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Moldova ramps up EU membership push amid fears of Russia-backed coup

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:54:01 GMT

CHIȘINĂU, Moldova — Tens of thousands of Moldovans descended on the central square of the capital on Sunday, waving flags and homemade placards in support of the country’s push to join the EU and make a historic break with Moscow.With Russia’s war raging just across the border in Ukraine, the government of this tiny Eastern European nation called the rally in an effort to overcome internal divisions and put pressure on Brussels to begin accession talks, almost a year after Moldova was granted EU candidate status. “Joining the EU is the best way to protect our democracy and our institutions,” Moldova’s President Maia Sandu told POLITICO at Chișinău’s presidential palace, as a column of her supporters marched past outside. “I call on the EU to take a decision on beginning accession negotiations by the end of the year. We think we have enough support to move forward.”Speaking alongside Sandu at what was billed as a “national assembl...

Greece’s ruling conservatives lead in polls, but second round likely

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:54:01 GMT

ATHENS — Greece’s conservative ruling party was leading in Sunday’s election, according to early exit polls, but a second round of national voting is the most likely scenario.The New Democracy Party of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis held a significant lead over its main rival, the left-wing Syriza party, according to first exit polls published jointly by six polling agencies after the ballots closed. Up to seven parties were likely to pass the 3 percent threshold and enter parliament, according to the projections.Nonetheless, New Democracy didn’t gather enough votes — 45 percent — to win an outright majority, as these elections are being held under a new proportional representation system.Even though a coalition government would be possible, Mitsotakis has made no secret of the fact that he would prefer a majority government, and would hold out for the second round of voting, when he is poised to garner an absolute majority thanks to a system that grants the winning party up to ...

5 archaeological site areas in San Diego with remnants of the past

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:54:01 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- With over 6,500 recorded Native American and historic archaeological sites in San Diego, taking a look back at ancient civilizations is as easy as visiting a one of the many state parks in the region. According to the California Department of Parks and Recreation (CDPR), San Diego was home to various groups and tribes before later becoming the home of two Spanish Missions. From there, the region developed into homesteads and towns, leaving a trial of history behind. 4 castles within driving distance of San Diego For an up-close look at remnants of the past, here are five archaeological site areas right here in San Diego County that contain traces of the civilizations that came before us.Anza-Borrego Desert State ParkThis park contains over 4,400 recorded archaeological sites, according to CDPR. Some of these sites include villages, camps, hunting sites, food and material processing sites, rock art sites and sacred places. California officials say there are eight ...

‘Exhaust them’: Why Ukraine has fought Russia for every inch of Bakhmut, despite high cost

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:54:01 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The nine-month battle for Bakhmut has destroyed the 400-year-old city in eastern Ukraine and killed tens of thousands of people in a mutually devastating demonstration of Ukraine’s strategy of exhausting the Russian military. The fog of war made it impossible to confirm the situation on the ground Sunday in the invasion’s longest battle: Russia’s defense ministry reported that the Wagner private army backed by Russian troops had seized the city. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said Bakhmut was not being occupied by Russian forces. Regardless, the small city has long had more symbolic than strategic value for both sides. The more meaningful gauge of success for Ukrainian forces has been their ability to keep the Russians bogged down. The Ukrainian military has aimed to deplete the resources and morale of Russian troops in the tiny but tactical patch of the 1,500-kilometer (932-mile) front line as Ukraine gears up for a major counteroffensive in th...

Biden, McCarthy to meet Monday for debt ceiling talks after ‘productive’ call

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:54:01 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet in person on Monday as the government races against a looming deadline to raise America’s debt limit before federal funds potentially run dry early next month.The leaders spoke by phone Sunday as the president returned home on Air Force One after the Group of Seven summit in Japan. McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters at the Capitol that the call was “productive” and that the on-again, off-again negotiations would resume later in the day. Both sides have said progress was being made but that they remain far apart. Biden’s Treasury Department has said it could run out of cash as soon as June 1, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Sunday, “I think that that’s a hard deadline.”McCarthy said after his call with Biden that “I think we can solve some of these problems if he understands what we’re looking at.” The speaker added, “But I’ve been very clear to him from the very beginning...

