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Ukraine accuses Hungary of funding Russian war crimes with energy deals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:35 GMT

A series of new deals boosting Hungary’s energy links with Russia will only prolong the war in Ukraine, a top Kyiv official warned, calling on Brussels to block the agreements.“If you’ve seen the video where Russians cut the head off a Ukrainian soldier — the Hungarians are paying for the knife,” Oleg Ustenko, economic adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told POLITICO on Wednesday. A clip that appears to show the execution of a Ukrainian serviceman circulating online has caused consternation in recent days, with Zelenskyy describing the Russian troops who allegedly did the killing as “beasts.”“You have to be completely blind not to see what kinds of crimes you are sponsoring. Buying more gas from the Russians means you are giving them more capacity to escalate the war,” Ustenko added.Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó signed a series of energy deals on...

US sanctions Hungary-based bank with Russian ties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:35 GMT

BUDAPEST — The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on a Hungary-based bank linked to Russia, marking a new low point in Hungary’s relationship with Washington. The U.S. Treasury Department announced the penalties, which will target the International Investment Bank (IIB), a controversial institution located in Budapest with ties to the Russian state. The bank’s presence in Hungary has drawn the ire of Western officials, who fear it could be used for Russian intelligence operations inside Europe. Speaking to reporters in Budapest on Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman said Washington had repeatedly shared information with Hungarian counterparts about how Russia could use the bank to expand its influence — to no avail.“Unlike other NATO allies previously engaged with this Russian entity,” the ambassador said, “Hungary has dismissed the concerns of the United States government regarding the risks its continued presence poses to the all...

Barcelona bets on green to boost city’s mental health

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:35 GMT

This article is part of POLITICO’s Global Policy Lab: Living Cities, a collaborative journalism project exploring the future of cities. Sign up here.There are plenty of reasons for major cities to go green: to adapt to climate change, to lower emissions, to tackle air pollution. In Barcelona, urban planners are motivated by an additional factor: A pilot scheme to tame traffic and create more green spaces across three neighborhoods has been shown to improve residents’ mental health. As part of the Superilla (Superblocks) project starting in 2013, the city created a cluster of greener, quieter streets in the small neighborhoods of Poblenou, Horta and Sant Anton that are largely closed to through traffic and where residents can play and socialize.A survey of people living in the three repurposed areas found people reported better rest, increased socialization and less perceived noise and air pollution. They also indicated that the areas are quieter, more comfo...

Prince Harry will attend father’s coronation. Meghan won’t

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:35 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry will attend his father King Charles III’s Coronation next month, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday, ending lengthy speculation on whether he would be welcome after leveling charges of racism and media manipulation at the royal family.But Harry’s wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, will remain in California with the couple’s two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, the palace said. The May 6 date of the coronation at Westminster Abbey coincides with their son’s birthday.Harry’s attendance comes despite the rift within the House of Windsor prompted by his decision to reveal family secrets in his bestselling book, “Spare.”The revelations included details of private conversations with his father, and his elder brother, Prince William. The disclosures fanned tensions between Harry and his family, which had become public when he and his wife moved to North America in 2020.Harry and Meghan, who is biracial, have alleged she faced racist attitudes fr...

Jets and Packers remain without an agreement for Aaron Rodgers ahead of NFL Draft

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:35 GMT

Jets general manager Joe Douglas told fans at a radio event last week that Aaron Rodgers is “gonna be here.”However, fans of the Jets and Packers are still waiting, as there’s still no current update.On Tuesday, before he left for the Packers’ annual bus tour of Wisconsin, president and CEO Mark Murphy remained silent on if the Packers are waiting on the Jets to accept the team’s trade request.“I can’t really get into that,” Murphy said. “I know Brian and Joe have been talking.”“That’s something [Packers general manager] Brian is working on. I’ve been actively involved. There’s really nothing more to say.”Tuesday was the first time Murphy answered questions from reporters since Rodgers said on The Pat McAfee Show that he intends to play for the Jets. Since then, there hasn’t been much traction regarding a trade.Gang Green reportedly spoke to the Packers during the NFL Annual Leagues Meeti...

