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‘Spider in the web’ of Belgian diplomacy set to be new EU ambassador

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:05:29 GMT

Peter Moors, the chief of staff of Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, is set to become the new Belgian ambassador to the EU after the country’s six month presidency of the Council of the EU period ends in June 2024, according to eight Belgian diplomats and officials. His expected appointment, which still has to be formally approved, is part of a big reshuffle of Belgian top diplomats, including key ambassadorial posts such as to Washington D.C. Many key posts — including Washington, Moscow, New York and Geneva — are open. One diplomat joked that this year’s revamp was “the grand slam” of top jobs.More importantly, it’s the last reshuffle before the Belgian elections of June 2024. Current polls suggest it will be challenging for the current seven-party coalition to continue, meaning that several diplomats working at the top of government could be looking to secure a good posting before the political instability. While the actual moves won’t happen until next sum...

Dutch on brink of electing first female leader

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:05:29 GMT

THE HAGUE — Dutch voters may be about to get someone very different from the outgoing veteran prime minister Mark Rutte. A former refugee, Dilan Yeşilgöz, who succeeded Rutte as leader of the VVD party, is now leading the polls ahead of Wednesday’s vote and could become the first female prime minister in Dutch history. The contest is on a knife-edge, with three parties vying to win the most seats, but her nearest rival, Pieter Omtzigt has signalled he may not want the top job for himself. That makes it even likelier that Yeşilgöz, the country’s justice minister, will become premier at the head of the next government. Read more: How to watch the Dutch elections like a pro – POLITICOA self-confessed workaholic, Yeşilgöz is media savvy and does not talk much about being a woman in politics. She is invariably good humored and full of energy in public, despite what she says are “tough” demands of her current job. Her liberal-conservative People’s Party for Freedo...

Poland’s President Duda signals Tusk will have bumpy ride as PM

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:05:29 GMT

WARSAW — A war of words has broken out between Poland’s President Andrzej Duda and Donald Tusk, the likely head of the next government, presaging what’s looking to be a difficult cohabitation between the political rivals.“I am the president, but Donald Tusk is not my candidate for prime minister,” Duda told the right-wing Sieci weekly.Duda, originally a European Parliament backbencher from the Law and Justice (PiS) party before becoming president in 2015, has long been loyal to the nationalist party. Rather than simply rolling over and allowing Tusk to set Poland on a new course in line with the EU mainstream, Duda is laying down a gauntlet that he will use his presidential powers to thwart a new administration. Tusk and his allies have promised wrenching changes to the PiS program — rolling back draconian restrictions on abortion, limiting the role of religion in the education system, firing PiS loyalists in media and state companies, and undoing years of judicial r...

A federalized Europe isn’t in America’s interest

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:05:29 GMT

Andrew A. Michta is senior fellow and director of the Scowcroft Strategy Initiative at the Atlantic Council of the United States. Views expressed here are his own.There’s a sea change coming to Europe, and its consequences for America’s relations with key allies haven’t yet registered in Washington.Predominantly driven by pressure from Berlin and Paris, the European Union is moving at speed to undergo the most dramatic systemic transformation since its inception. It’s about to centralize power in a way that will change the bloc’s very nature, impacting the Continent’s politics and economics. It will also fundamentally alter how Europe interacts with the United States.The changes currently under consideration would transform the EU from a confederation of sovereign countries into a unitary federal entity, with its central government presiding over partially self-governing nation states. And the key argument put forward by proponents of this is that without it, the bloc’s planned enla...

Our warnings on Hamas were ignored, Israel’s women border troops say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:05:29 GMT

TEL AVIV — Did Israel’s security chiefs brush off warnings from women border surveillance soldiers who had evidence that something was brewing in Gaza ahead of the murderous attacks by Hamas militants on October 7? That’s the explosive accusation coming from several soldiers in Israel’s predominantly female border surveillance forces — known as the tatzpitaniyot, or look-outs in Hebrew. The soldiers are telling the media that their superiors did not heed warnings of unusual activity inside Gaza, such as Palestinian guerrillas training with explosives or rehearsing attacks on a replica tank and a mock observation post. Their statements to the media are piling pressure on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing a firestorm over last month’s catastrophic intelligence blunder. The country’s fabled spy services ultimately failed to detect an impending Hamas onslaught, in which an estimated 3,000 Palestinian fighters killed some 1,2...

