgender residents from changing their sex on their driver’s licenses and to rebuke the Democratic governor for defying his interpretation of a new law.Attorney General Kris Kobach is seeking an order to stop Gov. Laura Kelly, and agencies under her control, from allowing the changes to transgender people’s licenses. Kobach contends a law that took effect Saturday prevents such changes and requires the state to reverse any previous changes in its records.Kobach has argued that the law applies in the same way to birth certificates, but the lawsuit filed Friday doesn’t address those documents. The settlement of a 2018 federal lawsuit requires Kansas to allow transgender people to change their birth certificates.More than 900 people have changed the listing for sex on their birth certificates in the past four years. About 400 have changed their driver’s licenses ...

‘Don’t fall off the horse’: Astronaut Jeremy Hansen leads Calgary Stampede parade

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:36 GMT

CALGARY — Col. Jeremy Hansen is preparing to become the first Canadian to travel to the moon as part of the Artemis II mission, but Friday he  cowboyed up to become the second astronaut to be marshal of the Calgary Stampede parade. The 10-day Artemis II mission could launch as early as November of next year and involves slingshotting into deep space for a figure-8 manoeuvre around the far side of the moon. It would mark the first time any human has ventured so far from Earth. Hansen, wearing a grey cowboy hat, blue jeans and cowboy boots, was part of the two-hour parade ride through downtown. A blue NASA jacket was a giveaway that it wasn’t his world.“This is pretty special. I am Christmas-kid kind of excited about riding Cisco today and being amongst all these cowboys,” Hansen said on horseback just before the parade began.“I am just a pretender today, I guess, but excited to be here. It feels good.”Chris Hadfield was the first Canadian astronaut to be...