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Political reforms continue in Kazakhstan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

Kazakhstan celebrates its Constitution Day on 30 August. It’s a public holiday when festivities, concerts and exhibitions across the country mark the adoption of the Kazakh Constitution in 1995. The decision in a referendum 28 years ago to establish the country as a democratic secular state remains a momentous one, when the ideals of freedom, equality and concord were proclaimed. However, the Republic’s highest legal text has been amended on five occasions, most recently and comprehensively in 2022, writes Political Editor Nick Powell.The events of January 2022, when initially legitimate protests about fuel prices turned to lawlessness and violence, are rightly remembered in Kazakhstan as a tragedy. But the response of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was to accelerate democratic reforms, not reverse them as the ringleaders behind the violence seem to have hoped.Nearly two years on, Kazakhstan continues to progress the political reforms that the President and his government initiated...

The US Open starts Monday. Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Novak Djokovic and Frances Tiafoe are in action

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The season’s last Grand Slam tournament, the U.S. Open, gets started on Monday with some of the biggest names in tennis — about a year after two even bigger names walked away from the sport. The Day 1 schedule includes Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff on the women’s side, and Novak Djokovic and Frances Tiafoe on the men’s. And many more, of course. No one carries quite the star power of Serena Williams, whose last event was the 2022 U.S. Open, or Roger Federer, who announced his retirement shortly afterward.The No. 1-ranked Swiatek, a 22-year-old from Poland, won the championship in Arthur Ashe Stadium a year ago and she will be back in that arena to begin the 2023 edition of the event against Rebecca Peterson of Sweden on Monday.That will be followed by Tiafoe, a 25-year-old from Maryland, against Learner Tien, a 17-year-old from California. Tiafoe reached his first major semifinal at last year’s U.S. Open.The night session in Ashe will be led off ...

Emiten alerta de huracán para la provincia cubana de Pinar del Río

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

(CNN) — La tormenta tropical Idalia se está fortaleciendo rápidamente, según la actualización de las 11 p.m. hora del este de EE.UU. del Centro Nacional de Huracanes (NHC). Idalia tiene vientos de 97 km/h con ráfagas más fuertes y actualmente está estacionaria.El gobierno de Cuba elevó el aviso de tormenta tropical para Pinar del Río a aviso de huracán. Se esperan condiciones de huracán dentro del área bajo aviso de huracán en el oeste de Cuba para este lunes por la noche. Se espera que los vientos alcancen la fuerza de tormenta tropical este lunes por la mañana.Trayectoria de Idalia en vivo: dónde está en tiempo real y a dónde se dirigeLa alerta de tormenta tropical para la Isla de la Juventud se actualizó a advertencia de tormenta tropical. La alerta de tormenta tropical para Dry Tortugas, Florida, se actualizó a advertencia de tormenta tropical. Se emitió una alerta de tormenta tropical para los cayos de Baja Florida al oeste del extremo oeste del puente Seven Mile.Condicio...

Ogunbowale scores 29 as the Wings knock the Mercury out of playoff contention with 77-74 win

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Arike Ogunbowale scored 29 points to rally the Dallas Wings to a 77-74 victory over Phoenix on Sunday, eliminating the Mercury from playoff contention.Dallas (19-16), which currently sits in fourth place, will have to wait at least one more game before clinching a homecourt advantage in the first round after the Chicago Sky beat the Seattle Storm 90-85 on Sunday.Phoenix lost its fifth straight game and failed to make the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons. That run was the longest active streak in the WNBA, according to ESPN.Ogunbowale made 8 of 22 shots from the floor for the Wings, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range. She was 9 for 9 at the free-throw line. Kalani Brown added 12 points off the bench. Natasha Howard totaled 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists.Moriah Jefferson had 20 points, five assists and four rebounds to pace the last-place Mercury (9-25). Brittney Griner scored 19, while Megan Gustafson pitched in with 11 points, three rebounds and...

Williams, Copper rally Sky to 90-85 victory, eliminate Storm from playoff contention

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Elizabeth Williams scored 23 points, Kahleah Copper added a double-double and the Chicago Sky rallied in the second half to beat the Seattle Storm 90-85 on Sunday.Chicago (14-21) stayed in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs with the victory. The Sky trail the Los Angeles Sparks by 1.5 games for the eighth and final berth. Chicago is two games behind seventh-place Atlanta with five games left to play.Seattle (10-25) lost its third straight game and was eliminated from the playoffs. The four-time WNBA champion Storm had qualified for the playoffs from 2016 to 2022, according to ESPN. Seattle won the title in 2004, 2010, 2018, and 2020.Williams buried 10 of 15 shots from the floor for the Sky, adding five rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. Copper finished with 18 points and 12 boards for her first double-double of the season. She also had five steals and four assists. Marina Mabrey scored 15 on 5-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Courtney Williams total...

