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EU countries agree on sanctions package to target Russia’s helpers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

EU ambassadors Wednesday agreed on an 11th sanctions package against Russia, the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU said, making it possible for the first time to punish third countries that help Moscow evade trade restrictions. After adopting 10 sanctions packages following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of last year, the EU has now designed a new mechanism: If third countries, for example in Central Asia, fail to comply with Western sanctions or can’t explain a sudden rise in trade in banned goods, they could face EU punishment.EU countries have been wrangling over the package since mid-May and the row had threatened to overshadow a leaders’ summit next week. Several countries, including heavy-hitter Germany, had fretted that such a mechanism would hurt diplomatic relations, and even drive countries into the arms of Russia and China.In various versions of the text seen by POLITICO, the European Commission had included m...

France disbands climate movement over ‘eco-terrorism’ allegations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

The French government on Wednesday delegalized a movement of climate activists following violent clashes with police that left hundreds injured. “No cause can justify the especially numerous and violent acts called for and provoked by this grouping,” said Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. A day earlier, French police arrested 18 members of Les Soulèvements de la Terre (Earth Uprising) across the country.The group, which has no clear leadership structure, vowed to battle the decision in court. It was set up in 2021 and counts more than 115,000 supporters, some of whom take radical action to raise awareness about climate change and environmental protection, targeting projects such as reservoirs, highways, and industrial agriculture.Last weekend, it tried to block the construction of the Lyon-Turin railway tunnel — with a dozen police officers injured in clashes. In June, it demonstrated against sand mines; in May against a motorway interchange near Rouen that would destroy a forest; ...

Domestic violence call prompts SWAT standoff in Clairemont

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- It's been an eventful Wednesday morning for some in the Clairemont neighborhood as SWAT standoff is underway.The situation is taking place in a residential neighborhood on Diane Avenue, which is right off of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard. The San Diego Police Department responded to a domestic violence call reporting a firearm at a home in the area, just after 1 a.m. Police confirmed to FOX 5 that it involved a man and a woman. Father of two kids hit, killed on SR-78 speaks out The woman has since left the home and authorities say she is safe. However, the man who is believed to be armed, is still inside the residence and is refusing to come out, SDPD said.According to authorities, a SWAT unit and a negotiations team are working to resolve this matter peacefully. "Police officers responded, tried to call the individual out. That person has not come out yet, so at this point we have negotiators and a SWAT team on scene working to safely resolve the situation and get the p...

Israeli settlers torch Palestinian homes and cars to avenge deadly shooting; Palestinian man killed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

TURMUS AYYA, West Bank (AP) — Hundreds of Israeli settlers on Wednesday stormed into a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank, setting fire to dozens of cars and homes to avenge the deaths of four Israelis killed by a pair of Palestinian gunmen the previous day, residents said. Palestinians said one man was killed in the violence.The settler attack came as the Israeli military deployed additional forces across the occupied West Bank, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced plans to build 1,000 new settler homes in response to the deadly shooting.The moves threatened to further raise tensions after two days of deadly fighting in the West Bank that included a daylong Israeli military raid in a Palestinian militant stronghold and Tuesday’s mass shooting.Palestinian residents and human rights groups have long complained about Israel’s inability or refusal to halt settler violence. In Wednesday’s violence, residents in Turmus Ayya said some 400 settlers marc...

Stock market today: Wall Street slips again ahead of Powell testimony

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is retreating a bit more as a five-week rally loses momentum. The S&P 500 was 0.4% lower in early trading Wednesday. It’s on pace for a third straight pullback after rallying last week to its highest level in more than a year. The Dow fell 152 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq composite was off 0.3%. The main event for the day is likely to be testimony on Capitol Hill from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The Fed has been a key focus for markets as it tries to get the worst inflation in generations under control.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.U.S. markets are largely unmoved early Wednesday ahead of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s appearance before Congress, where he’s expected to field questions about the central bank’s inflation-fighting interest rate policies.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 each ticked down about 0.1% before the opening bell Wednesday. Oil pric...

