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5jili Furthermore, international cooperation and collaboration have been instrumental in strengthening China's trade relations with key trading partners. By engaging in dialogues, negotiations, and partnerships with other countries and international organizations, China has fostered a more stable and mutually beneficial trade environment, promoting win-win outcomes for all parties involved.BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) — Bethlehem marked another somber Christmas Eve on Tuesday in the traditional birthplace of Jesus under the shadow of war in Gaza . The excitement and cheer that typically descends on the West Bank during Christmas week were nowhere to be found. The festive lights and giant tree that normally decorate Manger Square were missing, as were the throngs of foreign tourists that usually fill the square. Palestinian scouts marched silently through the streets, a departure from their usual raucous brass marching band. Security forces arranged barriers near the Church of the Nativity, built atop the spot where Jesus is believed to have been born. The cancellation of Christmas festivities is a severe blow to the town's economy. Tourism accounts for an estimated 70% of Bethlehem’s income — almost all from the Christmas season. Salman said unemployment is hovering around 50% — higher than the 30% unemployment across the rest of the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Finance Ministry. Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the top Roman Catholic cleric in the Holy Land, noted the shuttered shops and empty streets and expressed hope that next year would be better. “This has to be the last Christmas that is so sad,” he told hundreds of people gathered in Manger Square, where normally tens of thousands would congregate. Pizzaballa held a special pre-Christmas Mass in the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City. Several Palestinian Christians told the Associated Press that they have been displaced in the church since the war began in October of last year with barely enough food and water. “We hope by next year at the same day we’d be able to celebrate Christmas at our homes and go to Bethlehem,” said Najla Tarazi, a displaced woman. “We hope to celebrate in Jerusalem ... and for the war to end. This is the most important thing for us and the most important demand we have these days because the situation is really hard. We don’t feel happy.” The number of visitors to the town plunged from a pre-COVID high of around 2 million per year in 2019 to fewer than 100,000 in 2024, said Jiries Qumsiyeh, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Tourism Ministry. Bethlehem is an important center in the history of Christianity, but Christians make up only a small percentage of the roughly 14 million people spread across the Holy Land. There are about 182,000 in Israel, 50,000 in the West Bank and Jerusalem and 1,300 in Gaza, according to the U.S. State Department. After nightfall, the golden walls of the Church of the Nativity were illuminated as a few dozen people quietly milled about. A young boy stood holding a pile of balloons for sale, but gave up because there were no customers to buy them. The war in Gaza has deterred tourists and has prompted a surge of violence in the West Bank , with more than 800 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire and dozens of Israelis killed in militant attacks. Palestinian officials do not provide a breakdown of how many of the deceased are civilians and how many are fighters. Since the deadly Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that sparked the war , access to and from Bethlehem and other towns in the West Bank has been difficult, with long lines of motorists waiting to pass through Israeli military checkpoints. The restrictions have prevented some 150,000 Palestinians from leaving the territory to work in Israel, causing the economy there to contract by 25%. In the Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel, Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took more than 250 Israeli hostages. Israeli officials believe that around 100 hostages remain in captivity in the Gaza Strip. Elsewhere, Christmas celebrations were also subdued. Scores of Syrian Christians protested Tuesday in Damascus, demanding protection after the burning of a Christmas tree in Hama the day before. Videos and images shared on social media showed the large, decorated tree burning at a roundabout in Suqalabiyah, a town in the Hama countryside. It remains unclear who was responsible for setting the tree on fire. In a video that circulated on social media, a representative of Syria’s new leadership, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, could be seen visiting the site and addressing the community. He said: “This act was committed by people who are not Syrian, and they will be punished beyond your expectations.” German celebrations were darkened by a car attack on a Christmas market on Friday that left five people dead and 200 people injured. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier rewrote his annual recorded Christmas Day speech to address the attack. He plans to acknowledge that “there is grief, pain, horror and incomprehension over what took place in Magdeburg,” while urging Germans to “stand together,” according to an early copy of the speech. A snowstorm in the Balkans stranded drivers and downed power lines, but some saw the beauty in it. “I’m actually glad its falling, especially because of Christmas,” said Mirsad Jasarevic in Zenica, Bosnia. “We did not have snow for Christmas for 17 years here, and now is the time for wonderful white Christmas.” American Airlines briefly grounded flights across the U.S. on Tuesday due to a technical problem just as the Christmas travel season kicked into overdrive. Winter weather threatened more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive. Meanwhile, the flight-tracking site FlightAware reported that 1,447 flights entering or leaving the U.S., or serving domestic destinations, were delayed Tuesday, with 28 flights canceled. In the port of Barcelona, Spain, volunteers from the faith-based ministry Stella Maris visited seven ships docked there on Christmas Eve to deliver Nativity scenes and the local specialty of turrón (nougat candy) to seafarers. The volunteers met seafarers from India, the Philippines, Turkey and elsewhere, said Ricard Rodríguez-Martos, a Catholic deacon and former merchant marine captain who leads Stella Maris in this major Mediterranean harbor. Associated Press writers Wafaa Shurafa in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip, Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City and Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

In the end, the hearing may have concluded, but the repercussions will be felt for years to come. Manchester City's journey is far from over, and how they respond to this challenge will define their legacy in the world of football.

