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In Bulgaria, demise of ex-top prosecutor raises questions about judicial reform

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:28:41 GMT

SOFIA — At the beginning of July, Bulgaria’s former chief prosecutor, who rarely took questions while in office, turned to Facebook Live. As Ivan Geshev read awkwardly from the teleprompter, staring stiffly into the camera, he announced plans to establish a new movement, Justice for Bulgaria — the first step, some said, to him entering politics. Geshev, who once referred to himself once as “an instrument in the hands of God” and was dismissed as the top prosecutor in June, plodded through his speech, not referring to the years of protests and public outcry about his cozying up to oligarchs and corrupt politicians while in office, and his failure to investigate high-ranking graft.This attempted return to public life by Geshev so swiftly after he was ousted as prosecutor was another outlandish moment as the new government — which has made no secret of its dislike for him — aimed to course-correct years of stagnation, and as it agreed to focus on eliminating corruption among ...

Macron: EU should consider ‘multi-speed Europe’ to cope with enlargement

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:28:41 GMT

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday the EU should “maybe” evolve toward a “multi-speed” union as it considers integrating Ukraine, Moldova and countries in the Western Balkans.Macron said the EU needs to reform if it wants to integrate new nations and has to build consensus with more than 30 member countries.“The risk is to think we can enlarge without reform. I can testify that it is hard enough for Europe to advance on sensitive topics with 27 members. With 32 or 35 members, it won’t be any easier,” he said at the annual gathering of French ambassadors in Paris.“We’ll need audacity, to accept more integration in some areas and maybe even a multi-speed Europe,” he said.The French president did not elaborate on how this multi-speed Europe would function, but added that an overhaul of EU procedures was necessary for bloc to deepening and maintain “its attractiveness.” According to several Fren...

Czech PM: Russian imperialism makes us nervous

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:28:41 GMT

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala delivered a warning Monday about the major threat posed by Russian imperialist foreign policy. “The consequences of Russian aggression are manifold and to a certain extent they also affect the nervousness we feel in our country,” he said during an annual meeting with Czech ambassadors in Prague, local press reported.“The chances for a quick resolution of the conflict turned out to be small and are getting smaller and smaller,” he added, referring to the Kremlin’s ongoing onslaught in Ukraine. It’s not only Russia which poses a big threat to the Czech Republic, but caution is also needed over China, which has monitored the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine to use for its own interests, Fiala told the ambassadors.He also said that Russia’s war against Ukraine might lead to a “stalemate” and a “frozen conflict.” Political cooperation with strategic allies like NATO and the EU is essentia...

Mother of Spain’s defiant football boss goes on hunger strike in a church

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:28:41 GMT

Ángeles Béjar, mother of suspended Spanish football federation President Luis Rubiales, locked herself in a church on Monday and declared she would go on hunger strike until the “inhumane and bloody persecution” of her son is brought to an end.From inside the Church of the Divine Shepherdess in Motril, Spain, Béjar told Spanish news agency EFE that she would not eat until star player Jenni Hermoso — who Rubiales forcibly kissed after the World Cup final in Sydney — “tells the truth” about what happened.In a statement issued last week Hermoso said that she was “a victim of an aggression, of an impulsive, sexist, inappropriate and completely non-consensual act.” The members of Spain’s World Cup-winning women’s football team last week said that they will not play again under the federation’s current leadership.On Friday, a defiant Rubiales — who was roundly condemned by top Spanish politicians — rejected Hermoso’s statemen...

Cody Bellinger is an RBI machine and Keegan Thompson shows good stuff: 3 takeaways from Chicago Cubs’ series win

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:28:41 GMT

Jordan Wicks was still embracing the highs of his major-league debut 12 hours after a memorable night at PNC Park.The Chicago Cubs’ lefty set up the Cubs to go for the series win Sunday against the Pirates after striking out nine in five innings Saturday to earn his first victory. His performance prompted so many messages that he joked Sunday it would take five-to-seven business days to get back to everyone.The Sunday getaway vibes haven’t always been great this year, but the spirits were high following a 10-1 win to improve Cubs’ Sunday record to 6-15 as they return to Wrigley Field for a three-game series versus the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers.1. Cody Bellinger is in rare company in franchise history as a run-producing force.Cody Bellinger’s consistency in the middle of the Cubs lineup has been a driving force in their success and postseason contention.Coming through with runners on base is a big part of why he’s been such a dangerous threat th...

