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Belgium to probe pro-Ukraine militia using its guns inside Russia, PM says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:26 GMT

BRUSSELS — Belgium is opening an investigation into whether weapons it sent to Ukraine have been used by pro-Ukraine Russian paramilitaries to launch attacks in Russia’s Belgorod region, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said Monday.“We have asked our intelligence and military services to analyze this,” De Croo told public broadcaster RTBF, after an investigation from the Washington Post released over the weekend showed that members of pro-Ukraine Russian volunteer groups carried Belgian-made SCAR assault rifles during an assault on Russian towns.“We are asking the Ukrainians to clarify the situation,” De Croo said, adding he was not able to confirm the information.“But the rule is clear: Our weapons that are provided to Ukraine are naturally [intended] for defensive purposes of the Ukrainian territory,” De Croo added.In January, Belgium approved its largest military aid package to Ukraine to date, worth €90 million. The package included SCAR...

Belgian police arrest 8 in fresh mafia raids

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:26 GMT

Belgian police conducted new raids Monday against the ‘Ndrangheta, a mafia organization from the southern Italian region of Calabria. “I can announce to you today that the federal prosecutor’s office today has carried out new searches in our country,” Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne told reporters at the sidelines of an event to fight drug-related violence in Antwerp, adding that it’s the “second operation” by Belgium against the ‘Ndrangheta. An earlier mega raid was carried out in May against the mafia organization which, according to Van Quickenborne, accounts for 80 percent of the cocaine imported to Europe. Eight people were arrested during the most recent searches across Belgium, the federal prosecutor’s office confirmed in a follow-up press release. They are preliminarily charged with drug trafficking and crime organization. Weapons, drugs, money and luxury goods were also seized during the raids, Van Quic...

EU extends import curbs on Ukrainian grain: diplomats

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:26 GMT

The EU executive is set to announce the extension until mid-September of temporary import curbs on Ukrainian grain and oilseeds that were due to expire Monday, three EU diplomats said on Monday. “The Commission has informed Member States of their proposal to that effect this morning,” one of the diplomats said. “Since the Commission has the authority to do so, effectively this will be in place from tomorrow.”The bans were imposed in April by a group of frontline EU countries, led by Poland, in an attempt to clear a supply glut that has built up in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year and subsequent blockade of its Black Sea ports. Brussels retroactively ratified the curbs last month. ”It’s completely understandable that the Commission does not want to jeopardize the possibilities for grain exports from Ukraine at this stage. At the same time one wonders about the precedent it’s set by rewarding a unilateral trade blockade by some member states with a be...

Keir Starmer: Speak up if you’ve got Labour harassment complaints

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:26 GMT

Keir Starmer urged anyone with allegations of sexual harassment against Labour politicians to “come forward,” as the party deals with the fallout from a series of misconduct claims.The U.K. opposition leader was speaking in Somerset days after the suspension of MP Gareth Davies.Davies lost the Labour whip pending an investigation after POLITICO reported on allegations he subjected five younger female colleagues to unwanted sexual attention. Davies has said he does not “recognize” the allegations, adding: “If I have inadvertently caused offence to anyone, then I am naturally sorry.”The long-serving MP’s suspension has prompted renewed soul-searching in the party over the way it deals with such complaints. A review of Labour’s internal processes has already been ordered by General Secretary David Evans.Speaking to reporters Monday, Starmer said he was “obviously concerned about any allegations of this nature, whether that’s in the Labour Party, in p...

Wagner’s feud with Russian army escalates amid reports of not-so-friendly fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:26 GMT

The feud between the mercenaries of the Kremlin-connected Wagner Group and the ordinary Russian army appears to be escalating, amid reports of exchanges of friendly fire.Russian soldiers shot at Wagner paramilitaries near Bakhmut — the eastern Ukrainian town which has seen brutal attritional battles for territory — destroying a truck, the mercenary group claimed Sunday evening.In response, Wagner claimed to have detained the commander of the Russian army’s 72nd brigade, on Monday releasing a video of him appearing to confess to giving the order to fire on the mercenaries’ vehicle, claiming he did so while drunk because he personally disliked the group. The officer, who introduced himself as Lieutenant-Colonel Roman Gennadievich Venivitin, appeared to have been roughed up by his captors.The video came after Wagner released a statement, signed by a “commander” of the group, stating that he had received information that members of the official Russian army ...

