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China tightens access to Tiananmen Square, 24 detained in Hong Kong on anniversary of 1989 protests

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:18:36 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China tightened access to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing on Sunday, the anniversary of the military suppression of 1989 pro-democracy protests that left a still unknown number of people dead and discussions and commemorations forbidden within the country. In Hong Kong, which had been the last Chinese-controlled territory to hold commemorations, eight people, including activists and artists, were detained on the eve of the anniversary of the crackdown, a move that underscored the city’s shrinking room for freedom of expression. Another 16 or more people were detained around Victoria Park on Sunday. The large public space with its lawns and sports grounds used to be the scene of an annual candlelight gathering to remember the hundreds or thousands killed when army tanks and infantry descended on central Beijing on the night of June 3 and into the morning of June 4, 1989. Discussion of the seven weeks of student-led protests that attracted workers and artists and th...

China tightens access to Tiananmen Square on anniversary of crackdown

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:18:36 GMT

China tightened access to Tiananmen Square in central Beijing on Sunday, the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.Additional security was seen around the square, which has long been surrounded with security checks, according to media reports.In Hong Kong, police arrested four people while conducting stop and search operations near Victoria Park on Sunday, as people commemorated the 34th anniversary of the crackdown. Police said they had arrested the four for “breaching public peace,” according to reports. Victoria Park, a famous site of yearly vigils, saw a barrage of armored vehicles and police deployed, according to the reports. Pro-Beijing groups held a food carnival in part of the park, while sealing off other areas with barricades.Hong Kong was once the center of the largest vigils marking the anniversary of Tiananmen Square, when Chinese troops violently suppressed pro-democracy demonstrators and killed 300. But fol...

Half a million march in Warsaw against Poland’s ruling party

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:18:36 GMT

An estimated 500,000 people marched through downtown Warsaw Sunday afternoon in a huge rally against the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, held on the 34th anniversary of the breakthrough election that effectively ended communist rule in Poland.The march was called by Donald Tusk, former Polish prime minister and former president of the European Council, who is now leading his Civic Platform (PO) party in a bid to defeat PiS in an election due later this year.“You’re all here because you have just believed we can win,” Tusk told the crowd, which filled Warsaw’s Castle Square. People in the crowd were holding up white-and-red flags and anti-government placards, including the locally famous ones with eight asterisks, denoting the Polish for “f*** PiS.”“Here’s my pledge to you today: We are going to win this election and hold PiS accountable,” Tusk said.The rally, which appeared to be the biggest political demonstration in Poland in decades, took place just a few days after PiS-frien...

Chuck Todd is stepping down from ‘Meet the Press’

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:18:36 GMT

New York (CNN) — Chuck Todd, the longtime host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” is stepping down from his role, he shared with the audience on Sunday.Colleague Kristen Welker, who is a regular fill-in on the Sunday broadcast, will take over the role.Welker, who has been with NBC News since 2010, was Todd’s co-anchor on election nights beginning in 2021, a memo from NBC News President of Editorial Rebecca Blumenstein and NBC News Senior Vice President of Politics Carrie Budoff Brown said.“When I took over ‘Meet the Press,’ it was a Sunday show that had a lot of people questioning whether it still could have a place in the modern media space,” Todd said on the show. “Well, I think we’ve answered that question and then some.”Todd became the show’s moderator in September 2014, leading the show through two presidential election cycles, the memo said.But it’s important media leaders do not “overstay their welcome,” Todd said on the show. “I’d rather leave a little bit too soon than stay a ...

Error in signaling system led to train crash that killed 275 people in India, official says

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:18:36 GMT

By KRUTIKA PATHI, SHEIKH SAALIQ and ASHOK SHARMA (Associated Press)BALASORE, India (AP) — The derailment in eastern India that killed 275 people and injured hundreds was caused by an error in the electronic signaling system that led a train to wrongly change tracks and crash into a freight train, officials said Sunday.Authorities worked to clear the mangled wreckage of the two passenger trains that derailed Friday night in Balasore district in Odisha state in one of the country’s deadliest rail disasters in decades.An Odisha government statement revised the death toll to 275 after a top state officer put the number at over 300 on Sunday morning. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to reporters.Jaya Verma Sinha, a senior railway official, said the preliminary investigations revealed that a signal was given to the high-speed Coromandel Express to run on the main track line, but the signal later changed, and the train instead entered an adjacen...

