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Solomon Islands leader hits back at criticism of deepening security ties with China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:21 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The leader of Solomon Islands on Monday hit back at criticism of his nation’s deepening security ties with China, saying the United States and Australia had nothing to fear.Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare made the remarks at a news conference in the capital Honiara after returning from a visit to China, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top officials.Sogavare said that while in China, he signed nine agreements and memorandums, including a police cooperation plan.He said the plan “enhances cooperation on law enforcement and security matters with a commitment by China to provide support as needed” to strengthen the capacity of police law enforcement in the Pacific nation.The new agreements come after the Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China last year, raising fears of a military buildup in the region. The U.S. has countered with diplomatic moves of its own, including opening an embassy in the Solomon Islan...

UN waits for Russian answer as Black Sea grain deal deadline looms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:21 GMT

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is still waiting for a response from Russian President Vladimir Putin on a proposal to extend a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain beyond Monday, a UN spokesperson said on Friday (14 July).Guterres wrote to Putin on Tuesday asking him to extend the Black Sea deal in return for connecting a subsidiary of Russia's Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the international payment system SWIFT, sources told Reuters.The last ship traveling under the Black Sea deal is loading its cargo at Ukraine's Odesa port. Russia has not agreed to register any new ships since 27 June and the initiative will expire on Monday if Moscow does not agree to extend it.Russia has threatened to quit the deal - brokered by the U.N. and Turkey in July 2022 - because Moscow has said its demands to improve its own grain and fertilizer exports have not been met. Ukraine and Russia are among the world's top grain exporters.More than 32 million met...

Sale closed in Palo Alto: $7.8 million for a five-bedroom home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:21 GMT

243 Rinconada Avenue – Google Street ViewThe spacious property located in the 200 block of Rinconada Avenue in Palo Alto was sold on June 28, 2023. The $7,798,000 purchase price works out to $1,547 per square foot. The house, built in 2005, has an interior space of 5,042 square feet. This two-story home boasts a generous living space with five bedrooms and four baths. The property is equipped with forced air heating and a cooling system. Additionally, the home is equipped with a one-car garage, offering a designated parking space and extra storage capacity. The property occupies a sizable 10,000-square-foot lot which provides abundant outdoor space, including a pool.Additional houses that have recently been sold close by include:A 2,776-square-foot home on the 300 block of Santa Rita Avenue in Palo Alto sold in August 2022, for $10,000,000, a price per square foot of $3,602. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Waverley Street, Palo Alto, in June 2023, a 2,471-square-foot home...

Minnesota puts road win streak on the line against Atlanta

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:21 GMT

Minnesota Lynx (9-11, 7-6 Western Conference) at Atlanta Dream (11-8, 7-5 Eastern Conference)College Park, Georgia; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Minnesota visits Atlanta looking to prolong its three-game road winning streak.The Dream have gone 4-5 at home. Atlanta is second in the Eastern Conference scoring 86.6 points while shooting 44.3% from the field.The Lynx have gone 5-4 away from home. Minnesota ranks third in the Western Conference shooting 31.6% from 3-point range.The teams meet for the second time this season. The Dream won 83-77 in the last matchup on May 24.TOP PERFORMERS: Allisha Gray is averaging 18.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Dream. Rhyne Howard is averaging 18.5 points and 3.5 assists over the last 10 games for Atlanta.Napheesa Collier is scoring 21.3 points per game and averaging 7.7 rebounds for the Lynx. Kayla McBride is averaging 2.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Minnesota.LAST 10 GAMES: Dream: 7-3, averaging 89.0 points, 37.2 r...

Connecticut plays Phoenix on 3-game win streak

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:21 GMT

Connecticut Sun (15-5, 8-3 Eastern Conference) at Phoenix Mercury (4-15, 2-11 Western Conference)Phoenix; Tuesday, 10 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Connecticut seeks to build upon its three-game win streak with a victory against Phoenix.The Mercury have gone 3-6 in home games. Phoenix ranks sixth in the Western Conference with 5.9 offensive rebounds per game led by Michaela Onyenwere averaging 1.6.The Sun have gone 8-2 away from home. Connecticut is fourth in the Eastern Conference with 34.0 rebounds per game led by Alyssa Thomas averaging 9.7.The teams match up Tuesday for the first time this season.TOP PERFORMERS: Brittney Griner is scoring 19.5 points per game with 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists for the Mercury. Onyenwere is averaging 12 points over the past 10 games for Phoenix.DeWanna Bonner is averaging 18.3 points for the Sun. Thomas is averaging 16.1 points and 8.1 rebounds while shooting 51.5% over the past 10 games for Connecticut.LAST 10 GAMES: Mercury: 2-8, averaging 75.6 points, 3...

