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Members of exiled Chinese church detained in Thailand

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:55 GMT

Bangkok (AP) — More than 60 members of a Chinese Christian church have been detained in Thailand, supporters said Friday, raising fears they may be returned to their home country, where they face possible persecution.Deana Brown, one of two American supporters detained along with the church members, told The Associated Press that Thai authorities in the coastal city of Pattaya detained the 63 church members, many of whom are children, Thursday.Thirty-two adult Chinese nationals were charged with overstaying their visas, said Col. Tawee Kutthalaeng, chief of the Pattaya-area Nong Prue police station. Children were not charged, he said. The two American citizens were not placed under arrest, he said.Brown, CEO of the Texas-based Freedom Seekers International, an organization whose mission statement says it seeks to rescue “the most severely persecuted Christians in hostile and restrictive countries,” said the group had been told that they would be given a court date later Friday...

Pitch clock sparks Mariners rally for 3-0 win over Guardians

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:55 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — J.P. Crawford was the beneficiary of a pitch-clock violation. One big swing from Ty France made certain it became noteworthy on opening day. Crawford’s walk helped by a timer infraction called on James Karinchak sparked an eighth-inning rally that was capped by France’s three-run homer, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-0 on Thursday night. “Obviously, there’s a lot of buzz around town about the expectations and what we hope to do this season and you can’t get off on a much better start than we did tonight,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said.Opening day was a dramatic pitchers’ duel between Cleveland ace Shane Bieber and Seattle’s Luis Castillo that lacked any offense until the wild eighth inning. Crawford walked on a 3-2 pitch but only after being gifted a ball when Karinchak (0-1) committed the lone pitch-clock violation of the game with the count 0-2. The reliever was clearly rattled, firing the pitch after the violati...

Schwartz, Beniers lead Kraken to 4-1 win over Ducks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:55 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Jaden Schwartz and Matty Beniers scored within three minutes of each other in the first period and the Seattle Kraken hung on to beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 on Thursday night. Daniel Sprong added a power-play goal with 4:18 left in the game and Alex Wennberg sealed it with an empty-netter. Martin Jones made 18 saves to help the Kraken keep their grip on the top Western Conference wild-card playoff spot. “We played a good hockey game,” Seattle coach Dave Hakstol said. “Could we have some things a little bit differently in the second period? Absolutely. We would have liked to be able to extend that lead. But we settled down in the third. We needed a couple real good saves from Martin Jones to do that, but the penalty kill did its job, the power play did its job in extending the lead and that’s it. “It closes out a good two points for us and it’s a real positive night.” Brock McGinn scored the lone goal for Anaheim. Lukas Dostal made 35 saves.Schwartz put the Kraken ahead...

Dodgers’ offense hot on chilly night in 8-2 win over D-backs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:55 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Will Smith went 3 for 5 and drove in three runs, James Outman homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-2 on Thursday night in their season opener.Julio Urías (1-0), last year’s NL ERA leader at 2.16, got the victory in his first career opening-day start. The left-hander allowed four hits and two runs in six innings. He struck out six.All three of Smith’s hits went to right field in a game that lasted 2 hours, 35 minutes under new rules this season designed to speed things up.The game-time temperature was 55 degrees — 15 degrees lower than Los Angeles’ average of 70 in March. Batting practice was rained out and the tarp covered the infield. But the clouds cleared before first pitch, revealing rare snow atop the San Gabriel Mountains that frame the outfield.The Dodgers won a franchise-record 111 games last season only to lose to the rival San Diego Padres in their National League Division Series. They bid farewell to Trea Turner,...

35 bodies found inside well after collapse at Indian temple

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:55 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Thirty-five bodies have been found inside a well at a Hindu temple in central India after dozens of people fell into the muddy water when the well’s cover collapsed, officials said Friday. Video of Thursday’s collapse at the temple complex in Indore in Madhya Pradesh state showed chaos afterward, with people rushing toward the exits. An excavator pulled down a wall of the decades-old temple to help people flee. Nearly 140 rescuers, including army personnel, used ropes and ladders to pull the bodies from the well after pumping out the water. A narrow path and debris in the well made the task difficult.Witnesses said a large crowd of devotees had thronged the temple to perform a fire ritual and celebrate the festival for the deity Rama. Dozens of people fell into the water when the structure over the well collapsed and were covered by falling debris, police Commissioner Makrand Deoskar said. Kantibhai Patel, president of a residents’ association, told reporters ...

