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Russian court starts trial of opposition leader Navalny that could keep him locked up for decades

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:58 GMT

MELEKHOVO, Russia (AP) — A Russian court on Monday opened a new trial of imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny that could keep him behind bars for decades.The trial is taking place at a maximum security prison in Melekhovo, 250 kilometers (150 miles) east of Moscow, where Navalny — the Kremlin’s archfoe — is serving a nine-year sentence for fraud and contempt of court.Navalny, 47, who exposed official corruption and organized major anti-Kremlin protests, was arrested in January 2021 upon returning to Moscow after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning that he blamed on the Kremlin.Navalny has said that the new extremism charges, which he rejected as “absurd,” could keep him in prison for another 30 years. He said an investigator told him that he would also face a separate military court trial on terrorism charges that could potentially carry a life sentence.The new trial comes as Russian authorities are conducting a sweeping crackdown on dissent amid the fi...

Protests, poisoning and prison: The life of Kremlin opposition leader Alexei Navalny

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:58 GMT

LONDON (AP) — In a span of a decade, Alexei Navalny has gone from the Kremlin’s biggest foe to Russia’s most prominent political prisoner.Already serving two convictions that have landed him in prison for at least nine years, he faces a new trial that could keep him behind for two more decades.The first court hearing occurred Monday in Penal Colony No. 6, where Navalny is being held, in the town of Melekhovo, about 230 kilometers (over 140 miles) east of Moscow. A look at Navalny’s life, political activism and the charges he has faced through the years:June 4, 1976 — Navalny is born in a western part of the Moscow region.1997 — Graduates from Russia’s RUDN university, where he majored in law; earns a degree in economics in 2001 while working as a lawyer. 2004 — Forms a movement against rampant overdevelopment in Moscow, according to his campaign website.2008 — Gains notoriety for alleging corruption in state-run corporations, such as gas giant Gazprom and oil behemoth Rosneft,...

Chinese online shoppers are enticed by deep discounts, payment plans as zest for spending lags

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:58 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese shoppers were treated to deep discounts, new products and payment plans as online merchants sought to revive their sluggish appetite for spending during China’s first major online shopping festival after the end of zero-COVID policies.For the first time, e-commerce retailer JD.com did not release the results of its 618 shopping festival, which ended Sunday, making it hard to know just how much was spent. A bigger shopping festival, Single’s Day, held on Nov. 11 each year rakes in billions of dollars. Analysts said most consumers have become more price-conscious and reluctant to spend given the sluggish economy.“Chinese consumer confidence remains weak due to a mix of geopolitics, continued weakness from COVID-19 and domestic Chinese politics,” said Shaun Rein, founder and managing director of the China Market Research Group in Shanghai.Rein said that overall, consumers likely spent less during 618 as online retailers already were discounting heavily be...

Pakistan widens manhunt for human traffickers after boat carrying hundreds sank off Greek coast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:58 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan on Monday widened its manhunt for human traffickers after a tragedy off the Greek coast last week that left more than 500 migrants feared drowned, including many Pakistanis, officials said.With no definitive casualty numbers announced, families feared for the fate of their loved ones and the nation observed a day of mourning Monday, declared by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s government. The Pakistani flag was flying at half-staff, and lawmakers in the National Assembly, the lower house of the parliament, expressed their condolences. The fishing trawler packed with migrants overturned and went down early Wednesday off southwestern Greece in one of the deadliest-ever incidents in the central Mediterranean Sea. The vessel was carrying as many as 750 people, including scores of Pakistanis, when it sank in international waters. A search-and-rescue operation has since been underway. Pakistan’s Embassy in Athens has so far identified 12 Pakistani nationals ...

Weekend mass shootings leave 6 dead and dozens injured across the US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:58 GMT

A spate of weekend mass shootings and violence across the U.S. killed at least six people, including a Pennsylvania state trooper, and left dozens injured.The shootings follow a surge in homicides and other violence over the past several years that experts say accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic. They happened in suburban Chicago, Washington state, central Pennsylvania, St. Louis, Southern California and Baltimore.“There’s no question there’s been a spike in violence,” said Daniel Nagin, a professor of public policy and statistics at Carnegie Mellon University. “Some of these cases seem to be just disputes, often among adolescents, and those disputes are played out with firearms, not with fists.”Investigators look over the scene of an overnight mass shooting at a strip mall in Willowbrook, Ill., Sunday, June 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Marton)Researchers disagree over the cause of the increase. Theories include the possibility that violence is driven by the ...

