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The secret, slipshod evidence the EU uses to sanction Russian oligarchs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:35 GMT

Hastily compiled dossiers leave the bloc vulnerable to legal challenges.By LEONIE KIJEWSKIIllustration by Anson Chan for POLITICOIT WAS AN UNUSUAL APOLOGY: from the office of the president of the European Council to a sanctioned Russian oligarch.In a confidential evidence packet used by the European Union to justify freezing his assets, Viatsheslav Moshe Kantor’s nationality had been listed as “Jewish/Russian.” A 70-year-old billionaire who once headed the Russian fertilizer giant Acron, Kantor stepped down as president of the European Jewish Congress after being sanctioned by the EU and the United Kingdom in April 2022. He holds Russian, U.K. and Israeli citizenship.The designation “Jewish/Russian” could be a mistaken reference to a Soviet-era ethnic classification, but several scholars commissioned by Kantor’s lawyers found it to be an antisemitic description that should not have been included in an official document.“We sincerely regret the error,” reads a July 2022 letter s...

Orioles’ Adley Rutschman hugs it out with pitchers like no one else in the game. That’s a good thing.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:35 GMT

Sometimes it’s fairly quick, an arm thrown over the pitcher’s shoulder or one of those bro-to-bro pats on the back after the final pitch of a winning game.Others are more extended, with the catcher rocking side to side as he runs up to the mound before he gives the pitcher a two-handed, thumbs-up fist bump before the main event: an all-encompassing embrace.It’s the Adley Hug, and, yes, say pitchers who have been on the receiving end, it feels as good as it looks.It’s the grace note that ends many an Orioles victory during this league-leading season. Somehow, everything youthful and enthusiastic about this Orioles team is encapsulated in Adley Rutschman’s bountiful hug of the pitcher who has secured the final out.“He puts his whole body into it. He’s tall enough to really embrace a lot of the other person’s body,” Tiffany Field, an actual expert on hugging, said.“He does it very joyfully,” she said. “He’s e...

Wednesday’s high school scores and roundup

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:35 GMT

ROUNDUPGOLFMatt Costello (34 points) and Nathaniel Mello (35 points) shot one-over par 37 each for Bishop Stang (4-0) in a 217-162 Catholic Central League win over Bishop Feehan.Brian Campbell and Ben Madden scored an even par 36 apiece for Wellesley in a 118-84 Bay State Conference win over Milton.JD Flynn shot an even par 34, and Drew Golden shot a one over par 35 as Hingham defeated Plymouth North 223-252 in a Patriot League matchup.Timmy Adams shot a 36, while Jack Carstensen finished with a 37 as St. John Paul II (6-0) bested Upper Cape 236-253 in a nonleague contest.FIELD HOCKEYKate Harrison finished with a hat trick to go with a pair of assists, helping to power Chelmsford during a 7-0 shutout of Lowell in the Merrimack Valley Conference.Chloe Essam netted a hat trick, while Emily Carney chipped in with two goals and three assists as Franklin (4-0) rolled to a 13-0 Hockomock League win over Sharon.Angie Bogucki scored twice to lead Pentucket to a 2-0 victory over Triton in Ca...

Shooting in Oshawa leaves one person dead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:35 GMT

One person is dead following a shooting in Oshawa.Durham Regional Police say officers were called to a home on Albert Street for reports of a shooting.Police say a male was pronounced dead at the scene.This is a developing story. More to come.Police responded to an address on Albert Street in Oshawa for reports for a shooting. One male has been pronounced deceased at the scene. Further information to follow….. pic.twitter.com/GmvabYtgam— Durham Regional Police (@DRPS) September 21, 2023 

Myanmar state media say 12 people are missing after a boat capsized and sank in a northwest river

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:35 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Twelve people, including three members of the security forces, are missing after a boat capsized and sank in a river in the Sagaing region of northwestern Myanmar, state-run media reported Thursday.A report in the state-run Myanma Alinn Daily said six civilians, three workers and the security force personnel were missing after the vessel was caught Tuesday morning in strong currents in the Chindwin River near Panset village in Kale district.The report said the vessel was part of a goods-carrying convoy that came from further north, and that rescue operations were ongoing.A village elder from Panset told The Associated Press that a group of 11 vessels guarded by security forces had docked there on Monday night, and that the missing included three university students and two other people from his village. He said he did not know how many people had been aboard. He spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared arrest by the military.Sagaing is a stronghold of arm...

