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Norway expels 15 Russian diplomats for intelligence activities

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:49 GMT

Norway expelled 15 Russian embassy officials from the country for engaging in activities that are “not compatible with their diplomatic status.”Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt said that the expulsion of the “intelligence officers” is an “important step” in countering Russian intelligence activity in Norway, which has increased as a result of the Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, according to the ministry. Norway is a member of the NATO military alliance and shares a border with Russia in the Arctic.“We want Russia to continue to have a functioning diplomatic mission in Norway, but we will not accept that diplomatic missions are misused for the purposes of carrying out covert intelligence activities,” Huitfeldt said.The officers concerned must leave Norway “shortly,” according to a ministry statement published on Thursday. The ministry has monitored the activities of these intelligence officers...

European data regulators set up ChatGPT taskforce

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:49 GMT

European data protection authorities today set up a task force to cooperate and exchange information on enforcing EU laws on ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) made the announcement after several European regulators asked for more coordination on the AI chatbot, which is facing growing scrutiny. The Italian privacy regulator in late March started investigating the U.S. company and ordered a temporary ban on ChatGPT’s processing of Italian users’ personal data over alleged violations of laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).OpenAI has not set up a local headquarters in one of the European Union’s 27 countries, which means any member country’s data protection authority can launch new investigations and enforce bans.

Pentagon leak leads to limits on who gets access to military’s top secrets

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:49 GMT

(CNN) — The Pentagon has begun to limit who across the government receives its highly classified daily intelligence briefs following a major leak of classified information discovered last week.Some US officials who used to receive the briefing materials daily have stopped receiving it in recent days, sources familiar with the matter told CNN, as the Pentagon’s Joint Staff continues to whittle down its distribution lists.The Joint Staff, which comprises the Defense Department’s most senior uniformed leadership that advises the president, began examining its distribution lists immediately after learning of the trove of leaked classified documents — many of which had markings indicating that they had been produced by the Joint Staff’s intelligence arm, known as the J2.All the email lists have been reviewed, a senior defense official said, and some restrictions may only be temporary. Everyone on the lists had proper clearance, but not everyone nee...

Facial fractures and the fight back link 3 Yankees

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:49 GMT

Sitting by his locker at Camden Yards, Willie Calhoun pointed to the parts of his face and forearm where metal lies beneath his skin.The Yankees outfielder can feel the plates chill below the surface when he plays in cold temperatures, but he’s embraced the hardware. “There’s not many more places that they can hit me where I’m not protected at least,” he recently told The Daily News.A pair of hit-by-pitches made that metal necessary. The first, a 95-mph spring training fastball from Dodgers southpaw Julio Urias, struck the lefty-swinging Calhoun in the mouth in 2020 while still a member of the Rangers. The career-derailing heater shattered Calhoun’s jaw, required an air-lift to the hospital for surgery, and jumpstarted a years-long stretch that left the former top prospect feeling “gun shy” and “timid” at the plate.While facial fractures are not an everyday occurrence in the majors, two of Calhoun’s teammates can rela...

Are Dolphins done at linebacker after adding David Long inside, Malik Reed outside this offseason?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:49 GMT

Linebacker was known to be a position where change was coming this offseason for the Miami Dolphins, specifically inside linebacker.The Dolphins, transitioning to Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator, got more athletic at the position in signing David Long Jr., formerly of the Tennessee Titans, while letting Elandon Roberts go to the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency.Long can immediately be plugged into the starting lineup alongside Jerome Baker inside. On the edge, Miami returns a standout tandem of Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips that is expected to produce in their first full season together.Behind Baker and Long, the Dolphins re-signed Duke Riley at inside linebacker, plus they have 2022 third-round pick Channing Tindall back after he barely played defensively as a rookie. At outside linebacker, Miami brought back Andrew Van Ginkel and acquired Malik Reed to provide depth and a rotation when Chubb and Phillips need a breather.A decision on veteran former Pro Bowler Melvin Ingr...

