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China fires Foreign Minister Qin Gang

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:50 GMT

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang was sacked on Tuesday, according to state media CCTV.Qin had been missing from public view for more than three weeks, fueling speculation about his future. The new foreign minister will be Qin’s predecessor, Wang Yi.The media report didn’t give a reason for the abrupt sacking of Qin, who was close to President Xi Jinping and who only took charge of the foreign ministry in December.This is a developing story.

Boston police investigating early morning Fenway shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:50 GMT

Boston police are investigating an early morning shooting a few blocks from Fenway Park that left one person hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.Officers responding to a report of shots fired in the area of 126 Jersey St. around 12:30 a.m. found ballistic evidence and ballistic damage to a vehicle, according to Boston police. A victim later self-admitted to a hospital.No arrests have been made.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Boston man charged in Stoughton carjacking that ended with crash involving police cruiser

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:50 GMT

Police have announced charges against a Boston man accused of a carjacking in Stoughton that ended with a crash involving a Boston police cruiser. Officers patrolling the area of Horadan Way and Cornelia Court for a vehicle stolen out of Stoughton that was pinging in Boston around 7 p.m. Monday spotted the vehicle and attempted to pull it over, according to Boston police.During the attempt, police say the suspect, later identified as Junior Joseph, 34, accelerated in reverse and hit the marked cruiser.A search of the vehicle allegedly uncovered a Ruger .380 firearm. Joseph was arrested on charges including unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, receiving a stolen motor vehicle, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle with a canceled registration, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (motor vehicle), and resisting arrest.He is expected to be arraigned in Roxbury District Court.Additional charges are expected to be sou...

Orioles minor league report: From Jackson Holliday to Dylan Beavers to Jud Fabian, a look at how the 2022 draft class is performing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:50 GMT

A few days still remain before Major League Baseball’s deadline for the Orioles to sign their 2023 draft picks.They’ve agreed to terms with the vast majority of them, including No. 17 overall pick Enrique Bradfield Jr., second-round outfielder Mac Horvath and third-round right-hander Kiefer Lord.Many of those players, most of whom were drafted out of college, will begin their professional careers later this season, but how they perform in their first action is perhaps less important than how they’ll handle next season — their first full year as professionals.Given that, let’s take a look back at the 2022 draft and see how each of the players the Orioles selected and signed last summer are performing so far this year.Shortstop Jackson Holliday (Round 1, 1st overall): The Orioles considered five players with the first selection in the draft, and at least so far, it appears they picked right. In his first full professional season, Holliday has zoomed throu...

What we learned from the 3-6 Chicago White Sox road trip, and what’s ahead as they host the City Series and the trade deadline nears

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:50 GMT

The Chicago White Sox exhibited the traits of the team many predicted they could be while winning two of three games against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in their first series after the All-Star break.Unfortunately for Sox, many of the issues that have led them to their current place in the standings popped up while losing five of six against the New York Mets at Citi Field and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.The Sox return home Tuesday to host the City Series against the Cubs. They’ll head into that matchup a season-high 19 games under .500 at 41-60 and 12 games out of first place in the American League Central.Instead of discussing moves to position themselves for making a run in the stretch drive, most of the recent national buzz surrounding the club has centered on which Sox veterans could be on different teams by the Aug. 1 trade deadline.Manager Pedro Grifol had a precise summary of where the Sox stood ahead of Saturday’s game against the Twins.“We h...

Chicago Cubs pitcher Kyle Hendricks trying to soak it all in, despite a murky future at the trade deadline: ‘I’m having so much fun again’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:50 GMT

Kyle Hendricks tends to keep his focus on a day-to-day level.His mantra helps center his attention on what he can control: his methodical five-day routine and each pitch he must execute over the course of a start. Life experiences and age also put things in perspective.There are times Hendricks, 33 and now in his 10th major-league season, tries to take things in and appreciate the moment. That especially was true May 25 at Wrigley Field when Hendricks made his season debut. The uncertainty surrounding Hendricks’ capsular tear in his right shoulder last year ended his season in early July and required nearly 11 months for him to get back into a big-league game.“You start to smell the roses, like they say, just a little bit more,” Hendricks told the Tribune. “I looked around, really soaked it in. You’re just so grateful for what you’re able to do on a day-in and day-out basis. Obviously you’re in the moment and in the competition of doing your...

