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Admitting Ukraine will be the EU’s biggest geopolitical contribution to the war

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:53 GMT

Mujtaba Rahman is the head of Eurasia Group’s Europe practice and a columnist for POLITICO Europe. He tweets at @Mij_Europe.The European Commission finally delivered its long-anticipated oral report on Ukraine’s progress last month, looking at the headway made toward the seven reforms the country will need to pass if European Union leaders are to green-light opening accession negotiations with Kyiv.On reforms relating to the judiciary, Kyiv received a broadly positive assessment, albeit more needs to be done. And the same goes for tackling vested interests in the media as well. On the prevention of money laundering, the fight against corruption, reducing the influence of oligarchs and the protection of minorities, however, Ukraine still has a lot more to do, and it will now have until the fall to demonstrate further progress before European capitals consider a fuller written assessment.What was crucially missing from this initial analysis, though, was the EU’s own preparedness for a...

Dancing with the far right doesn’t pay off

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:53 GMT

Kristina Kausch is a senior fellow and resident representative, Spain, at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Vassilis Ntousas is the head of European operations at the Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.Sunday’s general election in Spain was a turning point in Spanish politics — but in much a different way than anticipated.The European Union’s fourth largest economy went to the polls expecting a landslide for a conservative coalition, which would have allowed a far-right party to claim some governing power at the national level for the first time in modern Spain’s 45-year democratic history. But in defiance of the polls, and much to everyone’s surprise, the vote became a plebiscite in favor of the political center.While the conservative People’s Party (PP), led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, made great gains and emerged as a narrow winner with 33 percent of the vote, it failed to muster the necessary parliamentary majority to gover...

Sex, lies and stolen sunglasses: The 11 most embarrassing political resignations

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:53 GMT

It’s not every day that a pair of sunglasses causes your downfall. But that’s what happened to Bjørnar Moxnes, a Norwegian left-wing party leader who was caught on camera stealing a pair of luxury sunglasses from Oslo airport.“A lot of people have asked me how I could do something so stupid. I’ve asked myself that many times in recent weeks. I don’t have an adequate explanation,” Moxnes wrote on Facebook.In honor of Moxnes’ fall from grace, POLITICO brings you some of the most embarrassing resignations in European politics (and there were a lot to choose from). From sex scandals to misused government funds to petty theft, here are 11 of the most shameful examples with a facepalm ranking from 1 (yikes, that’s embarrassing) to 5 (dear lord, what have you done?). Tractor Porn UK Conservative MP Neil Parish resigned after being caught watching porn in the House of Commons chamber in 2022. Parish claimed it was a “moment of madness” and said he chanced upon the of...

Feijóo’s numbers don’t add up

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:53 GMT

MADRID — Alberto Núñez Feijóo may not want to admit it but his hope of being Spain’s next prime minister may have to be lowered. On Monday night, the leader of the center-right Popular Party, which won the most votes in last Sunday’s national election in Spain but fell short of securing a governing majority, was left without options to form a government after two key regional parties rejected his overtures.To become Spain’s prime minister, a candidate whose party has not secured a governing majority needs to either get the backing of 176 of the total 350 MPs in an initial vote in parliament or wait for a second round of voting to secure a simple majority. MPs can also abstain, which means it can be difficult to determine the exact number of seats needed for a successful bid to form a government.In a speech after a meeting of the Popular Party’s executive committee, Feijóo reaffirmed his determination to gather the support needed to advance with his candidacy,...