James Harden Sets The Record Straight On Why He Didn't Win With Rockets

DALLAS — This article was originally published by our content partners at the Dallas Business Journal. You can read the original article here . Heath May has been named the next CEO of Dallas-based HKS Inc., putting him in line to take over from longtime leader Dan Noble. The largest architecture firm based in Dallas announced on Dec. 17 that May will take over as chief executive officer and chairman in January 2026, after a year of transitioning and preparing for his new position as head of the company. May brings 20 years of experience at HKS to his new role as top dog, and currently serves as global practice director of HKS LINE, which stands for Laboratory of Intensive Exploration. He has led major projects for the firm like the design of Dallas’ Pacific Plaza Pavilion , the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California; and the CMTY Culture Campus in Los Angeles. In a statement, May said he is honored to step into this new role and looks forward to shaping the future of HKS and the industry. He said Noble's "commitment to fostering a culture of curiosity to boldly challenge the status quo has positioned HKS as a global leader in innovation and design thinking." Noble has been with HKS for more than 40 years and has been CEO and chair since 2014. "Seven years ago, we launched a strategic plan that set HKS on a new course," Noble said in a statement. "We challenged ourselves to think beyond architecture — to become a firm of problem solvers who innovate through design — within and beyond the built space." HKS said it has significantly expanded its global reach and diversified its portfolio with Noble as CEO, and is looking forward to May's "technology-enabled innovation." Noble added he is confident in Heath’s leadership abilities and is hopeful he will advance the firm forward. HKS was founded in 1939. It ranked No. 3 on Building Design + Construction's list of the largest design firms nationwide , based on 2023 revenue of $566.2 million. That was behind Gensler and and Perkins&Will. Leadership changes occurred at the firm earlier this year when CFO Sam Mudro was named president of HKS, which was a title formerly held by Noble. The firm decided to split the responsibilities of CEO and president as the company continued to show tremendous growth. In North Texas, the design firm is also known for designing for UT Southwestern’s and Children’s Health's forthcoming $5 billion pediatric campus and immersive live sports and event venue Cosm in The Colony , as well as upgrading AT&T stadium in preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup .

In conclusion, Xu Zhengyuan's holiday trip to the English Premier League was not just a leisurely escape, but a valuable learning experience that reaffirmed his commitment to continuous improvement and lifelong learning in football coaching. By observing a top-tier match, exchanging ideas with a respected colleague, and reminiscing with an old friend, Xu Zhengyuan gained new perspectives and inspiration that will undoubtedly benefit his coaching journey in the days to come.ALTOONA, Pa. — After UnitedHealthcare’s CEO was gunned down on a New York sidewalk, police searched for the masked gunman with dogs, drones and scuba divers. Officers used the city's muscular surveillance system. Investigators analyzed DNA samples, fingerprints and internet addresses. Police went door-to-door looking for witnesses. When an arrest came five days later, those sprawling investigative efforts shared credit with an alert civilian's instincts. A Pennsylvania McDonald's customer noticed another patron who resembled the man in the oblique security-camera photos that New York police had publicized. Luigi Nicholas Mangione, a 26-year-old Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family, was arrested Monday in the killing of Brian Thompson, who headed one of the United States’ largest medical insurance companies. He remained jailed in Pennsylvania, where he was initially charged with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police. By late evening, prosecutors in Manhattan had added a charge of murder, according to an online court docket. He's expected to be extradited to New York eventually. It’s unclear whether Mangione has an attorney who can comment on the allegations. Asked at Monday's arraignment whether he needed a public defender, Mangione asked whether he could “answer that at a future date.” Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after the McDonald's customer recognized him and notified an employee, authorities said. Police in Altoona, about 233 miles (375 kilometers) west of New York City, were soon summoned. They arrived to find Mangione sitting at a table in the back of the restaurant, wearing a blue medical mask and looking at a laptop, according to a Pennsylvania police criminal complaint. He initially gave them a fake ID, but when an officer asked Mangione whether he’d been to New York recently, he “became quiet and started to shake,” the complaint says. When he pulled his mask down at officers' request, “we knew that was our guy,” rookie Officer Tyler Frye said at a news conference in Hollidaysburg. New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a Manhattan news conference that Mangione was carrying a gun like the one used to kill Thompson and the same fake ID the shooter had used to check into a New York hostel, along with a passport and other fraudulent IDs. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Mangione also had a three-page, handwritten document that shows “some ill will toward corporate America." A law enforcement official who wasn’t authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity said the document included a line in which Mangione claimed to have acted alone. “To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone,” the document said, according to the official. It also had a line that said, “I do apologize for any strife or traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.” Pennsylvania prosecutor Peter Weeks said in court that Mangione was found with a passport and $10,000 in cash — $2,000 of it in foreign currency. Mangione disputed the amount. Thompson, 50, was killed last Wednesday as he walked alone to a midtown Manhattan hotel for an investor conference. Police quickly came to see the shooting as a targeted attack by a gunman who appeared to wait for Thompson, came up behind him and fired a 9 mm pistol. Investigators have said “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on ammunition found near Thompson’s body. The words mimic a phrase used to criticize the insurance industry. From surveillance video, New York investigators gathered that the shooter fled by bike into Central Park, emerged, then took a taxi to a northern Manhattan bus terminal. Once in Pennsylvania, he went from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, “trying to stay low-profile” by avoiding cameras, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Col. George Bivens said. A grandson of a wealthy, self-made real estate developer and philanthropist, Mangione is a cousin of a current Maryland state legislator. Mangione was valedictorian at his elite Baltimore prep school, where his 2016 graduation speech lauded his classmates’ “incredible courage to explore the unknown and try new things.” He went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in computer science in 2020 from the University of Pennsylvania, a spokesperson said. “Our family is shocked and devastated by Luigi’s arrest,” Mangione’s family said in a statement posted on social media late Monday by his cousin, Maryland lawmaker Nino Mangione. “We offer our prayers to the family of Brian Thompson and