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Von der Leyen to speak with Zelenskyy ahead of China visit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:59 GMT

BRUSSELS — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will speak to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of her visit to China later this week.Von der Leyen will hold a phone call with the Ukrainian president “in the context of her preparation for this trip [to China],” Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer confirmed at a media briefing Tuesday.In her meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, slated for Thursday, von der Leyen is expected to broach the topic of China’s role in Russia’s war on Ukraine.In a speech last week, she rejected China’s peace proposal for Ukraine — which recognizes seized Ukrainian territory as Russian — as “simply not a viable plan” and expressed concerns that the country may be siding with Russia in the ongoing conflict.Today, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said: “[China’s] position on Russia’s atrocities and war crimes will determine the quality of our relationship.’’ Borrell also announced Tuesday ...

Finland is now officially a NATO member

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:59 GMT

BRUSSELS — Finland formally joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on Tuesday, becoming its 31st member on the same day as NATO’s 74th anniversary. The country applied to join NATO last May in a foreign policy U-turn prompted by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Finland’s entry brings to the alliance a new 1,340-kilometer border with Russia — as well as its own significant military capabilities. Finland and Sweden initially planned to join the alliance together. But Turkey and Hungary dragged out the ratification process for the two countries, ultimately signing off on Finland’s bid last week but leaving Sweden hanging in the wind. On Tuesday this week, Turkey and Finland completed the final steps in the process, handing over accession documents to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Standing alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Blinken declare...

Police raid center-right party’s Brussels HQ

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:59 GMT

BRUSSELS — Belgian and German police on Tuesday raided the Brussels headquarters of the conservative European People’s Party, the largest group in the European Parliament, the party said in a statement.The police search “is connected to an ongoing inquiry in Thuringia, Germany,” the statement read.“The party is cooperating in full transparency with the authorities involved, providing all relevant information and documentation,” it added.When POLITICO visited Tuesday afternoon, no police activity was ongoing at EPP offices on Rue du Commerce in the European Quarter. Employees at a hotel across the street said they had not noticed anything unusual in the morning. German outlet Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk reported that the raid is connected to Mario Voigt — leader of the state parliament group in Thuringia for Germany’s center-right Christian Democratic Union — and his involvement in the EPP’s 2019 election campaign.The local CDU lawmaker was recruited to support the EPP’s dig...

US strike kills senior ISIS leader in Syria, US Central Command says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:59 GMT

(CNN) — A US strike in Syria has killed a senior ISIS leader who planned attacks into Europe, United States Central Command said in a statement.The strike, carried out on Monday, was a “unilateral” US operation that killed Khalid ‘Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri, CENTCOM said in the statement posted to Twitter.Al-Jabouri was a senior ISIS figure who “was responsible for planning ISIS attacks into Europe and developed the leadership structure for ISIS,” CENTCOM said.No civilians were killed or injured in the strike, according to CENTCOM.“ISIS continues to represent a threat to the region and beyond,” CENTCOM commander, Gen. Erik Kurilla, said in the statement. “Though degraded, the group remains able to conduct operations within the region with a desire to strike beyond the Middle East.”Al-Jabouri’s death will “temporarily disrupt the organization’s ability to plot external attacks,” the statement said.The US s...

Boat takes on water at dock in Chelsea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:59 GMT

A boat was taking on water at a dock in Chelsea Tuesday morning. Fire crews were called to the scene around 7 a.m. and divers were sent into the water to make sure no one was on board.The 40-inch boat was cleared shortly after and only gave off a little fuel, as it was already set to go to a scrap yard and stripped of a lot of its parts. The scene has been handed back to the marina, which will be removing the boat at some point.No additional information has been released.