Hotel in Boston evacuated due to high carbon monoxide levels

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:53 GMT

The DoubleTree hotel on Washington Street in Boston was evacuated Tuesday night due to high levels of carbon monoxide, the Boston Fire Department said.The fire department in a tweet said crews had evacuated all rooms in the hotel as of around 10:20 p.m. Fire crews were spotted still on scene around 10:30 p.m.No further information was immediately available. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Column: Pedro Grifol takes the blame for the Chicago White Sox’s flop, seeks a change in culture

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:53 GMT

The City Series has had some memorable managerial moments over the years, from Lou Piniella ripping broadcaster Steve Stone in a pregame rant to Ozzie Guillen kicking catcher Geovany Soto’s mask.I’m not exactly sure where Pedro Grifol’s “mea culpa” on Tuesday rates in the 26 years I’ve been covering these interleague games, but it was interesting to hear the White Sox manager take the blame for the underachieving ways of his team.“There’s a ton of different components, and we’re addressing them all,” Grifol said before the game against the Cubs. “All of them. There’s no stone unturned here, believe me, when it comes to us trying to get this thing right, trying to finish strong and move on to next season.“There’s a style of baseball that we want to play. There’s a culture that we want to build. It hasn’t happened, and that’s on me. On me, nobody else. That’s on me.”I̵...

Israeli doctors walk off the job, and more strikes may loom after a law weakening courts passed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:53 GMT

By ISABEL DEBRE and JULIA FRANKEL (Associated Press)JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of Israeli doctors walked off their jobs, labor leaders threatened a general strike and senior justices rushed home from a trip abroad on Tuesday, a day after the government’s approval of a law that weakens the country’s Supreme Court. Critics say the legislation will erode the system of checks and balances.Four leading Israeli newspapers covered their front pages in black ink — an ominous image paid for by an alliance of high-tech companies. The only words on the pages were in a line at the bottom: “A black day for Israeli democracy.”Monday’s vote — on the first of a series of measures that make up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive judicial overhaul — reverberated across the country. It came despite seven months of fierce popular resistance, Netanyahu’s promises of an eventual compromise and a rare warning against the overhaul f...

San Diego homeless encampment ban begins Sunday, in certain areas

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:53 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego's homeless encampment ordinance will go into effect on Sunday. The city said it will first focus its enforcement efforts on the unhoused living in the street and in tents within two a block radius of schools and parks. “It'll be a gradual implementation," Councilmember Stephen Whitburn said in an interview with FOX 5 Tuesday. “Those will be the areas we will be starting with and gradually will be expanding the enforcement and implementation of the ordinance to all public property in the city of San Diego.” Beginning Sunday, law enforcement can enforce the ban. Authorities will first offer a shelter bed to someone living on the street, if they decline, they will get a warning. On the second contact, law enforcement can give a misdemeanor citation. If they decline shelter for a third time, a custodial arrest can be made.“We have been reaching out to individuals who are currently living on the streets and in the parks, and letting them know that the ordinance is ...

Maine lawmakers endorse proposal that would jumpstart offshore wind projects

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:53 GMT

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine is poised to launch an offshore wind program that would meet clean energy goals and produce enough power for about 900,000 homes from floating wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine.The legislation, which was endorsed by lawmakers Tuesday, calls for requests for proposals to be issued for 3,000 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind turbines by 2040. That’s enough electricity to power about half of Maine’s electricity load. “This bill means jobs. It means lower, more stable energy prices, while at the same time addressing climate change. We need to pass this bill now,” said Democratic Sen. Mark Lawrence, the bill’s sponsor.Legislation was revised, combined with another bill and reintroduced to address Democratic Gov. Janet Mills’ concerns about labor agreements, causing her to veto an earlier bill. The offshore wind bill passed both chambers of the Legislature in initial votes Tuesday.Approval puts Maine on a path to catch up with other states that...

Hunter Biden’s guilty plea is on the horizon, and so are a fresh set of challenges

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:31:53 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, faced new challenges on the eve of a scheduled court appearance Wednesday in which he’s set to plead guilty in a deal with prosecutors on tax and gun charges.On Capitol Hill, where Republicans are ramping up their investigations of the president and his son, the GOP chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee took the unusual step of filing court documents urging the judge in Hunter Biden’s case to consider testimony from IRS whistleblowers. The whistleblowers alleged the Justice Department interfered with investigations into Biden, a charge that has been denied by the lead prosecutor in the case, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, who was also appointed by Trump, will consider whether to accept the plea agreement. Judges rarely throw out plea bargains, but the effort to intervene by Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith of Missouri amounted to a high...