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Zelenskyy barred from addressing Eurovision

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been blocked from speaking at this year’s final of the Eurovision song contest, the show’s organizer said.“One of the cornerstones of the contest is the non-political nature of the event,” the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the organization grouping dozens of public broadcasters and operating Eurovision, said in a statement late Thursday. The decision was made by “EBU management,” not its members, it added.“This principle prohibits the possibility of making political or similar statements as part of the contest,” according to the statement.“The request by Mr. Zelenskyy to address the audience at the Eurovision Song Contest, whilst made with laudable intentions, regrettably cannot be granted by the European Broadcasting Union management as it would be against the rules of the event,” the EBU said.Kyiv denied Zelenskyy had made such a request.“This is not true,” Zele...

Black Sea grain deal extended for 60 days, reports Russian media

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

A deal that allows Ukrainian grain exports to pass through the blockaded Black Sea has been extended by 60 days, Russian state media reported Friday.The pact, which was initially broker by the United Nations and Turkey last July to help ease a global food crisis, had been due to expire on May 18. “The deal, I think, will be extended for 60 days, but Russia may agree to this for the last time,” a source familiar with the negotiations told state news agency TASS. This comes after two days of talks in Istanbul between Turkish, Russian, Ukrainian and U.N. delegations on rolling over the Black Sea grain deal ended on Thursday.“The Ukrainian delegation emphasized the importance of extending and expanding the grain initiative for a longer period to provide assurance and confidence to both the global and domestic markets,” Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Facebook after the talks.At the meeting, the U.N.’s Martin Griffiths praised the Black Sea deal...

Germany’s Scholz overruled Habeck to approve China port deal

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

BERLIN — Lawmakers are blasting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for approving a controversial Chinese investment in a Hamburg port terminal despite objections from Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and other ministries.A crucial mistake key departments made during the investment screening process allowed Scholz to outmaneuver his critics.Many countries are looking to how Germany, the EU’s largest economy, deals with China amid growing calls to “de-risk” their economies by reducing dependencies on Beijing. But Berlin is sending a mixed message.Scholz warned earlier this week that China is increasingly becoming a competitor and rival for the EU. At the same time, he is seeking closer cooperation with Beijing by hosting a joint government summit in Berlin on June 20.Against this backdrop, Scholz’s spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit announced late Wednesday that Berlin is “sticking” to a deal allowing Chinese state-owned shipping company Cosco to buy a 24.99 percent stake...

Title 42 has ended. Here's what it did, and how US immigration policy is changing

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is putting new restrictions into place at its southern border to try to to stop migrants from crossing illegally and encourage them instead to apply for asylum online through a new process. The changes come with the end of coronavirus restrictions on asylum that have allowed the U.S. to quickly turn back migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border for the past three years. Those restrictions are known as Title 42, because the authority comes from Title 42 of a 1944 public health law allowing curbs on migration in the name of protecting public health. Disinformation has swirled and confusion has set in during the transition. A look at the new rules (and the old ones):WHAT IS TITLE 42 AND WHAT DID IT DO? Title 42 is the name of an emergency health authority. It was a holdover from President Donald Trump's administration and began in March 2020. The authority allowed U.S. officials to turn away migrants who came to the U.S.-Mexico border on the grounds of preventing t...

Hundreds of thousands to be evacuated as Bangladesh and Myanmar brace for severe cyclone

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Authorities in Bangladesh and Myanmar prepared to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people Friday, warning them to stay away from coastal areas as a severe cyclone churned in the Bay of Bengal.Cyclone Mocha is expected to hit land on Sunday with wind speeds of up to 160 kilometers (100 miles) per hour and gusts up to 175 kph (110 mph) between Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh and Kyaukpyu in Myanmar, India’s Meteorological Department said.Bangladesh, a delta nation with more than 160 million people, is prone to natural disasters such as floods and cyclones. The evacuation of nearly 500,000 people is expected to start Saturday with 576 cyclone shelters ready to provide refuge to those who are moved from their homes along the coast, said Bangladesh government administrator Muhammad Shaheen Imran. “This is the first cyclone system in the north Indian Ocean this year,” said Rajendra Kumar Jenamani, a senior scientist at the Indian Meteorological Department. “The c...