Peace, food and fertilizer: African leaders’ challenge heading to talks with Moscow, Kyiv

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:54:01 GMT

A delegation of six African leaders set to hold talks with Kyiv and Moscow aim to “initiate a peace process,” but also broach the thorny issue of how a heavily-sanctioned Russia can be paid for the fertilizer exports Africa desperately needs, a key mediator who helped broker the talks said in an interview with The Associated Press.Jean-Yves Ollivier, an international negotiator who has been working for six months to put the talks together, said the African leaders would also discuss the related issue of easing the passage of more grain shipments out of Ukraine amid the war and the possibility of more prisoner swaps when they travel to both countries on what they’ve characterized as a peace mission.The talks will likely be next month, Ollivier said. He arrived in Moscow on Sunday and will also go to Kyiv for meetings with high-level officials to work out “logistics” for the upcoming talks. For one, the six African presidents would likely have to travel to Kyiv by ni...

Police watchdog investigating man’s death after he allegedly stole, crashed two cars north of Montreal

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:54:01 GMT

Quebec’s police watchdog is investigating the death of a man who allegedly slit his own throat as police confronted him after he stole and crashed two cars in less than half an hour.The agency, known as the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, issued a news release saying the man appeared to have injured himself with an exacto knife at his workplace late Friday morning.It says the man then fled in a stolen vehicle, which he then drove off the road and abandoned, before stealing another vehicle which he also drove off the road near Ste-Julienne, Que., about 70 kilometres north of Montreal.He was then confronted by two police officers who tried to get him to put down the knife.The BEI says that’s when he moved the knife to his throat.It says police tried to revive him and he was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Hundreds climb steps of Soldier Field to raise money for lung disease

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:54:01 GMT

CHICAGO — Hundreds of climbers took the stairs at Soldier Field to raise money for the American Lung Association to help the millions of Americans battling lung disease.Siblings Marucs and Marissa Sciacca came back for another year to help out. This will be Marcus' seventh year doing it, and as a healthcare professional, he said it is crucial to bring awareness to the number one cancer killer. March for Justice: Victims exonerated of wrongful convictions from former CPD detective rally in Chicago "What you breathe matters, clean air matters, its getting the word out and that advocacy makes a difference," Sciacca said. His sister, Marisa., a healthcare professional who has been smoke-free for eight years shared her excitement at her first climb. "I'm able to run, stair-climb", Sciacca said.The goal is to raise $450,000 for people in Illinois battling lung disease.

Tech CEO found dead under mysterious circumstances, family seeking answers

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:54:01 GMT

(KTLA) – A vigil was held Saturday night for Beau Mann, a 39-year-old tech CEO who was found dead under mysterious circumstances.Mann's body was found in Santa Monica, California, on May 8 – nearly a year and a half after his disappearance.He was last seen alive on Nov. 30, 2021, at a 7-Eleven in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Studio City. An Uber picked him up from the store and dropped him off in Santa Monica. When will Facebook settlement payments be sent out? Here’s what we know He had been in contact with his family two days prior, but a text to 911 was the last time anyone heard from him.Mann’s remains were found in the courtyard of an abandoned property on Santa Monica Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The remains were identified by the county coroner through dental records.The cause of death, however, has not been released. His family believes foul play was involved, pointing to the fact that he bought a bag of ice at the store before taking an Ub...

The northern lights are heating up: Could they come to all 50 states?

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 13:54:01 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - Recent strong activity on the Sun has led to multiple appearances by the northern lights across much of the U.S. One recent geomagnetic storm even made the brilliant swathes of color visible as far south as Alabama, a rare occurrence that could become more common.A geomagnetic storm powerful enough to send the northern lights into the very southern portions of the U.S. occurs about once every 11 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center. The late April event that brought the aurora into the southern U.S. was sparked by a coronal mass ejection, or a CME, and a solar flare.  We could be seeing the northern lights more often: Here’s why The current solar cycle, dubbed Solar Cycle 25, is to largely to thank for that. It began in December 2019, according to Rob Steenburgh, a space scientist with NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. During this cycle, an 11-year period, the Sun will flip its magneti...