Patroons win game two to force pivotal game three

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:58 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Patroons might have come into game one flat, but they came out soaring in game two of the east regional final. They defeated the St. Louis Griffins 115-97 to force a game three. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Getting things started for Albany was Arsenio Arrington, who knocked down a mid-range jumper to give the Patroons a 12-7 lead. The offense kept pouring it on from there as Trevis Wyche made his presence felt by netting a triple to extend the Patroons' lead by eight. Wyche kept that momentum going after Arrington got a block on the defensive end. He scored on a layup near the end of the first quarter, and the Patroons' had a commanding 34-26 lead after the opening quarter.Wyche led the Patroons in scoring with 27 points.When the second quarter came around, the Griffins closed the gap. Tavares Sledge fought his way through the Patroons' defense and scored on a layup that trimmed the deficit ...

ValleyCats earn first sweep of the season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:58 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Tri-City ValleyCats (19-14) picked up their first three-game sweep of the season and won both ends of a doubleheader by a score of 6-1 and 6-2 over the Florence Y’alls (17-16) on Sunday at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium. It was their second twinbill sweep of the year. Tri-City improved to five games above .500 for the first time this year, and are on a season-best five-game win streak. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Tri-City opened the scoring in the second. Carson McCusker led off the frame with a single off Rodney Hutchison. Zach Biermann picked up a single to send McCusker to second. Pavin Parks walked, and Ian Walters plated a run after he was issued a free pass to give the ‘Cats a 1-0 lead.The ValleyCats broke the game open in the sixth. Aaron Altherr greeted Michaek Kirian with a solo homer. It was Altherr’s sixth long ball of the season. Biermann and Parks then singled. Jakob Goldfarb reached on ...

A dozen French police wounded in clashes with protesters opposing high speed rail project

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:58 GMT

Twelve police were wounded on Saturday (17 June) in clashes with demonstrators in France's Savoie department where a protest against a high speed rail project in the Alps turned violent, authorities said.Some 2,000 protesters, including a roughly 300-strong dark-clad hardcore, were in the Maurienne Valley objecting to construction of a rail link including a tunnel between Lyon and the Italian city of Turin.They threw rocks at riot police, who responded with tear gas, and one demonstrator was wounded, local prefect Francois Ravier told a news conference.Association Les Soulevements de la Terre contested that figure in a Twitter post late on Saturday and said 50 demonstrators were wounded, including six who were hospitalised."The day is not over, we remain prudent and mobilised," said Ravier, noting a security presence would go through the night.Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin tweeted the police injury toll. Border checks turned up 400 objects, like knives and hammers, while 96 indi...

"Sneaking Cults" - Award-winning documentary screening successfully held in Brussels

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:58 GMT

On June 15th, the screening of the award-winning documentary "The Bitter Winter of Belief: Sneaking Cults" was successfully held at the Press Club in Brussels. This event was initiated and hosted by FAE-FAE, the Federation for the Asian Communities in Europe. More than 20 people attended the screening including religious figures from Europe, the United States, and Asia, representatives of anti-cult organisations, representatives of human rights associations, and media reporters."The Bitter Winter of Belief: Sneaking Cults", is a documentary about cults that have taken maximum advantage of the media's freedom to spread their teachings and conspiracy theories with the explosion of online media sources, including social media.Bitter Winter is a magazine as well as an online media in multiple languages supporting cults and an extreme right-wing agenda at its core. Although Bitter Winter claims to be dedicated to promoting freedom of belief, emerging religions and religious pluralism, ed...

Ask Amy: This teen believed her father’s story and she shunned me

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:58 GMT

Dear Readers: Like you, I’m often curious about what happens to the advice I offer once it leaves my desk, and so I’ve asked readers to send in “updates” to let all of us know how my advice was received, if it was followed, and how things turned out.Related ArticlesAdvice | Ask Amy: Did my neighbor have to make me seem like a jerk on Facebook? Advice | Ask Amy: My rich boss wants us to provide the food for his party Advice | Ask Amy: I realized too late I was on speaker phone Advice | Ask Amy: He won’t take photos of me on our outings, and it bothers me Advice | Ask Amy: I’m behind on teenage milestones because I’m stressed about the future The responses have flowed in, and I’m interested and often gratified to learn what impact this experience has had on readers.This year I celebrate my 20th year of writing this column. Publishing these updates reminds me that we have been through a lo...