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Putin as the new Mr. Darcy? Austrian ex-minister lauds ‘gentleman’ Russian leader

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

When you think of an old-fashioned gentleman straight from the pages of a Jane Austen novel, who do you think of?Well, if you are former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl, it’s Russian President Vladimir Putin.Kneissl told the BBC in an interview published Thursday that she stands by her controversial decision to move to Russia, and she was full of praise for the Russian president.  “[Putin] is the most intelligent gentleman, with the focus on gentleman — and I’ve met a few,” Kneissl said. “In the sense of what Jane Austen wrote in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ about the accomplished gentleman, he amounts to this standard.”Kneissl served as Austria’s foreign minister from 2017 to 2019, drawing criticism for her close links to the Russian leader.In 2018, she invited Putin to her wedding in the Austrian Alps and shared a waltz with him, attracting the fury of opposition leaders. But while the infamous dance remains a hot top...

Rishi Sunak vows to ‘finish the job’ as Tory migration splits burst into the open

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

LONDON — A defiant Rishi Sunak vowed to take on his Conservative critics Thursday as his party’s deep splits over migration policy burst into the open.At a hastily-arranged Downing Street press conference, the prime minister — reeling from the resignation of his immigration minister on Wednesday night — declared “I want to finish the job” and insisted a looming vote on his new plan won’t be treated as a matter of confidence in his government.It comes after Robert Jenrick dramatically quit Sunak’s administration, arguing that a new law to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda didn’t go far enough and would once again fail in the courts.The Tories have been trying since last year to get the controversial plan of sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda for processing — and potential settlement — by Rwandan authorities off the ground, in the teeth of major legal setbacks on human rights grounds.On Wednesday Sunak published a new law to try and shore up the scheme a...

United opposition poses stern test for Vučić in Serbia’s election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

BELGRADE — Serbian firebrand President Aleksandar Vučić’s penchant for perpetually calling elections looks liable to come back and bite him, as a united opposition is mounting an unexpectedly stern challenge to his decade-long grip on power in a snap general election on December 17.Seizing on public outrage over two tragic mass shootings in May — which killed 19 people, including 10 at a Belgrade school — the opposition has pulled together under the banner Serbia Against Violence, claiming Vučić’s administration inspires a culture of brutality propagated in part through divisive television programming and coarse reality shows.It’s a political groundswell that builds upon festering fears that Vučić is presiding over a glaring decline in the EU candidate country’s democratic standards, press freedoms and the independence of public institutions.Serbia Against Violence is now polling at about 40 percent, while Vučić’s coalition has around 49 percent su...

UNLV gunman was a career professor who had applied for a job at the school, source says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

(CNN) — The shooter who killed three people Wednesday at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was a 67-year-old career college professor, a law enforcement source said. And investigators are looking into the possibility that he may have been passed over for a job at the university.The shooter, identified by law enforcement sources as Anthony Polito, died at the scene after a confrontation with police outside of a university building, according to Las Vegas Metro Sheriff Kevin McMahill.CNN was told the investigative theory on a possible motive is that Polito sought a position at UNLV but was not hired.He had worked for schools in Georgia and North Carolina, a law enforcement source told CNN. Polito’s LinkedIn page lists his most recent full-time employment as a business professor at East Carolina University, a position which ended in 2017.The shooting began shortly before noon on the fourth floor of the university’s Beam Hall business school building, where s...

Facing domestic violence allegations, Von Miller expected to be available to play for Buffalo this week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

(CNN) — Buffalo Bills linebacker Von Miller is expected to be available to play in the team’s next scheduled game on Sunday, according to general manager Brandon Beane.Last week, Miller turned himself into the Glenn Heights Police Department after an arrest warrant was issued for him.According to the arrest warrant affidavit from the Dallas Police Department, Miller has been accused of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend.Beane told reporters Wednesday that they are comfortable with Miller being with the team moving forward and will follow the National Football League’s (NFL) lead going forward.“Listen, you never want anyone in your organization, no matter what organization you’re in, to have an allegation like that,” Beane said.“That’s a very serious nature and … we’re gonna take every precaution with. Culture and character and all those things are super important. But we also have to remember we have to let the legal process play out. The guy that we’ve know...

