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  • A New York City snowball fight gone wrong leaves Mayor Mamdani at odds with police

    A New York City snowball fight gone wrong leaves Mayor Mamdani at odds with police

    A festive snowball gathering in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park has ignited a heated political confrontation between New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and police leadership, following incidents where officers were struck with frozen projectiles during Monday’s blizzard.

    Video footage circulating on social media platforms shows the moment when a prearranged snowball fight among dozens of participants turned confrontational. The escalation occurred after NYPD officers responded to emergency calls at the park, where some individuals began directing snowballs—reportedly containing ice chunks—toward law enforcement personnel.

    The police department has released photographic evidence identifying four young men, estimated to be between 18-20 years old, allegedly responsible for intentionally targeting officers with frozen projectiles. According to NYPD officials, these actions resulted in head, neck, and facial injuries that required hospital treatment for multiple officers, though all remain in stable condition.

    Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch condemned the behavior as “disgraceful and criminal” in social media statements, while the department pursues assault charges against the identified individuals.

    Mayor Mamdani has adopted a markedly different perspective, characterizing the incident as an overzealous but essentially harmless snowball fight that shouldn’t warrant criminal charges. During Tuesday’s press conference, the mayor stated, “From the videos that I’ve seen, it looked like kids at a snowball fight,” while simultaneously urging New Yorkers to show respect toward city employees working through the historic winter storm.

    The mayor’s position has drawn fierce criticism from police unions. Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry denounced Mamdani’s response as “a complete failure of leadership,” emphasizing that officers sustained actual injuries requiring medical attention. Sergeants Benevolent Association President Vincent Vallelong echoed these concerns, warning that tolerating such behavior could encourage more dangerous attacks against officers in the future.

    This confrontation represents the first significant clash between the newly elected mayor and police unions since Mamdani took office in November. Political analyst Basil Smikle, former executive director of New York’s Democratic Party, noted that the mayor faces particular scrutiny due to his previous criticisms of the NYPD, including past characterizations of the department as “racist” and “a threat to public safety” during his campaign.

    The current dispute echoes historical tensions between New York mayors and police unions, particularly when involving officials who advocate for criminal justice reform. Smikle observed that Mamdani must balance police relations with community concerns about youth treatment, while police unions remain sensitive to perceptions of inadequate support from city leadership.

  • Bear necessities: Perth lock in four-time premiership winner in huge coup for the expansion club

    Bear necessities: Perth lock in four-time premiership winner in huge coup for the expansion club

    The Perth Bears expansion franchise has made another significant acquisition by securing four-time premiership winner Scott Sorensen from the Penrith Panthers, leveraging the forward’s personal connections to Western Australia to bolster their inaugural squad for the 2027 NRL season.

    The 32-year-old New Zealand international, who claimed four consecutive championships during his five-year tenure with Penrith, cited family ties as the decisive factor in his move. ‘My wife is from Perth, so I know there is already a lot of excitement about the Bears coming into competition from people in Western Australia,’ Sorensen stated upon confirming his two-year contract.

    Sorensen becomes the latest high-profile signing for the emerging franchise, joining former Panthers teammate Liam Henry in the forward pack. The Bears have strategically targeted players from successful systems, having previously secured Melbourne Storm duo Nick Meaney and Tyran Wishart, alongside Bulldogs finals participants Josh Curran and Toby Sexton.

    Bears head coach Mal Meninga praised the acquisition, emphasizing Sorensen’s leadership qualities: ‘Scott is a natural leader who had great success at club and international level. He has great skill with the ball and really sets the tone with his defence. Above all, Scott is a selfless person who other players want to play with.’

    David Sharpe, Bears General Manager of Football, highlighted the strategic importance of recruiting players with local connections to build community engagement: ‘Scott has been on our radar for a long time. He has a connection with Western Australia and is obviously a fantastic player who possesses the leadership qualities and ambition we look for when recruiting to our squad.’

    Sorensen expressed enthusiasm about helping establish the new club’s foundation: ‘It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to be part of the team and help set the standards and build the culture of the club from day one.’ The versatile forward will complete the current season with Penrith before relocating with his family to Western Australia ahead of the Bears’ competition debut.

  • ‘Never happened before’: Premiership hero reveals reasons behind terrifying mid-flight moment

    ‘Never happened before’: Premiership hero reveals reasons behind terrifying mid-flight moment

    The National Rugby League (NRL) community faced its second aviation-related health incident this week when former Cronulla Sharks champion Chad Townsend experienced a sudden medical emergency aboard a flight to Los Angeles. The 2016 premiership winner, traveling to cover the season-opening double-header in Las Vegas, suffered a collapse mid-journey that required immediate medical intervention.

