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Belt & Road, and President Xi Jinping's "The Governance of China"

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:38 GMT

Despite some initial “suspicions” China’s much-publicised Belt and Road Initiative has become a big success, a debate in Brussels was told. The flagship policy, a global infrastructure development, has been a job spinner and will also promote “green growth”, the event at the city’s Press Club heard.The strategy initiated by the People’s Republic of China seeks to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks with the aim of improving regional integration, increasing trade and stimulating economic growth.The idea was to create a vast network of railways, energy pipelines, highways, and streamlined border crossings, both westward—through the mountainous former Soviet republics—and southward, to Pakistan, India, and the rest of Southeast Asia.Bernard Dewit, Chairman of the Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (BCECC),The project has led to the creation of 420,000 new jobs and now comprises 150 countries, it was said at the “10th anniversary symposium” in Brusse...

Detached house in Saratoga sells for $2.4 million

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:38 GMT

12536 Paseo Flores – Google Street ViewA house located in the 12500 block of Paseo Flores in Saratoga has new owners. The 1,800-square-foot property, built in 1950, was sold on Nov. 9, 2023. The $2,405,000 purchase price works out to $1,336 per square foot. This single-story home offers a roomy layout with five bedrooms and two bathrooms. Inside, a fireplace adds character to the home. In addition, the house features a one-car garage. The property’s backyard additionally features both a spa and a pool.Additional houses that have recently changed hands close by include:A 1,500-square-foot home on the 12400 block of Paseo Cerro in Saratoga sold in April 2023, for $1,850,000, a price per square foot of $1,233. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In August 2023, a 1,500-square-foot home on Paseo Cerro in Saratoga sold for $2,600,000, a price per square foot of $1,733. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Saratoga Avenue, Saratoga, in May 2023, a 1,260-square-foot home was sold...

Calls for peace in Gaza disrupt Vallejo council meeting

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:38 GMT

A crowd of protesters demanding a permanent ceasefire in Gaza caused the Vallejo City Council to retreat into a recess on Tuesday night in a regular scheduled meeting.Bowing to the chanted demands of dozens of activists, council members agreed to consider adopting a resolution calling for an end to Israel’s bombardment of the war-torn Gaza Strip in retaliation for Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. A draft resolution will go to the council Dec. 12 and, depending on council votes, could be adopted Dec. 19.Protesters Tuesday decried Israel’s offensive against the political group that killed roughly 1,400 people, most of them civilians, in a surprise attack last month. Israeli bombings and other military actions have killed more than 13,300 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry – flattening vast swaths of the region and displacing some 1.7 million people in an effort to obliterate Hamas.“Every day I wake up, I am met with the crushing reality that it’s another day in hell for the people...

Marin school lewdness suspect to undergo mental health evaluation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:38 GMT

A Marin Superior Court judge Wednesday ordered a mental health evaluation for a defendant accused of performing lewd acts in a school restroom.Derrell Bland, 33, of Mill Valley allegedly entered a girls restroom at Mill Valley Middle School where he blocked the door, exposed himself to two 11-year-old students, and performed a lewd act on Oct. 30.The Mill Valley police initially cited the suspect for trespassing and released him from custody. They arrested him the next day after investigators heard more about his alleged conduct at the restroom. The school has since taken steps to make sure more adults are keeping watch, including hiring a second campus supervisor.Bland was booked into jail on suspicion of indecent exposure, false imprisonment, lewd conduct, trespassing and other charges.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | UPS employee charged in recent Oakland homicide Crime and Public Safety | Man arrested after alleged San Jose road rage incident ...

Four-bedroom home in Palo Alto sells for $2.7 million

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:38 GMT

2016 Edgewood Drive – Google Street ViewThe property located in the 2000 block of Edgewood Drive in Palo Alto was sold on Nov. 13, 2023 for $2,650,000, or $1,646 per square foot. The house, built in 1956, has an interior space of 1,610 square feet. This single-story home presents a roomy floor plan, featuring four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Inside, a fireplace adds character to the home. In addition, the house features a two-car garage, providing ample room for vehicles and storage needs.Additional houses that have recently been purchased close by include:On Blue Jay Court, East Palo Alto, in October 2022, a home was sold for $1,800,000.In September 2023, a 1,357-square-foot home on Edgewood Drive in Palo Alto sold for $3,000,000, a price per square foot of $2,211. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 1,653-square-foot home on the 2100 block of Edgewood Drive in Palo Alto sold in August 2022, for $2,828,000, a price per square foot of $1,711. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bath...

