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Ukraine’s reconstruction relies on financial integrity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:44 GMT

Tom Keatinge is the director of the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies at RUSI.Since 2017, Ukraine’s allies have regularly gathered to support the advancement of reforms in the country. And Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 has added an urgency and focus to these gatherings.Now renamed the Ukraine Recovery Conference, this year’s meeting is co-hosted by the United Kingdom alongside Ukraine, and it will focus on “mobilizing international support for Ukraine’s economic and social stabilization and recovery from the effects of war, including through emergency assistance for immediate needs and financing private sector participation in the reconstruction process.”Here, both Ukraine and its co-host will be hoping to hear vocal condemnation of Russia’s aggression, as well as see support of Kyiv’s war effort turn into real financial commitments that can support the monumental task of rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, industry and housing, a...

Italy pauses for Berlusconi’s funeral

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:44 GMT

ROME — The death of Silvio Berlusconi has brought Italy to a standstill.The government declared a day of national mourning on Wednesday, when a state funeral will be held for the former prime minister at Milan’s Duomo cathedral. Parliamentary votes are on hold for a week, an unprecedentedly long suspension. The Piazza del Duomo, surrounding the ornate cathedral, was prepared with maxi-screens to host a crowd of 20,000 during the funeral. Inside the Duomo, some 2,000 mourners will gather, including national and party leaders past and present from across the political spectrum.Most of the current government is expected to attend, as well as a roll-call of former premiers and several international dignitaries, including the Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán. The president of the EPP, Manfred Weber, and the European Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, are predicted to represent European institutions. Political life in Italy has come to a halt since Monday’s announcement of the death of...

Will she or won’t she? Eva Kaili’s return looms over EU Parliament

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:44 GMT

STRASBOURG — Qatargate suspect Eva Kaili keeps threatening to return to the European Parliament to clear her name. So where is she?Six months after Belgian police charged the Greek MEP in a dizzying corruption scandal alleging foreign powers like Qatar and Morocco illegally consorted with a network of EU lawmakers, Kaili has gathered momentum for a political comeback designed to reframe her narrative as a victim of an inhumane judicial system and an espionage conspiracy.In the media, Kaili has pushed outlandish spying theories about why she was arrested as well as strong suggestions that other MEPs — hitherto untouched by the scandal — should be investigated while lauding those who visited her in jail. On Twitter, the politician has blocked two journalists, including from POLITICO, and told them she refuses to be interviewed by them while giving interviews to Italian, Spanish, French and Belgian news outlets. Even on LinkedIn, Kaili reposted sympathetic news coverage and thanked wel...

Pakistan: Don’t ask us to choose between the US and China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:44 GMT

Pakistan has enough problems — including escalating attacks by Taliban insurgents and a spiraling economic crisis — without the added headache of a new Cold War between China and the U.S.In an interview with POLITICO, Pakistan’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar insisted Islamabad had no appetite to pick a side in the growing global rivalry between Washington and Beijing.As a nuclear-armed heavyweight of 250 million people, Pakistan is one of the most closely watched front-line states in the contest for strategic influence in the Asia-Pacific region. While Pakistan’s old Cold War partner Washington is increasingly turning its focus to cooperation with Islamabad’s arch-foe India, China has swooped in to extend its sway in Pakistan — particularly through giant infrastructure projects.Khar insisted, however, that Islamabad was worried about the repercussions of an all-out rupture between the U.S. and China, which would present Pakistan with an unpalatably binary ...

Police investigate suspicious death of 18-year-old woman in Everett

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:44 GMT

An investigation got underway in Everett Tuesday after the body of an 18-year-old woman was found in an area near Springvale Avenue, officials said. Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Everett Chief of Police Steven Mazzie in a joint statement said police were called to the scene around 2 p.m. after a Springvale Avenue resident said she found the 18-year-old “apparently deceased” behind her home. The woman, officials said, was pronounced dead at the scene. State police investigators were seen working in Everett throughout the afternoon Tuesday. The medical examiner was also seen arriving, at one point, and a body was seen being taken away. While officials said there were no obvious injuries to the 18-year-old, they said her death is being investigated as suspicious “due to the circumstances around the location of the body.”Officials said the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause and manner of death in this case, adding that an...

