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2 top Polish generals quit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:43 GMT

WARSAW — Two of Poland’s most senior generals — Rajmund Andrzejczak, chief of the general staff, and Tomasz Piotrowski, operational commander of the armed forces — have resigned.“Of course, if the generals yesterday decided to submit requests to terminate their duty, to shed their uniforms, such a decision will be accepted by the head of the armed forces,” said Jacek Siewiera, head of the National Security Bureau, the president’s advisory body.Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak and Piotrowski clashed after a Russian missile flew into Polish airspace in December; it was only noticed after a hiker found the debris. The incident was a big embarrassment for the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party, which has made national security a key part of its campaign to win a third term in office in this Sunday’s general election.Błaszczak blamed Piotrowski for the incident and demanded his resignation, which met with protests from Andrzejczak and was ultimately averte...

Paris bedbugs: We’re worried too, says London mayor Sadiq Khan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:43 GMT

Something’s keeping Sadiq Khan up at night.The risk of bedbugs spreading from France to London is “a real source of concern,” the U.K. city’s mayor said.Speaking to the PoliticsJoe website at this week’s Labour Party conference, Khan said Transport for London — which runs the city’s bus and underground train network — is keeping a close eye on reports from Paris about the little critters.Bedbugs have been spotted on public transport in Paris and across France over the past few weeks, raising alarm among residents and public officials. French ministers have urged the public to stay calm, and not “fall into psychosis or anxiety.”Khan, London’s Labour mayor, said he had been in contact with TfL “last week and this weekend” to discuss the problem, and said London’s city government would be “taking steps to make sure we don’t have those problems in London, in relation to regular cleaning of the Tube and our bus...

Demonstrations held in Boston, Cambridge as war between Israel and Hamas militants rages

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:43 GMT

Thousands of people gathered at two Boston-area demonstrations Monday, one to show solidarity with Israel and the other in support of the people of Palestine after this weekend’s surprise attack by Hamas.Thousands gathered on Boston Common Monday, to condemn the attacks and pray for those killed and taken hostage.“This is horrific,” one person said. “It’s terrifying for everybody here who knows someone, who feels the pain.”“We haven’t been eating,” said Edita Kaplun, describing her experience in recent days. “We haven’t been sleeping.”Kaplun has family members and friends in Israel.“All my friends are texting me, I’ve been checking in with them every day,” Kaplun said. “And, when you don’t hear back from your friends for even an hour, you just kind of freak out and worry that something could have happened to them.”Religious and community leaders spoke during Monday’s gathering in Boston, affirming the city’s connection to Israel.“Boston stands with Israel,” one leader said.“Wh...

Wall Street Journal reporter loses appeal and will stay in a Russian jail at least through November

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:43 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich lost an appeal Tuesday to be released from jail on espionage charges, meaning he will remain behind bars at least through Nov. 30.Gershkovich, 31, had a mostly blank expression as he appeared in the defendant’s glass cage in Moscow City Court in blue shirt, T-shirt and jeans. He marked six months in custody on Sept. 29.It was the second time in less than a month he had appeared before a judge to appeal an August decision to extend his pre-trial detention through November. On Sept. 19, the court declined to hear the appeal, citing unspecified procedural violations.The journalist was detained in March while on a reporting trip to the city of Yekaterinburg, about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) east of Moscow.The court proceedings are closed because prosecutors say details of the criminal case are classified.Russia’s Federal Security Service alleged Gershkovich, “acting on the instructions of the American side, ...

Chicago Bears secondary could get some help this week — whether or not it’s defending Justin Jefferson

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:43 GMT

The Chicago Bears could receive a boost in the secondary this week just in time for an NFC North matchup against the Minnesota Vikings — though whether they’ll have to face star wide receiver Justin Jefferson is in doubt.The Bears designated nickel Kyler Gordon to return from injured reserve Monday. The second-year cornerback had surgery on his broken hand after the season opener and missed the last four games. The Bears now have 21 days to put Gordon back on the 53-man roster.Coach Matt Eberflus declined to delve into injury updates Monday as the Bears returned to Halas Hall from their mini-bye following Thursday’s 40-20 victory over the Washington Commanders. The statuses of safety Eddie Jackson (foot) and cornerback Jaylon Johnson (hamstring) also will be worth monitoring this week after both missed extended time in the last month.But Eberflus did speak of the value of getting back Gordon, who had a strong training camp before he was injured.“Kyler is ...

