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Georgians say they want to join Europe, but not like this

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

TBILISI, Georgia — If all goes as expected, Georgia will take the first step on the long road of joining the European Union this week.  But even for those in the former Soviet country who have spent decades working for just this moment, now that it has come, it is at best bittersweet. “The problem is not technical, it’s fundamental,” former Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili wrote from prison in a note to POLITICO.  “Georgia is a state seized by one oligarch controlled from Moscow,” he added. He’s referring to Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister and billionaire businessman who made his money in Russia and is widely seen to be pulling the strings of the ruling Georgia Dream party he founded. Although Saakashvili, who is serving a six-year prison sentence for “abuse of power,” may be a controversial figure, his view is widespread among the country’s pro-EU camp. The issue is timely as European leaders gathering in ...

State Extends Food Benefit To Legal Immigrants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

The Legislature and Gov. Maura Healey last week quietly restored a policy to offer state-funded food benefits for immigrants who are in the U.S. legally, but who are not citizens.The benefits expansion authorized in a $3.1 billion spending bill will cost about $6 million, which advocates say will last seven months.Massachusetts used to be one of six states that offered Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to all legal immigrants who met the program’s income requirements. The state halted funding for the program after five years in 2002, and other five states offer these benefits.With the influx of thousands of new immigrants into Massachusetts over the past year, immigration and anti-homelessness advocates called for the state to again expand food benefits for low-income populations who are excluded from federal benefit programs.“This is going to be huge for our families. This is going to be such a relief for many of them because they’re dealin...

32-year old woman who enrolled in Boston high schools due in court today

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

A Canton woman authorities say posed as a teenage girl inside multiple Boston school is set to be arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court Tuesday.School officials say that at various points during the 2022-2023 school year, Shelby Hewitt, 32, of Canton attended the Jeremiah E. Burke High School, Brighton High School, and English High School.A former DCF social worker, allegedly presented Boston Public Schools officials with documents that falsified her birth date and used multiple pseudonyms to enroll in the schools.Hewitt is being charged with three counts of forgery, two counts of common law forgery, one count of uttering, and one count of larceny over $1200.

Battenfeld: New Boston police contract makes key reforms — except for transparency

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

Mayor Michelle Wu’s new contract with Boston police officers makes big strides on issues like pay, discipline and details but misses on one key aspect of reform: transparency.Wu needs to make public responsiveness a bigger priority to hold police more accountable not just to the media but to ordinary citizens and community leaders who pay the tab for the $82 million, five-year contract.Transparency should be a cornerstone of reform – which is what the Wu administration says the contract finally achieves. The idea is to pull the veil back and let the public in.The City Council is slated to take up the new contract on Wednesday with a hearing scheduled a day before on Tuesday.In an interview with the Herald, Wu said she was “happy with every part of the contract” that for the first time in the city’s history has reform as one of its main objectives – not just financial compensation.“This is a contract that reflects progress on every area we identified,” she said. “If you just treat th...

Pitcher with ‘The Rookie’-esque story among Red Sox non-roster invitees for spring training

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

The Red Sox added seven non-roster invitees to their spring training roster on Monday.Pitchers Jorge Benitez, Cam Booser, Frank German, and Helcris Olivarez, infielder Jamie Westbrook, outfielder Mark Contreras, and IF/OF Eddy Alvarez will have a chance to prove themselves in Fort Myers, Fla.The Red Sox signed left-handers Olivarez, 23, and Benitez, 24, in November and assigned them both to Triple-A Worcester. They previously pitched in the Colorado Rockies and Seattle Mariners organizations, respectively. Benitez just posted a 1.95 ERA over 45 appearances between High-A and Double-A, while shoulder surgery cost Olivarez most of the ‘22 season and all of ‘23.Westbrook, 28, was originally the Arizona Diamondbacks’ fifth-round pick in 2013, but most recently played second base in the New York Yankees’ organization. He hit .294 with a .897 OPS and 121 hits, including 20 doubles and 21 home runs, in 117 Triple-A games for them this season.If German’s name rings a bell, it’s because he a...

