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EU leaders resume migration talks as Poland and Hungary demand that the rules be changed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:49 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders opened a second day of migration talks Friday as Poland and Hungary continued to block progress after they were outvoted earlier this month on a plan to share refugees arriving in Europe among the 27 member countries.Some leaders said that Poland and Hungary seemed to be fighting a battle started years ago, when well over 1 million migrants entered Europe, most of them refugees fleeing Syria, in 2015 and sparked one of the bloc’s biggest crises. Others said the two simply must not be permitted to break EU rules.“My feeling was there’s a lot of bitterness about the debates on migration from 2015,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told reporters at EU headquarters in Brussels. “If you just say no to everything and everybody else tries to compromise that doesn’t really work out.”Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said that “Hungary was totally adamant” about having the issue removed altogether from the leader’s final summit commu...

Europe inflation slips to 5.5% – but that won’t stop central bank rate hikes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:49 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Inflation in Europe slid again in June but fell too slowly to offer much relief to shoppers grumbling over price tags or to stop more interest rate hikes that will raise the cost of borrowing across the economy. The annual rate of 5.5% was down from 6.1% in May in the 20 countries that use the euro currency, the European Union statistics agency Eurostat said Friday.While that is a big drop from the peak of 10.6% in October, persistently high prices in the U.S., Europe and the United Kingdom pushed some of the world’s top central bankers to make clear they are going to keep raising rates and leave them there until inflation drops to their 2% goal considered best for the economy. Consumers saw relief on energy prices, which dropped 5.6% after last year’s crisis, while food price inflation was up 11.7%, easing from 12.5% in May. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel and offers a clearer picture of longer-term price pressures, rose s...

UAlbany women's basketball embracing "fresh start"

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:49 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Summer workouts are underway for the University at Albany women's basketball team. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! It's a unique roster build that head coach Colleen Mullen will roll out this upcoming season. Only one member of last year's primary starting five, Kayla Cooper, returns. But four key bench players are back, including Greenwich native and Cambridge Central graduate Lilly Phillips, who started 31 games as a freshman, but was hampered by injuries last season.With eight newcomers on the roster as well, including Shenendehowa grad and Providence College junior transfer Meghan Huerter, the team is embracing a potential "new-look" approach."It's really exciting to kind of have a fresh start," said Mullen. "We have a really nice balance of returners and players that are new, whether they're freshmen, or transfers. Kayla Cooper coming back - she's a huge piece. And Lilly Phillips, who's started...

Ukraine calls for signal on NATO membership at alliance summit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:49 GMT

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged NATO on Wednesday (28 June) to send Ukraine a clear signal at a summit next month that it can join the military alliance when Russia's war on his country ends.In a speech to parliament on Ukraine's Constitution Day, he suggested global leaders should stop thinking about how Moscow would react when taking decisions about Ukraine, and described Russia's political and military leaders as "bandits".He then set out what Kyiv expects of the July 11-12 NATO summit in Lithuania after holding talks in the Ukrainian capital with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda."We understand that we cannot be a member of NATO during the war, but we need to be sure that after the war we will be," Zelenskyy told a joint press conference."That is the signal we want to get - that after the war Ukraine will be a member of NATO".Zelenskyy said Kyiv also hoped to receive security guarantees at the summit to help protect Ukraine until it is ac...

Ask Amy: I haven’t talked to my brother since this incident at his son’s wedding reception

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:49 GMT

Dear Amy: My older brother and I are the last ones left of our immediate family. I’m gay and have had a tough time being close to him.Related ArticlesAdvice | Ask Amy: He’s refusing to hand over the big gift the bride was counting on Advice | Ask Amy: I’m unhappily single, and I’m hurt by what my co-workers say Advice | Ask Amy: When she called him, he denied even having a daughter Advice | Ask Amy: I can’t stop thinking about the wonderful life that I lost Advice | Ask Amy: This is the update that I found most moving My brother and his wife are conservative and never ask me about my personal life. I feel like I’m the one doing the heavy lifting to stay in touch, now that our mother is gone. (My sister-in-law never made room for my mother or me when my mother was alive, but I thought it was because she didn’t like our mom.)Last year, I attended the wedding of my brother’s yo...

