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NATO chief: Most Wagner forces haven’t moved to Belarus

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin made a deal to go to Belarus — but NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that only a few of his mercenaries have ended up there. In an interview with POLITICO on Wednesday, the defensive alliance leader said Wagner forces do remain active in Africa and away from the frontline in Ukraine but that not many have arrived in Belarus. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko brokered a deal for Prigozhin to head to his country following a failed mutiny in Russia, sparking fears about Wagner’s possible future presence in the region. “We have seen some preparations for the hosting of Wagner forces,” Stoltenberg said. But, he added, “We have so far not yet seen so many of them arriving.”“We are, of course, closely following what’s going on in Belarus,” Stoltenberg said. “What we have seen is that the Wagner forces continue to operate in Africa,” he noted, underscoring that while not many have gone to Belarus, “some are in Ukraine, but not a...

EU chides Poland for stagnant rule-of-law progress

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

The EU on Wednesday criticized Poland’s lack of progress on judicial reforms, adding fuel to the already fiery relationship between Warsaw and Brussels.The European Commission raised “serious concerns” about the independence of the Polish judiciary in its annual report on the rule of law, noting that the country ignored most of the EU’s recommendations from the previous year.With less than six months to go until Poland’s tightly contested elections, where the nationalist government risks losing power after eight years in office, the report will shed a harsh spotlight on the tensions between Warsaw and Brussels under the ruling Law and Justice party.Already, Brussels is withholding billions from Warsaw in a long-running rule-of-law dispute — a fight the Polish government has tried to spin to its political advantage but that nonetheless presents domestic challenges. There’s also a looming battle between the two over a recent migrant relocation deal Poland has vowed to boycott.In...

Orioles promote 2021 first-round pick Colton Cowser to majors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

The Orioles’ strong start to the season came with one infield prospect and another in the outfield pounding on the door to make their respective debuts. In a little more than a week’s time, both will have arrived in the majors.Nine days after calling up infielder Jordan Westburg, the Orioles promoted outfielder Colton Cowser, their No. 2 prospect according to Baseball America, to the majors ahead of Wednesday night’s game at the New York Yankees. Drafted fifth overall in 2021, the 23-year-old Cowser was hitting .330/.459/.537 in 56 games with Triple-A Norfolk.The Orioles opened space for Cowser on their active and 40-man rosters with a flurry of roster moves, also optioning outfielder Ryan McKenna to Triple-A Norfolk, designating catcher Anthony Bemboom and right-hander Chris Vallimont for assignment and selecting the contract of right-hander Eduard Bazardo.They might have brought Cowser up sooner if not for Cedric Mullins’ right groin strain in late May comi...

Yankees pitcher Jimmy Cordero suspended for rest of season under MLB’s domestic violence policy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

Yankees pitcher Jimmy Cordero has been suspended for the rest of the 2023 season by commissioner Rob Manfred for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy.“The Yankees are fully supportive of Major League Baseball’s investigative process and the disciplinary action applied to Jimmy Cordero,” the team said in a statement. “There is no justification for domestic violence, and we stand with the objectives, standards and enforcement of MLB’s Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy.”Cordero, 31, was in his second season in the Yankees organization.The right-hander was accepted the ban handed down by MLB on Wednesday. The suspension also includes the postseason.Cordero, who spent the 2022 season with the Bombers’ Triple-A club in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, was 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA over 30 relief appearances and one start this season.Tommy John surgery cost the righty reliever the 2021 season. Prior to joining the Yankees, he...

Coast Guard searching for kayaker off of Martha’s Vineyard

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

The U.S. Coast Guard was searching for a missing kayaker off of Martha’s Vineyard on Wednesday, according to officials.The Coast Guard office out of Boston reported that an unmanned kayak was found near Gay Head Lighthouse off Aquinnah.“Coast Guard searching for owner of unmanned adrift kayak near Gay Head Lighthouse, off Martha’s Vineyard,” the First Coast Guard District tweeted Wednesday morning.“@USCG Station Menemsha, Menemsha Harbormaster, CuttyHunk Fire and Rescue and Dukes County responding,” the Coast Guard added.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | US Coast Guard says ‘presumed human remains’ found in wreckage of Titan submersible Crime & Public Safety | Titanic sub deadly implosion investigation: Coast Guard collects debris at wreck site, ‘goal is to prevent a similar occurrence’ Crime & Public Safety | Titanic-bound OceanGate submersible implosion investigation launch...

