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Ukraine uncovers corruption scheme implicating top officials

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:05:52 GMT

Two high-ranking Ukrainian officials have been named as suspects in an embezzlement scheme uncovered by Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities this week, involving the procurement of humanitarian aid.Ukraine’s first deputy minister of agrarian policy and food and the former deputy minister of economy reportedly misappropriated UAH 62 million (about €1.5 million), the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) found.This is just the latest wave of corruption that has swept Ukraine since the war with Russia started in 2022. In January, two major corruption scandals centered on government procurement of military catering services and electrical generators shook the country.Rather than sweeping the suspect deals under the carpet, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy launched a major crackdown, in a bid to show allies in the U.S. and EU that Ukraine is making a clean break from the past. Earlier this month, he fired all region...

From one warlord to another: Kadyrov pays tribute to dead Wagner chief

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:05:52 GMT

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has paid tribute to the Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, calling his death a “great loss for the whole state.”The Russian warlord-turned-mutineer died Wednesday evening, after his private jet crashed in flames on an internal flight from Moscow to Saint Petersburg, killing all 10 people on board.Kadyrov, the leader of the Russian majority-Muslim region and considered one of Vladimir Putin’s most prominent allies, offered his condolences to Prigozhin’s family in a post on his Telegram channel that included a photo of himself next to the smiling warlord.“We’ve been friends for a long time,” Kadyrov wrote, adding that Prigozhin was “distinguished from others by his responsiveness, unique communication skills and persistence.”Prigozhin led the mercenary Wagner Group for years, and fought in Russia’s war on Ukraine. In June he launched an uprising against the conduct of the war in Ukraine that he abruptly called off with his troops closi...

Spanish football chief refuses to resign over World Cup kiss

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:05:52 GMT

Luis Rubiales, the president of Spain’s football federation, dramatically refused to resign on Friday, using a fiery speech to lambast those who criticized him for kissing a Women’s World Cup winner on the lips. “I will fight until the end. I hope the law is enforced. The press neither seeks justice nor seeks the truth,” Rubiales blasted on Friday afternoon. “I am not going to resign, I am not going to resign.”The embattled football boss was expected to resign Friday, after a week of outcry that followed his nonconsensual kiss of Jenni Hermoso in Sydney on Sunday in full view of millions watching around the world. Rubiales told an enthusiastic audience composed of some of Spain’s highest-ranking football officials that the kiss — which he characterized as “a mere peck … the kind I would give my daughters” — had been consensual, with Hermoso agreeing after he proposed it.He went on to blame Hermoso for contributing to his &#...

It’s Back

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:05:52 GMT

In a summer that has seen no lack of water (already the 7th wettest in Boston, 4th wettest in Worcester), we continue that theme again this morning as drenching rains soak the morning commute. Many towns and cities will pick up 1-2″ of rain, with some locally higher totals likely. The steadiest rain is this morning as showers and storms become more hit of miss this afternoon and evening. With that said, any leftover shower and storm will still be capable of a downpour as the atmosphere is juiced with a lot of water vapor. Temps will hold near 70 this afternoon as humidity jumps up. Temps actually hold near 70 overnight tonight too. We’ll see some improvements Saturday as some sun breaks through the clouds from time to time. That’ll send temps up to near 80 and with dew points near 70, it’ll be a warm, summery day with high humidity. The warmth and humidity will increase the instability, allowing for scattered showers and storms to fire. They be hit or miss, ...

Catcher Korey Lee is ‘ready to get at it’ after joining the Chicago White Sox from Triple-A Charlotte

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:05:52 GMT

Korey Lee crashed at his former college roommate’s place the night before his Chicago White Sox debut.That roommate: Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn.“Talked to him, talked about the team, talked about what we want to do,” Lee said before Thursday’s game against the Oakland Athletics at Guaranteed Rate Field. “It’s good to see a familiar face, and I’m excited to see what he does on this stage.”The Sox promoted the catcher, who was acquired last month in a trade with the Houston Astros, from Triple-A Charlotte on Thursday. They optioned catcher Carlos Pérez to Charlotte in the corresponding move.“I’m here to contribute, I’m here to catch, I’m here to do my job and that’s control the pitching staff, doing my job on the base paths and also hitting a little bit,” Lee said. “But I’m just grateful for this opportunity and thanks to the White Sox. I’m ready to get at it.”Lee went...

