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Lukashenko to Iran: Let’s be BFFs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:16 GMT

Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko said Tuesday that Belarus and Iran should work “closely” together to counter attacks from the West.The Belarusian president also accused “unfriendly countries” — such as the U.S. and other Western nations — of using never-ending Middle East tensions to poke Iran.“The situation in the world is heating up,” Lukashenko told Iran’s Vice President Mohammad Mokhber in Minsk on Tuesday, according to Belarusian news agency Belta. “Our answer is: We should work more closely with each other, cooperate to counter these attacks,” he added.Iran and Belarus have a longstanding diplomatic relationship. Earlier this year, Lukashenko visited Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran and the leaders signed a “cooperation roadmap” between the two countries.“The pressure exerted on our states is unprecedented,” Lukashenko told Mokhber. “But you have already learned to resist it to some extent, and your experience is valuable for us....

Macron wants an ‘amorous,’ not ‘bureaucratic’ EU enlargement process

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:16 GMT

French President Emmanuel Macron during a visit to Albania on Tuesday said he wanted a more “amorous” than “bureaucratic” EU enlargement process in his bid to accelerate “the reunification of Europe.” Macron took a swipe at the “cold and bureaucratic machinery” in Brussels, saying the process of joining the EU should be more political and less technical, involving economic investments during the accession talks and better political engagement with leaders of aspiring countries.“We need to help with proofs of love. I hope that in the coming months we Europeans will find a way to reunite [our Continent],” he said alongside Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama at a press conference.Macron’s serenading in Tirana came several months after the French president signaled a French U-turn on enlargement, calling for the EU to grow and reform in the face of global instability.Questioned about France’s decision to oppose the op...

King of Jordan tells Olaf Scholz: We won’t take refugees from Gaza

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:16 GMT

The king of Jordan poured cold water on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s hopes that neighboring Arab countries could take in Palestinian refugees who are fleeing the Gaza Strip ahead of an anticipated ground offensive by the Israeli army.The rebuff by King Abdullah II was made Tuesday morning at a press conference with Scholz following a meeting in the chancellery in Berlin, which Scholz also used to issue a warning to Iran and to Hezbollah against intervening in the Israel-Hamas conflict.“I think I can speak here on behalf of Jordan … but also our friends in Egypt: This is a red line … no refugees to Jordan and also no refugees to Egypt,” King Abdullah said at the press conference.The remarks come just ahead of a trip by Scholz to Israel and Egypt, where the chancellor hopes to de-escalate tensions and improve the situation for Palestinians seeking to flee the conflict zone. A main hope for Scholz and other Western leaders is that Egypt could open its border with G...

Fire rips through liquor store in Grafton

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:16 GMT

Fire crews battled a blaze that scorched a strip mall on Main Street in Grafton on Monday night. Images shared by the Westboro Fire Department showed firefighters using a ladder truck to fight the flames from above.The fire damaged at least two businesses at the strip mall.https://twitter.com/WestboroughFire/status/1714117564224205224The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The evolution of Ravens safety Geno Stone: ‘Every time I get put into situations, good things happen’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:16 GMT

It was late in the third quarter and the Ravens were clinging to a five-point lead in what was an all-too-familiar scenario.Four minutes earlier, safety Kyle Hamilton had been ejected for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Titans receiver Chris Moore. The personal foul moved Tennessee to the Ravens’ 15-yard line, and one play later Derrick Henry dashed through a gaping hole on the left, bounced outside, flicking safety Marcus Williams off him like a gnat, and into the end zone. In less than 30 seconds, the Ravens had gone from a comfortable cushion to the precipice of blowing another double-digit lead to an inferior opponent.Going back to last season, six of their past nine losses — including two this year — had come in games in which they led by at least 10 points.As the 6-foot-3, 247-pound Henry rumbled into the end zone, the last player to get a hit on him was safety Geno Stone, who’d raced across the field from the back side of the play and lowered his shoulde...

