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Georgia must do more to earn EU membership, Brussels warns

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:02 GMT

KAZBEGI, Georgia — Ukrainian flags fly from the houses that line the highway up to the Georgian border, while on the road below, dozens of tow-trucks pull brand new luxury Porsches and Land Rovers over the mountain pass and into Russia as the super-wealthy skirt Western sanctions. If the country’s politicians have their way, this could soon be the EU’s easternmost frontier.But Georgia has refused to impose sanctions on Russia and stands accused of helping circumvent them by exporting consumer goods and luxuries — like the cars lining up on the border at Kazbegi.The South Caucasus nation has for years made little secret about its ambitions to join the EU, despite being more than a thousand kilometers across the Black Sea from the nearest member. The former Soviet Republic has gone as far as to enshrine its ambitions to become part of the bloc, and of NATO, into the constitution.In a long-awaited visit to Georgia on Thursday, the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, war...

Doubts over Catalan as EU language create a headache for Spain’s Sánchez

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:02 GMT

¡No pasarán!EU countries are hitting the brakes on Spain’s request to get Basque, Catalan and Galician recognized as official languages of the EU.That’s a big problem for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who needs the support of Catalan separatists to remain in office, after an inconclusive election in July.Last month, Sánchez’s Socialist Party entered into an elaborate deal with the seven lawmakers belonging to the separatist Junts party, which is indirectly led by former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont. In exchange for the MPs’ votes in favor of Francina Armengol, the socialist candidate for the presidency of the Spanish parliament, Sánchez’s government agreed to ask Brussels to grant EU status to Spain’s co-official languages.To underscore the government’s commitment, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares immediately sent a letter to the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union (helpfully held by Madrid) formalizing the language request, and put th...

It’s back to school in Brussels — Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:02 GMT

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Google Play EN_Google_Podcasts_Badge Created with Sketch. Acast It’s “back to school” week here in Brussels, so we’re looking ahead to what policies will dominate the news in the coming months. Also, our special guest is Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani.Host Suzanne Lynch is joined by POLITICO’s Sarah Wheaton and Nick Vinocur to discuss big European issues and events to watch out for in co...

Vestager faces uphill battle to win French support for EIB top job

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:02 GMT

PARIS — Denmark’s Margrethe Vestager still faces a tough ride to convince Paris she is the best fit to become president of the European Investment Bank (EIB).France is an all-important decision-maker in selecting the next boss at the EIB, which doles out billions of euros of loans to big infrastructure projects across Europe and is growing in importance because it is expected to have a crucial role in rebuilding Ukraine in the years ahead. President Emmanuel Macron is notorious for taking late decisions on big, politically loaded appointments such as this. Like Vestager, he hails from the Renew Europe liberal group that wants her to helm the EIB, but several people with knowledge of the matter told POLITICO she had powerful detractors in France who would prefer her main rival, Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calviño. As Stéphane Séjourné, the leader of the Renew Group and an MEP close to Macron, warned: “Renew is not Paris”.As a free-market-oriented EU competition c...

7 Investigates: Dangerous Dams

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:02 GMT

When thunder claps and the rain pours down, we all take cover. But, in some Massachusetts communities, residents and officials have one nerve-wracking thought: Will the dam hold?7 Investigates found some dams could pose an immediate danger. As torrential rain floods out local neighborhoods, climate experts say the kinds of storms that produce such rain are becoming more common. “The rainstorms are now more intense,” said Christine Hatch, a climate sciences processor at UMass Amherst. “There’s more rain per hour. There’s more rain per storm.”That means more stress on aging dams across the state. There are more than 1,300 dams in Massachusetts. 7 Investigates has learned 329 of those are classified as high risk, meaning they could cause significant damage to homes and businesses if they fail. Thirty-one dams are rated as being in poor or unsatisfactory condition by the state’s Office of Dam Safety, including the Hager Pond Dam in Marlboro. “It’s in disre...

