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Mbappe’s hat trick and Donnarumma’s saves put PSG top of French league

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:02 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Kylian Mbappe scored a hat trick and Gianluigi Donnarumma made a series of decisive saves to send Paris Saint-Germain to the top of the French league with a 3-0 win at Reims on Saturday. Four days after a Champions League loss to AC Milan, it was a hard-fought win for PSG, which was second best for long spells in the Champagne city but was opportunistic and clinical to convert its chances.Reims, one of the most attack-oriented teams in Ligue 1, had many chances to score but Donnarumma was unbeatable. The fifth straight league win moved PSG one point above Nice, with Reims in fourth place, seven points off the pace. The visitors did not take long to break the deadlock when Ousmane Dembele accelerated down the right flank and delivered a superb cross to the far post. Mbappe volleyed the ball from inside the box to fire a right-footed shot past Reims goalkeeper Yehvann Diouf into the opposite corner after just two minutes.That was Mbappe’s 11th goal in the French lea...

Man United’s Hojlund and Eriksen injured in Premier League win against Luton

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:02 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Rasmus Hojlund and Christian Eriksen were both substituted after suffering injuries in Manchester United’s 1-0 win against Luton in the Premier League on Saturday.Hojlund went off in the second half after holding the back of his right leg and Eriksen appeared to hurt his left knee before the break. “In this moment I can’t say … because I don’t know,” United manager Erik ten Hag said. “We do an (injury) assessment, but have to wait for 24 hours to see what is the conclusion.”United has been hit by injuries to key players this season with Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw all long-term absentees.Ten Hag said this week that Casemiro and Martinez were unlikely to play again before Christmas.Hojlund went down without any contact from a Luton player and was replaced by Anthony Martial in the 79th minute. He was able to walk off the field and headed to the locker room without the aid of a stretcher. Eriksen looked in discomfort as a member of ...

Man United manager Ten Hag gets 1-game ban after booking against Luton

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:02 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag will serve a one-game touchline ban after he was booked in his team’s 1-0 win against Luton in the Premier League on Saturday. It was the Dutch coach’s third yellow card this season and means he will have to watch United’s game against Everton on Nov. 26 from the stands.Ten Hag remonstrated with officials over a throw-in decision late in the game at Old Trafford, which United won after Victor Lindelof’s 59th-minute goal. He was also booked in losses against Tottenham and Arsenal this season. Ten Hag appeared to accept he was wrong to remonstrate. “There is a certain point you have to accept decisions, I should do as well,” he said. Ten Hag also said he had faith in his assistants to cope in his absence against Everton at Goodison Park after the upcoming international break. “We have a very competent coaching staff and they will take over.”___James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobso...

‘We want her back:’ The husband of a US journalist detained in Russia appeals for her release

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:02 GMT

PRAGUE (AP) — This wasn’t how Pavel Butorin expected to celebrate the anniversary of 21 years together with his wife, with her in a Russian prison and barely any communication available. Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva — who works as an editor for Radio Free Europe, funded by the U.S. government — has been detained in Russia for almost a month, charged with failing to self-register as a “foreign agent.” “Alsu should be celebrating this anniversary with me and our children at home, not in a Russian prison,” a visibly shaken Butorin told The Associated Press in an interview in Prague on Friday. “We want her back. Alsu must be released as soon as possible.” Kurmasheva was detained on Oct 18, becoming the second U.S. journalist detained in Russia this year, after Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested on espionage charges in March. She is being held in a detention center, awaiting a trial that could sentence her to up to five years in prison.H...

Calls for a Gaza cease-fire divide Europe’s Socialists 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:02 GMT

MÁLAGA, Spain — Europe’s Social Democrats on Saturday unanimously cheered Pedro Sánchez’s likely return to power in Spain after he agreed to an amnesty for Catalan separatists — but they found it harder to reach a common position on Israel’s war against Hamas.Socialist parties from across the Continent gathered at their annual meeting in southern Spain to chart a course for the EU elections next June, warn about the rise of far-right populists, and cheer on Frans Timmermans, who is leading an alliance with the Greens in the Dutch elections this month.There was a triumphal mood at the meeting as delegates chanted “Pedro presidente” and treated Sánchez to rapturous applause. Choreography aside, however, the gulf between Berlin and Madrid on the Middle East conflict was plain to see.Sánchez in a speech to the gathering demanded a “humanitarian cease-fire” in Gaza, where Israel’s retaliatory strikes and ground invasion have claimed some 11,000 lives, including women and children, s...