Before the Birds and the bees, the Orioles and Hoyt Wilhelm had a run-in with gnats in Chicago

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:28:41 GMT

When a swarm of honeybees interrupted the Orioles’ game against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, it wasn’t the first time that insects had stopped play in a major league game. On June 2, 1959, Orioles pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm was chased from the mound by a cloud of gnats that encircled the mound at Chicago’s Comiskey Park.Wilhelm, a 36-year-old knuckleballer, hadn’t yet thrown a pitch in the first inning when he began pawing at the air and retreating from the mound. The bugs were everywhere around.“I never seen nothin’ like them. I couldn’t pitch through them,” Wilhelm said of the gnats, which caused a 16-minute delay as groundskeepers used smoke bombs, burning rags and, finally, fireworks to disperse the pesky horde.“Umpire Hank Soar assumed command of a fumigating campaign, spraying himself, Wilhelm, anyone who would stand still with DDT. The evening air was full of the stuff,” The Sun reported then.“In last-ditch desper...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis booed at vigil as hundreds mourn more racist killings

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:28:41 GMT

By RUSS BYNUM and AARON MORRISON (Associated Press)JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered Sunday at prayer vigils and in church, in frustration and exhaustion, to mourn yet another racist attack in America: this one the killing of three Black people in Florida at the hands of a white, 21-year-old man who authorities say left behind white supremacist ramblings that read like “the diary of a madman.”Following services earlier in the day, about 200 people showed up at a Sunday evening vigil a block from the Dollar General store in Jacksonville where officials said Ryan Palmeter opened fire Saturday using guns he bought legally despite a past involuntary commitment for a mental health exam.Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis — who is running for the GOP nomination for president, who has loosened gun laws in Florida and who has antagonized civil rights leaders by deriding “wokeness ” — was loudly booed as he addressed the vigil. Ju’...

Chicago baseball report: A wild week for the White Sox, and a big home series set-up for the Cubs

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:28:41 GMT

The Chicago Cubs took care of business in Pittsburgh to set up a huge series at Wrigley Field.They carry momentum into a three-game set against the Milwaukee Brewers after winning three of four games against the Pirates. It’s a chance to chip away at the Brewers’ National League Central lead, beginning with Monday night’s series opener in what should be an electric atmosphere.It was a week of change for the White Sox after firing executive vice president Ken Williams and general manager Rick Hahn on Tuesday. In the release announcing the news, the Sox said they will “begin a search for a single decision-maker to lead the baseball operations department” and anticipate having someone in place “by the end of the season.”Every Monday throughout the season, Tribune baseball writers will provide an update on what happened — and what’s ahead for the Cubs and Sox.Seiya Suzuki on a roll since mental resetSometimes watching the game from t...

UK air traffic control says ‘technical issue’ affecting flights on a busy travel day

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:28:41 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s air traffic control system said it is experiencing a “technical issue” that could delay flights on Monday, the end of a holiday weekend and a busy day for air travel.National Air Traffic Services said it had “applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety” and that engineers were working to find and fix the fault.It did not give an estimate of how long it would take to fix the problem, or what had caused it.European air traffic authority Eurocontrol warned of “very high” delays because of a “flight data processing system failure” in the U.K.Scottish airline Loganair said there had been “a network-wide failure of U.K. air traffic control computer systems.”“Although we are hopeful of being able to operate most intra-Scotland flights on the basis of local co-ordination and with a minimum of disruption, north-south and international flights may be subject to delays,” it said.The Associated Press

Iran summons Swiss diplomat over US seizure of Iranian crude oil that’s now at port in Houston

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 22:28:41 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has summoned a Swiss diplomat over the apparent U.S. seizure of Iranian crude oil from a ship that sat for months off Texas, an official said Monday, as the oil now appeared to be moored in Houston. The remarks by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani mark the latest twist in the saga of the oil once aboard the tanker Suez Rajan, which had become mired in the wider tensions between the U.S. and the Islamic Republic. That’s even as Tehran and Washington work toward a trade of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets in South Korea for the release of five Iranian-Americans held in Tehran. Iran has been trying to evade sanctions and continue selling its oil abroad, while the U.S. and its allies have been seizing cargoes since 2019 after the country’s nuclear deal allowing the trade collapsed.Speaking to journalists Monday, Kanaani said Tehran had summoned the chargé d’affaires of the Swiss Embassy in Iran to express a “strong objection” ov...