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Azerbaijan accuses Macron of ‘distorting’ Armenia peace talks after EU summit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:50 GMT

An EU-backed effort to avert a new conflict in the South Caucasus has been overshadowed by a growing diplomatic row, with Azerbaijan accusing French President Emmanuel Macron of misrepresenting what was discussed during high-stakes peace talks with Armenia.Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met on Thursday evening on the sidelines of the European Political Community summit in Moldova for the latest in a series of negotiations on a potential peace treaty. Macron, along with European Council President Charles Michel and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, joined the sit-down as mediators.In a statement following the summit, the Elysée Palace said the “European leaders called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to respect all their commitments,” urging the two neighboring nations to release prisoners of war and avoid “hostile rhetoric.” In addition, Macron’s press service added, the three Western leaders “stressed the imp...

West should avoid ‘third world war’ with Russia, top adviser to Brazil’s Lula says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:50 GMT

Ukraine’s Western allies, who have been helping Kyiv defend itself from Russia’s full-scale invasion, risk escalating the war, the top foreign policy adviser to Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said.“We don’t want a third world war. And even if we don’t have that, we don’t want a new cold war,” said Celso Amorim, a former foreign and defense minister who is now the Brazilian president’s chief adviser on international affairs, in an interview with the Financial Times released Friday.Amorim’s remarks come as Brazil has sought to position itself as an intermediary in talks to end Russia’s war on Ukraine, with Lula’s adviser visiting both Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv in the past few weeks.But while Lula has condemned Russia’s war, he has refused to provide military aid to Kyiv or to sanction Moscow. The Brazilian president has also made a series of contro...

3 juveniles in custody after teens wave weapons during fight in Worcester

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:50 GMT

Three juveniles were taken into custody this week after a fight in Worcester where teenagers were seen waving weapons outside a local store, police said.The incident near the Gala Foods supermarket was captured on a surveillance camera. Witnesses said a large group of teenagers were yelling at each other. Video then showed one person who appeared to pull a knife. Another person was seen pointing a gun. “This is a tough neighborhood,” one area community member told 7NEWS. “But that scared me.” “Roughly 30 seconds later, we heard the sirens in the background,” the same person said.Investigators said officers responded to the area on Main Street for what was reported as a fight between the teens, possibly involving a firearm and a knife just after 6:30 p.m.The group ran away. Later Wednesday night, though, Worcester police said three of the individuals had been arrested. Worcester police said their investigation into this incident is ongoing, asking anyone with informati...

White House wants to engage Russia on nuclear arms control in post-treaty world

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is ready to have talks with Russia without preconditions about a future nuclear arms control framework even as it is enacting countermeasures in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to suspend the last nuclear arms control treaty between the two countries.White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will make clear the Biden administration’s desire for talks on building a new framework during an address to the Arms Control Association on Friday, according to two senior administration officials who previewed the address on the condition of anonymity. Putin announced in February he was suspending Russia’s cooperation with the New START Treaty’s provisions for nuclear warhead and missile inspections amid deep tensions between Washington and Moscow over Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Russia, however, said it would respect the treaty’s caps on nuclear weapons.The officials said that Sullivan would unders...

China Ukraine envoy urges governments to ‘stop sending weapons to the battlefield,’ negotiate peace

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:50 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s Ukraine envoy appealed Friday to other governments to “stop sending weapons to the battlefield” and hold peace talks but gave no indication that his trip to the region made any progress toward a settlement.Li Hui’s appeal came as Washington and its European allies are ramping up supplies of missiles, tanks and other weapons to Ukrainian forces that are trying to take back Russian-occupied territory.Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government says it is neutral and wants to serve as a mediator but has supported Moscow politically. “China believes that if we really want to put an end to war, to save lives and realize peace, it is important for us to stop sending weapons to the battlefield, or else the tensions will only spiral up,” Li told reporters. Li visited Ukraine, Russia, Poland, France, Germany and the European Union headquarters during a May 15-28 trip.Political analysts saw little chance that the Chinese initiative would make progress, but it gives Beijing a...

