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Blinken: US and EU need legal frameworks to seize Russian assets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:58 GMT

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said legal studies are under way on how Russia’s assets abroad can be seized to help rebuild Ukraine. In remarks at the University of Texas at Austin on Wednesday, Blinken left little doubt that Moscow’s international holdings were fair game given the snowballing costs of rebuilding Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. “My own view is you broke it, you bought it. And so the Russians having broken it, they ought to pay for it. And one way to do that would be through the use of these assets,” Blinken said.“It’s about $300 billion, and most of it actually in Europe, not in the United States,” he continued. “So we’re looking at what legal authorities we may have, the Europeans may have, to actually use those assets for Ukraine … We have to make sure that there is a legal basis to do that. And as I said, since most of the assets are in Europe, Europeans also have to be convin...

European Parliament condemns Azerbaijan and EU over Nagorno-Karabakh attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:58 GMT

The European Parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution condemning Azerbaijan and the EU’s handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis, two weeks after Baku launched a lightning strike into the enclave, forcing 100,000 people to flee. The resolution, which mentions “a gross violation of human rights and international law” and “unjustified military attack,” was adopted by an overwhelming majority of all groups: 491 MEPs voted in favor, with only nine against and 36 abstentions.Lawmakers called for the EU and its member countries to urgently reassess the bloc’s ties with Azerbaijan and pushed to suspend “all imports of oil and gas from Azerbaijan to the EU in the event of military aggression against Armenian territorial integrity or … attacks against Armenia’s constitutional order and democratic institutions.”European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in 2022 signed an agreement to double purchases of Azerbaijani gas by 2...

Mike Preston’s report card: Position-by-position grades for Ravens’ 3-1 start | COMMENTARY

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:58 GMT

Several of the Ravens’ injured players returned to practice Wednesday, and that pushed the team’s excitement meter to a new level.Among those on the practice field in Owings Mills were cornerback Marlon Humphrey (foot), left tackle Ronnie Stanley (knee), wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr. (ankle) and Rashod Bateman (hamstring), and safety Marcus Williams (ankle).Coach John Harbaugh, after watching practices and getting input from trainers, will determine later this week which players will participate in Sunday’s game against the Steelers in Pittsburgh, but at least his stars were back on the field.The Ravens (3-1) are in first place in the AFC North and have a chance to go up two games on their top division rival. Maybe the best is yet to come.“It’s good to see guys out there practicing,” Harbaugh said. “Different guys are in different stages. As the week goes on, in terms of all the different guys, we’ll see where they’re...

AT&T and Gallaudet University unveil a football helmet for deaf and hard of hearing quarterbacks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — AT&T and Gallaudet University have developed a football helmet to assist players who are deaf or hard of hearing and communicate using American Sign Language.The company and Washington, D.C.-based school for students who are deaf or hard of hearing were set to unveil the new technology Thursday. It allows a coach to call a play on a tablet from the sideline that then shows up visually on a small display screen inside the quarterback’s helmet. Gallaudet, which competes in Division III, was cleared by the NCAA to use the helmet in its next game on Saturday at home against Hilbert.Gallaudet coach Chuck Goldstein said he thinks the helmet “will change football.”“We work out the same way as every other college football program, we practice the same way, we compete the same way,” Goldstein said. “The difference between coaching a hearing team compared to a Deaf team is first the communication.”The final product is the result of months of communication between t...

Stock market today: With little sign of significant demand, energy prices, and producers, tumble

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:58 GMT

TOKYO — Crude prices have fallen every day this week save for one and drillers are getting hit hard as potential economic headwinds raise anxiety once again over a recession. Futures for the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 shuffled between small gains and losses before the opening bell Thursday.Benchmark U.S. crude oil are down another 91 cents to $83.31 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange early Thursday, a day after tumbling almost 6%, the biggest drop in just over a year. Crude had hovered above $90 last month due largely to production cuts announced in July by Saudi Arabia and Russia. However, there is little evidence of strong demand for crude and after Saudi said Wednesday that it would stick to a production cut of 1 million barrels of oil a day through the end of the year oil prices did not rise, they fell. Crude has now declined more than 11% since topping $93 last week.Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 82 cents to $84.9...

