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Head of Russian private army Wagner says his forces are handing control of Bakhmut to Moscow

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:00 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The head of the Russian private military contractor Wagner claimed Thursday that his forces have started pulling out of Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, and handing over control to the Russian military, days after he said Wagner troops had captured the ruined city.Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner’s millionaire owner with longtime links to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said in a video published on Telegram that the handover would be completed by June 1. There was no immediate comment from the Russian defense ministry.It was not possible to independently verify whether Wagner’s pullout from the bombed-out city has begun, and the Ukrainian General Staff said Wednesday that heavy fighting was continuing inside the eastern city after a nine-month battle that killed tens of thousands of people.Prigozhin’s Bakhmut triumph delivered a badly needed victory for Putin, whose invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has lost momentum and now faces the possibility of a Ukrainian counte...

Germany economy shrinks in first quarter, signaling one definition of recession

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:00 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — The German economy shrank unexpectedly in the first three months of this year, marking the second quarter of contraction that is one definition of recession.Data released Thursday by the Federal Statistical Office shows Germany’s gross domestic product, or GDP, declined by 0.3% in the period from January to March. This follows a drop of 0.5% in Europe’s biggest economy during the last quarter of 2022. Two consecutive quarters of contraction is a common definition of recession, though economists on the euro area business cycle dating committee use a broader set of data, including employment figures. Germany is one of the 20 countries that use the euro currency.Employment in the country rose in the first quarter and inflation has eased, but higher interest rates will keeping weighing on spending and investment, said Franziska Palmas, senior Europe economist for Capital Economics. “Germany has experienced a technical recession and has been by far the worst per...

Five takeaways from Ron DeSantis’s glitch-ridden campaign launch

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:00 GMT

(The Hill) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) finally launched his campaign for the presidency on Wednesday.His declaration, keenly anticipated for months, turned into a debacle — at least regarding its most highly-publicized element, a Twitter Spaces event with Elon Musk.The glitch-ridden Twitter event must have left DeSantis furious and his key aides embarrassed.The misfire also happened at a crucial moment, with former President Trump well ahead of the rest of the GOP field, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) just getting into the race on Monday, other contenders searching for traction — and speculation mounting about a possible surprise entry by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R).Here are the key takeaways from one of the 2024 campaign’s biggest nights to date.Twitter’s tech misfire undermines DeSantis’s central case.The keystone of DeSantis’s launch was intended to be the Twitter Spaces event.Praised beforehand as innovative, it turned out to be disastrous.It was beset with technical difficult...

Our giant 2023 guide will help you find the perfect Twin Cities patio

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:00 GMT

This year’s patio guide contains nine newly minted outdoor spaces that we visited over the year, and three coming soon that we can’t wait to get to.Dicey weather — namely a late, wet spring — has kept more than a few patios closed until very recently, so I’m sure we’ll hear about more openings in the coming weeks.We also want to encourage you to be patient as restaurants staff up for the season, especially outdoors. In some cases, menus and hours might be limited, and staffing shortages mean you might be waiting a little longer (hopefully in the sunshine!) for your food or drinks.RELATED: Here are readers’ 2023 picks for best patioWe’ve broken the list into helpful categories you can sample all summer long:New kids on the blockNeighborhoodSee and be seenAlong the water/scenicBreweries, distilleries and wineriesComing soonNew kids on the blockThe entire restaurant Blondette, on the 5th floor of the Rand Tower in Minneapolis, is essentially a patio. It has a re...

Here are readers’ 2023 picks for best patio

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:00 GMT

We asked readers to nominate their favorite restaurant patio and then put the finalists to a vote.RELATED: Our giant 2023 guide will help you find the perfect Twin Cities patioHere are the top patio picks from readers for 2023:1. Charlie’s Restaurant & Irish Pub/Papa’s Rooftop: 101 S. Water St., Stillwater; 651-439-6000; waterstreetinn.us/papas-rooftop/2. Number 12 Cider: 614 N 5th St., Minneapolis; 612-345-4488; number12cider.com3. Acqua: 4453 Lake Ave. S., White Bear Lake; 651-407-7317; acqua-restaurants.com/white-bear-lake4. St. Paul Brewing: 688 Minnehaha Ave., St. Paul, 651-698-1945; stpaulbrewing.com5. Gabe’s Bar & Kitchen: 991 N. Lexington Parkway, St. Paul; 651-646-3066; gabesmn.com6. Porter Creek: 14201 Burngarten Drive, Burnsville; 952-698-1888; portercreek.com7. Tilted Tiki: 324 Main St. S., Stillwater, 651-342-2545; thetiltedtiki.com8. Rudy’s Red Eye Grill: 4940 U.S. 61 N., White Bear Lake, 651-653-6718; rudysredeye.com9. No Neck Tony̵...