Unconscious man pulled from burning building in Mississauga

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:50 GMT

A man is in critical but stable condition after being pulled from a two-alarm fire in Mississauga overnight. Fire crews say they were called to a generator fire on the exterior of a two-storey commercial property in the area of Dundas and Hurontario Streets around 10:30 p.m. Thursday.“Upon arrival, crews noticed heavy flames coming from the rear of the building, extending into the roof,” Fire Chief Deryn Rizzi said in an online post. “Crews used a thermal imaging camera to detect a person in the dark, smoke filled structure.”Incredible rescue by Captain Skare and the crew from FS 110 in what became untenable fire conditions within the structure (video taken prior to a person being rescued). Firefighters used aggressive fire tactics to knock down the fire and prevented fire extension to exposures. pic.twitter.com/9vCjSihEJ7— Chief Deryn Rizzi (@derynrizzi) June 2, 2023The unconscious man was pulled from the building with a pulse. Paramedics transported h...

Centrist parties alarmed as poll shows growing support for German far right

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:50 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Prominent members of German mainstream parties have expressed alarm at a new poll that shows support for the far-right Alternative for Germany at a record high.The DeutschlandTrend survey, conducted monthly by infratest dimap for public broadcaster ARD, that was released on Thursday puts voter support for Alternative for Germany at 18%, on a par with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats. In the 2021 election, Scholz’s party received 25.7% of the vote, while Alternative for Germany, or AfD, got 10.3%.“This (…) is a disaster and should be understood as an alarm signal for all parties of the center,” said Norbert Roettgen, a senior lawmaker for the main opposition Christian Democrats, whose support stood at 29% in the poll of 1,302 voters conducted from May 30-31. The margin of error was up to 3 percentage points.Roettgen said his own center-right party should ask itself why it hasn’t profited as much from voters’ unhappiness at the gove...

Amid shrinking freedoms, Hong Kongers commemorate Tiananmen anniversary privately

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:50 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — As the 34th anniversary of China’s Tiananmen Square crackdown approaches Sunday, many in Hong Kong are trying to mark the day in private ways in the shadow of a law that prosecuted leading activists in the city’s pro-democracy movement. For decades, Hong Kong was the only place in China where people held large-scale commemorations about the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in which tanks rolled into the heart of Beijing and hundreds, and possibly thousands, of people were killed. People gathered in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park annually to mark the June 4 anniversary with a candlelight vigil. In 2020, thousands defied a police ban to hold the event.This Sunday, Victoria Park will be occupied instead by a carnival organized by pro-Beijing groups to celebrate Hong Kong’s handover to Chinese rule in 1997. Organizers say it will feature a bazaar with food from across China.As the government arrested activists, publishers and opposition politicians under the ...

Tropical Storm Mawar intensifies rains for Japan, threatens floods and mudslides in some regions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:50 GMT

NAHA, Japan (AP) — Heavy rains intensified by Tropical Storm Mawar fell on Japan’s main archipelago Friday, halting trains and transit and threatening floods and mudslides in central and western regions, while residents were urged to use caution.Warnings were issued in parts of western and central Japan, with up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) of rain forecast through Saturday evening. Residents in vulnerable areas, including those in Mie, Wakayama, Aichi and Shizuoka prefectures in central Japan, were warned of the potential for flooding and mudslides and advised to go to evacuation centers if possible.Television footage showed swollen rivers in residential areas in Wakayama city, including one where brown water rose as high as the bottom of a bridge over it.In Tokyo, the few pedestrians on the rainy streets clutched umbrellas as winds blew tree branches around. Afternoon classes were also cancelled at some schools. Ferry operations in the Tokyo Bay were canceled for the rest of Frid...

Erykah Badu basks in her new era of reinvention and expansion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:50 GMT

New York (AP) — Erykah Badu has unintentionally occupied the role of culture shifter and influencer for 20 plus years, well before it became a trendy, social media descriptor. Her impact has vibrated throughout music and fashion, and the “Green Eyes” songstress sees it clearly.“I can hear my influence in music. I can see my influence style,” explained the four-time Grammy winner. “I hear my words resonated all over the world…So yeah, I can see it.”That cultural cache may be why her collaboration with Italian fashion house Marni has been so anticipated. The Marni x Erykah Badu capsule was released in select U.S. Marni boutiques last month. The 42-piece collection features women’s ready-to-wear garments, including dresses, accessories and footwear, accented with handmade leather patchwork, heavy wools, bold sequins and lush velvets. Badu, 52, who is known for her creative and eccentric style, was hands on in all aspects.“I’ve worked the same way in every area of my life; on stag...