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Von der Leyen warns China — again — not to use force against Taiwan

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:21:09 GMT

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday again warned China against using force in the Taiwan Strait, reiterating a message she delivered to Chinese President Xi Jinping during a high-stakes visit to Beijing earlier this month. The EU, von der Leyen said, has “consistently called for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and we stand strongly against any unilateral change of the status quo, in particular by the use of force.”Her comments, made before the European Parliament, highlight the distance between herself and French President Emmanuel Macron on the issue — a disagreement that recently jumped into the spotlight while the two were jointly traveling in China. Toward the end of the trip, Macron suggested in an interview with POLITICO and the French daily Les Echos that Europe should be wary of getting drawn into a U.S.-China confrontation over Taiwan, remarks that came shortly after von der Leyen sent a stern warning to Beijing not to meddle ...

Parliament approves core EU climate legislation

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:21:09 GMT

The European Parliament gave its final blessing to key pieces of legislation that form the backbone of the EU’s flagship climate policy package — putting them one step closer to becoming law.Two years of fraught negotiations between the Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission culminated last year in a compromise deal on plans to revise the bloc’s carbon market, set up a carbon tax, and create a Social Climate Fund to compensate vulnerable consumers. The files are a key part of the EU’s so-called Fit for 55 package, which was designed to help the bloc cut greenhouse-gas emissions 55 percent by 2030 against a 1990 baseline. The revision of the EU’s carbon market, known as the Emissions Trading System, includes fully integrating aviation into the mechanism and extending it to cover shipping emissions. It also compels power generators and heavy polluters to curb their pollution by 62 percent by 2030.The deal also establishes a parallel c...

UK strikes state-level trade pact with Oklahoma

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:21:09 GMT

LONDON — Britain has struck its fourth state-level trade deal in Washington on Tuesday as talks with the Biden administration for a comprehensive deal remain on ice.U.K. International Trade Minister Nigel Huddleston is in Washington to sign a pact with Oklahoma focused on boosting cross-border investment in green technologies like carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).“The U.S. is our largest trading partner, and these wins reflect our successful twin-track approach to trade with the U.S., strengthening links with individual states in parallel with work with the federal government,” said Huddleston.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pressed Joe Biden last week during his visit to Northern Ireland to get trade dialogues back on track with the aim of working towards a comprehensive deal. But the Biden administration indicates it won’t talk trade until this June, at the earliest.U.K. Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch noted in parliament Monday that “the U.S. is not doing [fre...

Increasing Sunshine Ahead

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:21:09 GMT

Mother Nature clearly had a case of the Mondays yesterday with the clouds and showers we had. We needed the rain so we can’t complain. Actually, we need more rain than what we had. Most areas picked up less than a tenth of an inch and we’re running almost two inches behind in rainfall just for the month of April. Outside of a widely isolated shower today (that won’t provide any significant rain), the rest of the work week will be dry.Our current storm system is a stretched out one. The cold front is that line of clouds and showers stretching from Halifax and south into the Atlantic Ocean but the center of the storm is way back near Toronto and the Great Lakes. The center of the storm will lift off to our northwest but as it passes will bring some clouds and the chance of a widely isolated shower. It will also pick up the wind quite a bit later this morning and afternoon.The shower chance is small, like 10-20% but it’s not zero. I think the chance of one of th...

Medford man to appear in court on murder charge after bodies of 2 missing men found in Brighton storage unit

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:21:09 GMT

A Medford man is expected to be arraigned in Somerville District Court Tuesday after the bodies of two missing men were found in a storage unit on North Beacon Street on Saturday, according to Middlesex County DA Marian Ryan. Leonid Volkov, 37, was arrested Saturday in North Attleboro in connection with the deaths of Kiryl Schukin, 37, and Pavel Veshkin, 28, who were found suffering from stab wounds.Investigators executing a search warrant on the unit, which had been rented by Volkov using one of the victim’s names, found the men’s bodies in rubber storage bins. One of the bodies, tentatively identified as Kiryl Schukin, had been dismembered, officials said.Investigators say they also found bleach, rubber gloves, and items belonging to Schukin and Veshkin. The victims, officials said, were known to Volkov.The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) accepted jurisdiction of the case and has ruled the cause of death of the man identified as Schukin as homicide. The second man has...

