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Beijing’s crackdown fails to dim Hong Kong’s luster, as talent scheme lures mainland Chinese

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:14 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — The exodus of tens of thousands of professionals from Hong Kong triggered by a crackdown on its civil liberties is being offset by new arrivals: mainland Chinese keen to move to the former British colony. The Asian financial hub has attracted tens of thousands of visa applications from mainland Chinese under the Top Talent Pass Scheme, a program launched in late 2022 aimed at luring high-income professionals and top global university graduates from around the world, though nine in 10 successful applicants are from China. For mainland Chinese, Hong Kong’s unique attributes — such as wider freedom of speech and internet access, its cosmopolitan ambiance, a less oppressive work culture, and a society where ability largely trumps connections — set it apart, according to interviews by The Associated Press with 20 mainland Chinese visa holders. Some, like Wu, a finance professional in his 20s, view moving to Hong Kong as a way to gain greater freedom and security. Wu, who...

Stock market today: Asian shares track Wall Street gains ahead of Fed decision on interest rates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:14 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday after Wall Street advanced to claim back some of the ground it gave up in another losing month. Investors are awaiting a decision later Wednesday by the Federal Reserve on interest rates and updates on the state of the U.S. economy. The overwhelming expectation is that the Fed will keep its overnight interest rate steady. The bigger question is how long it will keep that main rate high. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index added 2.4% to 31,601.65 a day after the Bank of Japan held back from any major changes to its near-zero interest rate policy, though it adjusted its controls on government bond yields.The dollar weakened against the Japanese yen, trading at 151.28 yen. It jumped on Tuesday after the Japanese central bank’s decision. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng edged less than 0.1% higher, to 17,126.70. The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.1% to 3,023.08. South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1% to 2,301.56 and the S&P/ASX ...

Gaza’s phone and internet connections are cut off again, as Israeli troops battle Hamas militants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:14 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinians reported another widespread outage of internet and phone service in Gaza early Wednesday, hours after Israeli airstrikes leveled apartment buildings near Gaza City and as ground troops battled Hamas militants inside the besieged territory.The Palestinian telecoms company Paltel reported a “complete disruption” of internet and mobile phone services in Gaza, marking the second time in five days that residents were largely cut off from the world. Communications also went down over the weekend, as Israeli troops pushed into Gaza in larger numbers. Humanitarian aid agencies have warned that such blackouts severely disrupt their work in an already dire situation in Gaza, where more than half of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians has been displaced and basic supplies are running low more than three weeks into the war triggered by Hamas’ bloody Oct. 7 rampage into southern Israel.Attempts to reach Gaza residents by phone were unsuccessful ...

Australia cannot strip citizenship from man over his terrorism convictions, top court says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:14 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s highest court on Wednesday overturned a government decision to strip citizenship from a man convicted of terrorism.The ruling is a second blow in the High Court to the law introduced almost a decade ago that allows a government minister to strip dual nationals of their Australian citizenship on extremism-related grounds.The ruling also prevents the government from deporting Algerian-born cleric Abdul Benbrika when he is released from prison, which is expected within weeks.The High Court judges ruled 6-1 that the law that gave the home affairs minister power to strip citizenship in such instances was unconstitutional. The majority found that the minister was effectively exercising a judicial function of punishing criminal guilt.Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government would examine the ruling in regards to the law passed by the previous government.Constitutional lawyer George Williams said he was not surprised by the result.“It’s a fu...

China keeps up military pressure on Taiwan, sending 43 planes and 7 ships near self-governing island

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:14 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan said Wednesday that China sent 43 military aircraft and seven ships near the self-ruled island, the latest sign that Beijing plans no let-up in its campaign of harassment, threats and intimidation.Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said the figure was current for the 24 hours up to 6:00 a.m. Wednesday and that 37 of the aircraft had crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait, which China no longer recognizes as an informal divider between the sides. It said Taiwan had monitored the situation, scrambled jet fighters, dispatched ships and activated land-based missile systems, all standard responses to Chinese military activities, which include crossing into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone but not into its actual airspace.Such Chinese maneuvers have become frequent and aggressive since then- U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022. China suspended military communication with the U.S. to show its displeasure over her trip ...