    According to Townsend’s firsthand account, the incident began with sudden onset symptoms including hot and cold flushes accompanied by profuse sweating. Attempting to navigate to the restroom, the retired halfback lost consciousness and awoke on the aircraft floor with an oxygen mask administered by fellow passengers. Medical analysis confirmed the episode resulted from severe dehydration combined with altitude effects, causing Townsend’s blood pressure to spike dangerously.

    The emergency response involved critical assistance from Brooke Gidley, wife of Newcastle Knights legend Kurt Gidley, and a physician identified only as ‘Doctor Jimmy’ who happened to be returning from visiting his daughter in Newcastle. Paramedics boarded immediately upon landing in Los Angeles to evaluate Townsend, who subsequently walked off the aircraft unaided after stabilization.

    Townsend emphasized the non-alcoholic nature of the incident while expressing profound gratitude to his impromptu medical team. This occurrence follows another NRL-related flight disruption earlier this week involving executives Peter V’landys and Andrew Abdo, whose aircraft returned to Sydney due to air conditioning malfunctions.

    The veteran player has since continued his media commitments in Las Vegas, confirming his full recovery and participation in the landmark American event marking the NRL’s international expansion efforts.

  • Awe-inspiring Wuxi: Taibo Temple Fair wows intl visitors

    Awe-inspiring Wuxi: Taibo Temple Fair wows intl visitors

    China Daily Information Co (CDIC) maintains strict copyright protection over all content published across its digital platforms. The comprehensive safeguards extend to textual materials, photographic content, multimedia presentations, and all other informational assets. Republication or utilization of any protected material in any format requires prior written authorization from CDIC, emphasizing the company’s commitment to intellectual property rights protection. The publication recommends optimal viewing experiences through browsers supporting 1024*768 resolution or higher, ensuring content displays as intended by its creators. The organization operates under formal registration number 130349 and holds multimedia publishing license 0108263, demonstrating its compliance with Chinese digital content regulations. Beyond content protection, China Daily facilitates various engagement channels including advertising opportunities, direct communication pathways, and career prospects including expatriate employment positions. The media outlet maintains active social media presence encouraging audience connection across multiple platforms.

  • Shanghai eases residency requirements for homebuyers

    Shanghai eases residency requirements for homebuyers

    In a significant policy shift aimed at revitalizing its real estate sector, Shanghai has announced comprehensive reforms to its property purchasing regulations. The new measures, effective February 26, 2026, substantially reduce residency requirements for non-local homebuyers seeking properties within the city’s Outer Ring Road.

    Under the revised framework, non-local families and individual buyers without Shanghai household registration (hukou) now qualify for residential purchases after just one year of tax payments in the municipality—a considerable reduction from previous requirements. Those maintaining three years of tax contributions gain eligibility for additional property acquisitions.

    The policy package further eliminates income tax prerequisites for long-term residents, permitting families and single adults holding Shanghai residence permits for five or more years to purchase one housing unit regardless of income tax status.

    Beyond residency adjustments, the seven-point initiative includes lowered thresholds for housing provident fund loan applications and modifications to property tax exemption criteria. These coordinated measures aim to address diverse housing needs while stimulating market activity.

    Jointly issued by multiple municipal authorities including the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the Shanghai Municipal Tax Service, these reforms represent a strategic effort to balance housing supply with evolving demand patterns. The policy framework explicitly targets the promotion of stable, healthy real estate market development while accommodating legitimate residential requirements.

  • Ministry warns schools not to cut physical education classes

    Ministry warns schools not to cut physical education classes

    In a significant move to prioritize student wellness, China’s Ministry of Education has launched a stringent ‘health first’ initiative targeting educational institutions that reduce physical education classes or restrict outdoor activities during breaks. This crackdown comes alongside newly released data demonstrating remarkable improvements in national student fitness metrics over the past decade.

    During a high-level meeting convened in Beijing, education officials revealed that all provincial-level regions have now fully implemented policies guaranteeing primary and secondary students receive minimum two hours of daily physical activity, including mandated 15-minute inter-class breaks. The comprehensive approach represents a paradigm shift in educational priorities, placing physical wellbeing alongside academic achievement.

    The ministry’s report highlighted substantial workforce expansion, with physical education teachers in compulsory education increasing by 71.6% since 2012, while arts educators grew by 60.9% during the same period. These staffing investments have yielded measurable results: the 2024 National Student Physical Health Survey indicates a 9.3 percentage point improvement in overall excellence rates for physical health across all educational levels since 2016.

    Notable progress has been achieved in combating youth myopia, with national rates declining consistently for four consecutive years (2021-2024), reaching 50.3% in 2024. This achievement meets the government’s annual target of reducing myopia prevalence by 0.5 percentage points each year.

    Concurrently, school food safety management has been substantially enhanced, with 99.9% of institutions now monitored through a comprehensive online surveillance system covering kitchen operations and meal preparation facilities.