State trooper rescues baby deer in Holyoke

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:26 GMT

A Massachusetts state trooper rescued a baby deer that was found in a busy roadway in Holyoke over the weekend.Trooper Timothy Martin stopped on his way home from work to assist motorists who were trying to corral the deer and keep it from being struck by traffic on I-91. The fawn was later returned to its mother.

No survivors found at VA plane crash site after US fighter jets attempted to intercept its unresponsive pilot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:26 GMT

(CNN) — No survivors were found at the crash site of a plane whose pilot was unresponsive as it flew near the Washington, DC, area Sunday, prompting military fighter jets to attempt to intercept the aircraft before it ultimately crashed, authorities say.First responders reached the site Sunday evening, about four hours after state and local authorities launched a ground and air search for the crashed aircraft, Virginia State Police said.State police said they have suspended their search and will identify the plane’s passengers when the information becomes available.US F-16 fighter jets caused a sonic boom across the Washington, DC, region Sunday as they scrambled to reach the unresponsive aircraft, officials said.A US official said the F-16s did not shoot down the aircraft and that it is typical for the Federal Aviation Administration to call in jets if someone is flying unsafely.The pilot of the civilian aircraft was unresponsive as the F-16 fighter jets attempted to make cont...

Students to resume class elsewhere after falling concrete closes Somerville school for rest of school year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:26 GMT

Some students in Somerville will be “going off to college” to end their school year after a piece of falling concrete prompted the closure of the Winter Hill Community Innovation School.The concrete, which fell outside school operating hours while the school was unoccupied, led to an inspection of the school that determined it was unsafe to have students return this school year. Now, the students will be wrapping up their classes beginning Thursday at several remote locations.Grades 1-8 will be at Tufts University; Pre-K and kindergarten will be at the Capuano Early Childhood Center; and AIM students will be at the Edgerly Education Center.Until school resumes, school officials say students can be dropped off for child care at the Founders Memorial Skating Rink between 7:30 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Commuter rail network ‘failing’ riders, group says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:26 GMT

A scathing new report from transportation watchdog TransitMatters finds the state’s commuter rail system is in need of full-scale overhaul if Massachusetts hopes to meet self-imposed Net Zero carbon goals by 2050.The report, titled “Turning Vision into Reality: the Moment for Regional Rail is Now,” indicates the state is at a transit crossroads, faced with the choice of maintaining an outdated and ailing diesel fleet, or investing in the kind of regional transportation that actually works for residents.“The MBTA’s commuter rail system is failing the people it should serve,” the report reads, in part. “Riders from Gateway Cities like Haverhill and Fitchburg must pay high fares for trains that come hourly or worse.”“Environmental justice communities like Dorchester and Chelsea are exposed to dangerous black carbon emissions from diesel locomotives and are forced to contend with long bus trips because of commuter rail’s expense, low frequency, and unreliability. White collar workers wi...

Orioles reset: Like Buster Posey before him, Adley Rutschman showing value of having a two-way catcher

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:26 GMT

A historic franchise coming off down seasons called up a catcher with a boyish face and suddenly, everything changed.More than a decade after Buster Posey returned the San Francisco Giants to prominence, Adley Rutschman is having a similar impact in Baltimore. Since calling him up last May, the Orioles have transformed into one of baseball’s top teams after years as one of its worst.Rutschman has drawn comparisons to Posey since before he was drafted first overall in 2019, and they have only grown since he reached the majors. It’s perhaps unfair, given Posey’s 12-season career could land him in the Hall of Fame and featured numerous World Series championships, All-Star appearances and Silver Sluggers to go with a Gold Glove. Rutschman has yet to accomplish any of those, though he’s positioned to change that this season.But as Posey was to the Giants, Rutschman, 25, is a catcher who is vital to his team on both sides of the ball and is in many ways its centerp...