European Union countries agree on a new package of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union countries on Wednesday agreed on a new package of sanctions against Russia for its war against Ukraine.Sweden, which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said that the package includes measures aimed at countering sanctions circumvention and individual listings.Details of the measures will be unveiled later this week when the sanctions are officially adopted by written procedure.The EU had previously imposed 10 rounds of sanctions on Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Banks, companies and markets have been hit — even parts of the sensitive energy sector. More than 1,000 officials are subject to asset freezes and travel bans.Much work has involved closing loopholes so that goods vital to Putin’s war effort don’t get through.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the EU’s executive arm, said the new package will “deal a further blow to Putin’s war machine wit...

Statistics Canada says retail sales rose 1.1% in April to $65.9 billion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

OTTAWA — Canadian retail sales came in stronger than initially estimated as gains at general merchandise retailers and food and beverage stores led the way higher.Statistics Canada said Wednesday retail sales rose 1.1 per cent to $65.9 billion in April, topping its initial estimate for the month that pointed to an increase of 0.2 per cent.The agency’s advance estimate for May suggested a gain of 0.5 per cent for that month, though it cautioned the figure would be revised.BMO economist Shelly Kaushik said the Canadian consumer continued to prove its resilience. “That said, higher prices drove most of the increase as spending volumes rose at a much slower pace,” Kaushik wrote in a report.In volume terms, retail sales rose 0.3 per cent for April.“Looking ahead, momentum in consumer spending is expected to slow in the second half of the year, as yet higher interest rates and still-elevated inflation continue to weigh on purchasing power,” Kaushik wrote.The ...

Two missing RCAF members found dead after helicopter crash near Petawawa

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

OTTAWA — The Department of National Defence says two Royal Canadian Air Force members who had been missing since a Chinook helicopter crashed in eastern Ontario have been found dead.The pair were found late Tuesday evening after an extensive search of the Ottawa River near Petawawa, Ont., about 160 kilometres northwest of Ottawa.Four people were on board the helicopter when it crashed just after midnight Tuesday during a training exercise. The Armed Forces says it is not releasing the names of the members who were killed out of respect for their families’ wishes.The other two crew members were taken to hospital with minor injuries and have since been released.The military says a full investigation into what caused the crash is underway. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 21, 2023.The Canadian Press

Iranian man charged in Germany over alleged plot for attack using deadly chemicals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — An Iranian man arrested in western Germany earlier this year after a tip from U.S. officials has been charged with plotting an Islamist attack using ricin or cyanide, German prosecutors said Wednesday.The 26-year-old, identified only as J.J. in line with Germany’s privacy rules, was arrested in January along with his brother in Castrop-Rauxel, a city in the industrial Ruhr region. Prosecutors in Duesseldorf said he was charged with preparing a serious act of violence and terror financing. An indictment was filed in the state court in Dortmund.A case against the suspect’s 32-year-old brother, who initially was suspected of involvement in the plot, was dropped for lack of sufficient evidence, prosecutors said. They said the younger man had decided by the end of October to carry out an attack in line with the ideology of the Islamic State group by spreading ricin or a cyanide compound, and intended to kill as many people as possible by spreading the chemicals....

Virginians oust Democrat who sought abortion limits and Republican who denied 2020 results

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:59 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Voters ousted two of Virginia’s most controversial political figures in Tuesday’s primary election, along with at least three more of their Senate colleagues. Sen. Joe Morrissey, a political centrist and increasingly rare Democrat who supports limits on abortion access, lost to former state legislator Lashrecse Aird, who calls herself a 100% supporter of abortion rights. “Joe’s been here too long. It’s time for new blood,” said Gail Coleman, 62, who voted for Aird Tuesday afternoon in suburban Richmond. Republican Sen. Amanda Chase, a right-wing firebrand who has served in the Senate since 2016 and embraced falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election, was edged out by Glen Sturtevant, a lawyer and former senator seeking a political comeback in the red-leaning suburban Richmond district. Voters decided dozens of other nominees, including in some swing districts that will help determine the balance of power in the General Assembly in the Nove...