Author: Ms. R.

While the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar thrill supporters of Saudi clubs, Roberto Mancini is concerned that his national team players aren’t getting enough time in the league to prepare for World Cup qualifying. Saudi Arabia was among the high-profile Asian teams that struggled in third-round openers last week in continental World Cup qualifying. The Saudis were held 1-1 by Indonesia, the lowest-ranked of the six-teams in Group C. Tuesday is a crucial match against China at Dalian…

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Two NATO members said Sunday that Russian drones have violated their airspace, as one reportedly flew into Romania during nighttime attacks on neighboring Ukraine while another crashed in eastern Latvia the previous day. A drone entered Romanian territory early on Sunday as Moscow struck “civilian targets and port infrastructure” across the Danube in Ukraine, Romania’s Ministry of National Defense reported. It added Bucharest had deployed F-16 warplanes to monitor its airspace and issued text alerts…

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ALLENBY CROSSING, West Bank (AP) — Three Israelis were shot and killed Sunday at the border crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, Israeli officials said, in what appeared to be an attack linked to the 11-month-old war in Gaza. The military said the gunman approached the Allenby Bridge Crossing from the Jordanian side in a truck and opened fire at Israeli security forces, who killed him in a shootout. Israel’s Magen David Adom rescue service said the three…

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Runners cross the finish line at the Parks Half Marathon in North Bethesda on Sunday. (WTOP/Heather Gustafson) Runners cross the finish line at the Parks Half Marathon in North Bethesda on Sunday. (WTOP/Heather Gustafson) The Parks Half Marathon started in North Bethesda Sunday morning in Maryland just before dawn. At approximately 6:50 a.m., runners hit the pavement near the Redland metro stop. The course wound through parts of Rock Creek Park, offering rolling hills and scenic views, finishing near…

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HOUSTON (AP) — Hugo Lloris saved four shots for Los Angeles FC and Steve Clark had two saves for the Houston Dynamo in a scoreless draw on Saturday night. Lloris notched his 10th clean sheet of the season, tying him with Patrick Schulte of the Columbus Crew for the league lead. Clark’s shutout was his sixth. LAFC (14-6-6) was missing high-scoring Denis Bouanga, Mateusz Bogusz, Omar Campos, Maxime Chanot, David Martínez and Cristian Olivera because of international duties. The…

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NEW YORK (AP) — A mural honoring ancient and modern figures in medicine that has hung in the lobby of Pfizer’s original New York City headquarters for more than 60 years could soon end up in pieces if conservationists can’t find a new home for it in the next few weeks. “Medical Research Through the Ages,” a massive metal and tile mosaic depicting scientists and lab equipment, has been visible through the high glass-windowed lobby of the pharmaceutical giant’s…

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VENICE, Italy (AP) — The 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival is coming to close Saturday, with the world premiere of Kevin Costner’s “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 2” and the awards ceremony. With no real consensus pick going into the evening, eyes are focused on what the Isabelle Huppert-led jury will bestow prizes upon this year. Many of the 21 titles playing in competition have been divisive, with passionate supporters and detractors. Among the highest profile…

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NEW YORK (AP) — “Musical” has been a dirty word lately in Hollywood marketing, but “Wicked” director Jon M. Chu isn’t having it. Of course, there’s no running from the term when you’re bringing to the screen one of the most popular Broadway shows of the 21st century, or telling a story so connected to one of the most beloved movie musicals ever, “The Wizard of Oz.” But Chu, the 44-year-old filmmaker of 2021’s “In the Heights” who as…

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NEW YORK (AP) — An inevitable fact of interviewing Ridley Scott is that, whatever movie he’s about to release, you’ll find him already knee-deep in his next project. Scott, Hollywood’s perpetual rolling stone even at age 86, may be preparing to unveil “Gladiator II,” one of his biggest epics yet, but at the moment he’s got the Bee Gees on the brain. Scott is developing a biopic on the Gibb brothers. On a recent Zoom call from his office…

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WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish prosecutors on Friday charged three Belarusian officials with using a ruse to divert a Poland-registered plane while in flight three years ago and violating the freedom of 132 people on board as they sought to arrest a dissident. The three officials are accused of ordering the plane carrying a dissident blogger to make an unplanned landing in the Belarus capital of Minsk, leading to the arrest of Raman Pratasevich, a Belarussian blogger who was…

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