The ‘parental rights’ debate, and the fight over the notwithstanding clause

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:58 GMT

In today’s Big Story Podcast, over the next few months, we’re likely to find out how well Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms actually protects marginalized groups. A divisive policy enacted in Saskatchewan would require students to obtain parental consent before using a different name or pronouns at school. Advocates say the policy will out transgender kids in potentially dangerous homes.A challenge to the policy is currently before the courts, but rather than wait for an answer, Premier Scott Moe plans to use the “nuclear option” — the notwithstanding clause — to push the policy through.Charlotte Dalwood is a freelance journalist specializing in legal issues and she wrote about the notwithstanding clause in Xtra magazine“[Premier Scott Moe] knows that this policy is contrary to Canadian’s rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. And so what he wants to do is use the notwithstanding clause in order to trample on those rights and to sidestep...

Amnesty International asks Pakistan to keep hosting Afghans as their expulsion may put them at risk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:58 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Amnesty International on Thursday urged Pakistan to maintain its support for Afghan refugees by enabling them to live with dignity and be free from the fear of deportation to Afghanistan where they face persecution by the Taliban.A forced return of refugees to Afghanistan could put them at a “grave risk,” Amnesty said in a statement, though Pakistan says its ongoing operations against irregular immigration weren’t specific to Afghans.“Afghans in Pakistan are fleeing persecution by the Taliban,” said Nadia Rahman, Amnesty’s regional deputy director for research in South Asia. “They are living incredibly precarious lives where they are either having to undergo arduous processes for registering as refugees in Pakistan, or are stuck in lengthy processes waiting to obtain relocation to another country.”The appeal by Amnesty came two days after Pakistan announced a major crackdown on migrants who are in the country illegally — many of whom are from Afghanistan...

Russia launches more drone attacks in Ukraine as Zelenskyy attends a European forum in Spain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:58 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia targeted Ukraine with drones in another major attack early Thursday as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Spain to rally support from Western allies at a summit of around 50 European leaders.Ukraine’s air force said that the country’s air defenses intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the southern Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.Andriy Raykovych, head of the Kirovohrad regional administration, said that an infrastructure facility in the region was struck and emergency services were deployed to extinguish a fire. He said there were no casualties.The attack came as Zelenskyy arrived in Granada in southern Spain to attend a summit of the European Political Community, which was formed in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.“The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners,” he said...

Pickup truck crashes into ditch near train tracks in Pickering

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:58 GMT

One person is in hospital after a pickup truck crashed near the train tracks in Pickering on Thursday morning.Durham Regional Police officers responded to the area of Bayly Street and Whites Road just before 6:30 a.m.Paramedics transported a male to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.CityNews flew over the scene of the crash and spotted a pickup truck that crashed into the ditch next to the tracks.Police say the vehicle did not come into contact with any trains but ended up being close to the rail line.Police say it appears the driver of the pickup truck suffered a medical episode.The crash led to GO train delays on the Lakeshore East line.Police also say it may be some time before the vehicle is removed from the area, but the crash is no longer impacting train service.A pickup truck crashed near the train tracks in the area of Bayly Street and Whites Road in Pickering on Oct. 5, 2023. CITYNEWS

Tropical Storm Philippe chugs toward Bermuda on a path to Atlantic Canada and New England

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:13:58 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Philippe aimed for Bermuda on Thursday on a path that would eventually take it to Atlantic Canada and eastern New England.The storm was located 520 miles (835 kilometers) south of Bermuda on Thursday morning. It had winds of up to 45 mph (75 kph) and was moving north at 10 mph (17 kph).A tropical storm warning was in effect for Bermuda, with forecasters warning of heavy rainfall starting Thursday evening.Philippe’s center is expected to pass near Bermuda on Friday and then approach eastern New England and Atlantic Canada on Saturday as a post-tropical cyclone.Philippe is a large storm, with tropical-storm-force winds extending up to 230 miles (370 kilometers) from its center.Philippe made landfall in Barbuda late Monday and downed trees and power lines on several islands in the northeast Caribbean, forcing closures of schools, businesses and government offices. The U.S. Virgin Islands on Thursday reported major power outages on St. T...