Legal challenge to dethrone South Africa’s Zulu king heads to court

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:16 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The battle for the throne of South Africa’s ethnic Zulu nation has reached the courts as a faction of the royal family seeks to dethrone the king after less than a year.The North Gauteng High Court in the capital Pretoria is hearing legal arguments this week in the royal succession battle between King Misuzulu kaZwelithini and his half-brother, Prince Simakade Zulu, who believes he is entitled to be king.The Zulu nation is the largest ethnic group in South Africa with an estimated 12 million Zulu-speaking people, predominantly in the KwaZulu-Natal region.They are acknowledged for resisting British colonialism in the early 1800s and the Zulu king is arguably the most influential traditional leader in South Africa.Prince Simakade wants the court to overturn President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recognition of King Misuzulu as the rightful heir. He is disputing the traditional and legal processes followed to appoint Misuzulu, and his lawyers have told the court that Ramaphosa...

Emotional reunions at Pearson airport as Canadians arrive from Israel

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:16 GMT

Toronto’s Pearson airport was the scene of a number of emotional reunions on Monday as hundreds of Canadians arrive home from Israel following 10 days of war in the region.“She looks tired, as I expected,” said Adi Waksman as she greeted her 86-year-old mother Mary who just got off a flight from Athens. “But she looks good.”Mary was one of 273 passengers aboard the fourth Air Canada repatriation flight. Those flights are carrying Canadians and their families who fled from Tel Aviv to Greece via Canadian military planes in the wake of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas militants.Modya Silver’s daughters were on the same flight as Mary and he tells CityNews their safe arrival marks the end of 10 days of fear and uncertainty for his family. His 18-year-old daughter Maayan studies in Israel and her younger sister was visiting when Hamas launched its surprise attack on Oct. 7.“I’ve really been in a frozen state, completely numb,”...

Live updates | GOP will make another attempt at seating House speaker with Jim Jordan’s nomination

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:16 GMT

The House of Representatives is set to vote on Jim Jordan’s nomination for speaker on Tuesday afternoon, two weeks after the chamber ousted Kevin McCarthy from the top spot.Jordan was scrambling to shore up the votes needed to clinch the vote in the closely divided chamber. He can likely only lose a few GOP votes to win the nod.What to knowJim Jordan’s rapid rise has been cheered by Trump and the far rightHow the vote for a new speaker worksScalise ends bid to become speaker as holdouts refuse to back himMcCarthy was an early architect of the GOP majority that became his downfallSpeaker McCarthy ousted in historic House voteShowdown for the gavelRepublicans are gearing up for another attempt at seating a House speaker, hoping to elevate a chief ally of Donald Trump’s to a center seat of U.S. power.The House is scheduled to start voting at noon in what could become a showdown for the gavel. At least a handful of holdout Republicans are refusing to give Jordan their votes,...

Greta Thunberg joins activists to disrupt oil executives’ forum in London

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:16 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Greta Thunberg joined dozens of climate activists outside a central London hotel on Tuesday to disrupt a meeting of oil and gas company executives.Five people were arrested on suspicion of obstructing a highway during the protest targeting the Energy Intelligence Forum, which is hosting speakers including the chief executives of Saudi Arabia’s Aramco and Norway’s Equinor as well as the U.K.’s energy security minister. Protesters attempted to block access to the conference venue, the InterContinental Hotel on Park Lane, by sitting on the sidewalk by the entrance. They held aloft banners and chanted “oily money out” and “cancel the conference,” while some lit yellow and pink smoke flares.Greenpeace activists abseiled down from the roof of the hotel to unfurl a banner reading “make big oil pay.” The protesters accuse fossil fuel companies of deliberately slowing the global energy transition to renewables in order to make more profit.“The world is drownin...

The mother of an Israeli woman in a Hamas hostage video appeals for her release

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:58:16 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The mother of a young Israeli woman held by Hamas appealed for her release on Tuesday, calling the seizure of some 200 hostages by the Palestinian militant group “a crime against humanity.”A day earlier, Hamas’ military wing released a video showing a dazed Mia Schem, 21, having her arm wrapped with bandages. It was the first sign of life from any of the hostages since Gaza-based gunmen smashed through border fortifications on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,400 people in Israel.“I didn’t know if she’s dead or alive until yesterday,” her mother, Keren Schem, said at a news conference. “All I knew is that she might be kidnapped. I’m begging the world to bring my baby back home. She only went to a party, to a festival party to have some fun. Now she’s in Gaza.”Mia Schem was seized at a desert rave just over the border from Gaza that became the site of what is believed to be the worst civilian massacre in Israeli history. At least 260 people were gunned down as heavily arm...