Huracanes en el Atlántico: dos nombres quedan fuera del listado para denominarlos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:55 GMT

MIAMI – Los nombres de los devastadores huracanes Fiona e Ian, formados en 2022 en el Atlántico, fueron retirados de la lista oficial rotativa que elabora la Organización Meteorológica Mundial (OMM).Un comité de la OMM retiró a Fiona e Ian de las listas rotativas de nombres de ciclones tropicales del Atlántico “debido a la muerte y destrucción que causaron en América Central, el Caribe, Estados Unidos y Canadá”, señaló el organismo internacional en su sitio web.Los sustitutos son Idris (por Ian) y Farrah (en lugar de Fiona), pero no se usarán hasta 2028, cuando, según el orden establecido, corresponde volver a usar la misma lista de nombres de la temporada 2022.En total, 96 nombres han sido retirados de la lista de huracanes de la cuenca atlántica desde 1953, cuando las tormentas comenzaron a ser nombradas bajo el sistema actual, agregó la OMM.Catorce tormentas con nombre, de las cuales ocho llegaron a huracanes, dos de ellos mayores, se registraron en la cuenca at...

Couture scores in OT to lift Sharks past Golden Knights

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:55 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Logan Couture scored at 50 seconds of overtime to give the San Jose Sharks a 4-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night.Mario Ferraro had a goal and assist, Oskar Lindblom and Tomas Hertl also scored and former Harvard defenseman Henry Thrun had two assists in his NHL debut. James Reimer made 23 saves.Thrun is the second Sharks defenseman to have a multi-point game in his NHL debut, joining Scott Hannan, who also had two assists in his first game in October 1998.Nicolas Hague, Ivan Barbashev and Michael Amadio scored for the Golden Knights. Laurent Brossoit made 20 saves. Vegas wrapped up a playoff spot earlier when Pittsburgh beat Nashville.Amadio tied it at 10:07 of the third with his 14th goal of the season.UP NEXTGolden Knights: Host Minnesota on Saturday night.Sharks: At Arizona on Saturday night.___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Guiding institution-to-citizen communication

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:55 GMT

Citizens are different from consumers, aren’t they? They don’t buy anything. They have different needs, opinions and values. Understanding this difference is key for institutions and for those who support them, as we do.Pomilio Blumm made a choice decades ago to deal exclusively with communication for public institutions. Many experts back in the day told us at Pomilio Blumm that it was too difficult a challenge. How many companies work exclusively in public communication? Not so many, which is exactly what makes Pomilio Blumm’s know-how quite unique.A fast-growing enterprise, confirmed by Financial Times and ForbesFT 1000 Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies awards Pomilio BlummToday Pomilio Blumm is the second most ‘successful’ firm in European public communications, according to C4P index. It is a leading communication agency, as stated by the Financial Times in its FT 1000 Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies list, for the second time in a row. The Forbes Social Awards r...

Montenegro vote pits incumbent president against new blood

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:55 GMT

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Voters in small Montenegro go to the polls this weekend to choose their next president in a runoff between pro-Western incumbent Milo Djukanovic and Jakov Milatovic, a newcomer supported by the shaky governing coalition with links to neighboring Serbia.Observers say Milatovic, a politician on the rise, stands a better chance than Djukanovic, who is credited with leading the Balkan nation to independence from Serbia and into NATO but whose long presence in Montenegrin politics has fueled a desire for change.The ballot is being held after none of the candidates won enough support in the first round of voting two weeks ago. Here is a look at the main facts on Montenegro, Sunday’s election and the two candidates:MONTENEGRO, IN A NUTSHELLMontenegro is a small nation of some 620,000 people, located in Europe’s Balkan peninsula, by the Adriatic Sea. The country became independent after a referendum in 2006 following decades in a union with Serbia, b...

World Bank says recoveries in Asian economies losing steam

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:55 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Developing economies in Asia have mostly regained ground lost during the pandemic but are seeing their recoveries stall as productivity lags, the World Bank said in a report released Friday.The report forecasts that growth in the region including China will pick up pace this year after the world’s No. 2 economy relaxed pandemic restrictions on travel and other activities. But recoveries elsewhere in the region, excluding China, will moderate as pressures of inflation and growing household debt slow consumer spending, it said. Across the Asia-Pacific, economies are expected to grow at a 5.1% annual pace this year, up from 3.5% in 2022, the report said. But not including China, growth is expected to slip to 4.9% in 2023 after a rebound from the worst of the pandemic of 5.8% in 2022, it said. Major Asian economies like Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam will see their recoveries slow and meanwhile face risks from weakening global growth, spillover from th...