Bali considers banning mountain climbing following spate of bad tourist behavior

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:44 GMT

(CNN) — Bali’s governor has announced a ban on tourist activities on its mountains with “immediate effect,” in a bid to preserve its sacred peaks following a rise in violations by misbehaving tourists.“These mountains are sacred and revered. If their sanctity is damaged, it is the same as degrading the sacredness of Bali,” Wayan Koster told reporters at a news conference on May 31, emphasizing that popular activities like mountain climbing and hiking were no longer allowed for both foreign and domestic tourists as well as locals.“This ban is in effect forever and is not only for foreign tourists but also domestic tourists and local residents… (with the exception of) religious ceremonies or the handling of natural disasters,” he said.The governor had initially floated the idea back in February.He did not elaborate or discuss potential punishments for those who violated the new rules but groups of foreigners have been deported and banned from returning to Indonesia for ...

Emergency crews respond after serious crash in Chelsea 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:44 GMT

Emergency crews responded Tuesday night after a serious crash involving multiple vehicles in Chelsea. The crash happened on Third Street off Broadway and Everett Avenue, where a dump truck appeared to have hit a utility pole. Multiple other vehicles in the area appeared to also be damaged. Chelsea police in a tweet around 10 p.m. asked community members to avoid the area due to low-hanging wires. Parts of multiple roads in the area were closed as of around 10:40 p.m. Police also said the neighborhood could experience power outages because of the crash. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Mets lose another lead before dropping first game of Subway Series to Yankees

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:44 GMT

No lead is ever safe for the Mets.Not with the state of the pitching staff and not with the way the bats seem to run out of battery at any given moment. Tuesday night at Citi Field was no different. The Mets watched the Yankees come back from a 5-1 lead to overtake them 6-5 in the fourth inning with one of their vaunted aces on the hill.The Mets ultimately lost the first game of the Subway Series, 7-6. It was their ninth loss in 10 tries. Each one stings a little differently, though the fans might say a Subway Series defeat at home in front of a sellout crowd stings more than others.Neither starter made it to the sixth inning. Max Scherzer (six earned on seven hits, two strikeouts) was taken out in the fourth after a Jake Bauers blooper scored two to put the Yankees (39-29) on top.Luis Guillorme tied the game at 6-6 with an RBI single off Luis Severino with two outs in the fifth to end the right-hander’s day. But the Mets failed to make a comeback with mental mistakes and unlu...

Led by Gunnar Henderson’s grand slam, Orioles blast past Blue Jays, 11-6, for 5th straight win

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:44 GMT

In discussing his recognition as the American League Player of the Week before Tuesday night’s series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays, Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson credited the team’s hitting coaches for helping him work through the slump that marred the opening months of his rookie season.“It’s a testament to the hard work and just everything that I’ve gone through [since] the beginning of the year,” Henderson said.The efforts of Baltimore’s hitting staff were put on full display in an 11-6 victory over Toronto, with a season-high 17 hits extending the Orioles’ winning streak to five. Henderson’s first career grand slam, his third home run in as many games and his fifth of June, came amid a run of home runs from three organizational newcomers who have showcased improved power in Baltimore.Adam Frazier’s two-run shot in the second inning was his eighth home run in 64 games with the Orioles (42-24). That matches h...

Drew Smith ejected after sticky stuff check in 7th inning vs. Yankees

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:44 GMT

Mets right-hander Drew Smith was ejected from Tuesday’s Subway Series game for what looked to be a sticky substance on his hand.The Mets called him in to replace right-hander Jeff Brigham while trailing the Yankees, 7-6, in the top of the seventh inning. But Smith never even made it to the rubber. He was looked at by crew chief Bill Miller and the other umpires conferred while members of the Mets gathered around the group in the infield. Smith pleaded with the umpiring crew while manager Buck Showalter took the field. The pitcher was quickly ejected.An ejection for a foreign substance or an overly sticky hand carries an automatic 10-game suspension. Right-hander Max Scherzer was previously ejected for the excessive use of rosin earlier April 19, after pitching three innings at Dodger Stadium. The veteran ace considered appealing but ultimately accepted the suspension, citing an unfair appeal process.Scherzer only missed one start, but it will be much more difficult for the Met...