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TOKYO (AP) — Meet the world’s oldest female barber: She is 108 but the slender, white-haired Japanese woman has no plans to retire anytime soon. Shitsui Hakoishi says the formal recognition by the Guinness World Records this week brought her much joy — other than her satisfied customers, that is. She was presented with an official certificate from the international franchise on Wednesday. Guinness World Records has a separate category for male barbers but the man who was certified at age 107 in 2018, Anthony Mancinelli of the United States, has died in the meantime, leaving Hakoishi as the only…

Emma Raducanu revealed on Tuesday she “couldn’t see the ball through the tears” after being targeted by a stalker during last month’s Dubai Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) 1000 tournament. The British tennis star was left distraught after a man later said to be displaying “fixated behavior” appeared at a courtside seat during her defeat to Karolina Muchova. The man was escorted away by security, subsequently given a restraining order and banned from attending WTA Tour events. Former US Open champion Raducanu, 22, is making her first tournament appearance since her troubled Dubai campaign at this week’s event in California. Speaking…

PARIS: Real Madrid eked out a 2-1 home victory over crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid, while Arsenal and Aston Villa scored emphatic first-leg victories as the Champions League last 16 kicked off on Tuesday. In the night’s fourth tie, Lille gained a 1-1 draw at Borussia Dortmund. At the Santiago Bernabeu, Real, who sit third in La Liga, edged Atletico, who are second, in a game illuminated by three dazzling goals. Real took the lead on four minutes when Rodrygo Goes dribbled in from the right and placed a shot inside the far post. The visitors gradually gained control and levelled…

LAHORE: Back at their favoured hunting ground, on a Gaddafi Stadium pitch offering little spin, New Zealand batters Rachin Ravindra and Kane Willamson set the tone for their side with sterling centuries in their Champions Trophy semi-final victory against South Africa. Having come together following the departure of Ravinda’s opening partner Will Young, the duo stitched a 164-run stand to flay the South African bowlers and guide their side to an imposing 362-6 after skipper Mitchell Santner had elected to bat. Ravindra helped Willia­mson bide his time, being the aggressor in their stand, racing to his fifth ODI century in…

LAHORE: The spin web proved too tough for South Africa to handle as they looked to climb a mountainous target against New Zealand. Though David Miller did entertain the crowd in the end with a rearguard 67-ball unbeaten century which he achieved on the very last ball of the innings, the writing was always on the wall for Temba Bavuma and his brigade in the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday night. As South African wickets started to fall regularly after the departure of Rassie van der Dussen who was undone by an unplayable delivery…

To the players who called her “Coach B,” Beulah Osueke was more than just a coach.Some looked at her as a parent. Others, as an older sister. Sometimes she was their financier. Often she was their disciplinarian.Osueke, 35, was whoever the girls basketball players at West Catholic Prep, a high school in Philadelphia, needed her to be — an experience that opened her eyes to their world of hardships.Coaching helped her understand “the magnitude of injustice and how it manifests so early,” Osueke said, “and how it thwarts people’s — particularly Black people’s — opportunity to reach whatever dreams they…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Elevated mortgage rates and rising home prices are freezing out many would-be buyers, keeping the U.S. housing market in a sales slump dating back to 2022.While home sales are off to a soft start this year, it hasn’t been all bad news for home shoppers.The average rate on a 30-year mortgage, while still near 7%, has been easing in recent weeks. And the inventory of homes for sale is up sharply from a year ago, which makes for a more buyer-friendly market than in recent years.Still, after years of skyrocketing home prices, these trends may not…

Ambassador to the UK recalled after comparing Trump’s bid to end the war in Ukraine to the appeasement of Nazi Germany.New Zealand has sacked its ambassador to the United Kingdom after the diplomat publicly questioned United States President Donald Trump’s understanding of the events that precipitated World War II. The office of New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said on Thursday that High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Phil Goff’s position was “untenable” following his remarks during a panel discussion in London. New Zealand’s ministry of foreign affairs said it was in discussions with Goff about his return home and…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The day after her house burned down, Lara Ganz sent a group message to the youth theater troupe she runs: They would not let the Los Angeles firestorm stop their upcoming show.“So many of our castmates have lost everything,” wrote Ganz, the director of youth theater at a beloved playhouse in the Pacific Palisades. “We will continue with rehearsals. I am confident we will find a stage.”The devastating Jan. 7 fire gutted every inch of the 125-seat Pierson Playhouse, from the basement to the roof, leaving behind only a mangled steel skeleton. Many of the young…

NEW YORK (AP) — Columbia University senior Maryam Alwan was visiting family in Jordan over winter break when she received an email from the school accusing her of harassment. Her supposed top offense: writing an op-ed in the student newspaper calling for divestment from Israel.The university has launched a flurry of investigations, led by a new disciplinary committee — the Office of Institutional Equity — to identify Columbia students who have expressed criticism of Israel, according to records shared with The Associated Press.In recent weeks, it has sent notices to dozens of students for activities ranging from sharing social media…