UN says operation to siphon oil out of rusting tanker moored off Yemen begins to ‘avoid catastrophe’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:50 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — An international team began siphoning oil out of a decrepit oil tanker off the coast of Yemen on Tuesday, the United Nations chief said, a crucial step in a complex salvage operation aiming to prevent a potential environmental disaster.For years, many organizations have warned that the neglected vessel, known as SOF Safer, may cause a major oil spill or even explode.“The ship-to-ship transfer of oil which has started today is the critical next step in avoiding an environmental and humanitarian catastrophe on a colossal scale,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.More than 1.1 million barrels of oil stored in the rusting tanker were being moved to another vessel the U.N. purchased, he said.The oil transfer came after months of on-site preparatory work and is scheduled to be completed in less than three weeks, the U.N. said.The Safter tanker was built in the 1970s and sold to the Yemeni government in the 1980s to store up to 3 million barrels of ex...

China names Pan Gongsheng to lead central bank, succeeding Yi Gang

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:50 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Pan Gongsheng was named China’s central bank governor Tuesday in the widely anticipated final major appointment of the ruling Communist Party’s once-a-decade change of power.Pan, a deputy central bank governor and veteran of China’s state-owned banking industry, succeeds Yi Gang, an American-trained economist who held the post for five years. The endorsement of Pan’s promotion by the ceremonial legislature, the National People’s Congress, follows other Cabinet-level appointments announced in March.The governor of the People’s Bank of China is the most prominent Chinese figure in finance circles but the post’s powers are limited. The bank is controlled by the ruling Communist Party.Pan, who turns 60 this month, met July 8 with visiting U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, indicating he was being promoted. He was widely assumed to be in line for the job after he was named Communist Party secretary for the central bank.In 2015, Pan was appointed head of Chin...

China removes outspoken foreign minister Qin Gang and replaces him with his predecessor, Wang Yi

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:50 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China on Tuesday removed outspoken Foreign Minister Qin Gang from office and replaced him with his predecessor, Wang Yi, in a move that has already fueled rumors over the personal lives and political rivalries of China’s Communist Party elite. In its announcement on the national evening news, state broadcaster CCTV on gave no reason for Qin’s removal. Qin dropped out of sight almost a month ago and the Foreign Ministry has provided no information about his status. That is in keeping with the ruling Communist Party’s standard approach to personnel matters within a highly opaque political system where the media and free speech are severely restricted.The ministry made no comment at its daily briefing on Tuesday. The move comes amid a foreign backlash against China’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy, of which Qin was a chief proponent. Adding to the mystery around Qin’s removal, it was approved at a meeting of the Standing Committee of China’...

Pakistan’s Imran Khan will face fresh charges of contempt in August, his lawyer says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:50 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s election oversight body said on Tuesday it would indict the country’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan next week on charges of publicly insulting its officials last year.Khan appeared before a special tribunal of the Election Commission of Pakistan along with his lawyers amid tight security in the capital, Islamabad. After a brief hearing, Shoaib Shaheen, one of Khan’s lawyers, said the tribunal decided to charge the former premier with contempt on Aug. 2.Khan is accused of calling the head of the electoral body, Sikandar Sultan Rajaa, and several of its officials “personal servants” to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at several gatherings. Sharif replaced Khan in April 2022 after he was ousted from power in a no-confidence vote in parliament.Khan had been avoiding appearances before the tribunal for the past several months, saying the electoral body doesn’t have the authority to charge him with contempt.On Monday, the election overs...