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EU lawmakers endorse pact to revise migration rules

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:38:23 GMT

EU lawmakers on Thursday gave the green light to a central plank of the EU’s flagship migration package, the latest sign of progress on long-stalled reforms. The European Parliament measure endorses new rules seeking to speed up the return of migrants who entered Europe without permission and to prevent these migrants from traveling to other countries within the EU.And it strikes a middle ground on the contentious question of whether countries will be required to take in asylum seekers from fellow EU members — a step EU border countries traditionally favor but others often oppose. The approved text only foresees such “mandatory relocations” in emergency situations, which Brussels would determine, with all other relocations being voluntary.“This is the most important shift to make sure that we can come to an agreement with member states,” said MEP Tomas Tobé, one of the lawmakers leading on the legislation for the center-right European People’s Party (EPP), referencing the ...

Top EU court condemns Poland over noise pollution

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:38:23 GMT

The Court of Justice of the EU Thursday condemned Poland for failing to implement EU noise pollution law at the national level. The Environmental Noise Directive establishes recommended maximum noise levels and asks countries to collect data on noise. It also requires governments to develop action plans to tackle noise pollution, including for areas where the recommended levels were not exceeded. Warsaw failed to adopt noise action plans for such areas within the required timeframe, the court found. The government also failed to translate into national law a requirement that these plans include measures to preserve “quiet areas,” it said.According to the court, the country also has not drawn up the required action plans for 13 major railways and 247 major roads, and has not submitted summaries of action plans for 16 other major roads. The European Commission’s Zero Pollution Action Plan sets the goal of reducing the share of people “chronically disturbed by tr...

UK security minister warns of AI coding weapons

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:38:23 GMT

LONDON — The U.K.’s security minister warned this morning that the country had to beat its rivals in the AI race, warning hostile states and criminals would use the technology to look for chinks in the U.K.’s cybersecurity armor.Speaking at the CyberUK conference in Belfast, Tom Tugendhat said the next level of AI, artificial general intelligence (AGI), was coming and it was “not hard to see” future AGI coding weapons.“It is essential that by the time we reach the development of AGI we are confident that it can be safely controlled and aligned to our values and interests,” he told delegates.“Given the stakes we can all understand calls to stop AI development altogether but the genie will not go back in the bottle,” he said. “Putin has a long-standing strategic interest in AI. China with its vast data sets and fierce determination is a strong rival.”But he added that AI also threatened authoritarian regimes and the U.K. was one of the few liberal, democratic countries which could lea...

A Maine man recently released from prison confessed to quadruple murder of parents and friends, state police say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:38:23 GMT

(CNN) — A 34-year-old man who had recently been released from prison shot and killed his parents and two others Tuesday morning at a home in Bowdoin, Maine, and then wounded three other people as he drove on an interstate highway, authorities said Wednesday.Joseph Eaton was released from prison Friday after serving two years of his sentence for aggravated assault, according to Maine State Police Col. William Ross.According to a news release and Ross, the suspect confessed to killing his parents and their friends and fired at vehicles he thought were carrying officers who were following him on the highway.Ross identified the deceased victims as Robert Eger, 72; Patricia Eger, 62; Cynthia Eaton, 62; and David Eaton, 66. The body of David Eaton was found in a barn near the home, while the bodies of the Egers and Cynthia Eaton were discovered in the house, Ross said.A family member who grew concerned about the people who owned the home went to the house, found one of the...

Frank Ocean pulls out of Coachella weekend 2 due to injury

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:38:23 GMT

(CNN) — Frank Ocean “will not be performing” at the Coachella music festival’s second weekend, a representative for the singer shared with CNN via a statement on Wednesday.“On doctor’s advice, Frank Ocean is not able to perform weekend 2 due to two fractures and a sprain in his left leg,” the statement read.Ocean’s representative also explained that the Grammy-winner suffered his injuries “on festival grounds in the week leading up to weekend 1,” where he delivered a polarizing headlining show on April 16 that marked his first live performance in nearly six years and drew mixed reactions.Wednesday’s statement added that “Ocean was unable to perform the intended show but was still intent on performing, and in 72 hours, the show was reworked out of necessity.”“It was chaotic. There is some beauty in chaos. It isn’t what I intended to show but I did enjoy being out there and I&...

