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France and Germany back four-speed Europe

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:07:19 GMT

BRUSSELS — Franco-German experts unveiled a proposal for sweeping structural reforms to the European Union as pressure builds to bring in new member countries by the end of the decade.The report, commissioned by the EU’s two biggest countries, aims to overhaul rules and prepare to govern in a union of 30 or more nations.The authors envision an model EU in four concentric circles.“1. The inner circle; 2. The EU; 3. Associate members; 4. The European Political Community [a loose association of European leaders that meet twice a year to talk],” they write.EU ministers are discussing the paper on Wednesday, preparing the ground for an upcoming summit of national leaders in October where enlargement is expected to top the agenda.“It’s clear that EU enlargement and EU reform go hand in hand. And we need to begin with this now,” Germany’s Europe Minister Anna Lührmann told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday morning.The report by a group of 12 experts proposes radical refo...

UK won’t stop India trade talks despite row over murder of Sikh leader

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:07:19 GMT

LONDON — Britain will not pull out of trade talks with India despite allegations that the country’s government sanctioned the assassination of a Sikh activist on Canadian soil.U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson on Tuesday said it would not “get ahead” of the investigation being carried out by the Canadian government — a G7 and Five Eyes ally of Britain — and that “when we have concerns with countries we are negotiating trade deals with, we will raise them directly with the government.”Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sensationally claimed on Monday night that there are “credible allegations” that India’s government was involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June — a claim New Delhi denies.Nijjar, a well-known activist and advocate of an independent Sikh nation, was murdered by two gunmen outside his home in British Columbia on June 18.The claims, which the Indian government calls “absurd and motivated,” have sunk Canada and India relations...

Boston Unity wins expansion spot in Professional Women’s Soccer League

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:07:19 GMT

It’s official, the city will host an expansion team in the National Women’s Soccer League, due to kick off in the 2026 season.The Hubs team will take the pitch at White Stadium in the city’s Franklin Park, according to an announcement from the league Tuesday.The Boston Unity Soccer Partners won the expansion bid to become the league’s 15th team.“I’m excited to expand the NWSL’s footprint and continue its transformative growth in our return to Boston, one of the world’s most iconic sports cities,” said NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman in a statement announcing the franchise. “We are very proud to welcome Boston Unity Soccer Partners to our ownership group. They bring an impressive roster of business leaders committed to continuing Boston’s legacy of sports excellence and delivering a successful team to a very passionate fanbase. We are thrilled for their entry to the league in the 2026 season and add a new chapter to the storied history of Boston sports.”Boston Mayor Michelle W...

A Moscow court delays decision on the appeal of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:07:19 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich filed an appeal Tuesday to be released from jail on espionage charges, but the Moscow City Court did not immediately rule on it, causing confusion from Russian media that reported contradictory results from the closed session.The court said in a statement it sent Gershkovich’s case back to a lower court due to procedural violations. The state news agency Tass reported the court had rejected Gershkovich’s appeal, meaning he will remain jailed until Nov. 30.Before the session was closed, Gershkovich appeared in the glass defendants’ cage, smiling at journalists and wearing a yellow sweater and blue jeans. He was detained in March while on a reporting trip to the city of Yekaterinburg, about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) east of Moscow.The court proceedings are closed because prosecutors say details of the criminal case are classified. Gershkovich last appeared in court in August when a judge ruled he must s...

Canada told allies before sharing allegations about India over B.C. killing: Trudeau

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:07:19 GMT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is urging India to take allegations that the country had a role in the death of a Canadian citizen seriously, after New Delhi called the claims “absurd and motivated.”Trudeau revealed Monday that Canadian intelligence services are investigating “credible” information about “a potential link” between India’s government and the death of British Columbia Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.Trudeau says India’s government “needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness” but would not say whether it is co-operating.Ottawa has ordered a senior Indian diplomat to leave Canada, and India responded by sending an unnamed Canadian diplomat packing.Trudeau says he waited until he was able to raise the issue with allies and with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi before telling the public about the possible link.Nijjar was shot outside his...

