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Germany ready to put 4,000 soldiers permanently in Lithuania

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:00 GMT

BERLIN — Germany is preparing to permanently deploy 4,000 soldiers to Lithuania, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Monday in Vilnius. Infrastructure and training facilities need to be constructed, but Pistorius said that Berlin would be putting a “robust brigade” in the Baltic country. Pistorius had traveled to Lithuania to watch NATO training drills with military alliance Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Berlin pledged a year ago to keep a combat brigade ready to defend Lithuania. However, a permanent deployment in Lithuania has been controversial until now. Vilnius demanded it, but the German government did not immediately commit.In addition to approval from the German governing coalition, there is also support from the opposition for the decision. Foreign policy expert Roderich Kiesewetter, a lawmaker from the center-right CDU, said it was a “decision of reason and reliability.”The ann...

Bulgaria’s economy minister hints Russians attacked ammo factory

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:00 GMT

Bulgaria’s Economy Minister Bogdan Bogdanov on Monday suggested Russia could have been responsible for an explosion in the early hours of Sunday at an arms factory in the town of Karnobat, just as Bulgaria is ramping up military exports to Ukraine.The blast comes amid an investigation by the Bulgarian authorities into a series of similar incidents in recent years at arms depots housing ammunition meant to be exported to Ukraine. The probe is looking into potential ties between the blasts and Russia.“We have taken absolutely all measures … to make sure that people are safe and that Bulgarian industry will not be affected by these kind of raids,” Bogdanov said according to the Dnevnik newspaper. The word ‘raids’ in Bulgarian suggests foreign incursions, although Bogdanov did not mention Russia by name.The major fire that broke out at the warehouse in Karnobat was the second to occur there in less than a year. Bulgaria has been exporting large quanti...

Column: What we know about the Cubs and White Sox — and what we don’t — as midseason approaches

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:00 GMT

As the 2023 baseball season nears the midpoint, here’s what we know and don’t know about the Chicago Cubs and White Sox.Tim Anderson is too good a hitter to continue at his current pace. That’s what we keep saying anyway. Anderson, the 2019 American League batting champion, was hitting .358 on June 22, 2022, before going on the injured list with a groin injury. He since has suffered finger, knee and shoulder injuries and is hitting .244 with one home run and 11 RBIs in 93 games. Anderson’s last home run was on July 15, 2022, in Minnesota.Despite winning this weekend’s series against the Boston Red Sox, the White Sox have given no reason to believe they can be even a .500 team. Giving Anderson playing time at second base should increase his trade value. The Los Angeles Dodgers could be a good fit.NBC Sports Chicago’s Chuck Garfien and Ozzie Guillén might be the Sox’s toughest critics. Both criticized Anderson during Friday’s postga...

Indiana tornado kills 1 as severe weather causes damage and power outages across multiple states

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:00 GMT

SHOALS, Ind. (AP) — A tornado struck a home, killing one occupant and injuring another as severe weather hit parts of Indiana, Tennessee and other states, an official said.The tornado that struck the home Sunday evening was part of a storm system that pushed through Martin County, Indiana, WXIN-TV reported. A tornado also touched down Sunday afternoon in Johnson County, south of Indianapolis, damaging at least at least 75 homes, authorities said.Martin County Emergency Management Agency Director Cameron Wolf confirmed the death and injury, according to WXIN, which reported that the home was in a rural area where multiple trees were brought down by high winds.Martin County emergency management officials did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking additional information about the casualties and the extent of storm damage.The town of Shoals, the Martin County seat, is about 85 miles (140 kilometers) southwest of Indianapolis and 80 miles (130 kilometers) n...

Trump feted as Man of the Decade in Michigan county he lost twice as he looks to gain ground in 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:00 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump was honored as the Man of the Decade in a Michigan county he lost twice as he returned to the state looking to reclaim territory that helped propel him to the White House but that slipped from his grasp four years later.Campaigning for a return to the presidency while facing a federal indictment for allegedly mishandling classified documents, Trump spoke on Sunday in suburban Detroit, where he lost ground between 2016 and 2020 and would need to win it back if he becomes the 2024 Republican nominee. He would have to reverse the recent trend in Michigan that has seen Democrats make some of their biggest gains nationally since Trump’s reelection loss.Trump spoke at the Oakland County GOP’s Lincoln Day Dinner, where he was honored by the party as its Man of the Decade. Trump frequently attacked President Joe Biden throughout his speech Sunday, saying the Democrat was a “catastrophe” for Michigan and auto production in the state. ...