Motorcyclist killed in CHP pursuit crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

ESCONDIDO, Calif. -- A 22-year-old motorcyclist of Lake Elsinore was killed in a crash Sunday during a pursuit involving multiple agencies in North County, authorities said.The pursuit started around 12:04 p.m. after California Highway Patrol tried to pull over a motorcyclist speeding on southbound Interstate 15 at State Route 76, Lt. Suzanne Baeder with the Escondido Police Department said in a news release.The suspect traveled into Valley Center and then west into Escondido, where CHP officers lost track of him at Valley Parkway and Ash Street, forcing them to stop their pursuit, according to law enforcement.An Escondido police officer then saw the motorcyclist traveling at a high rate of speed on Washington Avenue, when he ran a red light on eastbound Washington Ave at Harding Street. He then collided with the front bumper of a vehicle that had a green light driving north on Harding Avenue, Baeder said. Motorcyclist killed on SR-78 identified The motorcyclist lost control and w...

Could excessive heat mean more snakes indoors? Snakes need shade too

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Weather officials are warning of dangerously hot conditions to begin the week in some areas. An excessive heat warning will be in effect Monday at 10 a.m. - Tuesday at 8 p.m. for areas including Poway, Escondido, Santee, San Marcos and El Cajon. During the same time frame, a heat advisory will be in effect for areas including the mountains and deserts, such as Julian and Borrego Springs, which is expected to reach the 110s. While people are trying to beat the heat, snakes are trying to do the same.“When it gets really hot in the heat of the day just like us, they seek shade, which could be inside homes," said Bruce Ireland, The Snake Wrangler.He said when the weather gets warmer, they see more snakes going into homes, solely to seek shade.“A lot of homes don’t have air conditioning, so their only option is to leave doors and windows open, and snakes aren’t necessarily looking to come into homes, they are looking for shade and shelter," Ireland said. These San Diego-ar...

8 US Marines remain in a hospital after a fiery aircraft crash killed 3 during drills in Australia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Eight U.S. Marines remained in a hospital in the Australian north coast city of Darwin on Monday after they were injured in a fiery crash of a tiltrotor aircraft that killed three of their colleagues on an island.All 20 survivors were flown from Melville Island 80 kilometers (50 miles) south to Darwin within hours of the Marine V-22 Osprey crashing at 9:30 a.m. Sunday during a multinational training exercise, Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles said.All were taken to the Royal Darwin Hospital, and 12 had been discharged by Monday, she said. The first five Marines to arrive at the city’s main hospital were critically injured and one underwent emergency surgery.Fyles said she would not detail the conditions of eight who remained in the hospital out of respect for them and their families.“It’s … a credit to everyone involved that we were able to get 20 patients from an extremely remote location on an island into our tertiary hospital within ...

Reported Israeli strike damages Aleppo airport and puts it out of service

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

DAMASCUS (AP) — An Israeli airstrike hit the international airport in the city of Aleppo in northern Syria early on Monday, damaging a runway and putting it out of service, Syrian state media said. State news agency SANA, citing a military official, said Israeli planes coming from the Mediterranean Sea carried out the attack at around 4:30 a.m. There were no casualties reported.The airport has been targeted several times this year, including two attacks in March that also put it out of service.There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials.Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on targets inside government-controlled parts of Syria in recent years, including attacks on the Damascus and Aleppo airports, but it rarely acknowledges or discusses the operations. Often the strikes target Syrian military forces or Iranian-backed groups.Israel has targeted airports and sea ports in the government-held parts of Syria in an apparent attempt to prevent arms shipments from Iran to mi...

Illegal logging thrives in Mexico City’s forest-covered boroughs, as locals strive to plant trees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:30:54 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — It’s a strange scene: in the forest-covered mountains of Mexico City — which most people outside Mexico don’t know exist — a brigade of farmers and forest rangers plant inches-high pine saplings in a recently cut stand of trees, even as the sound of chainsaws can be heard nearby.Illegal logging has taken a huge toll in recent years on the forest-covered southern half of the city of 9 million inhabitants.“They have finished off the forest,” Alfredo Gutiérrez, 43, said with sadness. The extent of the devastation is astonishing. Just a year ago, “it was always dark, even if the sun was shining, because of all the trees that were here,” Gutiérrez said of the grove near his town of San Miguel Topilejo — on the edge of the encroaching urban sprawl.While most people associate Mexico City with traffic jams and polluted air, actually about one-half of the city’s territory is rural, almost all of it in the southern boroughs of Milpa Alta and Tlalpan. About 20% are protected...