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Hundreds of zoo animals dead as environmental cost of Ukraine dam blast grows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:16 GMT

Hundreds of animals died in their cages at a zoo in Russian-occupied Ukraine when explosions ripped through the nearby Nova Kakhovka dam on Tuesday, flooding the surrounding area.According to UAnimals, an animal rights NGO that has helped shelter and rescue animals during the Russian invasion, nearly all of the 260 animals in the zoo — dubbed “Fairytale Díbrova” — died. “People were trying to save these animals for months. And then, just in one day because of the actions of Russians, 260 animals died,” Olga Chevganiuk, COO of the organization, told POLITICO, calling the incident “a real catastrophe.”Speaking in Kyiv on Wednesday, Ukraine’s Environment Minister Ruslan Strilets also confirmed that “it was not possible to save the animals in the Kazkova Dibrova zoo,” adding that “only ducks and swans were able to save themselves.”“Prior to the tragedy the zoo was home to monkeys, raccoons, a donkey, ponies, coypus, various birds, porcupines, groundhogs, turtles, and many other species....

Hands off our salaries! Parliament and top EU court resist budget cuts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:16 GMT

BRUSSELS — As inflation bites, EU institutions are privately fighting with the European Commission over how much public money they should be allowed to spend next year. Letters between the EU’s Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn and other EU bodies — seen by POLITICO — reveal that the Commission wants the European Parliament to rein in its 2024 spending plans by some €28 million, and the Court of Justice of the EU to slash almost €6 million.Senior players in the Parliament have pushed back on those demands, arguing that Hahn is deploying a sneaky, never-before-used budgeting trick that could force them to make painful cuts in areas outside of salaries. As Hahn prepares to defend his draft budget proposal in front of MEPs on Wednesday evening, those disagreements are teeing up a bad-tempered negotiation among EU institutions. Metsola’s miffedParliament President Roberta Metsola railed against the Commission’s request in a letter she sent to Commission ...

Kiss star Gene Simmons turns up to UK parliament … but deputy leaders bicker about WhatsApp

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:16 GMT

Prime minister’s questions: a shouty, jeery, very occasionally useful advert for British politics. Here’s what you need to know from this week’s session in POLITICO’s weekly run-through.Housekeeping: With Rishi Sunak in D.C., it was the deputies’ turn to allegedly shine at this week’s prime minister’s questions.BUT LET’S BE HONEST: The real news here is that Gene Simmons, the iconic co-leader of Kiss, turned up to watch PMQs from the Commons viewing gallery. No, we don’t really know why — although we’re told he was a guest of the DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr, who is taking the rockstar for dinner this evening, as you do.Just to be absolutely clear: Gene Simmons really did turn up to watch half an hour of MPs grilling Britain’s deputy prime minister. And no, he wasn’t wearing make-up and didn’t stick his tongue out (that much).WHAT THEY SPARRED ABOUT: Now onto the matters of real substance. Oh, who are we kidding, it’s PMQs …...

Mike Pence says ‘Different times call for different leadership’ in video launching 2024 presidential bid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:16 GMT

By JILL COLVIN and THOMAS BEAUMONT (Associated Press)DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence promised “the best days of the greatest nation on earth are yet to come” in a video released Wednesday formally launching his campaign for the Republican nomination for president.“Different times call for different leadership,” Pence, who served four years alongside then-President Donald Trump, says in the video, released via Fox News and Twitter hours ahead of a kickoff event in Des Moines. “Today our party and our country need a leader that’ll appeal, as Lincoln said, to the better angels of our nature.”While it would be “easy to stay on the sidelines,” he adds, ”that’s not how I was raised. That’s why today, before God and my family, I’m announcing I’m running for president of the United States.”With Pence’s entry into the race, the GOP field is largely set. It includes Trump, who’s leading in early polls, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who remains in second, former United Na...

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will meet in a youth-vs.-experience clash at the French Open

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:16 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Two weeks ago, before the start of play at the French Open, the brackets were set for the tournament, and one possible semifinal matchup immediately demanded attention: No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, the Next Big Thing in men’s tennis, against No. 3 Novak Djokovic, the Current Big Thing in men’s tennis.The heightened anticipation was not merely because it would be fascinating to see the two of them play at Roland Garros. It also would be fascinating to see them play each other, period: They’ve only met once, and it was 13 months ago, with Alcaraz coming out on top.So get ready: Alcaraz and Djokovic will finally share the stage again on Friday in Court Philippe Chatrier, where they will compete for a spot in the championship match.“Since the draw came out, everyone was expecting that match — the semifinal against Novak. Myself, as well,” Alcaraz said after completing his half of the bargain by outclassing Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-1, 7-6 (5) in the quarterfinals Tuesday night. “I...

