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Two goals in 2 minutes help Japan beat Costa Rica 2-0 at Women’s World Cup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:34 GMT

DUNEDIN, New Zealand (AP) — Hikaru Naomoto and Aoba Fujino scored two minutes apart in the first half to lead Japan to a 2-0 Women’s World Cup victory over Costa Rica on Wednesday that put the Japanese on the brink of advancing to the knockout stage.Japan could advance out of Group C later Wednesday if Spain, ranked sixth in the world, beat 77th-ranked Zambia in Auckland.The two teams kicked off in front of a sparse crowd of 6,992 at Dunedin Stadium, a huge differential from the record sales of over 1.5 million tickets for this year’s tournament. High fan turnout in Auckland and Sydney — there were 117,000 combined at opening night in those cities — have been partly offset by much smaller crowds in Dunedin, where attendance has dropped with each match from an initial high of 13,711.Las Ticas kept the pressure high throughout the match, but the Japanese dominated with precision in ball handling and passes.Mina Tanaka passed the ball to Naomoto, who dribbled past a Costa Rican d...

Al menos 51 ballenas piloto mueren tras quedarse varadas en una playa de Australia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:34 GMT

SIDNEY.- Al menos 51 ballenas piloto de aleta larga murieron el martes tras quedar varadas en la remota playa Cheynes, en el suroeste de Australia, mientras un grupo de ecologistas tratan de rescatar a otros 46 especímenes, informaron este miércoles las autoridades del país oceánico. Un total de 97 ballenas piloto quedaron varadas el martes en aguas poco profundas a unos 150 metros de la playa Cheynes, una ensenada protegida de la región de Australia Occidental que está rodeada por un parque y una reserva natural.“Desafortunadamente, 51 ballenas murieron anoche”, informó hoy el Servicio de Parques y Vida Salvaje de la región de Australia Occidental en las redes sociales.El Servicio de Parques también detalló que los equipos de rescate, veterinarios, expertos en fauna marina y voluntarios que se han desplegado por tierra y mar desde ayer “intentan llevar a las 46 ballenas restantes a aguas profundas a lo largo de la jornada”.Pero estas tareas afrontan una...

Japan 2, Costa Rica 0

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:34 GMT

Costa Rica00—0Japan20—2First Half_1, Japan, Naomoto, (Tanaka), 25th minute; 2, Japan, Fujino, (Tanaka), 27th.Second Half_None.Goalies_Costa Rica, Daniela Solera, Genesis Perez, Priscilla Tapia; Japan, Ayaka Yamashita, Momoko Tanaka, Chika Hirao.Yellow Cards_Chinchilla, Costa Rica, 85th.Referee_Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi. Assistant Referees_Francesca Di Monte, Elena Mihaela Tepusa, Massimiliano Irrati. 4th Official_Myriam Marcotte.A_6,992.___Source

Chicago Cubs hit 4 home runs — 2 by Dansby Swanson — in a 7-3 victory over the White Sox in the City Series

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:34 GMT

The Chicago White Sox provided an opening in the second inning of Tuesday’s City Series.It wasn’t long before Dansby Swanson and the Chicago Cubs took advantage.Swanson hit a two-run home run in the second, his first of two homers in the game against Michael Kopech, as the Cubs defeated the Sox 7-3 in front of a sellout crowd of 37,079 at Guaranteed Rate Field.The Cubs finished with four homers to win the opener of the two-game series.The Sox continued their free fall, losing for the sixth time in seven games. They are a season-high 20 games under .500 at 41-61. The Cubs inched closer to the .500 mark (49-51) with their sixth win in seven games.“We’ve been playing really well recently,” Swanson said. “I love our at-bats. I love the way we’re playing defense, the way the pitching staff’s going.“It’s fun to be a part of a collective group that believes in one another and is willing to lay it out there each and every night....

Stock market today: Global markets lower ahead of what traders hope will be a final Fed rate hike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:34 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets were lower Wednesday after Wall Street hit a 15-month high ahead of what traders hope will be the Federal Reserve’s final increase in this interest rate cycle.London and Paris opened lower. Shanghai, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Oil prices retreated.Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.3% on Tuesday after companies reported bigger profits than expected.On Wednesday, investors expect the Fed to raise its key lending rate by 0.25 percentage points to a 22-year high. They hope the U.S. central bank can manage a “soft landing,” extinguishing inflation while avoiding a recession.“There remains a risk that (Fed chair) Jerome Powell could maintain a more hawkish slant than markets would like,” Tim Waterer of KCM Trade said in a report. “With the labor market remaining tight, the Fed chairman will likely want to keep all options open for further tightening.” Meanwhile, traders waited to see how China’s ruling Communist Party will car...

