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Macron says Ukraine should get ‘strong and tangible’ security guarantees

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:08:21 GMT

BRATISLAVA — French President Emmanuel Macron called for “strong and tangible” security guarantees for Ukraine on Wednesday ahead of a key NATO summit in Vilnius in July. In recent weeks, Ukrainians have renewed their lobbying push for a concrete path toward membership, working hard to sway wary members of the alliance.At the GLOBSEC security forum in Bratislava, the French president said Ukraine should be given security guarantees — not only because it is “protecting Europe,” but also because it is “so well-equipped.”“If we want a sustainable peace and want to be credible toward Ukraine, we must include it in an architecture of security,” he told a gathering of delegates at the forum. Quoting former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who recently made the case that Europe should allow Ukraine into NATO for its own safety, Macron said, “I share that opinion.”While there is a broad understanding Ukraine will not be able to join the alliance while it is still at war with Ru...

Germany orders 4 out of 5 Russian consulates to be shut down

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:08:21 GMT

BERLIN — Germany is revoking the licenses of four of the five Russian consulates in the country, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Wednesday.Moscow has been asked to “promptly arrange for the liquidation of the four consulates general in the Federal Republic of Germany and complete it by Dec. 31, 2023, at the latest,” according to the foreign ministry. The move is intended to create “structural and personnel parity” between the two countries, the ministry added.Germany and Russia have repeatedly expelled each other’s diplomats since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine.Berlin’s decision was communicated to the Russians on Wednesday, according to Annalena Baerbock’s foreign ministry. One consulate general as well as the Russian embassy will continue to operate.On Saturday, it was reported that several German state employees would have to leave Russia as Moscow had introduced “a cap on the number of staff at German missions abroad and German intermediary organi...

71 residents displaced after fire breaks out at Brighton apartment building, causing Green Line suspensions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:08:21 GMT

Over 70 residents were left without a place to stay after a fire broke out at a multistory building in Brighton on Wednesday morning, forcing the MBTA to suspend nearby Green Line service in the process.The Boston Fire Department said around 9:40 a.m. that its companies were called to an apartment building at 1980 Commonwealth Ave. Boston FD shared several images from the scene on Twitter, stating how a third alarm was struck during the response. Image provided by the Boston Fire DepartmentIn a later update, the department said it worked to knock on “all 52 unit doors” in the building to evacuate residents – some of which were able to self-evacuate beforehand.The MBTA said service for the B branch was suspended between Washington Street and Boston College due to the response, and initially announced that shuttle buses would not be available due to Commonwealth Avenue being blocked. The transportation authority later said shuttles would operate between Washington...

Boston police arrest teen found with loaded revolver after shot spotter activation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:08:21 GMT

A 14-year-old boy is facing several firearm-related charges after Boston police say he was found with a loaded revolver in his waistband.The Boston Police Department said officers made the arrest just before 1 a.m. on Monday, May 29, after responding to Malcolm X Boulevard in Roxbury for a reported shot spotter activation. The department said officers began searching the neighborhood after being given a description of two suspects that fled the area. According to police, the two were later located and while speaking with officers, one of the suspects allegedly reached for his waistband.“Officers immediately attempted to grab the suspect’s hands, and a struggle ensued,” a news release from the department stated. “Officers were quickly able to place the suspect into handcuffs and recovered a loaded firearm from his waistband.”The police department said the firearm was later determined to be a Harrington & Richardson Model 949 revolver that had four rounds i...

Al Pacino, 83, is set to become a father again

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:08:21 GMT

(CNN) — Hollywood actor Al Pacino is set to become a father again at the age of 83, with his 29-year old partner Noor Alfallah expecting a child, according to multiple reports.Pacino’s representative confirmed the news to multiple news outlets, including People, The Hollywood Reporter and E.The actor, best known for his roles in “Scarface” (1983) and “The Godfather” series, has three other children – two with Beverly D’Angelo and one with Jan Tarrant.Alfallah works as a producer in the entertainment industry.In 2014, Pacino told the New Yorker magazine how the fact that his father left him and his mother when he was two has shaped his relationship with his children.“It’s the missing link, so to speak,” he said. “Having children has helped a lot. I consciously knew that I didn’t want to be like my dad. I wanted to be there. I have three children. I’m responsible to them. I’m a part of their life. When I’m not, it’s upsetting to me and to them.”CNN has contacted Pacino’...