How to enjoy Fleet Week San Diego on Veterans Day weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:02 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Fleet Week San Diego is in full swing and there are an array of events and activities to be enjoyed in celebration of the U.S. Armed Forces.Organizers say these inspiring local events are designed to honor and support "our military’s incalculable contributions as defenders of our nation and neighbors in our community." Veterans Day deals: Free or discounted restaurant offers for veterans, active duty military From now through Sunday, Nov. 12, the public is welcomed to enjoy San Diego Fleet Week at one of the following happenings at and near the Broadway Pier (located at 1000 N. Harbor Drive in San Diego):-- Ship Tours and Military Displays (Nov. 10-12)-- Military Family Day (Nov. 11)-- Meals Ready to Eat (MRE) Cooking Competition (Nov. 11)-- Veterans Day Boat Parade (Nov. 12)-- Veterans Day Concert (Nov. 12) Prince Harry, Meghan visit San Diego ahead of Veterans Day Can't catch one of these events? Here's a list of other Veterans Day weekend activities across the Sa...

More than 800 Sudanese reportedly killed in attack on Darfur town, UN says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:02 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Fighters from a paramilitary force and their allied Arab militias rampaged through a town in Sudan’s war-ravaged region of Darfur, reportedly killing more than 800 people in a multiday attack, doctors and the U.N. said.The attack on Ardamata in West Darfur province earlier this month was the latest in a series of atrocities in Darfur that marked the monthslong war between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, RSF.Sudan has been engulfed in chaos since in mid-April, when simmering tensions between military chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, exploded into open warfare.The war came 18 months after both generals removed a transitional government in a military coup. The military takeover ended Sudan’s short-lived fragile transition to democracy following a popular uprising that forced the overthrow of longtime strongman Omar al-Bashir in April 2019.In recent w...

Sen. Manchin is the last in a line of formidable West Virginia Democrats who promoted coal interests

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:02 GMT

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Joe Manchin’s impending departure from the U.S. Senate marks the end of an era for West Virginia’s conservative Democrats, who for decades held outsize influence in Washington. It’s the latest sign of the party’s steady decline in the state that often has paralleled the demise of Appalachian coal.Manchin, 76, is the last in a line of formidable Democratic senators from the Mountain State who promoted coal interests at the national level. He stayed true to a path set by stalwarts like Robert C. Byrd, Jennings Randolph and Jay Rockefeller, even as he navigated the shifting terrain of national energy policy.While Democrats moved aggressively away from fossil fuels in an effort to combat the threat of climate change, Manchin pressed for an “all of the above” energy policy intended to maintain coal as at least a component of the nation’s energy portfolio. He presented himself to voters as the reasonable moderate between two extremes.Manchin has ...

Fire closes major highway in Los Angeles

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:02 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A major highway near downtown Los Angeles was closed in both directions Saturday after a fire rampaged through storage lots underneath it.The fire sent towering flames into the night sky early Saturday morning, and daybreak revealed twisted guardrails and blackened, chipped concrete at an Interstate 10 overpass in an industrial zone.The California Department of Transportations sent personnel to inspect the highway, with detours established to ease snarled highway traffic. Interstate 10, which runs east-west, was closed near downtown Los Angeles for at least 24 hours into Sunday, authorities said. The cause of the fire hasn’t been disclosed.The fire department said the blaze burned through trailers, wood pallets and other things in storage lots on both sides of the highway, though firefighters successfully safeguarded three nearby commercial buildings.More than 160 firefighters from 26 companies responded to a blaze, which spread across 8 acres (3 hectares) —...

Former Ghana striker Raphael Dwamena dies after collapsing during Albanian Super League soccer game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:10:02 GMT

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Former Ghana striker Raphael Dwamena has died after collapsing Saturday during an Albanian Super League soccer match.The Albanian Football Federation confirmed the death of the 28-year-old Dwamena. Footage on social media appeared to show the player by himself and falling over on the field in the 24th minute of the match between Dwamena’s Egnatia and Partizani. Other players rushed over and, despite immediate medical intervention, the federation said “the player unfortunately passed away.” The game was halted at 1-1 with no further play. Dwamena, this season’s top scorer with nine goals in the Albanian Super League, made eight appearances for Ghana and scored twice.“ The Ghana Football Association is sad to hear of the death of our former player Raphael Dwamena and wish to express our deepest condolences to his family at this difficult moment,” it said in a statement.No details over a possible cause were given by the Albanian federation but local m...