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Rybakina and Azarenka advance to the Brisbane International semifinals

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:27:27 GMT

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Second-seeded Elena Rybakina only needed to play seven games in her quarterfinal Friday to reach the final four at the Brisbane International.Two-time champion Victoria Azarenka had a tougher run, needing three sets, about 2 1/2 hours and joked about the prospect of having to wear protective headwear to advance 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 over 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko, the No. 3 seed.Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, won the first set 6-1 before 11th-seeded Anastasia Potapova retired from their match with an abdominal injury. She’ll next play either Linda Noskova or Mirra Andreeva.Azarenka, who won back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2012 and ’13, clinched her victory in a tense match three games after Ostapenko’s emotional outburst at chair umpire Julie Kjendlie.“With Jelena, sometimes you just have to put on a helmet and try to stay in there,” Azarenka said. “She’s an incredible player and a Grand Slam champion, and she’s proved many time...

Fabbri scores twice, Red Wings defeat Kings 4-3 in shootout

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:27:27 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Robby Fabbri scored twice, Lucas Raymond and Patrick Kane converted in the shootout and the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 on Thursday night.Fabbri’s second two-goal game of the season helped Detroit snap a six-game losing streak to Los Angeles. Jeff Petry also scored for the Red Wings and Daniel Sprong had pair of assists. Alex Lyon made 40 saves.Adrian Kempe had his second two-goal game in eight days, but it wasn’t enough as the Kings lost their fourth straight. Kempe has eight points in the last six games.Matt Roy scored his first goal this season for Los Angeles. Alex Laferriere and Pierre-Luc Dubois assisted on both of Kempe’s goals. David Rittich stopped 23 shots.Kempe got the Kings on the board 1:10 into the game when he put the puck between Lyon’s legs from in front after getting a great pass from Laferriere. Kempe then tied it 3-all at 15:43 of the third period with a snap shot from the slot.Roy doubled the Lo...

Cluff scores 20 points, Washington State uses hot second half to defeat Oregon State 65-58

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:27:27 GMT

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Oscar Clubb scored 20 points off the bench, Andrej Jakimovski had all 15 of his points in the second half and Washington State defeated Oregon State 65-58 on Thursday night.The Cougars were red-hot after trailing 24-21 at the half, hitting 5 of 7 3-pointers and shooting 70% overall (14 of 20) and made 11 of 14 free throws.Cluff, a junior college transfer, was 8-of-11 shooting and had eight rebounds for his best game with the Cougars (10-4, 1-2 Pac-12 Conference). Jakimovski went 4 of 4 behind the arc in the second half. Myles Rice added 12 points and reserve Jaylen Wells added 11.Jordan Pope scored 20 points to lead the Beavers (9-5, 1-2), who were playing their first true road game. KC Ibekwe had 12 points.Wells drilled a 3-pointer to put WSU on top 60-53 with 1:34 to play. Christian Wright quickly countered for the Beavers but Wells then converted a three-point play with 32.4 seconds left that made it 63-56. Jakimovski iced it with two free throws with 7.4 re...

North Korea conducts artillery drills along disputed sea border. South Korea plans similar drills

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:27:27 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired artillery rounds Friday near its disputed sea boundary with South Korea in violation of a fragile 2018 military agreement, officials said, prompting the South to plan similar drills.North Korea’s front-line maritime firing exercise was the first of its kind in about a year. Experts say North Korea will likely intensify a run of weapons tests in the coming months, escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula ahead of the South’s parliamentary elections in April and the United States presidential election in November. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired 200 rounds in the waters north of their disputed western sea boundary. It said South Korea suffered no damages. Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung Joon told a televised briefing that the North’s artillery firing was “an act of provocation that threatens peace and heightens tensions on the Korean Peninsula.” Lee said South Korea strongly urges N...

Farmers prevent Germany’s vice chancellor leaving a ferry in a protest that draws condemnation

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:27:27 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A group of farmers prevented Germany’s vice chancellor from disembarking a ferry, hours after the government partially climbed down on cost-saving plans that had infuriated the agricultural sector. The protest drew condemnation from both government and opposition figures.Police said the farmers blocked a jetty in Schluettsiel on the North Sea coast Thursday evening and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck had to return to the small island of Hooge, German news agency dpa reported. They said Friday that Habeck, a member of the environmentalist Green party who is also economy and climate minister, reached the mainland on another ferry during the night.More than 100 people took part in the blockade and pepper spray was used by the roughly 30 officers who were deployed, police said.Chancellor OIaf Scholz’s unpopular government angered farmers last month by announcing plans to cut agricultural subsidies as part of a package to fill a 17 billion-euro ($18.6 billion) hol...

