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As the dust settled from Chinese Communist Party Central Foreign Affairs Commission Director Yang Jiechi and Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s confrontational encounter with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan in Alaska last Thursday, Russia’s own top diplomat arrived in China on Monday for a two-day visit. Ahead of these discussions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov extolled the direction of ever-warming ties between Moscow and Beijing in an interview with Chinese media....

Allison, the Mountain West Conference’s Defensive Player of the Year and a prospect in this month’s NFL Draft after two huge seasons as a linebacker at Fresno State, has had to deal with unspeakable sorrow. In September 2016, he lost two of his cousins in a car accident. In July, a younger brother, Jaelan White, drowned. All the while, his mother, Shynita Ponton, has battled leukemia and two lung diseases....

Of chief interest to hoops fans everywhere — the lack of movement on the issue of the age limit in the NBA, which was supposed to be among the “B issues” the league would work out with the union after agreeing to a new CBA in 2011. The age limit has been left dormant, though, set at 19 (the NBA asked that it be raised to 20) and apparently not moving until the league and union go to collective bargaining next time around....

Speculation about the future of Messi has been rife for several months now after the Argentinian superstar - who scored a hat-trick to book his country’s World Cup place on Wednesday - entered the final year of his contract at Camp Nou. Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu has claimed several times that Messi’s renewal has already been actioned and just needs to be announced, but the clock keeps ticking and that confirmation is yet to be made....

Just listen to his manager sing his praises. “He’s been brilliant, man, he really has,” Milwaukee skipper Craig Counsell said. Aguilar homered twice and Hernan Perez added a three-run shot, powering the Brewers to a 10-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Aguilar hit a solo drive in the seventh and a three-run shot in the eighth. The burly slugger moved into a tie with Colorado’s Nolan Arenado for the NL lead with 22 homers....

Recent months have seen AI image generators explode in popularity. Programs like Craiyon (formerly known as DALL-E Mini) are capable of creating images based on written prompts. This makes it very easy for users to make all sorts of weird and creative ideas a reality, ideas ranging from Red Dead Redemption’s Arthur Morgan in the style of Metal Gear Solid concept art to The Witcher’s Geralt of Rivia going to McDonald’s....

Dellums, tall, slender, elegant and angry, came to Congress in 1971, the first black ever elected from a white majority district. Representing Oakland, home of the Black Panthers, and fermenting Berkeley, he was radicalism incarnate. Today, 64, with gray hair and a gray beard and wearing a black turtleneck and a long flowing topcoat, he looks like a prophet who stepped simultaneously out of the Old Testament and Gentlemen’s Quarterly....

Effort are being taken for last couple of years by Football Players Association of India (FPAI), to convince the country’s football clubs to make proper agreements with its players. Most of the country’s clubs are accused of depriving its footballers from a valid and proper contract. Even the country’s premier football clubs have been carrying on with unprofessionally made contracts with its footballers for a long time. Most of the contract papers are not even handed over to the the footballers by the clubs....

Keita suffered a groin injury in Liverpool’s Champions League semi-final clash against Barcelona, and a two-month injury prognosis had put his participation in the continental showpiece in serious doubt. Despite initially being ruled out of the tournament, Keita worked his way towards full fitness and arrived at the teams pre-tournament camp base in Marrakesh. Despite being placed in a tough group in the qualifying stages wherein they were pitted against local rivals Ivory Coast, the Syli Nationale topped their group qualified for the showpiece event with ease, going unbeaten right through their qualifying campaign....

Secretary for Food and Health Sofia Chan claimed during a government meeting Wednesday that although protesters exposed to tear gas have reported serious respiratory and skin issues, the effects of the chemical don’t last long or cause significant damage. Concerns about health risks were heightened last week after a Hong Kong journalist who had been exposed to tear gas claimed to be diagnosed with chloracne, a serious skin condition that is caused by exposure to the toxic chemical pollutant dioxin....