Saratoga Springs girls lacrosse reaches the pinnacle of Class A

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:00 GMT

SCHUYLERVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- As Saratoga Springs' Jennifer Furze walked off the field at Schuylerville High School Wednesday night, she was overcome with emotion, and rightfully so. The first-year head coach had brought a sectional championship back to Saratoga. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "It means everything," said Furze after the Blue Streaks' 8-5 win over Shaker in the Sec. II, Class A girls lacrosse final. "I'm just so proud of them. They've had such an incredible season. They're just such hard workers; the chemistry between them...they're great kids. And it's just been a fun season. We've had a lot of fun together."Wednesday's victory marked the first section title for Saratoga since 2018, and was the culmination of a brilliant postseason run. The Blue Streaks entered the Class A tournament as the four-seed, and promptly knocked off fifth-seeded Guilderland in the opening round. After powering past top-seeded S...

Schuylerville girls lacrosse claims third straight Class D title in OT thriller with Cohoes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:00 GMT

SCHUYLERVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Come playoff time, you need your stars to step up and make big plays in critical moments. And that's exactly what Schuylerville's Macey Koval did in overtime of Wednesday's Sec. II, Class D girls lacrosse championship game. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "We had a set play in mind, but I saw the opening, so I just took (the ball), and I went," said Koval after netting the game-winning goal in overtime to claim the Black Horses a third straight sectional title with an 11-10 win over Cohoes.For the second year in a row the Class D final came down to the Black Horses and the Tigers, and this year's rematch proved to be an instant classic.Schuylerville, despite being the two-seed in the tournament, garnered home-field advantage over top-seeded Cohoes. And it didn't take long for the back-to-back defending champs to settle in; they jumped out to a 4-0 lead just 7:32 into the first half after a fr...

Mack leads Saratoga to game one win over Shen

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:00 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Saratoga Springs and Shenendehowa baseball teams met for game one of their best-of-three series for the Section 2 Class AA title on Wednesday night at Joe Bruno Stadium. The Blue Streaks entered as the defending champions, while the Plainsmen entered as the top seed. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! With their ace Michael Mack on the mound, Saratoga jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a Shenendehowa error. But in the third inning, Shen's Ethan Farina took Mack deep for a two-run homer, as the Plainsmen went up 2-1. Mack settled in both on the mound and at the dish. After the Blue Streaks tied the game with a sacrifice fly, Mack blasted a RBI double off the wall in the fifth inning to give Saratoga Springs a 3-2 lead. He didn't look back, tallying a complete game win as the Blue Streaks took game one 3-2. Mack struck out 10 batters, gave up just three hits, and no walks. Game two is set for Friday ni...

Ichabod Crane cashes in to win Class B title over Cohoes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:00 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Ichabod Crane baseball team lost in the Section 2 Class B title game each of the last two seasons. They looked to snap that skid in this year's championship game against Cohoes at Joe Bruno Stadium on Wednesday night. The Tigers looked to complete a magical run, finding themselves in the title game as an 11 seed. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The Riders jumped out to a 4-0 lead on only one hit, thanks to four errors by Cohoes. The Tigers clawed their way back, making it a 4-3 game in the 5th. Ichabod Crane extended their lead, holding on for a 6-4 lead to win the Class B title. "It feels good," said junior shortstop and pitcher Jack Mullins. "It was two years in a row we lost so this is our third year back. I was on the team both years and it was heartbreak but this year feels a lot better."

Schools shut as torrential rains hit south-eastern Spain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:54:00 GMT

Spanish authorities closed schools, universities, and day-care centres on Tuesday (23 May) as torrential rainfall swept across the coastal southeast after a long dry spell, leaving behind flooded homes, submerged vehicles, and closed roads.The heavy rains are expected to continue, especially in the areas that have been hit the hardest. These include parts of Murcia, Valencia, and Andalusia.Emergency services in Cartagena struggled to drain streets that were heavily flooded. Local TV footage showed cars and motorbikes almost completely covered in water.The national weather agency AEMET reported that some locations in the Valencia area saw more rainfall in a few short days than in the six months prior combined.According to the agency, the town of Ontinyent near Valencia has broken the record for highest rainfall in a single day in May over the last 100 years. It accumulated up to 130 litres (28.7 gallons) per square yard according to the report.Ruben del campo, AEMET's spokesman, said...