Mike Preston: Division II Shepherd’s Joey Fisher and Ronnie Brown join forces in effort to get to NFL | COMMENTARY

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:38:23 GMT

It’s a shame that Joey Fisher and Ronnie Brown can’t be involved in some type of a package deal.As the NFL draft approaches, the two former Shepherd University players and Maryland natives are inseparable. Fisher, an offensive tackle, still leads the way for his running back, telling NFL teams that Brown is a player they can’t afford to pass on.A lot of them are listening.“He comes to me one morning and says, ‘I just got off the phone with the [Pittsburgh] Steelers,’” Brown said. “He says, ‘I was on their podcast and I brought you up.’ A little later my phone rings, and it’s the Steelers.”“That’s my man,” said Brown, looking at Fisher. “He really looks out and I’m forever grateful for that.”It’s not as if Brown can’t stand on his own merits, but everything helps when you come from a tiny Division II school like Shepherd in West Virginia. It’s conceivable that...

History lessons: What to expect as GM Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears swing for the fences in the 2023 NFL draft

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:38:23 GMT

A busy and pivotal offseason continues for the Chicago Bears as general manager Ryan Poles tries to make the most of the salary-cap space and draft capital he had for the rebuilding process.Poles will face his most important test next week, navigating through 47 hours of draft commotion to solidify a roster many around the league still judge as one of the NFL’s least impressive.That impression could start to change if the Bears can put together a top-notch draft class. They currently own 10 selections, starting with the No. 9 pick and continuing with two in the second round, one in the third, and two each in the fourth, fifth and seventh rounds.So how much can Poles and the Bears accomplish over draft weekend? And what’s a realistic bar to set for draft success? Tribune writers Dan Wiederer and Brad Biggs studied the last 21 Bears drafts dating to the start of Jerry Angelo’s tenure as GM to calculate batting averages for the franchise — by round, by position,...

UK prime minister reviewing ‘bully’ report on top deputy

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:38:23 GMT

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was reviewing a long-awaited report he received Thursday on whether his top deputy bullied civil servants. Justice Secretary Dominic Raab, who is deputy prime minister, has denied multiple complaints that he was overly demanding and that he belittled and demeaned his staff. He said he “behaved professionally at all times,” but would resign if the bullying complaints were upheld.Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, said the prime minister received the report on Raab’s behavior Thursday morning.“He is carefully considering the findings of the report before coming to a judgment,” Blain said.Raab, 49, was first elected to Parliament in 2010 and has served in senior government posts including justice secretary and foreign secretary. Appointed deputy prime minister under Boris Johnson, he briefly took charge of the government when Johnson was hospitalized with COVID-19 in April 2020.The report is the latest ethics headache for Sunak, who vowed to res...

Sudan’s truce falters, as Egypt repatriates army personnel

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:38:23 GMT

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Egypt on Thursday repatriated dozens of its military personnel who had been held by Sudan’s paramilitary force, which is locked in a deadly struggle with the Sudanese army to control the strategic African country.The latest attempt at a cease-fire between the rival Sudanese forces faltered as gunfire rattled the capital of Khartoum. As global pressure to stop the violence failed, Japan and the Netherlands flew transport planes closer to the conflict-battered nation ahead of a possible evacuation of their citizens. Egyptian air force technicians had been detained by fighters from Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces after the group attacked Merowe airport, north of the capital. A close ally of Sudan’s army, Egypt said the personnel were there for training and joint exercises. Fighting soon after erupted around the country between the RSF and Sudan’s army.Egypt’s army said in a statement Thursday that all its technical crews had been flown ...

Hungary adds honey, other products to Ukraine import ban

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:38:23 GMT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary will add honey and certain meat products to a list of food items it has temporarily banned from being imported from Ukraine in an effort to relieve market pressures on Hungarian farmers, a government minister said Thursday.Along with honey and meat, Hungary’s government has banned the import of 25 Ukrainian products including grains, oil seeds, flour, and cooking oil until June 30, minister Gergely Gulyás told a news conference. The government will also require shipments of those products coming from third countries to be monitored as they enter Hungary to make sure they aren’t coming from Ukraine, he said. The import ban announced on Saturday came in response to what the government says is a glut of Ukrainian agricultural products on the Hungarian market which has made it impossible for Hungarian farmers to remain competitive.Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria have taken similar steps in the last week, arguing that their agricultural sectors had be...