EU air bridge flight for Afghanistan brings aid in response to earthquakes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:14 GMT

Following the series of earthquakes that hit western Afghanistan earlier this month, an EU Humanitarian Air Bridge to Herat has landed today, bringing 92 tonnes of essential supplies to help the affected population. Of the total cargo, the EU has donated 57 tonnes from its own stocks in Dubai, consisting of blankets and winterisation kits for tents. Another 20 tonnes of medicines were transported for the World Health Organization, and 15 tonnes of food were delivered for the World Food Programme.A second and third flight are planned to follow shortly from Brindisi and Dubai to Herat and Kabul. They will be gathering in-kind contributions from Ireland, Italy and EU Humanitarian Partners' relief items. France is also reinforcing the transport and warehousing capacity of the aid.Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarčič said: “In the aftermath of the recent devastating series of earthquakes in Afghanistan, the EU stands resolute in extending our assistance and support to the Afghan...

Dear Abby: My sister says this skeevy man needs to be part of our family

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:14 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My sister, who is quite a bit older than me, was married to a man for more than 20 years. He was a part of my family from the time I was 3.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: I was blindsided by my fiance’s threat over this business deal Advice | Dear Abby: The groom’s father refuses to attend the wedding if heavy-drinking kin are excluded Advice | Dear Abby: Everything was great until my girlfriend came back from her weekend trip with this crazy story Advice | Dear Abby: An unmade quilt has undercut our friendship. Am I being unreasonable? Advice | Dear Abby: Am I being selfish to think he needs to get over his grief? When I was a teenager, he made a “move” on me, which was disgusting because I trusted him. My family swept it under the rug and downplays it to this day. If that wasn’t enough, I twice caught him cheating on my sister. They eventually divorced.As an...

2023’s Best Crypto Casinos – Top Bitcoin Casino Sites in the World for BIG Wins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:14 GMT

 Sponsored ContentLooking to raise the stakes? There’s no better to do that than to play at Bitcoin casinos with the highest-quality games, instant payouts, and huge withdrawal limits.With that in mind, we picked out the 8 best crypto casinos around right now – all of which excel when it comes to things that matter to gamblers the most. The site that came out on top overall was MyStake, but only by a very narrow margin.Make sure to stay with us as we reveal how we came to that decision and which Bitcoin casinos were closest in the competition.Best Crypto CasinosMyStake: Best overallMBit: 4 BTC and 325 free spins welcome bonus7Bit: Over 7000 crypto casino gamesJackbit: Best for online slotsWild.io: 130+ live casino gamesAvantgarde: Top choice for table gamesTrue Fortune: Exciting casino tournamentsBitFiring: Free spins every dayThese crypto casinos have all got exciting and unique benefits, so let’s take a closer look at them and help you find the perfect one for your needs.1. M...

El uso elevado del móvil puede afectar el recuento de espermatozoides, según un estudio

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:14 GMT

(CNN) — En los últimos 50 años, el número de espermatozoides en hombres ha disminuido más de un 50% en todo el mundo, lo que ha llevado a los investigadores a preguntarse por qué. ¿Podrían ser responsables la contaminación, las PFAS (ciertas sustancias químicas en el ambiente) y otras posibles toxinas presentes en los alimentos y el agua, el aumento de la obesidad y las enfermedades crónicas, o incluso el omnipresente teléfono móvil?Un nuevo estudio ha analizado el papel de los teléfonos móviles y ha descubierto que los hombres de entre 18 y 22 años que afirmaban utilizar el móvil más de 20 veces al día tenían un riesgo un 21% mayor de presentar un recuento global de espermatozoides bajo. Los hombres también tenían un 30% más de riesgo de una baja concentración de espermatozoides, una medida menos importante del recuento de espermatozoides en un mililitro de semen. El estudio no especificaba si los hombres llamaban o enviaban mensajes de texto, o si utilizaban sus teléfonos pa...

Same countries, same venue: India against Sri Lanka in a rematch of the 2011 Cricket World Cup final

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:14 GMT

MUMBAI, India (AP) — A heavy bout of nostalgia will descend upon the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday when India plays Sri Lanka at the Cricket World Cup.It will be a rematch of the 2011 final, when India won by six wickets and the venue became hallowed turf for the cricket crazed nation. A sea of blue had poured out onto the streets of Mumbai that night after MS Dhoni lifted India’s second World Cup trophy.Dhoni’s winning shot – a six over long on – was immortalized and two seats at the Wankhede are permanently decorated as that spot where the ball landed. All of it adds to the aura of this magnificent cricket venue by the seaside, where India is aiming to continue its unbeaten run in this tournament.Much has changed since 2011, of course. The great Sachin Tendulkar is long retired, although his name is stamped on the stands at the Wankhede. Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan – all of vital contributors to India’s second World Cup title — are also retired. Virat Kohli and spinner Ravi...