Japanese air safety experts search for voice data from plane debris after runway collision

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:27:27 GMT

A team of transport safety officials searched for a voice recorder from the severely burned fuselage of a Japan Airlines plane Friday, seeking crucial information on what caused a collision with a small coast guard plane on the runway at Tokyo’s Haneda airport.Meanwhile, JAL also started using heavy machinery to remove some of the debris for storage in a hangar to allow the runway to reopen. Six experts from the Japan Transport Safety Board, walked through the mangled debris of the Airbus A350-900 that was lying on the runway searching for the voice data recorder.JTSB experts have so far secured both the flight and voice data recorders from the coast guard’s Bombardier Dash-8 and a flight data recorder from the JAL plane to find out what happened in the last few minutes before Tuesday’s fatal collision.All 379 occupants of JAL Flight 516 safely evacuated within 18 minutes of landing as the aircraft was engulfed in flames. The pilot of the coast guard plane also escaped, ...

Iran mourns those slain in Islamic State-claimed suicide blasts as death toll rises to 89

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:27:27 GMT

KERMAN, Iran (AP) — Iran on Friday mourned those slain in an Islamic State group-claimed suicide bombing targeting a commemoration for a general slain in a U.S. drone strike in 2020, as the death toll in the attack rose to at least 89. Despite the militants claiming responsibility for the attack, the wider tensions shaking the Middle East during Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip became intertwined with the funeral in the usually peaceful city of Kerman, about 820 kilometers (510 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran. The top commander of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard linked the attack to the U.S. The gathered crowd shouted: “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”“If you are a man, fight with us. Why do you kill oppressed and defenseless women and children?” Gen. Hossein Salami said. Iranian state television also sought to link America to the attack. At one point, it re-broadcast comments from 2016 from then-presidential candidate Donald T...

India’s foreign minister signs a deal to increase imports of electricity from Nepal

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:27:27 GMT

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — India’s foreign minister concluded a two-day trip to Nepal on Friday, during which he signed an agreement to increase the amount of electricity India imports from its neighbor. “I assure you we are committed to extending our steadfast support and work with same earnestness to further realize the potential of the relationship for the full benefit of the people of the two countries,” Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in Kathmandu Friday, just before flying home.India, which surrounds Nepal on three sides, has major influence on the country’s economy and politics.Jaishankar arrived in Nepal Thursday where he met Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and President Ram Chandra Poudel and took part in a joint meeting where bilateral relations were discussed.The two countries signed an long-term power trade agreement Thursday where India agreed to “to strive to increase the … export of power from Nepal to India to 10,000 meg...

South African athlete Oscar Pistorius is freed on parole after serving 9 years in girlfriend’s death

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:27:27 GMT

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has been released from prison on parole after serving nearly nine years in prison for killing his girlfriend and is now at home, South Africa’s Department of Corrections said Friday.The department gave no more details of Pistorius’ release. The announcement came at around 8:30 a.m., indicating corrections officials had released the world-famous double-amputee Olympic runner from the Atteridgeville Correctional Center in the South African capital, Pretoria, in the early hours.Pistorius has served nearly nine years of his 13 years and five months murder sentence for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013. He was approved for parole in November.Serious offenders in South Africa are eligible for parole after serving at least half their sentence. The Department of Corrections said in a two-sentence statement announcing Pistorius’ release that it was “able to confirm that Oscar Pistorius is a par...

Four-bedroom home sells for $2.3 million in San Jose

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:27:27 GMT

2409 Quantico Court – Google Street ViewThe property located in the 2400 block of Quantico Court in San Jose was sold on Dec. 8, 2023. The $2,250,000 purchase price works out to $1,209 per square foot. The house, built in 1962, has an interior space of 1,861 square feet. This two-story home offers a roomy layout with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. In addition, the home is equipped with a one-car garage. The property’s backyard is further enhanced by both a spa and a pool.These nearby houses have also recently changed hands:In August 2022, a 2,102-square-foot home on Norstad Street in San Jose sold for $1,650,000, a price per square foot of $785. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Rickenbacker Street, San Jose, in April 2023, a 1,741-square-foot home was sold for $1,830,000, a price per square foot of $1,051. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 2,416-square-foot home on the 900 block of Arnold Way in San ...