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Russian-American journalist charged in Russia with failing to register as a “foreign agent”

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

A Russian-American journalist working for a U.S. government-funded media company has been detained in Russia and charged with failing to register as a “foreign agent,” according to her employer. Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty editor Alsu Kurmasheva is the second U.S. journalist to be detained in Russia this year. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested for alleged spying in March. Kurmasheva, an editor with RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir service, is being held in a temporary detention center, the Committee to Protect Journalists said, citing a Russian state news agency. The CPJ called the accusations “spurious”, demanding that the Russian authorities drop all the charges and release her immediately. The Tatar-Inform agency posted video which showed Kurmasheva being marched into an administrative building accompanied by four men, two of whom held her arms and wore balaclavas. Tatar-Inform said authorities accused Kurmasheva of collecting information about RussiaR...

Agustín Creevy set to play in Rugby World Cup semifinals at 38. ‘Los Pumas are my life,’ he says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

In one of his first competitive scrums as a hooker, Agustín Creevy fainted.The veiled center of a scrum is no place for beginners, especially in the days when Argentina forwards were schooled in the bajada scrum, where seven men directed their power through the hooker like the tip of an arrow.In late 2008, Creevy was sidelined in Biarritz by a shoulder injury. Argentina coach Santiago Phelan persuaded him to return home to a high-performance center and learn to convert from flanker to hooker.Creevy gained five kilograms (11 pounds) of muscle, and practiced throw-ins at home with a homemade hoop. Baby steps were necessary. His San Luis club played him at hooker and, in one game, a combination of effort and bad technique saw him black out. His first big game at hooker was in March 2009 for Buenos Aires against Tucuman. He came off the bench.By June, he was captain of an Argentina XV at the old Churchill Cup. In November, his first test as a hooker was as a replacement against Scotland...

Russia’s foreign minister offers security talks with North Korea and China as he visits Pyongyang

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

Russia’s foreign minister proposed regular security talks with North Korea and China to deal with what he described as increasing U.S.-led regional military threats, as he met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his top diplomat Thursday in Pyongyang. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in North Korea’s capital on Wednesday on a two-day trip expected to focus on how to boost the two countries’ defense ties following a September summit between Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin.Last week, the United States said North Korea had transferred munitions to Russia to boost its fighting capabilities in Ukraine in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban any weapons trading involving North Korea.On Thursday, Lavrov met Kim for talks that lasted about an hour, Russia’s state-run Tass news agency reported, without elaborating. Lavrov met his North Korean counterpart, Choe Son Hui, earlier Thursday and lauded deepening bilateral collaborat...

Pfizer fijará el precio del tratamiento contra el COVID-19 por cinco días en $1,390, según CNBC

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

Pfizer fijará el precio de un tratamiento de cinco días de Paxlovid, su fármaco antiviral contra el COVID-19, en $1,390 cuando la empresa comience a realizar la transición al mercado comercial a finales de este año.Un portavoz de la compañía confirmó el miércoles el precio, que fue informado por primera vez por The Wall Street Journal. Ese precio de lista, que es antes de reembolsos y otros descuentos para aseguradoras y administradores de beneficios farmacéuticos, es más del doble de los $529 que el gobierno federal pagó por Paxlovid.El gobierno ha comprado y distribuido Paxlovid al público de forma gratuita desde diciembre de 2021, cuando la FDA autorizó el tratamiento por primera vez. Pero a partir de 2024, Pfizer venderá Paxlovid directamente a las aseguradoras de salud, lo que se produce en un momento en que la demanda de vacunas y tratamientos contra el coronavirus se desploma en todo el país.Médicos, expertos en salud y defensores de los pacientes han expresado su preocupació...

Students and parents rally to demand return of Prince George’s Co. high school principal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

Students are planning to rally at Charles Herbert Flowers High School in Prince George's County, Maryland, on Thursday morning in response to the removal of the school's principal, Gorman Brown. (WTOP/John Domen) Students are planning to rally at Charles Herbert Flowers High School in Prince George's County, Maryland, on Thursday morning in response to the removal of the school's principal, Gorman Brown. (WTOP/John Domen) Students are planning to rally at Charles Herbert Flowers High School in Prince George’s County, Maryland, on Thursday morning in response to the removal of the school’s principal, Gorman Brown.The new superintendent of Prince George’s County Public Schools had scheduled a town ...