Édgar Barrera, Karol G, Shakira, and more lead Latin Grammy nominations

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:07:19 GMT

Édgar Barrera — the producer and songwriter known for his work with such artists as Madonna, Karol G, Peso Pluma, Shakira, Grupo Frontera and beyond — leads the 2023 Latin Grammy nominations with 13.The Latin Recording Academy announced this year’s nominees in a livestream Tuesday.Barerra is nominated for best pop song, record, album, songwriter, and producer of the year — and has two nominations in the song of the year category. He also has three noms apiece in the best tropical song and best regional song categories.Just behind him are some of his collaborators, like Karol G, Shakira, and Camilo. They have seven nominations each, as does Kevyn Mauricio Cruz Moreno, the Colombian songwriter who works under the moniker Keityn.Argentine record producer Bizarrap, known for his Bzrp Music Sessions, has six.Barrera and Moreno are also nominated in the songwriter of the year category alongside Felipe González Abad, Manuel Lorente Freire, Horacio Palencia and Elena Rose. The songwri...

At UN, Biden looks to send a message to world leaders and voters about leadership under his watch

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:07:19 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden will use his annual address before the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday to make the case to world leaders — and the 2024 U.S. electorate — that he’s reestablished U.S. leadership on the world stage that he says was diminished under former President Donald Trump.White House officials said Biden would make a robust case to members of the world body to continue to back Ukraine’s effort to repel a nearly 19-month old Russian invasion that has no end in sight.Biden previewed his thinking in a pair of fundraisers on Monday evening, telling supporters that he stood up to Vladimir Putin’s invasion, and questioning whether Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential front-runner, would have even attempted to help Ukraine stop the Russian land grab if he were in power.“I will not side with dictators like Putin. Maybe Trump and his MAGA friends can bow down but I won’t,” Biden told supporters at a Broadway fundraiser.There will be notable absences as the presiden...

Palace of Versailles celebrates its 400th anniversary and hosts King Charles III for state dinner

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:07:19 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France is rolling out the red carpet for King Charles III’s state visit at one of its most magnificent and emblematic monuments: the Palace of Versailles, which celebrates its 400th anniversary.Charles and Queen Camilla’s three-day trip to Paris and Bordeaux, starting Wednesday, includes a grand dinner at Versailles in the presence of over 150 guests in the Hall of Mirrors. The palace has recently opened a gallery retracing its history, from its creation as a modest hunting lodge in 1623 to last century’s key diplomatic events — including the visits of Charles’ predecessors. French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said Wednesday’s dinner echoes the state visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1972, when she was greeted at the Palace by President Georges Pompidou. King Charles liked the idea of following in his mother’s footsteps, according to Macron’s office. Elizabeth II also visited the palace in 1958 and 10 years earlier, four years before her...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts again ahead of Fed decision on rates

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:07:19 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting again as Wall Street waits for the Federal Reserve’s latest decision on interest rates. The S&P 500 was off 0.2% early Tuesday. The Dow slipped 37 points and the Nasdaq composite was down 0.4%. Stocks have been see-sawing for weeks on uncertainty about whether the Fed is done with its market-shaking hikes to interest rates. By pulling its main rate to the highest level in more than two decades, the Fed has helped inflation to cool from its peak last year but at the cost of hurting prices for investments and damaging some corners of the economy.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street pointed modestly higher in cautious trading Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming decision on interest rates.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were essentially flat, up less than 0.1% before the bell.The Fed is gathering Tuesday for a two-day meeting before it announces its decision on wh...

EU urges Serbia and Kosovo to respect their pledges after a meeting of leaders ends in acrimony

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:07:19 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Tuesday called on Serbia and Kosovo to respect an agreement meant to end tensions between them and put their relations on a more normal path after talks between their leaders ended in acrimony last week.At a meeting in New York, EU foreign ministers said the commitments that Serbia and Kosovo made in the pact they sealed in February “are binding on them and play a role in the European path of the parties,” which refers to their chances of joining the 27-nation bloc.The ministers expressed concern about tensions in northern Kosovo, where 93 peacekeepers were hurt in riots in May. “Despite repeated calls by the EU and other international partners, the steps taken so far remain insufficient and the security situation in the north remains tense,” they said.Serbia and its former province, Kosovo, have been at odds for decades. Their 1998-99 war left more than 10,000 people dead, mostly Kosovo Albanians. Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 20...