South Africa to host US trade forum as diplomatic tensions subside

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:35 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa will host a meeting in November of nations participating in the U.S. Africa Growth and Opportunity Act despite earlier calls to exclude the country from the forum due to its ties to Russia and the docking of a sanctioned Russian vessel near Cape Town last year. AGOA is U.S. legislation that allows sub-Saharan African countries duty-free access to the U.S. market provided they meet certain conditions, including that they “must eliminate barriers to U.S. trade and investment, enact policies to reduce poverty, combat corruption, and protect human rights.” Earlier this year, some American lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to move the meeting of the forum elsewhere following allegations that South Africa supplied arms to Russia for its war in Ukraine.They said moving the meeting to a different country would send a message that the United States would not accept its trading partners aiding Rus...

Sweden’s central bank hikes key interest rate, saying inflation is still too high

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:35 GMT

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Sweden’s central bank raised its key interest rate Thursday, saying that “inflationary pressures in the Swedish economy are still too high,” although there were signs that inflation had begun to fall.The Riksbank raised its policy rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4% and said its forecast indicated that it could be raised further.”Inflation is also falling in Sweden. The rate of increase in energy and food prices has slowed significantly, which is positive,” the Riksbank said in a statement.But the bank added that “inflation pressures are still too high,” noting that service prices are still rising rapidly and Sweden’s currency, the krona, is “unjustifiably weak.”The Swedish currency has plunged to its lowest level ever against the euro and the U.S. dollar. Sweden has been struggling with high inflation — it was 7.5% in August, down from 9.3% in July, but far from the 2% target set by Sweden’s central bank.“To ensure that inflation continues dow...

South Korean lawmakers vote to lift opposition leader’s immunity against arrest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:35 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In a surprise outcome, South Korea’s opposition-controlled parliament on Thursday voted to pass a motion submitted by the government that allows for the potential arrest of the country’s leading opposition figure, Lee Jae-myung, who faces a widening investigation over corruption allegations.Lawmakers voted 149-136 in favor of lifting Lee’s immunity to arrest, which allows the Seoul Central District Court to set up a hearing on prosecutors’ request for an arrest warrant for Lee, who has been the chairperson of the Democratic Party since August last year. It was not immediately clear when the hearing would take place or how likely it would be that the court would grant an arrest warrant for Lee after he was hospitalized on Monday while continuing a weekslong hunger strike in protest of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol’s domestic and foreign policies.Lee, a liberal who previously said he was willing to give up his immunity against arrest because he was con...

India suspends visa services in Canada, rift widens between countries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:35 GMT

India’s visa processing centre in Canada suspended services Thursday as a rift widened between the countries after Canada’s leader said India may have been involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Parliament on Monday that there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the assassination of Sikh independence activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who had been wanted by India for years and was gunned down in June outside the temple he led.Canada also expelled an Indian diplomat, and India followed by expelling a Canadian diplomat on Tuesday. It called the allegations being investigated in Canada absurd and an attempt to shift attention from the presence of Nijjar and other wanted suspects in Canada.“Important notice from Indian Mission: Due to operational reasons, with effect from 21 Sept. Indian visa services have been suspended till further notice,” the BLS Indian Visa Application Center in Canada said. It gave no further...

UK homeowners hope Bank of England avoids another rate hike after inflation falls

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:35 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Homeowners across the U.K. are hoping that the Bank of England will decide to avoid raising interest rates Thursday for the first time in nearly two years, a decision that would come on the heels of similar action by the U.S. Federal Reserve.Following Wednesday’s news that U.K. inflation fell unexpectedly in August to 6.7%, its lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine, expectations have grown that the Bank of England will opt to keep its main interest rate unchanged at a 15-year high of 5.25%.Before the inflation figures were released, most economists thought the central bank would raise its key borrowing rate once again by a quarter of a percentage point to 5.5%. That’s because inflation is still way above the bank’s target rate of 2% and higher than in any other Group of Seven major economy. Now, financial markets foresee the decision going either way. Even if there is a rate hike, economists expect the bank to indicate that borrowing rates have pe...