Trial to start for 1988 Lawrence cold case murder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

A trial is set to start today in Salem for the decades-old murder of an 11-year-old girl.Marvin McLendon, 74, of Breman, Alabama is charged with murder in connection with the Sept. 13, 1988 death of 11 year old Melissa Ann Tremblay, of Salem, New Hampshire. Tremblay was visiting a social club in Lawrence with family when she went missing. She was found the next day stabbed to death in a Lawrence railroad yard. McLendon, who was a Massachusetts Corrections Officer, was arrested last year in Alabama after DNA collected from the victim’s body led investigators to him.

Filings for jobless claims tick up modestly, continuing claims fall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

U.S. applications for jobless benefits ticked up last week, but the overall number of people in the U.S. collecting unemployment benefits fell after hitting its highest level in two years last week.Unemployment benefits claims rose by 1,000 to 220,000 for the week ending Dec. 2, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was in line with analyst expectations.About 1.86 million were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended Nov. 25, 64,000 fewer than the previous week. It’s just the second time in 11 weeks that continuing claims have fallen.Analysts say the continuing claims have been rising because many of those who are already unemployed may now be having a harder time finding new work. That comports with a government report earlier this week showing that U.S. employers posted 8.7 million job openings in October, the fewest since March of 2021.Jobless claim applications are seen as representative of the number of layoffs in a given week.Hiring has slowed from the...

United Nations bemoans struggles to fund peacekeeping as nations demand withdrawal of missions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — The United Nations’ top peacekeeping official defended the organization’s missions worldwide amid growing concerns that they’ve gone into retreat as African leaders demand their withdrawal from Mali to Congo.Undersecretary General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix said on Wednesday the 30,000-member force operates with a $5.5 billion budget – less than the operating budget for the New York City Police Department. He told delegates at a UN peacekeeping ministerial meeting in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, that efforts had been hampered by divisions among member states.The majority of UN peacekeeping missions are in Africa, including in Central African Republic, Sudan and Western Sahara. However, they’ve faced increasing blowback and scrutiny over their ability to successfully carry out their missions, including protests in Congo from residents claiming peacekeepers did little to protect them from armed groups.The operations, whic...

Cold turkey: Drivers spot something fowl on Hwy. 401 during snowy morning rush

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

It wasn’t just the snow and slush disrupting the drive in the GTA on Thursday morning with some commuters in Toronto noticing something fowl on a busy highway.Motorists reported a turkey blocking live lanes of the westbound Highway 401 off-ramp to Warden Avenue before 8 a.m. The bird was reportedly wandering on and off the roadway for around 40 minutes.Several callers to the CityNews 680 traffic centre were taken aback by the boldness of the large bird, saying the turkey was trotting right up to vehicles stopped on the Warden ramp.Watch out for a Turkey on the Warden ramp to the WB 401. The bird is pacing back and forth and some callers have reported it walking up to the cars. MTO have been notified. pic.twitter.com/idw8SVC6FV— CityNews Toronto Traffic & Weather (@citynews680) December 7, 2023Traffic cameras along the highway captured the bird pacing back and forth in the snow. CityNews 680 traffic reporter Jordan Kerr was tracking the turkey and says it appears to h...

Federal, Quebec ministers say major grocers need to sign code of conduct

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:22 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal and Quebec agriculture and food ministers are calling on all members of the grocery industry supply chain to sign onto a code of conduct.Federal Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Quebec Minister André Lamontagne say they’re disappointed to see the grocery code of conduct has still not been launched after years of work.They’re also disappointed that “supply chain partners are hesitant to move forward” with signing on to the voluntary code.The statement by the ministers doesn’t name any companies, but Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and Walmart Canada have expressed concern that the code in its current form could raise food prices for Canadians. At a House of Commons agriculture committee meeting this morning on stabilizing food prices, Walmart Canada CEO Gonzalo Gebara said the company is “not in a position at this time to commit to” the code. The ministers say the major grocers and all supply chain partners need to adopt and adhere to the...