Missing man’s body recovered at Iowa apartment collapse site; two others still missing

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:18:36 GMT

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — The body of one of three men who had been missing after the partial collapse of an apartment building in Davenport, Iowa, has been found, a city official confirmed Sunday.Branden Colvin Sr.’s body was recovered Saturday, city spokeswoman Sarah Ott said. Two other men — 51-year-old Ryan Hitchcock and 60-year-old Daniel Prien — are still unaccounted for. Colvin, 42, is the first person confirmed to have died in the collapse.No other details were immediately released.The Quad-City Times reported that Colvin’s son, Branden Colvin Jr., graduated from high school Saturday. He and other family members had been at the collapse site almost constantly, hoping for a miracle.The discovery of Colvin’s body came a day after authorities announced that the search for survivors had been completed, with attention turning to shoring up the structure so recovery efforts could begin.The remains of the six-story apartment building were constantly in motion in the ...

Soccer fan arrested for wearing offensive jersey to FA Cup final referring to Hillsborough tragedy

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:18:36 GMT

LONDON (AP) — London police said that a soccer fan was charged Sunday with wearing an offensive jersey to the FA Cup final that apparently referred to the 1989 Hillsborough Stadium disaster where 97 Liverpool fans died. James White, 33, of Warwickshire, will appear in court June 19 on a charge of displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress.A photo retweeted by police after Saturday’s match between Manchester City and Manchester United at Wembley Stadium showed a man wearing a United shirt that had the number 97 on the back and the words “Not Enough.” The Football Association said that it spotted the offensive shirt on social media and security tracked down the man wearing it, leading to his arrest.“We will not tolerate abuse relating to Hillsborough or any football tragedy at Wembley Stadium and we will continue to work with the authorities to ensure strong action is taken against perpetrators,” the FA said.The tragedy at Hillsborough Stad...

Transgender adults in Florida `blindsided’ that new law also limits their access to health care

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:18:36 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Debate surrounding Florida’s new restrictions on gender-affirming care focused largely on transgender children. But a new law that Republican presidential candidate and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last month also made it difficult – even impossible – for many transgender adults to get treatment.Eli and Lucas, trans men who are a couple, followed the discussions in the Legislature, where Democrats warned that trans children would be more prone to suicide under a ban on gender-affirming care for minors and Republicans responded with misplaced tales of mutilated kids. Eli said he and his partner felt “blindsided” when they discovered the bill contained language that would also disrupt their lives.“There was no communication. … Nobody was really talking about it in our circles,” said Eli, 29.Like many transgender adults in Florida, he and Lucas are now facing tough choices, including whether to uproot their lives so that they can continue to access gender-confirmin...

Hundreds of thousands march in Poland anti-government protests to show support for democracy

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:18:36 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people marched in an anti-government protest in Poland’s capital on Sunday, with citizens traveling from across the country to voice their anger at officials who they say have eroded democratic norms and created fears that the nation is following Hungary and Turkey down the path to autocracy.Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, who belongs to the opposition party that led the march, estimated that 500,000 people took part. The Onet news portal estimated there there were at least 300,000 at the march’s culmination.Large crowds also gathered in Krakow and other cities across the nation of 38 million people, showing frustration with a government that critics accuse of violating the constitution and eroding fundamental rights in Poland, a country long hailed as model of peaceful and democratic change.Former President Lech Walesa, the leader of the Solidarity movement that played a historic role in toppling communism in Poland, marche...

Why don't tips show up on credit card charges?

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 02:18:36 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Tipping can be a confusing practice to navigate correctly. (Is 20% the right amount for everyone? Do you tip on takeout too? And sure, you tip the bartender, but what about your tow truck driver?) To make matters more confusing, whatever amount you do end up tipping might not even show up on your credit card statement — at least not initially. The most common place this plays out is at restaurants. You may have the bill brought to your table, put your card down, have it swiped at the register, and then finally add a tip and sign before leaving. Why are the default tipping screens set so high? "When you use your credit card to pay for a meal, the restaurant will initially authorize your account with the card issuer for the cost of the meal, placing a temporary hold on your account," said Russell Nelson, manager of credit card products at Navy Federal. That hold, which doesn't include the tip amount, can last a few days.Then, after you fill in the amount you'd like to t...