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WTF is Christine Lagarde up to?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:10 GMT

The ECB president has sounded the death knell for the dollar and predicted the end of the world economy as we know it — does she know something we don’t?By BEN MUNSTERIllustrations by Evangeline Gallagher for POLITICODeep in the Wyoming wilderness last month, Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, stood before a large audience of elite central bankers and casually predicted the collapse of the international financial order. Resplendent in red and black, she resembled a humanoid Lindor chocolate truffle — and though her warning was diluted by the usual impenetrable jargon, the subtext was sufficiently clear and dramatic. “There are plausible scenarios where we could see a fundamental change in the nature of global economic interactions,” Lagarde announced drily to the crowd, which was gathered for the annual central banker confab in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The assumptions that have long informed the technocratic management of the global order were breaking dow...

To clinch peace in the Caucasus, pay attention to both sides

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:10 GMT

Hikmet Hajiyev is foreign affairs adviser to the president of Azerbaijan.When the United States and its Western allies are so distracted by the war in Ukraine, it poses a challenge for those of us elsewhere in the world. How do we ensure the conflicts we face, which are just as urgent and real, are fully understood in the Western corridors of power and the columns of newspapers?Take the situation in Karabakh.This region of Azerbaijan was occupied by neighboring Armenia for 30 years. And after a brutal war in the early 1990s, which saw close to 1 million Azerbaijanis ethnically cleansed from their land, occupying Armenian forces mined thousands of square miles of this territory, save for a small holdout at its center. There, the remaining community of ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan were connected to Armenia via a single land route — the Lachin road.This gray zone of lawlessness and land mines existed illegally — and unchallenged — until three years ago, when Azerbaijan took much of t...

Suspected Chinese spy met UK minister for discussions on key legislation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:10 GMT

LONDON — A suspected Chinese spy met with a U.K. government minister to discuss amendments to a key piece of legislation related to China, three people with knowledge of the meeting told POLITICO. The man in his 20s — who was arrested in March on suspicion of espionage, but has not been charged and is protesting his innocence — worked as a parliamentary researcher in the House of Commons. He accompanied a Tory MP to meet Cabinet Office minister Alex Burghart earlier this year to discuss the MP’s proposed amendments to the Procurement Bill, which were designed to toughen up U.K. policy toward China.The Procurement Bill introduces new rules for firms competing for government contacts, and strengthens ministers’ powers to exclude companies that are deemed a national security risk. A Whitehall official said no sensitive government information was discussed at the meeting, which took place in parliament and lasted less than an hour.The researcher has not been charge...

Boris Johnson warns Donald Trump not to drop US support for Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:10 GMT

LONDON — Boris Johnson issued a direct plea to Donald Trump not to ditch U.S. support for Ukraine if he becomes president in 2024.Writing for the Spectator after a trip to Ukraine, the former British prime minister — who has lobbied hard for wavering Republicans to keep the faith in the war-torn country — warned Russian triumph could boomerang on any Trump administration.“A Putin victory would be a catastrophe for the West and for American leadership, and I don’t believe it is an outcome that could easily be endured by a U.S. president, let alone one who wanted to Make America Great Again,” Johnson wrote in the Spectator.Johnson said that should Ukraine succeed in repelling Russia, “then the reverse is true.” “Exactly the opposite message will be sent around the world: that we do care about democracy, that we are willing to back our principles, and that the West still has the guts to stick at something until we succeed,” he added.Johnson’s c...

Searchers race to recover bodies in Libyan city where 5,100 died in flooding after 2 dams collapsed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:10 GMT

By SAMY MAGDY and YOUSEF MURAD (Associated Press)DERNA, Libya (AP) — Search teams combed streets, wrecked buildings and even the sea Wednesday to look for bodies in a coastal Libyan city where the collapse of two dams unleashed a massive flash flood that killed at least 5,100 people.The Mediterranean city of Derna has struggled to get help after Sunday night’s deluge washed away most access roads. Aid workers who managed to reach the city described devastation in its center, with thousands still missing and tens of thousands left homeless.“Bodies are everywhere, inside houses, in the streets, at sea. Wherever you go, you find dead men, women, and children,” Emad al-Falah, an aid worker from Benghazi, said over the phone from Derna. “Entire families were lost.”Mediterranean storm Daniel caused deadly flooding Sunday in many towns of eastern Libya, but the worst-hit was Derna. Two dams in the mountains above the city collapsed, sending floodwaters r...