Dolphins NFL draft options: Linebackers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:49 GMT

The South Florida Sun Sentinel continues its eight-part series previewing top players in the 2023 NFL draft (April 27-29) with linebackers. The Dolphins added David Long Jr., which is a nice acquisition considering his experience and athleticism. The inside linebacker has a low-key role in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s 3-4 system but they remain essential to stopping the run, and it’s always nice to get the guys who can stay on the field for three downs.Drew Sanders, ArkansasSanders (6 foot 4, 235 pounds), a transfer from Alabama, can fight off blocks in the running game and cover ground in the passing game. Sanders had 105 tackles, 9.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception last season, showing off an all-around game that features play-making abilities.Noah Sewell, OregonSewell (6-1, 246), the younger brother of Detroit offensive tackle Penei Sewell, totaled 56 tackles and one interception last season. He’s a bit old-school from the standpoint heR...

Mary Quant, designer who epitomized Swinging 60s, dies at 93

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:49 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Mary Quant, the visionary fashion designer whose colorful, sexy miniskirts epitomized Swinging London in the 1960s and influenced youth culture around the world, has died, her family said. She was 93.Quant helped popularize the miniskirt — some credit her with inventing it — and the innovative tights that went along with it, creating dresses and accessories that were an integral part of the look. She created mix-and-match, simple garments that had an element of whimsy. Some compared her impact on the fashion world to the Beatles’ impact on pop music.“I think it was a happy confluence of events, which is really what fashion is so often all about,” said Hamish Bowles, international editor at large for American Vogue magazine. “She was the right person with the right sensibility in the right place at the right time. She appeared on the scene at the exact cusp of the ’60s.”He said Quant was also an astute businesswoman who was one of the first to understand how branding on...

Hudbay Minerals strikes all-stock deal to buy Copper Mountain Mining worth US$439M

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:49 GMT

TORONTO — Hudbay Minerals Inc. says it has struck a deal to buy Copper Mountain Mining Corp. in an all-stock deal it valued at US$439 million.The companies say the combination will create an Americas-focused copper mining company with an operating portfolio of three long-life mines, as well as a pipeline of copper expansion and development projects.Under the agreement, Copper Mountain shareholders will receive 0.381 of a Hudbay share for each Copper Mountain common share held.The companies say the proposal represents a 23 per cent premium based on Hudbay’s and Copper Mountain’s 10-day volume-weighted-average share prices on April 12.The deal, which requires approval by a two-thirds majority vote by Copper Mountain shareholders and a simple majority vote by Hudbay shareholders, is also subject to closing conditions including regulatory and court approvals.Once the transaction is complete, Hudbay shareholders will own about 76 per cent of the combined company, while Copper...

US wholesale inflation pressures eased sharply last month

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. wholesale prices fell last month, a sign that inflationary pressures in the economy are easing more than a year after the Federal Reserve began aggressively raising interest rates.From February to March, the government’s producer price index dropped 0.5% as energy prices plunged after having been unchanged from January to February. Compared with a year ago, wholesale prices were up 2.7% in March, down significantly from a 4.7% year-over-increase increase in February.The Labor Department’s producer price index reflects prices charged by manufacturers, farmers and wholesalers. It can provide an early sign of how fast consumer inflation will rise.Wholesale inflation has come down steadily — from a record 11.7% year-over-year increase in March 2022 — since the Fed began raising its benchmark interest rate to fight the worst inflation bout in four decades. Beginning in March of last year, the Fed has raised its key short-term rate nine times and is expected t...

President Joe Biden in Ireland: ‘It’s an honor to return’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:49 GMT

DUBLIN (AP) — After spending most of a day on a whirlwind countryside tour of his ancestry, President Joe Biden is turning back to diplomacy on Thursday, with an address to the Irish parliament and meetings with the country’s leaders, and Ukraine is high on the agenda.In his first stop of the day, Biden met with President Michael D. Higgins at the president’s grand Dublin residence. The two octogenarian leaders clasped hands and laughed together as they walked the red carpet inside, where Biden signed the guest book with a writerly missive for Ireland’s poet-president: “As the Irish saying goes, your feet will bring you where your heart is. It’s an honor to return.” Biden shoveled in dirt for a freshly-planted Irish oak, not far from the one planted by then-President Barack Obama. He also rang the Peace Bell, unveiled in 2008 to mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland. He clanged the bell fou...