Congo and rebel groups agree a 3-day cease-fire ahead of the presidential vote, US says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Congo’s security forces and rebel groups have agreed on a 72-hour cease-fire to de-escalate tensions in the country’s eastern region near the border with Rwanda, the White House announced just days before Congo’s presidential election.The agreement was backed by both Congo and Rwanda, Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, said in a statement Monday. It said the agreement includes the withdrawal of forces occupying the locality of Mushaki and the RP1030 road in eastern Congo. The region has struggled with violent conflict for decades and armed groups fight either for control of mineral resources or to defend their communities. The most prominent is the M23 rebel group with links to Rwanda.Neither Congo nor Rwanda has publicly commented on the cease-fire, which the White House said would also help “advance the implementation of the confidence-building measures to protect civilians” as Congo prepares for th...

5 big promises made at annual UN climate talks and what has happened since

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — When United Nations climate talks wrap up at some point this week in Dubai, big promises will likely be made about how the world is going to combat climate change, caused by the burning of fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal. Negotiators are debating how fast fossil fuels should be reduced and how a major transition to green energy would be paid for, raising the possibility of a historic agreement. Previous summits have ended with funds established to help developing countries transition to green energies, pledges to slash pollution and promises to keep people most vulnerable at the center of policy discussions.But have countries stuck to their word? Ahead of whatever decisions come from this year’s negotiations, here is a look at five big promises from nearly 30 years of talks, and what’s happened since. EMISSIONS CUTS IN KYOTOThe third climate summit took place in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997 — one of the warmest years recorded in the 20th c...

Poland’s new prime minister vows to work to keep the world committed to helping Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — New Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday that his government will mobilize to keep the world committed to helping Ukraine.Tusk said it hurts him to hear that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has to keep trying to persuade world leaders about the need to continue supporting Kyiv’s struggle against Russian aggression.He said it will be a priority for his coalition government to persuade leaders that they need to continue to help Ukraine defend itself, and that is also in the interests of the free world.He said he would “loudly and decisively demand the full mobilization of the free world, the Western world, to help Ukraine in this war.”“There is no alternative to this way of thinking. I can no longer listen to some European politicians from other Western countries who say something about being tired of the situation in Ukraine. They are tired. They say it to President Zelenskyy’s face that they no longer have the strength, that they are exh...

Stock market today: World shares rise ahead of US consumer prices update

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

World shares advanced Tuesday ahead of a crucial U.S. inflation report that will likely set the tone for the Federal Reserve’s final meeting of the year.The futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.1% and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained nearly 0.2%.Germany’s DAX edged 0.2% higher to 16,833.57 and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.4% to 7,601.56. In London, the FTSE 100 jumped 0.8% to 7,602.45.On Tuesday, the Office for National Statistics reported that Britain’s wage growth saw its most significant slowdown in nearly two years in November, accompanied by a drop in job vacancies. The data were seen as an indicator inflation is abating due to high borrowing costs and could help shape the Bank of England’s interest rate decision on Thursday.In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 added 0.2% to 32,843.70. Data released on Tuesday showed wholesale prices in Japan rose 0.3% from a year earlier in November, the slowest rate of increase in almost three years. That suggested a moder...

UAlbany women working to win fourth straight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The UAlbany women are coming off a win at home against Marist, but now they turn their attention to Dartmouth. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! Currently, the Great Danes are riding a three-game winning streak and aim to make it four against Big Green. Last season, Albany topped Big Green 73-45 in Hanover but this season UAlbany will be hosting. Big Green is riding a two-game winning streak with their last win coming against Merrimack. Despite that, the Great Danes are ready for what should be a good match-up that will test their skills in the paint. "They're coming off a good stretch of wins and we know they think they're playing their best basketball right now, so it's going to be huge for us to come and really put our foot on the gas and contain them and get the stops we need early," said senior forward Helene Haegerstrand. Last season Haegerstrand dropped 18 points in UAlbany's win over Dartmouth, along with...