Why Germany can’t square a €60 billion circle

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:05:29 GMT

BERLIN — As Germany’s divided coalition government grapples with how to plug a €60 billion hole in the federal budget following a bombshell ruling by the country’s top court, more financial trouble may be looming.A ruling by the constitutional court last week is already forcing German leaders to reevaluate how to finance subsidies for energy, industry and microchips, potentially undermining ambitious plans to kickstart Germany’s stagnating economy and accelerate the green transition.The court ruled that a government plan to repurpose €60 billion left over from an emergency COVID-19 fund to finance the country’s green agenda was unconstitutional. But the financial pain may get worse as the ruling may end up having far wider implications that limit the ability of German leaders — on both the federal and state levels — to draw from a variety of special funds that have been created to bring down energy prices an...

Hagel scores in OT as Lightning beat Eastern Conference-leading Bruins 5-4

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:05:29 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Steven Stamkos scored the tying goal with 4.8 seconds left in regulation and Brandon Hagel got the winner on a breakaway 1:19 into overtime as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins 5-4 on Monday night.Tanner Jeannot, Nicholas Paul and Austin Watson scored for the Lightning. Jonas Johansson turned aside 22 shots.Stamkos’ goal came after Victor Hedman kept a clearing attempt in the Boston zone. Hedman also set up Hagel’s goal.Pavel Zacha, David Pastrnak, John Beecher and Charlie Coyle scored for Boston. Jeremy Swayman stopped 41 shots as the Bruins dropped to 13-1-3 on the season.Tampa Bay star Nikita Kucherov skated gingerly off the ice midway through the second but returned for the third.Pastrnak and Beecher scored 1:21 apart midway through the third before Watson pulled Tampa Bay even at 3-3 just 57 seconds after Beecher’s goal. Coyle then put Boston up 4-3 with 3:51 remaining,It’s just the fourth time B...

US Navy plane overshoots runway in Hawaii

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:05:29 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — A U.S. Navy plane overshot a runway and went into a bay in Hawaii, and when emergency workers got to the scene, military officials told them that all nine people aboard made it safely to shore with no injuries, spokesperson Shayne Enright of the Honolulu Emergency Medical Services Department said Monday.Spokesperson Petty Officer Ryan Fisher said the Coast Guard responded but that rescue operations were quickly called off.“It sounds like all parties involved were rescued,” he said.The P-8A aircraft overshot the runway at a Marine base on Kaneohe Bay, said U.S. Marine Corps spokesperson Gunnery Sgt. Orlando Perez. He did not have further information.A photo taken by a witness showed the plane floating just offshore, a scene reminiscent of the 2009 “ Miracle on the Hudson ” when a commercial aircraft piloted by Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger made an emergency landing on the New York river. All 155 people aboard survived.The P-8A and the Airbus A320 that Sullenb...

Miles Bridges’ 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left in OT helps Hornets beat Celtics; Tatum scores 45

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:05:29 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Miles Bridges made the most of his first NBA start in 586 days.Bridges hit a 3-pointer with 6.6 seconds left in overtime and the Charlotte Hornets snapped a six-game home losing streak with an improbable 121-118 come-from-behind win over the red hot Boston Celtics on Monday night.LaMelo Ball finished with 36 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Gordon Hayward added 20 points for the Hornets, who battled back from an 18-point deficit to end Boston’s six-game win streak.Jayson Tatum had 45 points, but missed a free throw with 5.2 seconds left that would have tied the game after getting fouled on a 3-point shot. He made the first two before the crucial miss on the third one.“I couldn’t believe he missed that last one, but we got the win and that is all that matters,” Bridges said.Tatum couldn’t believe it, either.“Was I surprised? Yeah, I was surprised,” he said “It felt good, just didn’t go in.”He was more upset over the Celtics surrend...

Celtics’ bad habits resurface in brutal overtime loss to Hornets as winning streak ends

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 20:05:29 GMT

As their winning streak reached six games, the Celtics’ flaws were masked by victories. Wins in Toronto and Memphis over the weekend were marred by poor efforts, but the C’s kept finding ways to win anyway. Even after winning Sunday night over the Grizzlies, coach Joe Mazzulla said his team shouldn’t have won.A night later, the Celtics got the outcome they deserved.Through the first 13 games of this season, the Celtics had seemed to solve the crunch-time woes that killed them throughout last season. But they took a big step back on Monday night. Even without Derrick White, the Celtics had more than enough to close out the lowly Hornets but their bad habits resurfaced in a brutal 121-118 overtime loss.Jayson Tatum scored 45 points and Payton Pritchard added 21 in a big effort off the bench in the absence of White, but the Celtics’ recent run of uninspired play finally came back to haunt them. The Celtics led by as many as 18 in the first half but let the Hornets stick around. Then th...