Brian Daboll admits Giants will ‘look into’ free agent WR DeAndre Hopkins

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:08:21 GMT

Brian Daboll could have given a non-answer on DeAndre Hopkins.He didn’t.The Giants head coach admitted that GM Joe Schoen and the front office will do their “due diligence” on the new free agent wide receiver, as they did last season with Odell Beckham Jr.“Like last year, anytime there’s someone that’s available that’s a free agent, I’d say Joe and his staff are gonna look into it, research it,” Daboll said before his team’s fifth OTA practice on Wednesday. “We talk about a lot of different players. So regardless of who it is, that’s part of our job is to make sure we’re doing our due diligence.”Hopkins, 30, only played in 19 games the past two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. But he did have 1,407 receiving yards and six TDs as recently as 2020.And he would unquestionably upgrade the Giants’ receiving corps that has added tight end Darren Waller (trade from Raiders) and Parris Campbell (fre...

As House debt ceiling vote nears, Biden shores up Democrats and McCarthy scrambles for GOP support

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:08:21 GMT

By LISA MASCARO, KEVIN FREKING and STEPHEN GROVES (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Hard-fought to the end, the debt ceiling and budget cuts package is heading toward a crucial House vote as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assemble a coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans to push it to passage over fierce blowback from conservatives and some progressive dissent.Biden is sending top White House officials to meet early Wednesday at the Capitol to shore up support ahead of voting. McCarthy is working furiously to sell skeptical fellow Republicans, even fending off challenges to his leadership, in the rush to avert a potentially disastrous U.S. default.Despite deep disappointment from right-flank Republicans that the compromise falls short of the spending cuts they demanded, McCarthy insisted he would have the votes needed to ensure approval. “We’re going to pass the bill,” McCarthy said as he exited a lengthy Tuesday night meeting at th...

Western efforts to defuse Kosovo crisis mount as ethnic Serbs in Kosovo rally anew after clashes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:08:21 GMT

ZVECAN, Kosovo (AP) — International efforts to defuse a crisis in Kosovo intensified Wednesday as ethnic Serbs held more protests in a northern town where clashes with NATO-led peacekeepers earlier this week left dozens injured and sparked fears of renewed conflict in the troubled region. Hundreds of Serbs repeated at a rally that they want the Kosovo special police and ethnic Albanian officials they call “fake” mayors to withdraw from northern Kosovo where they are a majority. The crowd then spread a huge Serbian flag.Working to avert any escalation, European Union officials met with Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti on the sidelines of a conference in Bratislava, Slovakia, while the leaders of France and Germany announced plans to meet top Serbia and Kosovo officials on Thursday at a summit in Moldova. “The current situation is dangerous and unsustainable,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. “We need urgent de-escalation.”Speaking in Slovakia, Kurti fl...

Priceless painting looted by Nazis during World War II returns to Poland from Japan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:08:21 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — A priceless 16th century Italian painting that was looted by Nazi Germany during World War II and discovered in Japan has been returned to Poland, authorities in Warsaw said Wednesday.The “Madonna with Child” attributed to Alessandro Turchi, is the latest of some 600 looted artistic pieces that Poland has successfully repatriated. More than 66,000 so-called war losses remain unaccounted for. The painting was handed over during a ceremony at Poland’s Embassy in Tokyo Wednesday. Culture Minister Piotr Glinski told reporters in Warsaw that the baroque painting was on the Nazis’ list of the 521 most valuable pieces of art among the tens of thousands of artworks that they looted when they occupied Poland between 1939-45. He said it was “not easy” to explain the history behind the looted works as well as the need for their return. But he said the “Madonna with Child” was returned following negotiations with the Japanese side and the “Mainichi Auction Inc....

US job openings hit 10.1 million and labor market still strong despite Fed efforts to cool economy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:08:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job openings rose unexpectedly in April, illustrating the resilience of the American labor market and complicating Federal Reserve efforts to fight inflation.Employers posted 10.1 million job openings last month, up from 9.7 million in March and the most since January, the Labor Department said Wednesday. Economists had expected vacancies to slip below 9.5 million.“Demand for workers is still strong and the labor market is largely continuing to chug along nicely,” said Nick Bunker, research director at the Indeed Hiring Lab.Layoffs fell, but the number of people quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence that they can find better pay or working conditions elsewhere — slid last month to the lowest level since March 2021, according to the Labor Department’s monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Quits remain well above pre-pandemic levels.The Fed has raised its benchmark interest rate 10 times in the last 14 months, making it more expe...