As Israel ends 2-day West Bank offensive, Palestinian residents emerge to scenes of vast destruction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

By MALAK HARB (Associated Press)JENIN REFUGEE CAMP, West Bank (AP) — Palestinian residents of the Jenin refugee camp encountered scenes of widespread destruction Wednesday as they emerged from their homes and returned from nearby shelters following the most intense Israeli military operation in the occupied West Bank in nearly two decades.The two-day offensive, meant to crack down on Palestinian militants after a series of recent attacks, destroyed the camp’s narrow roads and alleyways, sent thousands of people fleeing their homes and killed 12 Palestinians. One Israeli soldier also was killed.While Israel claimed the operation had inflicted a tough blow on the militants, it remained unclear whether there would be any lasting effect on reducing more than a year of Israeli-Palestinian violence. The offensive also further weakened the Palestinian Authority, Israel’s erstwhile partner in battling militants, which already had little control in the camp to begin with.Is...

5 ways to simplify and reduce your money clutter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.Professional organizers might define household clutter as a pile of unmade decisions. Money clutter is much the same.Those credit cards you no longer use but haven’t closed? That’s money clutter. So is the retirement account you left behind three jobs ago and the financial paperwork you keep but no longer need. Money clutter also can include broken systems that should be mended, such as a bill payment routine that leads to overdrafts or late fees.You can simplify your financial life by dealing with those long-delayed decisions now and streamlining how you manage your money going forward. Here are five tasks to consider.1. Consolidate accountsThe more financial accounts you have to monitor, the more stress you’re likely to feel, says ...

Freed from prison for a crime he didn’t commit, ‘Central Park Five’ member wins NYC Council race

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated “Central Park Five,” has won a Democratic primary for a seat on the New York City Council, all but assuring him of eventual victory. It’s an improbable feat for a political novice who was wrongly accused, convicted and imprisoned as a teenager for the rape and beating of a white jogger in Central Park.The Associated Press refrained from calling the race to represent Central Harlem on election night, but vote tallies released Wednesday showed him to be the clear winner, garnering nearly two-thirds of the vote after three rounds of rank-choice voting.“Many doubted us along the way, but this was a campaign based on change,” Salaam said after AP called the race. “The voters overwhelmingly agreed with our vision for a better, stronger and more tolerant community. “We are going to have a new Harlem renaissance,” his statement said.Salaam and the four other Black and Latino teens from Harlem became known as the Central Park Five after the...

Accuser says Kevin Spacey grope wasn’t a caress: ‘It was like a cobra … angry’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A man who said Kevin Spacey made crude and racially offensive remarks before forcefully grabbing his genitals said he kept the degrading incident boxed up inside for more than a decade because he feared no one would believe his word against that of an Oscar-winning “golden boy.” “I was a keeper of his secret for a long time,” the man said as he finally unburdened himself by telling his story to a policeman in a video interview played Wednesday for jurors in Spacey’s sexual assault trial in a London court.The man was older and more emotionally and financially stable when he decided to join others who had accused the actor of sexual misconduct as the #MeToo movement exploded in 2017, the man said. He does not seek blood or hope Spacey is imprisoned but wants accountability for an injustice that has eaten at him so long.“It’s weird — he did it and I felt embarrassed,” the man said. “He made me feel worthless at the time.”Spacey, 63, has pleaded not guilty to a dozen...

Ottawa follows peers, blasts Hong Kong bounties on activists with Canada ties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:48 GMT

Ottawa is condemning Hong Kong officials for issuing bounties for the arrest of eight activists living abroad, days after Canada’s peers slammed the move.Hong Kong’s national-security law restricts civil liberties in the territory, which is a special administrative region within China but was guaranteed certain democratic freedoms when Britain handed over the former colony in 1997.Officials announced on Monday that eight pro-democracy activists who are charged under the law are the subject of bounties, with authorities offering the equivalent of roughly $170,000 for information leading to an arrest.The eight face charges such as “incitement to secession” and “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security.”Edmonton-born Dennis Kwok, who renounced his Canadian citizenship when he became a Hong Kong legislator in 2012, is on that list. He left office as the national-security law came into force in 2020, and ...