Japan supports Sweden’s NATO membership as defense ministers strengthen ties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:16 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s defense minister expressed his country’s support for Sweden’s NATO membership during talks Wednesday with his Swedish counterpart, as the two sides called for stronger military ties amid shared concern over threats from Russia and China.Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson said that Sweden sees the need for European countries to reach out to Asian partners because of the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Japan is especially concerned about increasing military cooperation between China and Russia and their joint exercises around Japan. “Sweden and Japan are meeting many of the similar security challenges. Europe is at war once again, and it is obvious to me that the dialogue between the countries in the Euro-Atlantic community and the Indo-Pacific community has to be intensified,” Jonson said.Hamada, in his brief opening remarks at the beginning of the talks, reiterated Japan’s support for Sweden’s NATO membership “while t...

Missouri prosecutor Wesley Bell vies for GOP Sen. Hawley’s seat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:16 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Black Missouri prosecutor who stepped into leadership in the aftermath of protests over the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown is running for Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley’s seat, the Democrat announced Wednesday. In his campaign announcement, 48-year-old St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell criticized Hawley as divisive while touting his own work in Ferguson, where protests over Brown’s death helped spark the national Black Lives Matter movement. Bell, who now lives in Clayton, lived two blocks from the Ferguson Police Department in 2014. As an angry crowd began to surround officers barricaded in the police parking lot the day after unarmed, Black 18-year-old Brown’s shooting, Bell and a small group of other Black leaders got in the middle and urged calm.Bell at the time worked as a municipal judge and attorney, and his father was a police officer. He has said he understood both sides.“When I faced chaos in Ferguson...

Groundbreaking held for Cambodia’s second expressway, linking capital to Vietnam

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:16 GMT

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday presided over a groundbreaking ceremony for construction of the country’s second expressway, which will link the capital, Phnom Penh, to the eastern border with Vietnam.The road to Bavet city in Svay Rieng province, a total length of 135 kilometers (84 miles), is projected to take 48 months to construct and cost $1.35 billion. It is a project of China Bridge and Road Corp., which is building it under a 50-year build-operate-transfer contract.The road is Cambodia’s second expressway after the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway, which opened last year and connects the capital with the country’s main port on the Gulf of Thailand.China is Cambodia’s biggest investor and closest political partner, whose assistance largely underpins the Southeast Asian nation’s economy.Speaking at Wednesday’s ceremony, Hun Sen praised the expressway for being part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, its worldwide infrastructure de...

From swords to fishing lures to “sprinklers,” MLB celebrations have become full-scale productions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:16 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — There are very few things that make Scott Bonnett panic.Spending the last 15 years making sure the Pittsburgh Pirates have whatever they need whenever they need it has taught the longtime equipment manager the importance of being prepared for anything.Well, almost anything.Bonnett found himself in the dugout in Seattle late last month watching Andrew McCutchen round third following a leadoff home run against the Mariners when joy was quickly replaced by panic. The pathologically meticulous Bonnett scanned the end of the bench looking not for a helmet or a glove or pine tar but … a rubber sword and a black suit jacket that looks like it got attacked by an overzealous tailor with an affinity for patches.Welcome to major league baseball in 2023, where an ever-increasing number of homers and big hits aren’t met with simple fist bumps or forearm bashes but a full-on production.In Pittsburgh, they swashbuckle. You know, as Pirates do. In Minnesota, the fish. ...

Canadians want revenge on Paul Bernardo, but that’s not how prison works: ex-official

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:16 GMT

One of the architects of the law that governs Canada’s prison system says it’s understandable people want revenge on killer and serial rapist Paul Bernardo, but that’s not what the prison system is designed for.Mary Campbell also says it is regrettable the Correctional Service of Canada has not been more transparent in how it handled the matter — which the law allows it to be.Campbell, a lawyer who retired from her role as director-general of the corrections and criminal justice directorate in the Public Safety Department in 2013, said that without question, Bernardo’s crimes were horrific.Broadly speaking, the corrections system has a mandate to rehabilitate offenders.Politicians from all parties and levels of government have decried Bernardo’s transfer from a maximum-security penitentiary to a medium-security prison in Quebec.News of the transfer was confirmed last week by the lawyer for the families of two of his victims, Kristen French and Les...