Former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice advises Republican leader against impeachment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:43 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — There should be no effort to impeach a liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court justice based on what is known now, a former justice advised the Republican legislative leader who asked him to review the issue.Some Republicans had raised the prospect of impeaching newly elected Justice Janet Protasiewicz if she did not recuse from a redistricting lawsuit seeking to toss GOP-drawn legislative district boundary maps. On Friday, she declined to recuse herself, and the court voted 4-3 along partisan lines to hear the redistricting challenge. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos had asked three former justices to review the possibility of impeachment. One of those three, David Prosser, sent Vos an email on Friday, seemingly just before Protasiewicz declined to recuse, advising against moving forward with impeachment.Prosser turned the email over to the liberal watchdog group American Oversight as part of an open records request.“To sum up my views, there should be no effort to impeach J...

Geraldine Brooks’ ‘Horse’ and biography of George Floyd win Dayton literary awards

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:43 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Geraldine Brooks’ “Horse,” a novel about race and forgotten history, and Robert Samuels’ and Toluse Olorunnipa’s “His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice” have won awards from the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation.The awards were announced Tuesday by the Dayton foundation, which honors a book of fiction and of nonfiction for using “the power of literature to foster peace, social justice, and global understanding.” Brooks won the Pulitzer Prize in 2006 for her novel “March,” while “His Name Is George Floyd” was a Pulitzer winner earlier this year.On Tuesday, Lily Brooks-Dalton’s “The Light Pirate” was the runner-up for the Dayton fiction prize, and Adam Hochschild’s World War I-era history “The Great War, a Violent Peace, and Democracy’s Forgotten Crisis” was runner-up for nonfiction.Previous winners Viet Thanh Nguyen’s “The Sympathizer,” Ta-Nehisi Coates’ “We Were Eight Years in Power...

Stock market today: Wall Street points higher on hints that interest rate hikes may abate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:43 GMT

BANGKOK — Wall Street is following global markets higher before Tuesday’s opening bell on some potentially encouraging news about interest rates, which have been dragging markets lower since the summer. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher.On Monday, the S&P 500 flipped from losses to gains after two Federal Reserve officials suggested interest rates might be held steady at the next policy meeting. That’s because a jump in longer-term bond yields may be helping to cool inflation without further market-rattling hikes by the Fed. The International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday that the world economy is losing momentum in the face of higher interest rates, the war in Ukraine and widening geopolitical rifts.Global economic growth is forecast to slow to 2.9% in 2024 from an expected 3% this year, the IMF said. The forecast for next year is down a notch from the 3% it predicted back in July.PepsiCo rose 1.1% in premarket trading...

In Manitoba, police killings require inquests. So where are they?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:43 GMT

In today’s Big Story Podcast, every use of deadly force by police in Manitoba requires an inquest to determine how and why it happened. In theory, this prevents fear or favour from influencing the decision whether or not to hold one, ensures that a police-led investigation will not simply shut down a case, and offers every family suffering through a loss the chance to ask their questions, and get their answers.Marsha McLeod is an investigative journalist with the Winnipeg Free Press. She recently looked into police killing inquests in Manitoba, and found that the system may not be adequately serving the interests of the families of those killed by police, or the public.“You have 14 inquests into fatal shootings by police, out of these 29 deaths since 2003 … and we found that in two-thirds of them, no recommendations were made, and even when recommendations were made, that’s not led to meaningful change,” says McLeod. So what’s gone wrong within Manitoba’s inquest system? And h...

Woman killed, 17-year-old boy injured in shooting on South Side

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:10:43 GMT

CHICAGO — A woman was killed and a 17-year-old boy is injured after a shooting on the city's South Side.The shooting happened around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday on the 9300 block of South Halsted in the Washington Heights neighborhood. Police said the teen boy and a 46-year-old woman were on the sidewalk when they were shot.The woman was shot in the hip and transported in critical condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.The 17-year-old boy was shot in the left arm and transported to the same hospital in good condition. CPD deem River North restaurant ‘danger to public’ after 8 shot outside A homicide investigation is underway.