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China to reopen to tourists, resume all visas Wednesday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:12 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — China will reopen its borders to tourists and resume issuing all visas Wednesday after a three-year halt during the pandemic as it sought to boost its tourism and economy.China is one of the last major countries to reopen its borders to tourists. The announcement Tuesday came after it declared a “decisive victory” over COVID-19 in February.All types of visas will resume from Wednesday. Visa-free entry also will resume at destinations such as Hainan Island as well as for cruise ships entering Shanghai that had no visa requirement before COVID-19.Visa-free entry will resume for foreigners from Hong Kong and Macao to enter Guangdong in southern China, and foreigners holding visas issued before March 28, 2020, that are still valid will be allowed to enter China. The notice didn’t specify whether vaccination certificates or negative COVID-19 tests would be required.The move would “further facilitate the exchange of Chinese and foreign personnel,” according to the n...

Australia says nuclear subs needed to counter militarization

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:12 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s defense minister said Tuesday a deal to buy nuclear-powered attack submarines from the United States was necessary to counter the biggest conventional military buildup in the region since World War II.Australian officials said the deal will cost up to $245 billion over the next three decades and create 20,000 jobs. It comes at a time that China is rapidly building up its own military.Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said it had made a huge diplomatic effort for months ahead of Monday’s announcement of the deal, including making more than 60 calls to regional and world leaders. Australia had even offered to keep China in the loop, he said.“We offered a briefing. I have not participated in a briefing with China,” Marles said.Asked by reporters if China had rejected the briefing or responded at all, Marles replied: “I’m not aware of that response.”Without specifically mentioning China, Marles said Australia needed...

Valeria Veksler’s Top Tips For Natural Beauty, Facial Fitness

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:12 GMT

Election in Kazakhstan: Self-nominated candidates seek seats in parliament and local assemblies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:12 GMT

On 19 March, Kazakhstan will elect members of the Mazhilis, the lower house of Parliament, and maslikhats, local representative bodies. New names will surely appear in the legislative branch, while up to 50% of the country’s local representative offices are expected to have new members, writes Diana Baidauletova.Thirty-nine percent of the self-nominated candidates are women and young people.The vote will be held according to the new rules adopted following last year’s constitutional amendments. The Mazhilis will consist of 98 members instead of 107 as was the case previously. Sixty-nine will be elected from party lists and 29 from single-mandate districts represented by a single officeholder. At the regional level, 50 percent of the maslikhats will be formed by party lists and 50 percent through single-mandate districts. At the smaller district level, the maslikhats will be fully formed from self-nominated candidates. Prior to this, voters could only vote by party lists. T...

Cameras capture thieves on crime spree in Orange County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:12 GMT

Thieves in Orange County hit seven different businesses early Saturday morning with surveillance footage capturing two suspects in one of the locations.  Hooded burglars can be seen on camera breaking into Mountain Mike’s Pizza in Rancho Santa Margarita. After smashing the glass door with a crowbar, the thieves ran straight to the back office where they tried to use power tools to get into the owner’s safe.  “People came in, broke our windows, you know, ran into the store, tried to steal our safe from the back, find whatever money they could and really just rampaged my office,” Daniel Gorman, the owner of the pizza shop, told KTLA.  Fortunately, the safe was bolted to the ground and the thieves did not get any money, but that did not stop their crime spree. The burglars moved next door, shattering the windows at New Lake Asian House and La Fiesta Mexican Grill.  “I just know that someone broke the windows,” Angelica Cruz, with La Fiesta Mexican Grill, said. “The ...