Harriette Cole: My enemy has moved to my city and I’m afraid we’ll run into each other

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:49 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I recently discovered that a relative I had a bad falling-out with years ago now lives in the same small city as me.I moved here first, and I heard that they moved here for work. It’s a huge coincidence. They don’t know that I live here.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: They say if I dye my hair blond, they won’t be my friends Advice | Harriette Cole: She had no right to approach my ex without my consent Advice | Harriette Cole: Should I tell my hometown friend why I’m annoyed at her? Advice | Harriette Cole: It was a completely innocent message, but he unfollowed me Advice | Harriette Cole: I’ve started to worry about my girlfriend’s ethics I’m afraid of running into them unexpectedly and not knowing how to handle the situation. What’s the proper protocol for running into someone you parted with on bad terms? Should I try to avoid th...

Biden Fast-Tracked a Green Energy Mine in One of Earth’s Rarest Ecosystems. Arizona Locals Took It to Court.

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:49 GMT

Carolyn Shafer spread the maps out on her patio table. Another sun-dappled Saturday morning under her backyard trees in the picturesque border town of Patagonia, Arizona. Shafer wasn’t relaxing though. She was getting to work.Birds chirped as the 76-year-old traced the 75,000 acres of mining claims on the edge of her community with her finger. She wore a black T-shirt emblazoned with a fearsome wolf hovering above a rugged mountain range. The wolf is the calling card of the Patagonia Area Resource Alliance, or PARA. The local group monitors industrialized mining in the Patagonia Mountains, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. Schafer is president of the board.“This is our new logo,” she said, picking up a pamphlet with the wolf on the front. The old mascot — a cute cartoon dog — no longer matched the moment. A vigilant pack animal sent a more appropriate message.“We think of ourselves as local watchdogs,” Schafer told me. “We pay attention to what’s going on with the companie...

Where did all the Sriracha go? Bottles are being sold for $70 a pop

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:49 GMT

Watch Video: Sriracha shortage heads into second yearFans may turn red in the face when they see the steep prices for bottles of Sriracha hot sauce.Amid ongoing shortages, sellers on e-commerce sites have started selling bottles of the Huy Fong sauce for jacked up prices. While Huy Fong is not the only maker of this style of sauce, it is the most popular. Huy Fong Sriracha is the top hot sauce in 31 states based on Instacart purchase data.On Amazon, a pack of two, 17-oz Huy Fong Sriracha bottles is retailing for $114. 59. A four-pack of 28-oz bottles is selling for $200. Huy Fong’s chili garlic sauce is also selling for inflated prices; a three-pack of 8-oz bottles is being sold for $129.97. A bottle at a store normally retails for about $4, depending on the size.Over on eBay, a search shows prices for various sized bottles ranging from $39.98 for 17-ounce bottles to a 28-ounce bottle for nearly $70. It remains unclear if anyone is actually purchasing these pricey bottles of ...

Asteroid Day 2023: A reminder that the clock is ticking

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:49 GMT

View of an asteroid. (Courtesy NASA) View of an asteroid. (Courtesy NASA) Eight years ago Friday was the first Asteroid Day, a “global awareness movement where people from around the world come together to learn about asteroids and what we can do to protect our planet” from asteroid and comet impacts.This year’s Asteroid Day has events planned worldwide and online. An excellent Asteroid Day 2023 webpage has been created by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, filled with teachable moments, student activities and educator guides on asteroids and comets.June 30 is a significant date in the history of Earth impacts.On that date in 1908, according to a 2019 NASA update, “a stony (not icy) body, between ...

Europe inflation slips to 5.5% — but that won’t stop central bank rate hikes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:49 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Inflation in Europe slid again in June but fell too slowly to offer much relief to shoppers grumbling over price tags or to stop more interest rate hikes that will raise the cost of borrowing across the economy. The annual rate of 5.5% was down from 6.1% in May in the 20 countries that use the euro currency, the European Union statistics agency Eurostat said Friday.While that is a big drop from the peak of 10.6% in October, persistently high prices in the U.S., Europe and the United Kingdom pushed some of the world’s top central bankers to make clear they are going to keep raising rates and leave them there until inflation drops to their 2% goal considered best for the economy. Consumers saw relief on energy prices, which dropped 5.6% after last year’s crisis, while food price inflation was up 11.7%, easing from 12.5% in May. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel and offers a clearer picture of longer-term price pressures, rose s...