we ask people to pray for all involved.” Luigi Nicholas Mangione worked for a time for the car-buying website TrueCar and left in 2023, CEO Jantoon Reigersman said by email. From January to June 2022, Mangione lived at Surfbreak, a “co-living” space at the edge of Honolulu tourist mecca Waikiki. Like other residents of the shared penthouse catering to remote workers, Mangione underwent a background check, said Josiah Ryan, a spokesperson for owner and founder R.J. Martin. “Luigi was just widely considered to be a great guy. There were no complaints,” Ryan said. "There was no sign that might point to these alleged crimes they’re saying he committed.” At Surfbreak, Martin learned Mangione had severe back pain from childhood that interfered with many aspects of his life, from surfing to romance, Ryan said. “He went surfing with R.J. once but it didn’t work out because of his back," Ryan said, but noted that Mangione and Martin often went together to a rock-climbing gym. Mangione left Surfbreak to get surgery on the mainland, Ryan said, then later returned to Honolulu and rented an apartment. Martin stopped hearing from Mangione six months to a year ago. Although the gunman obscured his face during the shooting, he left a trail of evidence in New York, including a backpack he ditched in Central Park, a cellphone found in a pedestrian plaza, a water bottle and a protein bar wrapper. In the days after the shooting, the NYPD collected hundreds of hours of surveillance video and released multiple clips and still images in hopes of enlisting the public’s eyes to help find a suspect. “This combination of old-school detective work and new-age technology is what led to this result today,” Tisch said at the New York news conference. ___

Current and former Arizona Wildcats are making news. We’ve got views. News : The UA men’s basketball team blows out Southern Utah to get back to .500. Michael Lev is a senior writer/columnist for the Arizona Daily Star , Tucson.com and The Wildcaster . Views : It’s interesting — though hardly unusual — that Tommy Lloyd is still tinkering with roles and rotations. Remember 2022-23? Arizona’s season took off after Pelle Larsson moved from the starting lineup to the sixth-man role. That happened Jan. 19. KJ Lewis thrived coming off the bench vs. Southern Utah, playing perhaps the best all-around game of his career. His 15-point performance on 6-of-7 shooting with eight rebounds, five assists and two steals earned a career-best “game score” of 17.8, per Sports-Reference.com . Lewis as the sixth man might be the way the pieces fit together best. We’ll see. The other notable development from that game was the spark Conrad Martinez provided off the pine. The sophomore played a career-high 15 minutes and tied his career best with four assists without committing a turnover. (He has yet to commit a turnover in 44 minutes this season.) Arizona guard Conrad Martinez, shown vs. Old Dominion on Nov. 9, played a career-high 15 minutes vs. Southern Utah and played well, giving Tommy Lloyd another option to consider when assessing his lineup rotations. StatBroadcast.com tracks an advanced metric called “floor%,” which it defines as “the percentage of a player’s possessions on which at least one point is scored.” Martinez clocked in at 100% vs. the Thunderbirds. Of course, doing that against SUU is not the same as doing it vs. UCLA, Arizona’s opponent Saturday in Phoenix. Even Lloyd, who’s been Martinez’s biggest advocate, has been hesitant to give him extended minutes against anyone but mid-majors. But amid this process of figuring out who the 2024-25 Wildcats are, it might be time for Lloyd to give Martinez some run. He’s the only pure point guard Arizona has. News : The UA women’s basketball team loses to Grand Canyon to fall to 7-4. Views : Someone asked me an intriguing question the other day: “How is the women’s team doing compared to the men’s team?” My response: “The women have a better record but against lesser teams. If you’re going by the eyeball test, the men are actually better.” Arizona coach Adia Barnes communicates with her team during the second half of the game against Grand Canyon in McKale Center on Dec. 5, 2024. It's been a rough stretch for Adia Barnes’ team, which began the season 5-0, including a quality win over UNLV. The Wildcats have gone 2-4 since, including losses to both in-state mid-majors, NAU and GCU. Ouch. Barnes’ squad is still young — most of the main rotation players are sophomores or freshmen — and there’s still time for growth and maturation. The offense, in particular, needs a lot of work. The Wildcats remain under water in assist-to-turnover ratio and it’d take a dramatic turnaround for them to rise to the surface. Arizona is averaging 12.7 assists and 19.6 turnovers per game. The latter ranks 299th nationally . The Wildcats’ 0.65 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks 15th in the 16-team Big 12. Barnes has her share of critics, especially when it comes to coaching offense. But she hasn’t had a team with an assist-to-turnover ratio this lopsided since 2016-17, her first season as