Police searching for driver in fatal West Bridgewater hit-and-run

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:59 GMT

Police are searching for the driver in a fatal hit-and-run crash on Route 24 in West Bridgewater Monday night.The crash happened around 9:30 p.m. on the northbound side of the road. Police said a preliminary investigation indicates that a Toyota Scion and a Honda Accord were driving along Route 24 when the Toyota changed lanes and made contact with the Honda. The impact projected the Honda into the median, where it came into contact with a concrete barrier. Police said the Toyota fled the scene.As the Honda was stationary in the left travel lane, a Ford Maverick pickup struck its rear, causing it to become fully engulfed in flames, police said. The West Bridgewater Fire Department knocked down the car fire. The operator of the Honda, identified as 46-year-old Erpharo Gilbert of Raynham, was pronounced dead at the scene.The operator of the Ford, a 23-year-old Brockton man, was not injured. All three northbound lanes on Route 24 were shut down for about four hours and have since reope...

Finland joins NATO in major blow to Russia over Ukraine war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:59 GMT

By LORNE COOK and MATTHEW LEE (Associated Press)BRUSSELS (AP) — Finland joined the NATO military alliance Tuesday, dealing a major blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a historic realignment of Europe’s post-Cold War security landscape triggered by Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.The Nordic country’s membership doubles Russia’s border with the world’s biggest security alliance. Finland had adopted neutrality after its defeat by the Soviets in World War II, but its leaders signaled they wanted to join NATO just months after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine sent a shiver of fear through its neighbors.In praising Finland’s membership, U.S. President Joe Biden noted it came on the 74th anniversary of the signing of NATO’s founding treaty on April 4, 1949.“When Putin launched his brutal war of aggression against the people of Ukraine, he thought he could divide Europe and NATO. He was wrong,” Biden said. “Today, we...

Thanks to sister’s gift, Michael King pitches to his own beat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:59 GMT

As Michael King stepped to the mound Saturday, he did so to a familiar sound.King, pitching in a major league game for the first time since July 22 after a stress fracture in his right elbow ended his breakout 2022 campaign, showed some rust. The right-hander allowed two earned runs over 1.2 innings in the Yankees’ 7-5 loss to the Giants, but simply returning to the bump qualified as an accomplishment after King’s freak injury a season ago.Doing so also gave the 27-year-old a chance to reintroduce his warm-up song, “Messin’ with the King,” to the Yankee Stadium crowd. The tune, a rap written by his recording artist sister, Olivia, has been welcoming King to the hill since his junior season at Boston College with these opening lines:I step to the mound and I put on my crown,I royally put them down after you hear this sound,Even the crowd knows you in for it now…“I love the lyrics,” King told the Daily News of the track, which features O...

‘What in the world happened to Duncan Robinson?’ also a talking point beyond Heat realm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:59 GMT

The subject was underachieving, the playoff race, but mostly 3-point shooting. Of the latter, both arguably could be considered experts, as Tim Legler made a recent appearance on JJ Redick’s Old Man and the Three podcast.As the discussion between the former NBA guards turned to the Miami Heat and specifically Duncan Robinson, it was as if Legler no longer could hold back.“It’s mind boggling to me, this entire time, for the last couple of years here: What in the world happened to Duncan Robinson, in terms of the way they view him?” Legler practically blurted. “Because the guy was record setting for the franchise, with his 3-point shooting, prolific. Had big moments in the postseason.”What has happened this season has become abundantly apparent, and for reasons beyond the finger injury that first hampered Robinson in November and December and then the finger surgery that had him out for six weeks starting in January.Since breaking Tim Hardaway’...

Trump arraignment live updates: Protesters clash as former president set to arrive for his day in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:24:59 GMT

Former President Donald Trump will face a historic arraignment Tuesday in New York, following an indictment on criminal charges stemming from prosecutors’ long-running investigation into his business dealings. He will be the first current or former United States president ever in that position.Trump, 76, is expected to appear before State Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan in Manhattan around 2:15 p.m. EST.The charges, expected to remain under seal until Trump appears in court, are believed to relate to his notorious hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election. Trump is expected to face multiple charges, including at least one felony related to business fraud, but it’s unclear whether they all relate to the hush money. The indictment stems from an investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office spanning more than four years.Five pool photographers will be allowed inside the courtroom for the arraignment, Merchan ruled late Monday. V...