A Michigan storm with 75 mph winds downs trees and power lines; several people are killed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:05:52 GMT

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — A strong storm powered by winds of up to 75 mph (121 kph) in Michigan downed trees, tore roofs off buildings and left hundreds of thousands of customers without power. The National Weather Service said Friday some of the damage may have been caused by two tornadoes. A woman and two young children were killed in a two-vehicle crash as it was raining Thursday night, a spokesperson for the Kent County Sheriff’s office said. “There was two vehicles traveling toward each other. One hydroplaned on water and it was occupied by four people,” Sgt. Eric Brunner told WZZM-TV. He said at least two other people were injured in the crash. In Ingham County, where there was a report of a possible tornado, the sheriff’s office said Friday that more than 25 vehicles along Interstate 96 were severely damaged, with one confirmed fatality and several people severely injured. Trees were uprooted, and some roofs collapsed. Many roads were closed due to trees and power lin...

Fire at a Texas prison forces inmates to evacuate, but no injuries are reported

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:05:52 GMT

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Fire broke out Friday morning at a state prison in Texas, forcing more than 300 inmates to evacuate but injuring no one, an official said.About 320 inmates were moved from the prison in Huntsville, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) north of Houston, according to Robert Hurst, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.Huntsville firefighters and police were on the scene, Hurst said, and the cause of the fire was not immediately known.The Huntsville prison houses about 1,700 inmates and is where condemned inmates are executed.The Associated Press

Floods fill tunnels leading to Detroit airport, force water rescues in Ohio and Las Vegas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:05:52 GMT

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — Heavy rains across parts of the United States flooded an Ohio highway where people were rescued from their cars, covered the Las Vegas Strip with water and temporarily closed a busy airport terminal outside Detroit.Parts of the western United States have been deluged in recent weeks with rain from Tropical Storm Hilary, and much of the central U.S. was beaten down by deadly sweltering heat. In Hawaii and Washington, emergency crews battled catastrophic wildfires.Areas in southeast Michigan got over 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) of rain by Thursday morning, resulting in street flooding in the Detroit area, including tunnels leading to Detroit Metropolitan Airport in the suburb of Romulus, officials said. Officials reopened the airport’s McNamara Terminal Thursday afternoon.Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer activated the State Emergency Operations Center on Thursday evening to provide support to affected communities “as they respond to the impacts of flooding.”A...

India’s Modi visits Greece, the first visit to the country by an Indian prime minister in 40 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:05:52 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The prime ministers of India and Greece pledged to boost their countries’ trade, business and defense ties Friday during a visit to Athens by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Modi’s visit is the first to Greece by an Indian prime minister in 40 years since Indira Gandhi visited the country in September 1983.Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the two countries enjoyed relations stretching back to antiquity.“Based on these strong foundations of our long-term relations, we have the great joy of upgrading our cooperation now to a strategic relationship,” Mitsotakis said in a joint televised statement distributed by Greece’s state broadcaster. Reporters were not permitted to attend, and no questions were taken.Modi said the two decided to reinforce bilateral relations in the defense and security sectors, as well as in infrastructure, agriculture, education and technology.“In the sector of defense and security, we agreed to reinforce our military ties a...

Far-right Israeli security minister lashes out at supermodel Bella Hadid over her criticism of him

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:05:52 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel’s far-right national security minister lashed out at supermodel Bella Hadid on Friday for criticizing his recent fiery televised remarks about Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. In an interview earlier this week with Israel’s Channel 12 following two deadly Palestinian attacks against Israelis in the occupied territory, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir argued that his right to freedom of movement as a Jewish settler outweighs the same right for Palestinians. “My right, the right of my wife and my children to move around Judea and Samaria, is more important than freedom of movement for the Arabs,” Ben-Gvir said on TV Wednesday, using the biblical name for the West Bank. “The right to life comes before freedom of movement.”Addressing Mohammad Magadli, a well-known Israeli-Arab television host who was in the studio, Ben-Gvir added: “Sorry, Mohammad. But that’s the reality.”His statement drew widespread criticism as commentators seized...