Storm prompts evacuation orders for parts of Santa Barbara County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:12 GMT

Another powerful storm is taking aim at Southern California with residents in Santa Barbara County being warned that they should be ready to evacuate due to concerns about dangerous flash flooding and mudslides.  An evacuation warning is already in effect for areas of Santa Barbara County associated with the Alisal, Cave and Thomas Fire burn scars. Evacuation orders go into effect at 8 a.m. Tuesday for all three areas, officials announced.   California Weather Homepage In parts of Ventura County, evacuation warnings due to the potential for floods and debris flow went into effect at 6 p.m. and are set to last until Tuesday at 10 p.m.  In Los Angeles, rain is expected to begin early Tuesday morning and will increase in intensity throughout the day. The National Weather Service is forecasting rainfall totals of two to four inches for coastal areas and valleys, and three to six inches in the foothills. The mountains of southeastern Santa Barbara County and western...

Residents Petition Against Removal Of Echo Park Fence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:12 GMT

Residents have started an online petition to stop the removal of the chain-link fence surrounding Echo Park.Los Angeles City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez has planned the fence’s removal after being up nearly two years after the city began repairs on the park.“During the occupation of Echo Park by the unhoused who were allowed to languish there, the park was rendered unsafe and inaccessible to the general population, and the surrounding community had to put up with perpetual crime, fires, open air drug use, and other dangerous activity right at their doorstep,” The petition on Change.org said. “After the park was cleaned out and the fencing was erected, these conditions largely disappeared from the area, and the park was restored to its former beauty.”At the time when the fence was put up in 2021, homeless advocates accused then-councilmember Mitchell O’Farrell of using the park renovations as an excuse to remove the homeless population. Alterc...

Harriet Beecher Stowe and Harriet Jacobs collide in new play ‘The Storehouse’ at Perisphere Theatre

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:12 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews 'The Storehouse' at Perisphere Theater (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); Harriet Beecher Stowe coined the phrase “Uncle Tom” in her fictional novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (1852), while Harriet Jacobs chronicled her own escape from slavery in “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” (1861).Now, the two Harriets collide in the world premier...

Corea del Norte lanza dos misiles balísticos de corto alcance al mar de Japón

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:12 GMT

SEÚL – Corea del Norte lanzó este martes dos misiles balístico de corto alcance al mar de Japón (llamado mar del Este en Corea), según informó el ejército surcoreano al día siguiente de que Seúl y Washington iniciaran unas grandes maniobras militares.“Nuestro ejército detectó dos misiles balísticos de corto alcance lanzados al mar del Este desde Jangyeon, en la provincia de Hwanghae del Sur, alrededor de las 7.41 y 7.51 de hoy”, indicó el Estado Mayor Conjunto (JCS) en un comunicado.Los proyectiles impactaron en aguas del mar de Japón tras volar unos 620 kilómetros (385 millas), añadió en un escrito posterior el JCS, que afirmó que responsables de inteligencia militar surcoreana y estadounidense “están analizando exhaustivamente” los lanzamientos para dar con especificaciones detalladas.El máximo órgano militar surcoreano también condenó “enérgicamente los sucesivos lanzamientos de misiles balísticos de Corea del Norte, ya que suponen graves provo...

7 de los muertos tras naufragio de embarcación en el condado de San Diego procedían de México

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:11:12 GMT

(CNN) — El Consulado de México en San Diego dijo que al menos 7 de los 8 migrantes muertos este sábado cuando su bote volcó cerca de Black’s Beach en La Jolla, en el condado de San Diego, California, procedían de México.Robert Butler recoge salvavidas en Blacks Beach, el domingo 12 de marzo de 2023, en San Diego.“Con base en las identificaciones que portaban algunos, se presume que siete de estas personas son nacionales de México, provenientes de estados del interior de la República”, dijo el Consulado en un comunicado de prensa. Se desconoce la nacionalidad de la octava víctima.Los equipos de rescate acudieron al lugar este sábado alrededor de las 11:30 p.m. hora local después de que alguien en otro bote panga, un tipo de pequeño bote de pesca propulsado por un motor fuera de borda, llamó al 911 para reportar víctimas en el agua, según el Departamento de Bomberos y Rescate de San Diego.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner ...