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In Samoa, EU and its member states sign new Partnership Agreement with the Members of the Organization of the African, Caribbean and Pacific

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:14 GMT

The EU and its member states have signed a new Partnership Agreement with the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) that will serve as an overarching legal framework for their relations for the next twenty years. This agreement succeeds the Cotonou Agreement and will be known as the “Samoa Agreement”. The agreement covers subjects such as sustainable development and growth, human rights and peace and security.The denomination of the Agreement was agreed at the 46th session of the ACP-EU Council of ministers, which took place right before the signature ceremony, also in Samoa.The new Partnership Agreement lays down common principles and covers the following priority areas: human rights, democracy and governance, peace and security, human and social development, inclusive, sustainable economic growth and development, environmental sustainability and climate change, and migration and mobility.A press release, with more information, is available online.

Sale closed in Dublin: $2.3 million for a five-bedroom home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:14 GMT

6138 Ledgewood Terrace – Google Street ViewA 3,820-square-foot house built in 2002 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 6100 block of Ledgewood Terrace in Dublin was sold on Oct. 4, 2023. The $2,250,000 purchase price works out to $589 per square foot. This home presents a roomy floor plan, featuring five bedrooms and five baths.These nearby houses have also recently been sold:A 4,005-square-foot home on the 3600 block of Westford Court in Dublin sold in June 2023, for $2,650,000, a price per square foot of $662. The home has 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms.In October 2022, a 4,026-square-foot home on Penwood Place in Dublin sold for $1,810,000, a price per square foot of $450. The home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.On Penwood Place, Dublin, in July 2023, a 4,026-square-foot home was sold for $3,000,000, a price per square foot of $745. The home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. 

Osama bin Laden is back!

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:14 GMT

This isn’t a bad dream. Twenty-two years after he masterminded the 9/11 terror attacks, and 12 years after he was killed by U.S. special forces while cowering in his Pakistani bolthole, al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden is back in the headlines. The reasons: TikTok + Gen Z + the Guardian + the Israel-Hamas war = a big comeback for the terror king.Confused? Don’t worry, we explain it all here. Are you serious? Unfortunately, yes. Okay, tell me more. (And explain it to me like I’m five.) Bin Laden’s “Letter to America” is a chilling 4,000-word spiel, written decades ago, by the perpetrator of the 9/11 passenger-jet terrorist attacks which killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States.The letter and its translation started circulating online shortly after the 2001 attacks, especially among extremist Islamist organizations, and was first published in the Guardian in 2002. (More on that later, by the way.)In the letter, addressed to the U.S. and Americans, bi...

No more ads on Elon’s X, EU Commission tells staff

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:14 GMT

The European Commission has decided to stop advertising on social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, over “widespread concerns relating to the spread of disinformation,” according to an internal note obtained by POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook.In a note sent to all heads of service and directors general, the Commission’s Deputy Chief Spokesperson Dana Spinant said disinformation on X, especially in relation to the Israel-Hamas war, had led the institution to “recommend to temporarily suspend advertising on this platform until further notice to avoid risks of reputational damage to the Commission.”X has been under growing scrutiny in Europe as a result of the bloc’s new content moderation law, the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Commission, which enforces the law, in October sent a formal request for information to the company to explain how its handling of illegal content and disinformation connected to Hamas’ October 7 attack complies with the DSA.EU services can st...

Russian parliament passes record budget, boosting defense spending and shoring up support for Putin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:14 GMT

The lower house of Russia’s parliament, the State Duma, on Friday approved its biggest-ever federal budget which will increase spending by around 25% in 2024, with record amounts going to defense.Defense spending is expected to overtake social spending next year for the first time in modern Russian history, at a time when the Kremlin is eager to shore up support for President Vladimir Putin as Russia prepares for a presidential election in March. Record low unemployment, higher wages and targeted social spending should help the Kremlin ride out the domestic impact of pivoting the economy to a war footing, but could pose a problem in the long term, analysts say. Russian lawmakers said the budget for 2024-2026 was developed specifically to fund the military and mitigate the impact of “17,500 sanctions” on Russia, the chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, said. “In these difficult conditions, we have managed to adopt a budget that will not only allocate the necessary funds fo...

The wait continues for Canadians wanting out of Gaza, approval list not yet updated

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:14 GMT

Canadians in the Gaza Strip, eager to escape the bloody conflict between Israel and Hamas, may have to wait a little longer to leave.As of 4 a.m. Eastern, the General Authority for Crossings and Borders had yet to update its daily list of approved foreign passport holders authorized to exit Gaza and enter Egypt.The Canadian government says that as of Wednesday afternoon, it was in touch with 386 people still in the besieged territory.Global Affairs Canada says, so far, 367 Canadians, permanent residents and their relatives have been able to escape via the Rafah border crossing, most recently including two people on Wednesday and 10 on Monday.The current conflict began on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants killed 1,200 Israelis in brutal surprise attacks, taking another 240 people hostage.Israel declared war on Hamas, began an airstrike campaign and cut off food, fuel, water and supplies to Gaza, which is home to 2.3 million Palestinians. The territory’s health officials say more than...

Greek authorities conduct search and rescue operation after dinghy carrying migrants capsizes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:14 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities conducted a search and rescue operation Friday off the coast of a small islet in the eastern Aegean Sea near the Turkish coast after a dinghy carrying migrants to Greece capsized, the coast guard said.A total of 18 people were rescued, while one more person, a woman, was pulled from the water unconscious, the coast guard said. The survivors were to be transported to the nearby island of Samos. The coast guard said no further people were reported as missing.Thousands of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia attempt to make the short but dangerous sea crossing from Turkey to the Greek islands each year, in the hope of eventually making their way to more prosperous European Union countries.Some attempt to skirt around Greece and head directly to Italy instead, either from Turkey or from north Africa. The longer sea journey is considerably more perilous, and has claimed hundreds of lives.In June, an overloaded fishing ...

Explosion rocks university in Armenia’s capital, killing 1 person and injuring 3 others

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:14 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — An explosion rocked a university building in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, on Friday, killing one person and injuring three others, authorities said. The Interior Ministry said the blast occurred in the basement of the chemistry department building at Yerevan State University. One person died and three others were hospitalized with burns and other injuries, health officials said, adding that one was in grave condition. Authorities were investigating the cause of the blast.The Associated Press

In The News for today: Alberta pension plan a no-brainer and APEC summit continues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:14 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Alberta pension panel hears calls to exit CPPThe panel hearing feedback on whether Alberta should quit the Canada Pension Plan is hearing from multiple callers that it’s time to embrace a “no-brainer” provincial program.A number of callers to the panel’s latest telephone town hall say the province is contributing far more than it gets back in Confederation and that it’s time to look after Alberta first.One caller says if Albertans can get a better deal going it alone, then it’s a no-brainer.A number of other callers say they are against leaving, asking why Alberta wants to abandon a national plan that is working.Premier Danielle Smith’s government is gathering public opinion on whether there is an appetite to hold a referendum on leaving the C-P-P.China syndrome: Trudeau keeps Xi at a distanceBlame the alphabet for the fact Justin Trudeau and Xi Jinping had a c...

First person charged under Australia’s foreign interference laws denies working for China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:14 GMT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Lawyers for the first person to be charged under Australia’s foreign interference laws insisted in court Friday that a donation to a hospital made via a federal government minister was not a covert attempt to curry favor on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.Melbourne businessman and local community leader Di Sanh Duong, 68, has pleaded not guilty in the Victoria state County Court to a charge of preparing for or planning an act of foreign interference. Vietnam-born Duong, who came to Australia in 1980 as a refugee, faces a potential 10-year prison sentence if convicted in the landmark case.He is the first person to be charged under federal laws created in 2018 that ban covert foreign interference in domestic politics and make industrial espionage for a foreign power a crime. The laws offended Australia’s most important trading partner, China, and accelerated a deterioration in bilateral relations.The allegation centers on a novelty check that Duong ha...