    Looking toward 2026, the ministry plans intensified efforts focusing particularly on kindergarten and primary school levels. Strategic measures will include guaranteed outdoor activity time, restricted electronic device usage, and improved classroom lighting conditions to alleviate visual strain.

    The ministry issued explicit warnings against ‘fake curricula’—schedules that appear compliant but aren’t implemented—and vowed rigorous investigation of any practices that compromise physical education requirements or prevent students from accessing outdoor spaces during designated break times.

  • Daniela Petroff, AP’s longtime fashion and Vatican reporter, dies at 80

    Daniela Petroff, AP’s longtime fashion and Vatican reporter, dies at 80

    ROME — Daniela Petroff, the esteemed journalist whose distinctive voice and expertise shaped The Associated Press’s coverage of both Vatican affairs and Milan’s fashion industry for nearly four decades, has passed away at her home in Rome. She was 80 years old.

    According to her husband, Victor Simpson—the retired AP Rome bureau chief—Petroff died peacefully on Tuesday while recuperating from a recent fall. Simpson noted that she had gone to sleep after lunch and chose not to wake, a poignant end to a life marked by both profound achievement and personal tragedy.

    Petroff’s career was characterized by intellectual rigor and linguistic fluency. Fluent in Italian, German, French, and English, she initially wrote for The Chicago Tribune and Time magazine before joining the AP. There, she pioneered the news agency’s Milan fashion reporting just as Giorgio Armani emerged as a global design force. Her dispatches were widely respected for their factual precision, avoiding subjective critiques in favor of insightful, context-rich analysis.

    Lisa Anderson, a fellow fashion correspondent for The Chicago Tribune, reflected on Petroff’s unique approach: ‘She had a gift for placing facts within a very artful context. She regarded the fashion industry—which often takes itself too seriously—with both amusement and respect, a balanced perspective essential for quality reporting.’

    Petroff’s professional legacy includes chronicling the rise of iconic fashion houses such as Versace, Gucci under Tom Ford, Karl Lagerfeld’s work at Fendi, and the Missoni dynasty. Her final byline for the AP, published in September, was an authoritative profile of Armani following the designer’s death.

    In a remarkable demonstration of versatility, Petroff also applied her sharp observational skills and eloquence to Vatican reporting. She covered papal transitions, ecclesiastical appointments, and even drew witty comparisons between sartorial and sacred choices, once musing on how Pope Francis’s cardinals might dress given their diverse global origins.

    Beyond fashion and faith, she reported on significant cultural events, including the emotional reopening of Venice’s La Fenice opera house after a devastating fire.

    Born in Mecklenburg, Germany in 1945, Petroff spent her early years in Paris and New York. She attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart before moving to Rome for her final high school years at Marymount International School. After studying at Manhattanville College and graduating from Rome’s La Sapienza University with a degree in modern languages, she met Victor Simpson, then a news editor for AP. They married in 1973.

    The couple endured an unimaginable loss in 1985 when their 11-year-old daughter, Natasha, was killed in a terrorist attack at Rome’s airport—an event that also injured their son, Michael. Their youngest daughter, Debbie, was born two years later, an occasion that prompted a personal congratulatory call from Pope John Paul II.

    After retiring from the AP in 2017, Petroff dedicated herself to Marymount International School, serving as chair of the board. She is survived by her husband, Victor Simpson, son Michael, and daughter Debbie.

    A private funeral is scheduled for Thursday, with a memorial service to be held at Marymount on Monday.

  • Near-zero visibility: UAE residents to face monster fog all this week

    Near-zero visibility: UAE residents to face monster fog all this week

    The United Arab Emirates is currently experiencing a prolonged period of intense fog conditions that have significantly reduced visibility across multiple emirates, creating substantial disruptions to daily life and transportation networks. Meteorological experts indicate this weather pattern will persist throughout the week before gradual improvement begins in early March.

    On Tuesday morning, Dubai residents awoke to severely obscured skylines as thick fog settled over large sections of the emirate. The phenomenon resulted in dramatically reduced visibility that severely impacted road conditions during peak commuting hours. Major highways witnessed vehicles moving at exceptionally slow speeds, while school transportation and office commuters faced considerable delays. Similar challenging conditions were reported throughout Sharjah, with motorists describing the experience as navigating through dense cloud formations.

    The National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) has identified the specific atmospheric conditions responsible for this persistent fog formation. According to Dr. Ahmed Habib, meteorologist at the NCM, the combination of exceptionally calm wind patterns and a stable high-pressure system affecting both surface and upper atmospheric layers has created optimal circumstances for fog development. These conditions have resulted in cooler surface temperatures that, when combined with existing humidity, generate the thick fog banks currently affecting the region.

    Meteorological projections indicate the fog will continue beyond Wednesday, with particularly dense formations expected in interior regions including Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and Dubai. Residents in affected areas should anticipate continued transportation disruptions during morning hours, requiring additional travel time and heightened road safety precautions.

    Weather patterns are forecast to undergo modification later this week, beginning with anticipated cloud formation on February 26th. While fog conditions may persist, meteorological models suggest reduced frequency compared to current levels. Afternoon periods may present alternative challenges as northwesterly winds are predicted to create potentially rough sea conditions. These strengthening winds are expected to gradually diminish fog formation likelihood.

    Dr. Habib emphasized that such weather patterns represent typical seasonal transition phenomena common during this period. The UAE’s winter season traditionally continues until March 21st, with fog episodes frequently occurring during periods of atmospheric stability. Temperature fluctuations are expected throughout the week, with gradual warming projected from March 1st onward following a brief temperature decrease expected on February 27th due to returning northwesterly winds.

  • Sudan’s Hemedti closely linked to Dubai property portfolio

    Sudan’s Hemedti closely linked to Dubai property portfolio

    A comprehensive investigation has uncovered substantial Dubai real estate holdings valued at approximately $1.7 million connected to Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the commander of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group. The findings, documented in a recent report from investigative organization The Sentry, reveal a complex network of property transactions and corporate entities that allegedly serve to conceal the assets of the Sudanese military leader known as Hemedti.

    The investigation identifies three residential apartments in Dubai’s eastern suburbs, purchased by Hemedti in March 2020 near the UAE’s al-Minhad military air base, along with commercial property in the emirate. Although initially acquired under his personal name, these assets were subsequently transferred in July 2022 to Prodigious Real Estate Management Supervision Services, a UAE-registered entity.

    Prodigious is wholly owned by Abo Zer Abdelnabi Habiballa Ahmmed (also known as Abozer Habib), whom the US Treasury sanctioned in 2025 as owner of the Capital Tap group. This conglomerate has longstanding connections to the RSF, with constituent companies allegedly providing financial and military equipment to the paramilitary force.

    The report estimates the three Dubai properties associated with Hemedti at nearly $1 million, while Prodigious maintains additional commercial holdings worth approximately $670,000. Between 2023 and 2025, these properties generated minimum annual rental income of $80,000 from tenants unaware of their landlords’ connections to the Sudanese conflict.

    The investigation utilized leaked Dubai property records from 2020 and 2022 obtained by the Centre for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS), with verification support from the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).

    These findings emerge amid mounting evidence of substantial ties between the UAE and the RSF, despite official denials from Abu Dhabi. The relationship predates Sudan’s April 2023 conflict, with Hemedti previously acknowledging that Sudan provided 30,000 fighters—primarily from RSF ranks—to support the UAE and Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.

    The report further details a sophisticated gold smuggling operation from RSF-controlled territories in Sudan’s Darfur region to UAE markets through multiple transit routes. Companies including US-sanctioned Al-Junaid, along with UAE-based Glow Gold and AZ Gold, facilitate this trade that international statistics indicate has recently experienced a ‘massive surge’ through Kenya.

    Hemedti’s corporate empire reportedly extends beyond real estate and gold to include livestock, construction, tourism, and banking sectors, with previous connections to multinational companies such as UAE-based Tradive General Trading and Aoun Commercial Brokers.

  • Trump, Zelensky speak before Ukraine-US talks in Geneva

    Trump, Zelensky speak before Ukraine-US talks in Geneva

    In a significant diplomatic development preceding crucial peace talks, former U.S. President Donald Trump engaged in a substantive telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The discussion, lasting approximately thirty minutes according to Ukrainian presidential advisor Dmytro Lytvyn, focused on coordinating strategies for upcoming multilateral negotiations aimed at resolving the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian conflict.

    President Zelensky publicly acknowledged the exchange via social media, expressing gratitude for Trump’s ‘active involvement’ in peace efforts and recognizing contributions from Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who participated in the call. The dialogue specifically addressed agenda items for the bilateral meeting between Ukrainian lead negotiator Rustem Umerov and Trump’s representatives scheduled for Geneva, alongside preparations for comprehensive trilateral negotiations with Russia anticipated in early March.

    The Geneva discussions represent the latest iteration of Trump-mediated diplomacy that has thus far yielded limited progress in ending Europe’s most devastating military confrontation since World War II. The conflict, ignited by Russia’s full-scale invasion four years prior, has resulted in catastrophic human casualties and widespread territorial destruction across eastern and southern Ukraine.

    Central to the diplomatic impasse remains the disputed status of Donbas, with Russia demanding complete control over Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region under threat of military escalation. Ukraine maintains its refusal to concede territorial sovereignty while insisting on robust international security guarantees to prevent future aggression. Both leaders expressed support for elevating negotiations to the head-of-state level, with Zelensky reiterating that direct engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin remains essential for resolving the conflict’s most complex issues.