Arizona’s head coach. It’s actually impressive that the Wildcats’ record is as good as it is with an assist-to-turnover ratio that’s that bad. News : UA junior offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea declares for the 2025 NFL Draft. Views : This was an expected move by the three-year starter, who, I’m told, is a top-50 prospect for next year’s draft. He has popped up in the bottom half of the first round in many mock drafts and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if he came off the board on the first night. Savaiinaea is more likely to play guard than tackle in the NFL, but I wouldn’t bet against him. He seamlessly moved from right guard to right tackle to left tackle during his UA career. When he first moved from the right side to the left side this year, he did so without having taken any practice reps there. I can’t begin to tell you how difficult that is. Savaiinaea probably wasn’t as effective a player as he would have been had he remained at one position. But the fact that he put the team’s needs above his own will endear him to NFL organizations. Arizona offensive lineman Jonah Savaiinaea (71) lines up against TCU linebacker Cooper McDonald (44) during the first half of their game Nov. 23, 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas. The other aspect of Savaiinaea’s UA career that separates him from others: He started — and was a reliable performer — from Day One. Offensive linemen typically require the longest developmental timeline. Not Big Jonah. He was plug-and-play. Aside from his natural size — he carries 330-plus pounds on his 6-foot-5 frame with ease — and athletic ability, Savaiinaea possesses ideal makeup. I’ve yet to hear a negative word about his character or work ethic. News : UA football signs 20 players for the class of 2025. Views : The Wildcats undoubtedly would have placed higher in the team rankings if they hadn’t lost quarterback Robert McDaniel to UCLA. Rivals ranks Arizona’s class — high school and JC recruits only — ninth in the Big 12, while 247Sports has the UA 11th. I have the utmost respect for my colleagues who scour the prep ranks to rate players, but I’m sure even they would concede it’s easier to grade skill-position players than linemen. A quarter of the Wildcats’ class consists of offensive linemen. They need to hit on at least two or three of them. In the stellar class of 2022 , Savaiinaea was a relative unknown from Hawaii who had minimal camp exposure because of the pandemic. He was the eighth-ranked player among Arizona’s signees that year, per 247Sports, behind Tetairoa McMillan, Rayshon Luke, Keyan Burnett, Ephesians Prysock, Sterling Lane II, Kevin Green Jr. and Jonah Coleman. That’s five skill-position players, a cornerback and an edge rusher if you’re scoring at home. The only team ranking that truly matters anymore is what 247Sports now calls the “overall rank” — recruits plus transfers. We won’t know how that shakes out for a while. But we’re already getting an idea of who won’t be back. Arizona linebacker Jacob Manu (5) indicates a turnover on downs after the Wildcat defense swarmed Northern Arizona running back Darvon Hubbard (23) in the first quarter on Aug. 31 at Arizona Stadium. News : Twenty UA players (and counting) enter the transfer portal, including linebacker Jacob Manu. Views : Nothing surprises me when it comes to the portal, but Manu putting himself out there comes close. Every indication — as recently as this past weekend — was that Manu was going to stick around. Then he decided to bet on himself at a time when his stock isn’t exactly soaring. Manu suffered what’s believe to be a torn ACL on Oct. 19 vs. Colorado. The typical recovery timeline is about nine months, so Manu is looking at a summer return at best. He is an undersized linebacker — generously listed at 5-11 — whose game isn’t for everyone. Manu can be a disruptive force (17 tackles for loss in 32 career games), but he also plays out of control at times (37 career missed tackles, per Pro Football Focus ). Given his health status, a program would have to take a leap of faith to invest in Manu. He’d be an asset in any locker room, but there’s no telling when he’ll be back to form physically. Manu also was part of the 2022 signing class. As of this writing, only eight of those 23 players remain with Arizona — and that includes McMillan, who’s certain to declare for the draft. Players who stick with one school for the entirety of their college careers are increasingly rare these days. When the coach who recruited them leaves for another job, that effect is exacerbated. Regardless, this feels like the end of an era that was all-too-fleeting. An all-time great recruiting class in 2022. A glorious 10-win season in ’23. A step back in ’24. Uncertainty entering ’25. Contact sports reporter/columnist Michael Lev at mlev@tucson.com . On X (Twitter): @michaeljlev. On Bluesky: @ michaeljlev.bsky.social Respond: Write a letter to the editor | Write a guest opinion Subscribe to stay connected to Tucson. A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sports Reporter/Columnist