Hundreds forced from Indiana homes as plastics fire burns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:35 GMT

By ARLEIGH RODGERS and RICK CALLAHAN (Associated Press)RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) — An evacuation order affecting more than 1,000 people was expected to remain in place through Wednesday around a large industrial fire in an Indiana city near the Ohio border where crews worked through the night to douse piles of burning plastics, authorities said.Multiple fires, which began burning Tuesday afternoon, continued burning Wednesday morning within about 14 acres of various types of plastics stored both inside and outside buildings at the former factory site in Richmond, 70 miles (113 kilometers) east of Indianapolis, Richmond fire chief Tim Brown said.“There’s plastics inside buildings, there’s plastics outside buildings, there’s plastics in semitrailers that are throughout the grounds here at the complex, so we’re dealing with many type of plastics. It’s very much a mess,” Brown said.Brown said a plume of smoke continued rising Wednesday from the ...

Ukraine’s outrage grows over video seeming to show beheading

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:35 GMT

By SAMYA KULLAB and HANNA ARHIRIOVA (Associated Press)KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine launched an investigation Wednesday into a gruesome video that purportedly shows the beheading of a Ukrainian soldier, in the latest accusation of atrocities said to have been committed by Russia since it invaded in February 2022.The video spread quickly online and drew outrage from officials in Kyiv, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as well as international organizations. The Kremlin called the footage “horrible” but said it needed to be verified.The Associated Press was not able to independently verify the authenticity of the video or the circumstances of where and when it was shot. The AP is not distributing the video or using frame grabs due to its extremely graphic nature.Meanwhile, a Russian defense official claimed that fighters from Russia’s paramilitary Wagner group have seized three districts of Bakhmut, the embattled city that for months has been the focus of...

Stocks slip in mixed trading following US inflation report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:35 GMT

By STAN CHOE (AP Business Writer)NEW YOR (AP) — Stocks are swaying lower Wednesday following the latest update to show inflation continues to cool.The S&P 500 was 0.2% lower in midday trading after an early gain faded. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 32 points, or 0.1%, at 33,691, as of 11:10 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% lower. The main focus on Wall Street for more than a year has been high inflation and how much painful medicine the Federal Reserve will have to dole out to contain it. A report Wednesday morning showed that prices at the consumer level were 5% higher last month than a year earlier. That’s still well above the Federal Reserve’s comfort level, and some underlying trends within the data were also concerning. That weighed down financial markets. But on the upside for investors, the overall inflation number was still better than the 5.2% that economists expected. It also marked a continued slowdown from inflatio...

Republican Tim Scott unveils 2024 White House exploratory committee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:35 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina is taking the next official step toward a bid for president in 2024.In a video released Wednesday morning, Scott announced he was forming an exploratory committee, which moves him closer to a formal campaign for the White House. He leaned into his biography as a Black man who overcame poverty to argue that Democrats are too liberal and have needlessly divided the country by fostering a “culture of grievance.”“All too often when they get called out for their failures, they weaponize race to divide us, to hold onto their power,” he said. “When I fought back against their liberal agenda, they called me a prop. A token. Because I disrupt their narrative. I threaten their control.”If he enters the field, Scott will join another South Carolinian, former Gov. Nikki Haley, as well as former President Donald Trump, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and “anti-woke” biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. Others, including Florida Go...

Pedestrian hit, killed by train in Carlsbad

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:35 GMT

CARLSBAD, Calif. — One person was killed Monday night after being hit by a train in North County, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said.The incident marks the second deadly train collision at this location in April.The crash happened around 7:20 p.m. on the train tracks south of Tamarack Avenue in Carlsbad when a North County Transit District Coaster train collided with a pedestrian on the tracks.The Sheriff's Transit Enforcement Unit was dispatched to the scene. The pedestrian was found dead at the scene by authorities. Cooler temperatures, chance of rain heading to San Diego The circumstances that led to the incident are under investigation and the sheriff's department asked anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477 or download the P3 anonymous tip app.No information was immediately available regarding the person was killed. Their identity and manner of death will be determined by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.