Early vote count for Guatemala’s presidential election indicates second round ahead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:00 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Preliminary results in Guatemala’s presidential election pointed to the likelihood of a second round of voting and narrowed the field considerably early Monday from nearly two dozen contenders to the two candidates leading for spots in the Aug. 20 runoff. With 97% of the votes counted early Monday, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal reported that former first lady Sandra Torres for the conservative UNE party had captured 15.6% of the vote and Bernardo Arévalo for the leftist Seed Movement had 11.8%. In a more distant third, was Miguel Conde of the ruling VAMOS party with 7.8% That is far from the 50% threshold needed to win in the first round. A cluster of other candidates hovered between 6% and 7% of the votes. Invalid ballots from a frustrated electorate led all the candidates with nearly all ballots tallied.Gabriel Aguilera, a magistrate on the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, said before dawn Monday that while not definitive, the trend showed that “we have three par...

Outrage erupts after man accused of blasphemy is stoned to death in latest mob killing in Nigeria

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:00 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A man was stoned to death after being accused of blasphemy in northwest Nigeria, authorities and activists said, sparking outrage on Monday from rights groups worried about what they said were growing threats to religious freedom in the region.Usman Buda, a butcher, was killed Sunday in Sokoto state’s Gwandu district after he “allegedly blasphemed the Holy Prophet Muhammad” during an argument with another trader in a marketplace, police spokesman Ahmad Rufa’i said in a statement on Sunday night.Local residents shared videos that appeared to be from the scene showing a large crowd that included children pelting stones at Buda on the floor as they cursed him. Rufa’i said a police team was deployed in the area but when they arrived, “the mob escaped the scene and left the victim unconscious.” He was later declared dead at Usmanu Danfodiyo Teaching Hospital in Sokoto, Rufa’i said.The killing was the latest attack rights campaigners have said threa...

Pro-government ethnic militias in east Myanmar shift loyalty to join fighters against military rule

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:00 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Units of an ethnic militia in eastern Myanmar that is nominally part of the military have switched sides, allying themselves with the country’s pro-democracy movement, and have carried out attacks in recent weeks on army outposts and a police station, its members said. The two Border Guard Forces units in Kayah state are believed to be the first military-affiliated militia units to change sides since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021.The takeover was met with peaceful nationwide protests, but after security forces cracked down with lethal force many local armed resistance groups formed and have been loosely organized into what is called the People’s Defense Force. They have allied themselves with major ethnic guerrilla groups in border regions that have carried out armed struggle for decades, seeking greater autonomy.Kayah, which is the smallest of Myanmar’s seven states and dominated by the Karenni ethnic minority,...

Stock market today: Caution on Wall Street after armed rebellion quelled in Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:00 GMT

TOKYO — Markets on Wall Street were slow to gain traction Monday, while global shares mostly fell after a short-lived armed rebellion in Russia added to uncertainties over the war in Ukraine. Futures for the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 were flat before the bell Monday.The rebellion by mercenary soldiers who briefly took over a Russian military headquarters on an ominous march toward Moscow was over. But the brief mutiny weakened President Vladimir Putin just as his forces were facing a fierce counteroffensive in Ukraine. Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner troops were some of Russia’s most effective fighters in Ukraine. Their aborted takeover of the capital also left their fate uncertain.Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said such geopolitical uncertainties have set off a cautious mood.“On the back of recent hawkish central bank moves amid high inflation and low growth environments, investors are now also having to factor in the chance of escalation on the g...

Amsterdam’s Hermitage museum to be renamed after cutting ties with Russia following Ukraine invasion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:00 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — An Amsterdam museum that severed ties with St. Petersburg’s Hermitage collection after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine last year has been renamed and on Monday announced partnerships with renowned galleries in London, Paris and Washington, D.C.Starting in September, the Hermitage Amsterdam will be called H’ART Museum. It has established partnerships with the British Museum, Centre Pompidou and the Smithsonian American Art Museum to bring art to the historic building on the banks of the Dutch capital’s Amstel River.“It’s an exciting new step for us, a contemporary and future-proof model,” museum director Annabelle Birnie said in a statement. She said the museum’s program will be “multi-voiced reflecting the times we live in” and will range from major art exhibitions to smaller presentations.The first major show — scheduled to open midway through 2024 — will be a partnership with Paris’ Centre Pompidou focused on Wassily K...