Orioles minor league report: Joey Ortiz, Drew Rom excel as farm system shows off its depth

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:21:09 GMT

Infielder Joey Ortiz played five solid games last week, but it was the one he didn’t play that raised eyebrows.Ortiz, the Orioles’ No. 7 prospect according to Baseball America, hit .364 with six RBIs for Triple-A Norfolk to continue his solid start to the season. But he was held out of Saturday’s game as a precaution as Baltimore infielder Ramón Urías was being assessed in concussion protocol, the Orioles announced.Ortiz wasn’t called up Sunday or Monday, but if Urías has to go on the seven-day injured list as he progresses through concussion protocol, it’s likely that Ortiz would receive his first call-up to the big leagues.Orioles manager Brandon Hyde wouldn’t comment Sunday about a potential Ortiz promotion, instead focusing on how Urías was “feeling a lot better” a day after taking a 96.2 mph pitch to the helmet.Ortiz, who turns 25 in July, is one of three prominent infield prospects in Norfolk, alongside Jordan...

OBF: Until banner 18 is raised, questions will follow Boston Celtics

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:21:09 GMT

The Celtics transformed a 32-point lead over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 into a series of nagging questions concerning their ultimate fate in the NBA playoffs.“Does Boston have the killer instinct to win a championship?”“No,” until further notice.“Who wants to carry this team on their back?”The line forms here.“Will there be any pre-game playoff guarantees?”Don’t want to upset a fellow Nike athlete.The names on the Celtics roster have combined 5,135 regular-season and 678 playoff games on their collective resume. None has won an NBA championship. Gone, too, is the multi-banner pedigree of Danny Ainge in the front office.Winning was once the longest strand of Celtics DNA. For instance, the 1986 Celtics had a combined 11 rings on the roster before they took the court in Game 1 against the Rockets in the NBA Finals. Coach K.C. Jones added nine on his dresser as a player and coach.Now the only Celtics’ ring-bearers at TD Garden reside in the owner’s suite, seated at courtside, or are at...

Battenfeld: Social Security cuts and raising retirement age on the table in 2024 race

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:21:09 GMT

The looming Social Security shortfall is triggering a fierce political debate in the 2024 White House race and causing angst among baby boomer voters heading for retirement.With the rioting in France over a plan to raise the retirement age as a backdrop, the focus in America is on when benefits may run out, forcing steep cuts in payments. Some experts predict that could happen as soon as 2034.Nothing scares older voters more than messing with Social Security, and the presidential candidates are going to find that out again soon. About 67 million Americans per month get retirement, survivor or disability benefits through Social Security.In France, President Emmanuel Macron has proposed raising that country’s retirement age from 62 to 64, triggering protests and unrest among French citizens.A Newsweek poll showed that nearly three in ten voters think the retirement age of 67 is too high, and an AP-NORC poll found that three in four votes oppose raising the retirement age to 70 and cut...

Lawsuit against Fox for false election claims heads to trial

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:21:09 GMT

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Jurors are set to get their first look Tuesday at a voting machine company’s $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News in a trial that will test First Amendment protections and expose the network’s role in spreading the lie of a stolen 2020 presidential election.The scheduled trial start comes after a one-day delay granted by the judge overseeing the case, a reprieve that gave the sides time to see if they could work out a settlement.Jury selection and opening statements had been scheduled for Monday in Dominion Voting Systems’ lawsuit. The Denver-based company aims to hold Fox accountable for airing false allegations of election fraud that continue to roil U.S. politics.Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis gave no explanation for the brief delay. But he suggested the companies try to mediate their dispute, according to a person close to Fox who was not authorized to speak publicly about the lawsuit’s status and spoke on the...

How election lies, libel law are key to Fox defamation suit

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:21:09 GMT

A major defamation lawsuit against Fox News goes to trial Tuesday, carrying the potential to shed additional light on former President Donald Trump’s election lies, reveal more about how the right-leaning network operates and even redefine libel law in the U.S. Here are some things to know about the case.___THE CASEDominion Voting Systems is suing Fox for $1.6 billion, claiming the news outlet repeatedly aired allegations that the company’s voting machines were rigged to doom Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign while knowing they were untrue. Fox contends that it was reporting newsworthy charges made by supporters of the Republican then-president and is supported legally by libel standards. After a one-day delay that raised the possibility of a last-minute settlement between the litigants, seating of the jury is scheduled to start Tuesday, followed immediately by opening statements.___ELECTION DISCONNECTDenver-based Dominion has produced evidence that prominent people at Fo...