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Top American official for Europe is leaving her post

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:44:41 GMT

Amanda Sloat, the architect of U.S. President Joe Biden’s Europe policy, is ending her time at the National Security Council, leaving the administration amid deep uncertainties about Ukraine’s future.Sloat has been a quiet but key figure of the Biden administration’s efforts to mend relationships with traditional allies and counter Russia. From the transition team to her current role as senior director for European affairs, she drafted key pillars of the new team’s transatlantic strategy and accompanied Biden on eight trips to Europe, including for five NATO summits and two EU summits. She was also the driving force behind elevating the “Bucharest Nine,” a group of Eastern European NATO countries brought together to steel the region.U.S. officials say that her efforts serving a transatlanticist president are a main reason why relations with Europe markedly improved. But after being in the hottest of hot seats for so long, Sloat is looking to cool it.“It has been an ...

‘Traitors’: Vandals attack Spanish Socialists’ HQ in Brussels

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:44:41 GMT

The Brussels’ headquarters of the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) was vandalized overnight, hours after party leader and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez signed a controversial deal to form a government with support from Catalan separatists.The building, located at Clos du Parnasse 12, was spray-painted with a profane insult and the word “traitors,” according to photos posted by PSOE.The party denounced the graffiti as a “vile attack.”“This act of vandalism … is an attack on democracy and the constitutional values ​​that our party, with more than 140 years of history, represents,” the party said on X.On Thursday, Sánchez took a step toward forming a government with Catalan separatists of the Junts party, after concluding a deal which includes an amnesty offer for those behind the illegal 2017 Catalan independence referendum.The deal was blasted by several judicial groups and triggered a wave of protests in Madrid, where 24 people were arrested on ...

Orbán: Ukraine not ready for EU membership talks

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:44:41 GMT

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday that Ukraine is not ready for membership talks with the EU, despite the European Commission green-lighting negotiations earlier this week.While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the Commission’s decision, Orbán — a frequent needler of Kyiv — told Hungarian state radio that, “Ukraine is in no way prepared to negotiate.”“Ukraine is as far from EU membership as Makó is from Jerusalem,” Orbán said, referring to a small town near the Romanian border, Hungarian media reported.Orbán also stressed that Ukraine’s membership talks cannot be linked to Hungary’s frozen EU funds.“I would like to make it very clear that the opening of negotiations in Ukraine is not a matter of business,” the Hungarian leader said, adding that Brussels must give Hungary “what they owe.” While Budapest has agreed to EU sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Hungary has clashed wit...

All eyes on Bill Belichick’s job status as Patriots head to Germany to face Colts

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:44:41 GMT

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — In the past, playing a regular-season game abroad would bring a sense of festivity for a New England Patriots team that is unbeaten in three previous international appearances.This time, it has the feeling of a team and its long-celebrated coach reluctantly stepping into a bigger spotlight as they trudge through one of their most difficult seasons in decades.After a 24-year run in New England that has included six Super Bowl rings and two decades of dominance in the AFC, the Patriots are 2-7 — Bill Belichick’s worst start since his first season in 2000.It led to a pointed question from a reporter this week: Does Belichick think he’ll be coaching for his job this week when New England travels to Frankfurt, German for its matchup with Indianapolis on Sunday?“I’m going to control what I can control and get ready for the Colts,” Belichick responded.Inquiries about Belichick’s job status reached all the way to Colts coach Shane Steichen who was as...

Drying Out, Chilly Breeze

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:44:41 GMT

With showers tapering to drizzle yesterday and temps stuck in the upper 30s to lower 40s for most, it was quite the dismal day across the area weather-wise. While some of that leftover moisture on the cars froze on the windshields overnight, where temps dipped below 32, it’s an overall quiet start to the day. A few of you may just need to defrost the car for a couple minutes before heading back to work. The overall theme of the day is to keep it dry as moisture misses just to our south. While the rain stays away, mid to high level clouds are plentiful, obscuring the sunshine for a good portion of the day with only some breaks in there from time to time. A seasonable chill will be in the air too with highs in the upper 40s to lower 50s and a west breeze that gusts 20-25mph. The weekend is dry and chilly with temps in the upper 40s to near 50 Saturday with a cool breeze. The wind is lighter Sunday, but it’ll be cooler with highs stuck in the mid 40s. We continue the season...