Women’s World Cup rematch pits United States against ailing Dutch squad

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:34 GMT

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — The United States and the Netherlands meet again on the Women’s World Cup stage — with smaller stakes than the 2019 title game won by the Americans — and the Dutch team collecting injuries at a terrible time of the tournament.The Netherlands will most likely be without forward Lineth Beerensteyn, who was hurt early in her team’s 1-0 victory over Portugal to open the tournament, when they play the Americans on Thursday in New Zealand’s capital city of Wellington.The Americans are the two-time reigning World Cup champions and Netherlands coach Andries Jonker said on the eve of the match “we would need a miracle” for Beerensteyn to be ready to play.”And if that doesn’t happen, then she won’t participate,” he said.The Netherlands came to the tournament in Australia and New Zealand already missing leading scorer Vivianne Miedema, who ruptured her ACL while playing for Arsenal in December. The forward is the Netherlands’ leading s...

Japan automaker Nissan reports profit rise despite China stumble, outlines Renault alliance

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:34 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Nissan and Renault have formally redefined their French-Japanese auto alliance into a more equal one in cross-shareholdings, both sides said Wednesday.The disparity between the holdings has long been a cause of friction in the alliance, set up in 1999. At the start, Nissan, based in the Japanese port city of Yokohama, had been on the verge of bankruptcy.Under the latest terms, which still need regulatory approval expected by the end of the year, Nissan Motor Co. will invest 600 million euros ($663 million) in Ampere, Renault’s electric vehicle and software entity in Europe. Renault Group and Nissan will retain cross-shareholdings of 15% in each other, and Renault will transfer 28.4% of its Nissan shares into a French trust, so that voting rights of both sides will be capped at 15% of the total, they said in a statement.“The agreements that have been signed today allow us to step into the next chapter of the alliance,” said Jean-Dominique Senard, chairman of the alliance...

In the news today: New wildfires in B.C., Trudeau to shuffle cabinet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:34 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…B.C. wildfire crews grapple with new blazesWildfire crews in B.C. have tamed a pair of wildfires in the province’s Cariboo region, but continue to grapple with stubborn blazes burning out of control elsewhere. The B.C. Wildfire Service says firefighters aided by heavy equipment and aerial support tamed the Branch Road wildfire, which is now considered “being held” at under 14 square kilometres. The service also says it doesn’t expect the Townsend Creek wildfire to grow any more, held at about 27 square kilometres, a blaze that spurred an evacuation alert on July 8 that remains in place. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to shuffle cabinetPrime Minister Justin Trudeau is getting ready to shuffle his cabinet today as he readies the team that will likely lead the Liberals into the next election.A swearing-in ceremony will take place at Rideau H...

A guide to how Paris will welcome fans and stage 32 sports at the first post-pandemic Olympics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:34 GMT

PARIS (AP) — The Olympics is on track to be back in business with millions of visitors coming to Paris for the 2024 Games.The French capital has the expert experience to stage the event and welcome guests for the first Olympics of the post-pandemic era.That should be a relief after a chaotic lead-in to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and uncertainty from postponing the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 with no guarantee it would eventually happen one year later. It did, but in almost entirely empty venues.Organizers, athletes and fans preparing for competitions in Paris — and regional French cities like Lille and Marseille, plus the far-away surfing venue of Tahiti in the South Pacific — can be confident the show will go on.Here’s a look at what we can expect from the 2024 Paris Olympics:WHAT ABOUT TICKETS?About 10 million tickets were made available for the Paris Olympics with 329 medal events in 32 different sports spread across 18 different days of competition.Close to 7 million have alrea...

New Zealand’s anti-nuclear stance means it won’t play a role in Australia’s submarine plans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:43:34 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s longstanding commitment to remaining nuclear-free means it won’t play a role in Australia’s plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, the leaders from both countries said after meeting Wednesday. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made his first official visit to New Zealand since becoming leader last year and emphasized the growing closeness between the neighboring countries, including plans to make travel easier at the border. But that closeness and alignment on many geopolitical issues won’t extend to the so-called AUKUS deal for the submarines that was brokered by Australia, the United States and Britain. Some observers worry that New Zealand’s defense efforts risk becoming marginalized by the nation being left out of the deal. “I think there is no question that we have a different position around nuclear, in terms of nuclear propulsion is also covered by New Zealand’s nuclear-free arrangements...