Softball All-Scholastics and league All-Stars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:21 GMT

SOFTBALL ALL-SCHOLASTICSMorgan Barmash (Woburn)Abby Bettencourt (Peabody)Kelsey Blanchette (Lincoln-Sudbury)Naomi Boldebuck (Billerica)Paige Butland (Wakefield)Kaelyn Chase (Hanover)Kelly Colleran (North Attleboro)Maddie Coupal (Bishop Feehan)Kaysie DeMoura (Taunton)Ellie Etemad-Gilbertson (Latin Academy)Sandra Fairbairn (Norton)Breanna Fontes (Case)Anna Fringuelli (St. Mary’s)Kaylee Grace (Bedford)Cecelia Imbimbo (Burlington)Kaelyn Larkin (Medfield)Lucy LaTour (Dighton-Rehoboth)Isabelle Levasseur (Amesbury)Samantha Lincoln (Taunton)Logan Lomasney (Peabody)Cassidy Machado (Middleboro)Julia Malowitz (Central Catholic)Delaney Moquin (Silver Lake)Emma Penniman (Triton)Samantha Ryan (Tewksbury)Olivia Silva (Case)Sharlotte Stazinski (Walpole)Brooke Tardugno (Methuen)Ava Venturelli (Taunton)Libby Walsh (King Philip)McCoy Walsh (King Philip)Lily Welch (Bridgewater-Raynham)HONORABLE MENTIONBella Bourque (Taunton)Sophia Bruno (Sturgis)McKenzie Foley (Hanover)AJ Gates (Monomoy)Brigid Ga...

Doug Kyed joins Boston Herald’s Patriots coverage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:21 GMT

Even as a football-obsessed kid, the New England Patriots were barely a blip on my radar through the first six years of my life. Now, they’ll be back to being a better part of my life as I’m thrilled to announce I’m rejoining the beat for the Boston Herald.I was born near Seattle after the Patriots’ Super Bowl XX loss, so my only real lasting image of the Pat Patriot-era team beyond quickly flipping past Pat Harlow rookie cards opening packs was an NFL Films special. The Patriots were rarely shown on network TV in the Pacific Northwest, and the team was banned from playing on “Monday Night Football.” This is a long way of saying that while I think the Patriots’ throwback jerseys are cool, I have no emotional attachment to them. I’m sorry.Andre Tippett was among the pass-rushers featured on an NFL Films “Merchants of Menace” VHS tape I played over and over as a kid. His section opened with a shot of an “Entering Foxboro” sign on Route 1 South preceding clips of Tipp...

Stock market today: World shares retreat after China reports weaker than expected growth in 2Q

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:21 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares retreated in Asia and Europe on Monday after China reported weaker growth than forecast in the last quarter. Oil prices fell more than $1 a barrel. Germany’s DAX edged less than 0.1% lower to 16,097.87 and the CAC 40 in Paris declined 0.7% to 7,323.91. Britain’s FTSE lost 0.1% to 7,424.61. The future for the S&P 500 was nearly unchanged. That for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1%. Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday and Hong Kong’s market was shuttered due to a typhoon.The Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.9% to 3,209.63 after China reported its economy grew at a 6.3% annual pace in April-June. That’s better than the 4.5% expansion in the January-March quarter but well below forecasts of over 7%. The economy is expected to slow further in coming months, though investors will be expecting moves from Beijing to prop up growth.So “the data will be viewed through the lens of how it will influence the policy decisions made at the...

Climate envoy John Kerry is in China for talks the U.S. hopes will raise relations from historic low

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:21 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. climate envoy John Kerry was holding talks Monday with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing, as the U.S. seeks to restore contacts that were disrupted by disputes over trade, Taiwan, human rights and China’s territorial claims. China’s official Xinhua News Agency said Kerry was meeting with Xie Zhenhua for the first extensive face-to-face climate discussions between representatives of the world’s two worst climate polluters after a nearly yearlong hiatus.China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of coal and has proceeded with building new plants, while at the same time forging ahead with renewables such as solar and wind power. Yet, congressional Republicans questioning of Kerry ahead of his trip at times broke down into challenging the existence of the scientifically established fact of climate change. But with Republicans as well as Democrats overall accepting the science underlying the warming climate, much of the criticism from GOP committee memb...

Traffic on key bridge from Crimea to Russia’s mainland halted after attack that kills 2

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:21 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia — Traffic on the key bridge connecting Crimea to Russia’s mainland was halted on Monday after one of its sections was blown up in what Russian officials said was a Ukrainian attack that also killed a married couple and injured their daughter.Russia’s National Anti-Terrorist Committee said that the attack had been staged by the Ukrainian special services and involved two sea drones. Ukrainian officials didn’t claim responsibility for the attack, which is the second major strike on the bridge since October, when a truck bomb blew up two of its sections.Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military’s Southern Command, said the explosions on the bridge could be a Russian provocation, but Ukrainian Ukrainska Pravda and RBC Ukraine news outlets said the attack was planned jointly by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Ukrainian Navy and involved sea drones.Kyiv didn’t initially acknowledge responsibility for October’s bombing, but ...