Thursday’s high school tournament scores and highlights

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:44:41 GMT

HIGHLIGHTSBOYS SOCCERIn a Div. 5 second round matchup, Will Quinlan netted a hat trick and Ben Novo scored twice as No. 8 Westport (19-0-1) blanked No. 24 Hull, 7-0.Sam Kutsman netted the game-winning goal in a penalty shootout to lift No. 30 Belmont (13-5-4) ousted No. 14 Natick 2-1 in a Div. 1 quarterfinal.Darragh Casey scored two goals and dished an assist for No. 5 Wakefield (15-3-2) in a 4-0 win over No. 12 Somerset Berkley in the Div. 2 second round.GIRLS SOCCERTéa Briggs and Ava Graham each scored for unbeaten No. 2 Bishop Feehan (18-0-1) in a 2-0 Div. 1 second-round win over No. 18 Central Catholic. … Kaitlyn LeBrun finished off two penalty kicks for a pair of goals, separating top-seeded Natick (18-1-1) in a 2-0 win over No. 16 Weymouth.Senior captain Sophia Foley notched her 30th goal of the season as No. 3 Hanover (19-0-1) defeated No. 19 Wilmington 2-0 in the Div. 3 second round.VOLLEYBALLElean Timo (12 assists, five kills, two aces), Sofia Halunen (11 assists, eight kil...

Mason McSweeney lets pads do his talking at St. John’s Prep

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:44:41 GMT

St. John’s Prep head coach Brian St. Pierre does not often mince words. That is true when it comes to his admiration of senior captain Mason McSweeney.McSweeney, the Eagles’ star defensive end who impacts the game in all three phases, is the heart and soul of an undefeated St. John’s Prep team pursuing its fourth Division 1 state title since 2018.“Mason is the ultimate football player,” St. Pierre said. “We started him as a sophomore and he was already incredibly mature. He’s played so much football now that he is always ready to go regardless of the moment or game.”McSweeney is far from the lone athletic star in the family. Both his parents were athletes in high school and his mother, Melissa, was an all-American field hockey player at Drew University. Mason’s older sister, Caroline, plays field hockey at Assumption. Already dabbling in the waters of ice hockey and baseball, McSweeney’s family pushed him to try out the gri...

Thursday’s high school roundup/scores: Will Quinlan nets hat trick, sparks Westport 7-0 rout

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:44:41 GMT

In a Div. 5 second-round boys soccer matchup, Will Quinlan netted a hat trick and Ben Novo scored twice as No. 8 Westport (19-0-1) blanked No. 24 Hull, 7-0.Sam Kutsman netted the game-winning goal in a penalty shootout to lift No. 30 Belmont (13-5-4) ousted No. 14 Natick 2-1 in a Div. 1 quarterfinal.Darragh Casey scored two goals and dished an assist for No. 5 Wakefield (15-3-2), lifting it over No. 12 Somerset Berkley, 4-0, in the Div. 2 second round.Girls soccerTéa Briggs and Ava Graham each scored for unbeaten No. 2 Bishop Feehan (18-0-1) in a 2-0 Div. 1 second-round win over No. 18 Central Catholic. … Nicole Proia finished off two penalty kicks for a pair of goals, separating top-seeded Natick (18-1-1) in a 2-0 win over No. 16 Weymouth.Senior captain Sophia Foley notched her 30th goal of the season as No. 3 Hanover (19-0-1) defeated No. 19 Wilmington 2-0 in the Div. 3 second round.FootballDylan Keenan threw a game-winning 6-yard TD pass to Carlos Cruz in the fourth quarter to gi...

Koi emerges as new source of souring relations between Japan and China

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:44:41 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — What’s koi got to do with it? Souring relations between Asian rivals Japan and China now seem to be snagged on calm-inducing beauty in spas, museums and gardens. The slippery dispute between Asia’s two biggest economies adds to their spat over Japan’s release into the sea of treated but radioactive water from the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant. And it has prompted more questions than answers.Here’s what you need to know about the fish and their role in the dispute:WHAT ARE KOI?Koi are beautifully hued and expensive carp formally called nishikigoi in Japan. The fish, appreciated as “swimming jewels,” represent good luck in life and business. They’re often fixtures of garden ponds for wealthy and influential families in Japan. In recent years, koi have become hugely popular in Asia, with Japan’s koi exports doubling over the past decade to 6.3 billion yen ($43 million) — one-fifth of them shipped to China, the top Japanese koi importer, ...

Poland’s opposition party leaders sign a coalition deal after collectively winning election

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:44:41 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The leaders of Polish opposition parties signed a coalition agreement on Friday that lays out a roadmap for governing the nation over the next four years.The parties collectively won a majority of votes in last month’s national election. Their candidate to be the next prime minister is Donald Tusk, a former prime minister who leads the largest of the opposition parties, the centrist Civic Platform.Tusk said the parties worked to seal their agreement before the Independence Day holiday on Saturday, adding that, “We wanted to show that we are ready to take responsibility for our homeland.”Speaking ahead of the signing ceremony in the Polish parliament, Tusk said the agreement would offer a set of “signposts and recommendations” for the government he hopes to lead.The conservative party that has governed Poland for the past eight years, Law and Justice, won more votes than any single party but does not have a majority and has no potential c...