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EU ambitions are ‘glue’ holding Balkans together, North Macedonia says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:46 GMT

BRUSSELS — North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Bujar Osmani called on the EU to move faster on integrating the six Western Balkans countries — or risk a return of ethnic conflicts to the region.“North Macedonia is multi-ethnic, multicultural … The only narrative that has subordinated these conflicting narratives and has become a glue for all these narratives is the European Union,” Osmani told POLITICO during a visit to Brussels. “So you have all groups, social, cultural, religious, ethnic, all share the same ideal: the EU,” the foreign minister added.All six countries from the region — North Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo — have applied for EU membership, with varying degrees of progress.All countries but Kosovo have been granted candidate status but, in most cases, negotiations to join have been stalled for years.Brussels opened accession negotiations with North Macedonia in July 2022, and the country is currently g...

Matt Hancock at the COVID inquiry: All the cringe-inducing moments

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:46 GMT

LONDON — It’s Matt Hancock’s world, we just live in it. Britain’s controversial former health secretary has been rolling with the punches Thursday as he faces a two-day grilling by the official inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic.Hancock — who quit in scandal after a coronavirus rule-breaching affair with an aide was exposed — is a divisive figure in Westminster, and has rarely been out of the headlines since leaving government. An unauthorized reality TV stint saw him kicked out of the Tory party, while the leak of thousands of his private WhatsApps earlier this year shed an unflattering light on the government he served in.He’s also taken heavy flak for his response to the virus in the inquiry — set up to learn lessons — so far. Now he gets to put his side across.Greatest hits include the ex-No.10 Downing Street aide Dominic Cummings calling Hancock a “proven liar;” former Deputy Cabinet Secretary Helen MacNamara claiming Hancock would say things in meetings that “we’d discover ...

Emmanuel Macron to head to Qatar after COP28

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:46 GMT

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Qatar on Saturday after meeting regional leaders at the COP28 in Dubai, with discussions expected to focus on the hostages held by Hamas, according to an Elysée Palace official.The French president will also hold talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Israeli President Isaac Herzog on the sidelines of the climate summit in Dubai.Macron’s visit to Israel, the West Bank, Egypt and Jordan last month was marred by controversy when the president suggested creating a international coalition to defeat Hamas, an idea which rang alarm bells in Arab nations.Macron will be flying to the United Arab Emirates Thursday to meet regional leaders before kicking off his COP28 program Friday afternoon.In Doha, the French president is expected to press Qatar to seek the liberation of more hostages who are being held by Hamas since the October 7 attacks on Israel. Qatar has been playing a mediation ...

UK energy chief reveals Cabinet split over Bidenomics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:46 GMT

LONDON — U.K. Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho has signaled a Cabinet split over Bidenomics, after praising the impact of a massive U.S. green subsidy scheme. Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which has poured hundreds of billions of dollars into subsidies and tax breaks for U.S. clean energy firms, has been widely criticized by senior U.K. government figures including Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who branded it “protectionist.”But Coutinho, a close ally of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, told an event on Wednesday night that moves in the U.S. and EU to increase green subsidies are a “welcome thing,” with the potential to drive down prices in the U.K. and elsewhere.Badenoch slammed the IRA in February, arguing it was likely to “create problems with the supply chain for everybody else.” “I don’t think it is a good idea,” she said. The minister stands by her comments, an aide said.“One of the things that we have seen over the past year i...

Harvard and NYC Education Department face federal probe over allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:46 GMT

(CNN) — The US Department of Education added Harvard University and the New York City Department of Education to a growing list of universities and school districts that are being investigated over alleged incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia following the October 7 attacks by Hamas against Israel.The announcement comes just days before Harvard president Claudine Gay is scheduled to testify before Congress at a hearing on antisemitism on campus, along with MIT president Sally Kornbluth and University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill.The hearing, which is set for Tuesday, will be held by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.There have been hundreds of protests and counterprotests on these campuses, with some of them turning violent. The faces and names of some students allegedly linked to anti-Israel statements were displayed on mobile billboards last month near the Harvard campus.The Office of Civil Rights announced ear...