UEFA-sanctioned soccer matches in Israel halted indefinitely

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Israel will not host any UEFA-sanctioned soccer matches until further notice, Europe’s governing body said Thursday. UEFA said it had conducted a “thorough evaluation of the current safety and security situation in the whole territory of Israel” before the decision was made by its Executive Committee. The ruling will impact Israeli teams Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv, which are competing in the Europa League and Europa Conference League respectively. “The Israel Football Association and its clubs Maccabi Haifa FC and Maccabi Tel Aviv have been requested to propose alternative venues/stadiums (which must comply with all applicable UEFA regulations) outside the territory of Israel for their home matches to be used for as long as this decision remains in force,” UEFA said. Maccabi Haifa’s game at Villarreal on Oct. 26 has been put back to Dec. 6 and Maccabi Tel Aviv’s home game against Zorya Luhansk that had been scheduled for the same da...

7 straight losses give Union Berlin a dose of reality after years of over-achievement

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Seven straight losses in all competitions have brought Union Berlin back to reality after years of over-achievement.Since clinching Bundesliga promotion for the first time in 2019, Union had only experienced one highlight after another — culminating in a remarkable fourth-place finish and Champions League qualification last season.But this season hasn’t gone so well.“In the last years we always needed the words ‘ surreal ’ and ‘crazy.’ Maybe now we need the word ‘reality’ for where we are,” Union coach Urs Fischer said Thursday.It could get worse before it gets better. Union next hosts second-place Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on Saturday before facing Italian champion Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday.Union’s first experiences in Europe’s premier competition are bitter. Jude Bellingham scored in the fourth minute of injury time for Real Madrid to snatch a 1-0 win in Union’s debut, then Braga did likewise to win 3-2 in Union’s first home game in the competition....

Beloved goat and community mascot killed by loose dogs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

FALCON, Colo. (KXRM) — A beloved mascot and local celebrity was killed by two off-leash dogs in a Falcon neighborhood.A little white goat known to Dorian and Josephine Perez as Bessie was given to them almost nine years ago."She was funny. You know, my husband would come home and [say], 'Bessie, where's Daddy's baby?' And then she'd start making her noise, calling out to him," Josephine remembered.To the rest of the neighborhood, she was known as their mascot — their greeting committee as they drove down Meridian Road, one of the main thoroughfares that cuts through Falcon."We have a little community Facebook page, and everyone would post pictures of her that they saw Bessie today," said Katie Peterson, who lives near the Perez family. ‘Justice is finally here’: Man convicted in 2020 death of 9-month-old girl But on Oct. 6, a day came that the Perez family least expected."I kept hearing a dog," Josephine recalled from that morning. "I says, 'Did you put Bessie out this morning?'"T...

Kitten saved by Siberian husky blood donation in Nebraska

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (WSVN) — A tiny kitten named Thorn received a life-saving transfusion of Siberian Husky blood over the weekend, thanks to a quick-thinking team at a Humane Society in Nebraska.Thorn, the frail feline, was found covered in fleas, critically low on blood, and in dire condition at the Nebraska Humane Society. The situation turned critical as there wasn’t enough time to locate a matching blood type from a fellow cat, prompting an unconventional solution – a blood donation from a Siberian Husky.Dr. Katie James, NHS Associate Veterinarian, recalled the initial shock and eventual success of the procedure. “I think I terrified a couple of other people when I said, ‘Let’s get a dog to transfuse into a cat.’ But, clearly, it worked!” she explained.In a surprising twist, Thorn’s transformation post-transfusion left everyone in awe. “We joked that he is as active as he is and as hungry as he is because he has some Siberian ...

Trump attorney Sidney Powell pleads guilty in Georgia election subversion case

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:24 GMT

(CNN) — Former Donald Trump attorney Sidney Powell has pleaded guilty in the Georgia election subversion case, one day before her trial was set to start.Fulton County prosecutors are recommending a sentence of six years probation. Powell will also be required to testify at future trials and write an apology letter to the citizens of Georgia.As part of her guilty plea, Powell is admitting her role in the January 2021 breach of election systems in rural Coffee County, Georgia. With the help of local GOP officials, a group of Trump supporters accessed and copied information from the county’s election systems in hopes of somehow proving that the election was rigged against Trump.Her attorneys had vehemently rejected prosecutors’ claims that she orchestrated the Coffee County breach. They’ve said at pretrial hearings that prosecutors are “incorrect” and that “the evidence will show that she was not the driving force behind” the incident.Powell is now the second person in the sprawling ra...