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Police raid EU Parliament offices of 2 Qatargate suspects

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:00 GMT

BRUSSELS — Belgian police on Tuesday conducted searches at the European Parliament offices of two MEPs charged with corruption in the cash-for-influence scandal dubbed Qatargate. According to two witnesses, several police officers conducted searches at the offices of Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino and Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella around midday on the 15th floor of the Parliament’s Altiero Spinelli building. Eric Van Duyse, spokesperson for Belgium’s federal prosecutor, confirmed the fresh raids had taken place Tuesday in the Parliament. Authorities have accused both MEPs of being linked to an alleged bribery ring involving countries such as Qatar and Morocco.Tarabella recently resumed his work as an MEP after spending months in jail and under house arrest between February and May this year. His office, which was sealed off by police along with Cozzolino’s in February, is now reopened to allow him to carry out his parliamentary work.Cozzolino, however, is still app...

‘I’m not an arsonist’: UK’s Kemi Badenoch hits back at Brexiteers over EU ‘bonfire’ delay

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:00 GMT

LONDON — Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch has been drawn into a heated public row with Tory Eurosceptics over the U.K.’s efforts to scrap EU laws carried over post-Brexit.Senior Conservative MP David Jones accused the Tory rising star on Tuesday morning of lacking “courtesy” and being “disrespectful” toward the House of Commons by slowing government efforts to scrap EU laws after MPs had already passed a key bill.But, speaking at a session of the Commons European scrutiny committee, Badenoch hit back. She accused Jones, deputy chairman of the European Research Group of Tory MPs, of leaking details of private meetings to British newspapers. And she rejected the characterization of the bill as a “bonfire” of EU laws.“It’s public knowledge that we had private meetings, because when I thought we were having private and confidential meetings I was reading the content in the Daily Telegraph,” Badenoch told Jones.The...

Chicago White Sox prospect Anderson Comás on his decision to come out: ‘Now is when I feel good with myself. Now I accept myself.’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:00 GMT

Anderson Comás thought of those who feel like they don’t have support and wanted to do his part to help when he decided to come out as gay in February.“I wanted to open that door for those people that are fighting for their dreams,” Comás said during a videoconference call Friday. “I feel like they cannot do it because of people’s opinions, so I wanted to share a little bit to help, to open that door and to inspire all of them to keep fighting.”The Chicago White Sox minor-league pitcher made an impact with his Feb. 19 Instagram post.“At first I didn’t think it was going to be that big, going viral in so many countries,” he said. “I was in every news (outlet), every social media. A lot of people talking about me.“It made me happy because if they get to more people, I can help more people to see the message I wanted to send so they can feel like they have someone to support them and know how they feel. It made...

Column: After youth on special teams proved costly last year, the Chicago Bears hope that experience turns into a plus

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:00 GMT

After upgrading the roster on both sides of the ball, the Chicago Bears hope to be in more close games in 2023, the kind in which a key play here or there on special teams can make the difference.The Bears lost by nine or more points seven times during last year’s 3-14 season. In four of the losses by eight or fewer points, a key special teams breakdown was part of the problem.The Bears had far bigger issues in 2022. The passing offense was abysmal, with blame to go all around, and was particularly ineffective in late-game situations. The Bears have added wide receivers DJ Moore and Tyler Scott and veteran tight end Robert Tonyan, overhauled the running back room and project to have two new starters on the offensive line.The run defense was miserable and the pass rush nonexistent. The Bears spent big on linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards, and general manager Ryan Poles drafted three defensive tackles and two cornerbacks. Perhaps he will sign an edge rusher in the we...

Chicago Cubs get shut out again by the San Diego Padres, but Kyle Hendricks shows ‘vintage’ stuff in his 3rd start back

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:00 GMT

A long layoff and serious shoulder injury can create uncertainty in which version of a pitcher comes back, even with Kyle Hendricks’ pedigree.The Chicago Cubs’ inconsistencies over the last five weeks continued in a four-game series split against the San Diego Padres, getting shut out twice, including Monday’s 5-0 loss. Hendricks, though, pitched well in his third start back. He went six innings and allowed four runs with most of the damage coming in a three-run second when he lost his rhythm.“It looked like vintage Kyle to me,” manager David Ross said.Ross was forced to watch most of the game from the clubhouse after getting tossed one out into the second inning. He stormed out of the visitors dugout at Petco Park moments after his ejection when Hendricks fell behind 2-0 to Padres catcher Gary Sánchez.A fuming Ross directed his frustration about an inconsistent strike zone to plate umpire Phil Cuzzi, who handed him his second ejection of the seaso...