Shields is not a pure ace, but he is remarkably durable, with eight straight seasons of 200 or more innings pitched, indlcuding 227 or more each of the last four years. In those last four campaigns, Shields has pitched to a 3.17 ERA with a 3.49 FIP, 1.155 WHIP, and 8.0 strikeouts per nine innings. The 94 home runs that Shields has allowed in the past four years are somewhat mitigated by moving to a huge ballpark in San Diego....

When looking at the positive aspects to both of Square Enix’s Marvel games, it seems like the next step for the company would be to make a game centered around one of Marvel’s most popular superhero teams ever: the X-Men. It certainly makes sense why Square would prioritize the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy when it comes to its first entries in the superhero genre due to their MCU success, but now that they have their games, it’s time for a new superhero team to take the spotlight....

Strahan, who also works for Fox’s NFL pregame show and Nickelodeon, will start with “GMA” in September. MORE: Could Kobe Bryant be ESPN’s Charles Barkley? “Michael has been a stellar addition to the broadcast. Over the past two years on ‘GMA,’ he’s proven to be a tireless and versatile broadcaster with an incredible ability to connect with people, from veterans to American pop culture icons and newsmakers,” James Goldston, president of ABC News, said in a staff memo, per Variety....

During the Mavericks’ Sunday’s loss to the Kings, Doncic racked up 27 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, bringing his streak to 19 straight games, eclipsing Jordan’s previous record of 18 games. And he did it sooner than the legend: Doncic hit the 19-game mark in his second season, while Jordan’s record occurred during his fifth season in 1988-1989. Former Milwaukee Bucks star Oscar Robertson accomplished a longer streak than Doncic of at least 20-5-5 per game, but since that occurred prior to the NBA/ABA merger, Robertson’s stats are recorded separately....

The new league is named Maha Mumbai kabaddi League and it will be held from January 15-21. In case you didn’t know… The organisers of this league, Abhinav Kala Kreeda Academy and OH Media House have finalised six teams. This tournament is being organised to present an opportunity for the aspiring youngsters who are trying to get selected for the Pro Kabaddi League The heart of the matter This event will be held in Vishal Sahyadri Kreedangan, Sahyadri Nagar, Charkop, Kandivali West....

“As President, protecting religious freedom is and always has been one of my highest priorities,” Trump told the crowd gathered the U.N.’s “Global Call to Protect Religious Freedom.” Trump opponents on Twitter were quick to point out what they claim is the hypocrisy of the president, who shortly after entering office in 2017 had advocated for a “Muslim ban,” and signed an executive order suspending entry into the United States for citizens of several Muslim-majority countries....

In Agents of Mayhem, players find themselves controlling a small squad of Agents who, despite their vulgarity and bad habits, are the world’s best hope against villains and mad scientists. Most missions allow players to hop in with a rotation of three agents (though they only play one at a time) who run, gun, and drive their way through hordes of enemies and a never ending lineup of explosions....

Unfortunately for Agony fans and crowdfunders who would like more information, Madmind Studio didn’t offer any other details about the uncensored patch’s second cancellation. However, it did say that “part of the team” will continue developing patches to improve the version of the game that already exists, with a patch this week adding a “highly refined lighting system,” despite the studio’s apparent financial struggles. Madmind citing financial troubles as one of the reasons why Agony is no longer receiving its uncensored patch on PC could be an indication that the horror game has not sold well....

Yelich and Eric Thames scored on Jesus Aguilar’s towering drive to center, capping a five-run third inning and sending the Milwaukee Brewers to a 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Friday night. Aguilar’s 20th homer traveled an estimated 433 feet. “It was a good one,” Aguilar said. “I was just waiting for one pitch. Thankfully, I got it.” Tyler Saladino also homered for the Brewers, who have won five straight to extend their NL Central lead to 2 1/2 games over the second-place Cubs....

This will be the last league match of the tournament. Though both the teams have secured their places in the playoffs, they would want to win this fixture and bag the top spot on the table. Auckland Hearts and Wellington Blaze were both triumphant in their last league matches. Both are thus coming into this clash with a lot of confidence. The last time these two sides faced off, Wellington Blaze thumped Auckland by registering a 9-wicket win....