US Coast Guard leaders long concealed a critical report about racism, hazing and sexual misconduct

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:46 GMT

(CNN) — For nearly a decade, US Coast Guard leaders have concealed a critical report that exposed racism, hazing, discrimination and sexual assault across the agency.The 2015 “Culture of Respect” study, a copy of which was obtained by CNN, documented how employees complained of a “boys will be boys” and “I got through it so can you” culture. Many said they feared they would be ostracized and retaliated against for reporting abuse and that those who did come forward often had their complaints dismissed by supervisors.Some of the report’s core findings mirrored those of another secret investigation into rapes and sexual assaults at the Coast Guard’s academy. The existence of that probe, which was dubbed Operation Fouled Anchor and completed in 2019, was revealed by CNN earlier this year. That investigation found that serious misconduct had been ignored and, at times, covered up by high-ranking officials, allowing alleged offenders to rise within the ranks of the Coast G...

Shane MacGowan, lead singer of The Pogues, dead at 65

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:46 GMT

London (CNN) — Shane MacGowan, the lead singer of Irish band The Pogues, has died, according to a statement from his wife, Victoria Mary Clarke.Clarke announced the death of the 65-year-old on Instagram, saying: “There’s no way to describe the loss that I am feeling and the longing for just one more of his smiles that lit up my world.”MacGowan is widely known for the 1988 Christmas hit “Fairytale of New York.”This is a developing story and will be updated.

Inside Ravens rookie WR Zay Flowers’ ‘electrifying’ impact: ‘A guy that wants to be great’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:46 GMT

Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers is a big fan of soccer stars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, which explains his reaction after his second touchdown against the host Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday night. After shooting a fake penalty kick past fellow wideout Odell Beckham Jr., he imitated Ronaldo’s “Siuuu” celebration with NBC’s Mike Tirico shouting “Gooooooooooooal!” on the broadcast.“I’ve been playing FIFA a lot,” Flowers said.He’s been catching a lot, too. The 22nd overall draft pick’s team-leading 58 receptions are already the most by a rookie in franchise history. He’s just 228 yards away from surpassing Torrey Smith’s mark for the most yards by a first-year Ravens player, and his 613 yards rank fourth in the NFL among rookie receivers this season. Only the Los Angeles Rams’ Puka Nacua (73) has more catches.Beyond the numbers, what’s been Flowers’ impact?“I would describe t...

Chicago Bears Q&A: How many layers are there to the QB decision? Where has Darnell Mooney gone? What was with all the screen passes?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:46 GMT

The Chicago Bears entered their bye week with good vibes after a final-minute drive for the winning field goal in Monday’s 12-10 road victory over the Minnesota Vikings.But with five games remaining this season, a decision looms regarding quarterback Justin Fields’ future with the team and how to use what likely will be two high draft picks. Brad Biggs kicks off his weekly Bears mailbag with more on the QB decision.Do you think the Bears can win with Justin Fields? I seesaw on this constantly. He clearly lacks the clock in his head to know when to hold the ball and when to get rid of it. But his athleticism is so outstanding that, with a great offensive line and another weapon at receiver, the Bears could keep their top picks and say, “This is our guy. He’s a top four or five athlete at the position, he has a cannon and we’re going to make sure he gets that extra second that he requires to process and then throw.” DJ Moore, Cole Kmet, Darnell Moon...

Families reunite with 17 Thai hostages freed by Hamas at homecoming at Bangkok airport

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:46 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Seventeen Thai workers released from captivity by the militant Hamas group were greeted Thursday by family and friends, officials and journalists in an emotional homecoming at Bangkok’s international airport.The 17 are among 23 Thais freed so far, with six left temporarily behind in Israel because doctors said they were not yet fit to travel. Thai officials says another nine Thai hostages are still being held in Gaza.Ratree Sampan, who traveled from the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom, arrived early at the airport for the reunion with her son Buddee Saengboon.“After the war broke out, I could not contact him,” said the 57-year-old Ratree. “For one month and 18 days, I assumed he was already dead.”“I waited for a miracle, and it happened. He survived,” she said.There were about 30,000 Thai workers — mostly laborers in the agricultural sector — in Israel prior to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, when militants stormed through a border fence and killed hundreds o...