At least $900,000 stolen by employees of US-based aid group operating in Congo

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:00 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — An American-based aid group said that at least $900,000 was stolen from it’s Congo programs by members of the organization who conspired with outsiders. GiveDirectly said that it learned that people on its Congo team worked with people outside the organization to defraud the cash transfer program, diverting aid from more than 1,700 impoverished families over six months, starting in August 2022.“This fraud was only possible because of a specific change we made in our payment process in order to work in this remote, insecure region of (Congo),” according to the statement from Monday. “We feel deep regret for not catching this sooner and take seriously the vulnerabilities it exposed,” it said.GiveDirectly said that an investigation is ongoing and that it was able to recover “a very small portion of the lost funds,” but the majority of the $900,000 will likely be “uncoverable.” But the group is working to ensure that families impacted by the fraud get their m...

Bernardo’s transfer to prison that treats sex offenders not unusual, professor says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:00 GMT

Notorious serial killer Paul Bernardo’s transfer to a medium-security prison that specializes in treating violent rapists almost three decades after his conviction is not unusual says a Quebec criminology professor who studies sexual murderers.Bernardo, who has been serving a life sentence for kidnapping, torturing and killing 15-year-old Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy in the early 1990s near St. Catharines, Ont., was quietly transferred to La Macaza Institution, a medium-security prison about 190 kilometres northwest of Montreal, last week.Bernardo was initially incarcerated at the Kingston Penitentiary in Ontario and later spent about a decade at the Millhaven Institution, a maximum-security prison just outside Kingston.Family members of Bernardo’s victims and Canadian politicians have expressed outrage at the transfer, with Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino calling it “incomprehensible.”In a statement on Monday, the Correctional Service...

Foo Fighters, Fall Out Boy, Kelly Clarkson, Kane Brown, Lil Wayne headline iHeartRadio festival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Foo Fighters, Fall Out Boy, Kelly Clarkson, Kane Brown and Lil Wayne are among the headliners this fall at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Festival in La Vegas, which will be broadcast live throughout the country.The lineup for the two-day event Sept. 22-23 at T-Mobile Arena also includes Miguel, Public Enemy, Sheryl Crow, Tim McGraw, TLC and Thirty Seconds to Mars. Ryan Seacrest will host and fans can hear it all via iHeartMedia radio stations or watch it streaming on Hulu. Highlights will be available on-demand on Hulu in the weeks following the event.The general public will be able buy tickets starting on June 16 on AXS.com, with Capital One cardholders able to get access beginning June 14. “This is the only festival in the world with this range of genres — spanning all the styles you hear on our 860 stations and the iHeartRadio app. Each performer can sell out on their own, so it’s incredibly rare that you can see them all together on the same stage,” Tom Poleman, chi...

Legal officials say Myanmar’s Supreme Court agrees to hear appeal of Suu Kyi’s bribery conviction

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:00 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s Supreme Court has agreed to hear a special appeal of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s bribery conviction for allegedly receiving gold and thousands of dollars from a former political ally, legal officials said Tuesday.Suu Kyi, 77, was arrested when the army toppled her elected government in February 2021, and was tried on a range of charges for which she was sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison. Her supporters and independent legal experts say the cases were politically motivated in an attempt to discredit her and legitimize the military’s takeover while preventing her from returning to politics.Two legal officials familiar with Suu Kyi’s cases said the Supreme Court decided last Friday to hear the special appeal of the corruption case, in which she was convicted of receiving $600,000 and seven gold bars in 2017-18 from Phyo Min Thein, the former chief minister of Yangon, the country’s biggest city. She was sentenced to five years in prison in April la...

Swedish royal family marks Sweden’s 500 years as independent country

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:00 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Sweden’s royal family has taken part in ceremonies Tuesday marking 500 years since the Scandinavian country emerged as an independent nation. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia were first in the town of Strangnas, 60 kilometers (37 miles) west of the Swedish capital, Stockholm, where Gustav Vasa was elected king of Sweden in 1523. His election ended the so-called Kalmar Union with Norway and Denmark, which had endured since the 14th century. Sweden was eventually transformed from an elective monarchy into a hereditary monarchy, where the crown would be passed on from father to son. On Tuesday morning, the royal couple and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson arrived at the Gothic-style cathedral, built between 1291 and 1340, which is in the heart of Strangnas, a quiet town with a population of about 13,000. In Stockholm, Crown Princess Victoria appeared in national dress, and her husband, Prince Daniel, opened the gates of the downtown palace with free ...