Pakistan on edge as court to decide whether ex-PM Imran Khan goes free or is rearrested

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan returned to court Friday to hear whether he will be shielded from renewed arrest or taken back into custody — a decision that put the government and legions of Khan supporters on edge after days of violent confrontations.The popular 70-year-old opposition leader appeared before the same court from which he was dragged and arrested on Tuesday. The arrest triggered nationwide protests in which his supporters attacked military installations, burned vehicles, and ambulances and looted general stores in various parts of the country. The government responded with a crackdown, arresting nearly 3,000 people. Friday’s court session is part of a series of complex legal maneuvers.On Thursday, Pakistan’s Supreme Court declared that Khan’s arrest was unlawful, but then asked the Islamabad High Court — a lower court — to reconsider its initial decision to uphold the arrest. The Supreme Court said it would respect whatever the Islamabad ...

It’s Eurovision time! Here’s how the contest works and who to watch for

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Sprinkle the sequins and pump up the volume: The 67th Eurovision Song Contest reaches its climax on Saturday with a grand final broadcast live from Liverpool. There will be catchy choruses, a kaleidoscope of costumes and tributes to the spirit of Ukraine in a competition that for seven decades has captured the changing zeitgeist of a continent.Here’s what to expect as acts from across Europe — and beyond — vie for the continent’s pop crown.WHO’S COMPETING?This year, 37 countries sent an act to Eurovision, selected through national competitions or internal selections by broadcasters. The host country is usually the winner of the previous year’s event, but 2022 runner-up Britain is hosting this time around on behalf of the winner, Ukraine.Twenty-six countries will compete in Saturday’s final at the Liverpool Arena, beside the River Mersey in the port city that gave birth to The Beatles. Six countries automatically qualify: last year’s winner and the “Bi...

Title 42 has ended. Here’s what it did, and how US immigration policy is changing

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is putting new restrictions into place at its southern border to try to to stop migrants from crossing illegally and encourage them instead to apply for asylum online through a new process. The changes come with the end of coronavirus restrictions on asylum that have allowed the U.S. to quickly turn back migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border for the past three years. Those restrictions are known as Title 42, because the authority comes from Title 42 of a 1944 public health law allowing curbs on migration in the name of protecting public health. Disinformation has swirled and confusion has set in during the transition. A look at the new rules (and the old ones):WHAT IS TITLE 42 AND WHAT DID IT DO? Title 42 is the name of an emergency health authority. It was a holdover from President Donald Trump’s administration and began in March 2020. The authority allowed U.S. officials to turn away migrants who came to the U.S.-Mexico border on the grounds of preven...

G-7 talks focus on ways to fortify banks, supply chains as China accuses group of hypocrisy

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

NIIGATA, Japan (AP) — Bank runs, cyber security and building more reliable supply chains to ensure economic security were among items on the agenda of closed-door financial talks Friday in Japan by the Group of Seven advanced economies.Tensions with China, and with Russia over its war on Ukraine, loomed large on the wide horizon of issues the G-7 is tackling this year in Japan, its only Asian member. But while G-7 finance ministers and central bank chiefs discussed ways to protect the international rules-based order and prevent what they are calling “economic coercion” by China, Beijing lashed back, accusing the club of wealthy nations of hypocrisy. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Thursday that, “to put it bluntly, the international rules that G-7 talks about are the Western rules of ideology and values and the rule of small clique that puts the U.S. first, that is dominated by G-7.”“The G-7 demands that China abide by international rules, but it is a represen...

In The News for May 12 : Investigation continues into deadly OPP ambush

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:24:54 GMT

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of May 12 …What we are watching in Canada …One Ontario Provincial Police officer remains in hospital as the investigation continues into an ambush that left one officer dead and two injured.Officials say Sgt. Eric Mueller was fatally shot Thursday when he and the two other officers responded to a disturbance call at a home in Bourget, Ont., east of Ottawa.OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said the three officers had called for backup before they approached the house, and all were shot upon arrival.One officer was seriously injured and is in hospital while the other injured officer has since been released and is recovering at home.Alain Bellefeuille, a 39-year-old Bourget resident, is charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.Mueller is the fifth police officer to be fatally shot ...