Krugman: Understanding Bidenomics with rich guys in a bar

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:38 GMT

Ten finance guys are drinking in a bar. Nine of them are Masters of the Universe — wheeler-dealers who make many millions of dollars every year. The tenth is what Gordon Gekko, in the movie “Wall Street,” called a “$400,000-a-year working Wall Street stiff.”Then the stiff leaves for a while, maybe to answer a call of nature. When he leaves, the average income of the guys still in the bar shoots up, because he’s no longer dragging that average down; when he comes back, the average drops again. But these fluctuations in the average don’t reflect changes in anyone’s income.Why am I telling you this story? Because it’s most of the story of wages in the U.S. economy since COVID-19 struck. In 2020 the average wage of workers who still had a job shot up, because those who were laid off were disproportionately low-wage service workers. Then, as people resumed in-person shopping, started going to restaurants and so on, growth in average wages was held down because those low-wage worker...

EVs less reliable, on average, than conventional cars and trucks, Consumer Reports says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:38 GMT

By Tom Krisher | The Associated PressElectric vehicles have proved far less reliable, on average, than gasoline-powered cars, trucks and SUVs, according to the latest survey by Consumer Reports, which found that EVs from the 2021 through 2023 model years encountered nearly 80% more problems than did vehicles propelled by internal combustion engines.Consumer Reports said EV owners most frequently reported troubles with battery and charging systems as well as flaws in how the vehicles’ body panels and interior parts fit together. The magazine and website noted that EV manufacturers are still learning to construct completely new power systems, and it suggested that as they do, the overall reliability of electric vehicles should improve.“This story is really one of growing pains,” said Jake Fisher, senior director of auto testing at Consumer Reports. “It’s a story of just working out the bugs and the kinks of new technology.”Still, Consumer Reports noted that lingering concerns about re...

California surgeon once accused of multiple sexual assaults gets probation for gun, drug charges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:38 GMT

A Newport Beach surgeon once accused of drugging and sexually assaulting a series of women was sentenced to probation on Wednesday after accepting a plea deal on relatively minor drug and gun possession charges, bringing a quiet end to an at-times politically-charged but ultimately drastically pared-back criminal case.Dr. Grant Robicheaux, 43, during a hearing in a Fullerton courtroom, pleaded guilty to a felony gun possession charge and a misdemeanor drug possession count and was immediately sentenced to two years of formal probation, one year of informal probation and ordered to take part in 16 hours of drug education classes and 32 hours of community service.Philip Cohen, Robicheaux’s attorney, told reporters after the hearing that he felt vindicated by the outcome of the case, noting that Robicheaux will wake up tomorrow with a “sigh of relief” and “a large weight off his shoulders.” If Robicheaux follows the terms of his probation, the felony would be reduced to a misdemeanor a...

Four migrants who were pushed out of a boat die just yards from Spain’s southern coast

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:38 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Four migrants have died meters (yards) from shore in southern Spain after being forced out of the boat they were traveling in, officials said Thursday.The Spanish government press office in the southern province of Cádiz said 31 other people from the boat, including six children, survived the Wednesday afternoon incident and four were taken to a hospital.The press office said 27 passengers were forced out by the vessel’s drivers near Camposoto beach, which is where the four died. Another eight were forced off close to another beach, it added.A video shot by a man who works in the area showed migrants being pushed overboard from the boat and others in the choppy waters trying to swim to shore.Javier González, who runs a nautical company, said he and his son managed to rescue eight people. He said they and other workers helped the migrants on the beach.In a telephone message to The Associated Press, González said no police officers or marine rescue personnel took p...

French soccer league struggling with violence, discriminatory chanting and low-scoring matches

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:38 GMT

There’s been discriminatory chanting in the stands, a team bus pelted with stones, a game called off because of crowd trouble, and precious few goals on the field. The French soccer league is making headlines for all the wrong reasons this season. And now even the French government is calling for something to be done about it. After 13 rounds of games this season, the number of incidents is worrying officials who have been dealing with an upsurge of violence in stadiums over the past two campaigns. According to Interior minister Gerald Darmanin, more than 100 police officers were injured in soccer-related incidents last season, and 870 people were detained. And there is no sign of abatement. “There’s no other sport with this level of violence,” Darmanin said recently. In October in Montpellier, a match was stopped in added time after fans threw a firework from the stands that landed next to Clermont goalkeeper Mory Diaw. The Senegal player had to be taken off on a stretcher, b...