Catholic Memorial strikes early and often, routs Mansfield in opener, 41-14

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:02 GMT

WEST ROXBURY — Generally, if a team scores two touchdowns before its offense runs a play, things are going pretty well.Against Mansfield in a non-league opener for both teams Thursday night, Catholic Memorial did just that, and rolled to a 41-14 win.With an opening kickoff return for a touchdown by Eric Perkins, a pick-six by Chris Sanchez, and a long touchdown run by Mekhi Dodd, CM was up 20-0 before Mansfield knew what hit it.It was an impressive performance.“I thanked the special teams coach and the defensive coordinator,” CM coach John DiBiaso said. “Kids played well. Played well in all the facets early. We made some mistakes in the second quarter, but nothing that’s not correctable.”Dodd rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown on five carries, and caught a 19-yard touchdown to end the first half. He had four receptions for 59 yards. Quarterback Peter Bourque completed 11 of 21 passes for three touchdowns and an interception. Caleb Garrity caught two o...

A record numbers of children are on the move through Latin America and the Caribbean, UNICEF says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:02 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Record numbers of children are making perilous journeys through Latin America and the Caribbean, often alone, and from countries as far away as Asia and Africa, the U.N. children’s agency said Thursday.UNICEF said in a Child Alert that in the past three years the proportion of children moving along the major migration routes in Latin America and the Caribbean has climbed to a record high of 25%, up from 19% in 2019. Globally, children make up 13% of people on the move and the numbers in Latin America and the Caribbean. and rivaled only by Sub-Saharan Africa where children also account for 25% of the migrant population, it said. “The driving forces behind child migration are numerous and complex, encompassing factors such as rampant gang violence, the escalating effects of climate change, and exacerbated inequalities and poverty, magnified by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns,” Gary Conille, UNICEF’s Latin America and Caribbean director, told a news...

A Norwegian man needed a hobby. His new metal detector found a showy 1,500-year-old gold necklace

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:02 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — At first, the Norwegian man thought his metal detector reacted to chocolate money buried in the soil. It turned out to be nine pendants, three rings and 10 gold pearls someone might have worn as showy jewelry 1,500 years ago.The rare find was made this summer by 51-year-old Erlend Bore on the southern island of Rennesoey, near the city of Stavanger. Bore had bought his first metal detector earlier this year to have a hobby after his doctor ordered him to get out instead of sitting on the couch. Ole Madsen, director at the Archaeological Museum at the University of Stavanger, said that to find “so much gold at the same time is extremely unusual.” In August, Bore began walking around the mountainous island with his metal detector. A statement issued by the university said he first found some scrap, but later uncovered something that was “completely unreal” — the treasure weighing a little more than 100 grams (3.5 oz).Under Norwegian law, objects ...

Hong Kong closes schools as torrential rain floods streets, subway station

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:02 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong on Friday closed schools and halted trading on the stock exchange as torrential rain lashed the city overnight, flooding streets in parts of the city as well as an underground subway station.Heavy rains poured down on the city from Thursday night, with the government warning that the weather would last till noon Friday.The Hong Kong Observatory said it recorded 158.1 mm (6.2 inches) of rain in the hour between 11 p.m. Thursday and midnight, the highest recording since records began in 1884.The highest “black” rainstorm warning, the first in nearly two years, was issued Thursday night and remained in place Friday morning, with residents urged to seek safe shelter if they were outdoors.Videos circulating on social media showed a flooded underground subway station, as well as water rushing down the stairs and escalators of the station.Other videos showed cars caught in muddy water on flooded streets, including in the city’s cross-harbor tunnel that connects H...

North Korea says it has deployed a new nuclear attack submarine to counter US naval power

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:17:02 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Friday it has christened a purported nuclear attack submarine it has been developing for years, a step leader Kim Jong Un described as crucial in his efforts to build a nuclear-armed navy to counter the United States and its Asian allies.The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said the vessel – named “Hero Kim Kun Ok” – is designed to launch tactical nuclear weapons from underwater but did not specify the number of missiles it could carry and fire.In his speeches at the vessel’s launching ceremony on Wednesday and an onboard inspection on Thursday, Kim expressed satisfaction the country has acquired its own nuclear attack submarine to counter the advanced naval assets of the U.S., KCNA said. In July, the U.S. docked a nuclear-capable ballistic missile submarine in South Korea for the first time since the 1980s.Kim said the country is also pursuing a nuclear-propelled submarine and plans to remodel its existing submarines and surface...