Australia to toughen restrictions on ex-service personnel who would train foreign militaries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:10 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The Australian government has proposed tougher restrictions on former defense military personnel who want to train foreign militaries as the nation prepares to share nuclear secrets with the United States and Britain.Defense Minister Richard Marles introduced legislation into the Parliament on Thursday aimed at safeguarding military secrets. Last year, he ordered the Defense Department to review standards after reports that China had approached former Australian military personnel to become trainers.Australia’s allies the United States, Britain and Canada share concerns that China is attempting to poach Western military expertise.The review recommended strengthening of already-robust legislation as Australia deepens technology-sharing with the United States and Britain under the so-called AUKUS agreement, an acronym for Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.Under the agreement, the United States and Britain will provide Australia a fleet of a...

Rain-soaked New England hit by likely tornado amid wild weather ahead of Hurricane Lee’s arrival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:10 GMT

LEOMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — Hurricane Lee barreled north toward New England on Wednesday and threatened to unleash violent storms on the region just as communities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island were dealing with tornado warnings and another day of heavy rain that opened up sinkholes and brought devastating flooding to several communities.The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch for portions of Maine. A tropical storm watch was issued for a large area of coastal New England from parts of Rhode Island to Stonington, Maine, including Block Island, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket.The National Weather Service in Boston said that looking at radar data and videos it appears likely that a tornado toppled trees and knocked down power lines in Rhode Island and Connecticut on Wednesday. Rob Megnia, a meteorologist with the weather service, said they received reports of about 20 trees down in Killingly, Connecticut, and trees and power lines down in Foster, Rhode Island.The agenc...

Cambodia’s new Prime Minister Hun Manet heads to close ally China for his first official trip abroad

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:10 GMT

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet headed to Beijing on Thursday on his first official trip abroad since taking office last month in a demonstration of his country’s warm relations with China, its closest political and economic ally.He is expected to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping and other officials on the three-day trip, according to Cambodia’s Foreign Ministry. The statement said the two countries’ leaders will discuss tightening relations for a shared future with the building of a “Cambodia-China Community,” strategic directions for their bilateral relations and regional and international matters.Cambodia is a key Chinese diplomatic partner and supporter in regional and international forums. It helps dampen criticism of Beijing within the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, several of whose members are engaged in territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.China has gained important influence in Cambodian politics and it...

No cash bail set to start Monday in Illinois: Here’s what you need to know

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:10 GMT

No cash bail. Rarely has an issue animated politicians and voters the way this one has. In Illinois, money is gone as a condition of pre-trial release.So how is it going to work?On Monday, in Room 100 of the Leighton Criminal Courthouse, history will be made.Mary Marubio is the presiding judge of the Pretrial Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County.“People who have recently been arrested and who are awaiting pretrial conditions will be coming here receiving those conditions and then being released from custody,” she said.When those first proceedings begin, Illinois will become the first state to eliminate cash bail.When asked if this law make us more or less safe, Marubio replied, “I believe it’s going to make us more safe.”That’s not everyone’s view.Criticism of the no cash bail overhaul was harsh. Supporters called the skepticism fearmongering. Related: Illinois Supreme Court rules cash bail can be eliminated After a challenge from virtually every State’s Attorney, Illinois...

Family wants answers after 19-year-old daughter found dead on Englewood porch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:10 GMT

CHICAGO -- The family of a 19-year-old woman who loved ones believe was attacked and left for dead on the patio of her South Side apartment have more questions than answers.According to her family, Deaviannya Flores was making her way in the beauty industry and had a bright future ahead of her. She graduated from South Shore High School last year and recently moved into an Englewood apartment at 70th and Justine Street.On Saturday, her family found out that the 19-year-old’s body was discovered on the porch outside of her second floor Englewood apartment. Mayor Johnson’s migrant ‘tent city’ faces criticism ahead of fall, winter season The Chicago Police Department haven’t classified the death as a murder yet, but the victim’s family believes she was killed.According to CPD, Flores’ passing has been classified as a death investigation as they await autopsy results. The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said the autopsy has been completed, but further testing will be needed. C...