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Israel recalls ambassador ahead of South African parliamentary vote to shut down Israeli embassy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Israel has recalled its ambassador to South Africa, Eliav Belotserkovsky, back to Jerusalem “for consultations” ahead of a parliamentary vote in the African country to decide the fate of the Israeli embassy on Tuesday.The two countries’ diplomatic relations have recently witnessed a rise in tensions over the Israeli war on Gaza. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa previously said his country believes Israel is committing war crimes and genocide in Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians have been killed.“Following the latest South African statements, the Ambassador of Israel to Pretoria has been recalled to Jerusalem for consultations,” Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs posted late Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter.This came ahead of a vote in South Africa’s parliament on a motion to shut down the Israeli embassy and cut all ties with Israel until a cease-fire is implemented in Gaza.The motion tabled by the leftist opposition party Economic ...

Israeli troops battle militants across north Gaza, which has been without power or water for weeks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israeli troops battled Palestinian militants in a dense, urban refugee camp on Tuesday as the army expanded operations across northern Gaza, where residents have been without electricity, water or access to humanitarian aid for weeks.The front line of the war, now in its seventh week, has shifted to the Jabaliya camp, a dense warren of concrete buildings near Gaza City that houses refugees from the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation and their descendants. Israel has been bombarding the area for weeks, and the military said Hamas fighters have regrouped there and in other eastern districts after being pushed out of much of Gaza City.The military said forces are “preparing the battlefield” in the area of Jabaliya. It said they struck three tunnel shafts where fighters were hiding and destroyed rocket launchers, adding that “dozens” of militants have been killed in recent days. There was no immediate comment from Hamas, and it was not possible...

Stock market today: Global shares trading mixed after Wall Street rally led by Microsoft gains

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares traded mixed Tuesday after a rally on Wall Street that was led by gains in Microsoft following its announcement that it was hiring Sam Altman, former CEO of OpenAI, the ChatGPT maker. U.S. futures were lower, while oil prices fell. France’s CAC 40 lost 0.1% in early trading to 7,238.89, while Germany’s DAX rose 0.2% to 15,936.25. Britain’s FTSE 100 declined nearly 0.2% to 7,483.15. U.S. shares were set to drift lower with Dow futures down nearly 0.1% at 35,195.00. S&P 500 futures fell nearly 0.1% to 4,559.00. Chinese markets were initially lifted by a report in the financial magazine Caixin that regulators had drafted a list of property developers that will be able to tap low-cost financing. The moves to facilitate more lending come as the real estate industry remains mired in a crisis brought on by a crackdown on excessive borrowing and worsened by a broad economic slowdown. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng erased earlier gains and slipped 0.3%...

Wine production reached 16.1 billion litres in 2022

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

In 2022, sold production of wine (including sparkling wine, port and grape must) in the EU amounted to 16.1 billion litres.  The top three wine producers accounted for 83% of EU production. Italy and Spain each contributed nearly 5.0 bn litres, representing together 62% of the total sold production in the EU, while France produced 3.4bn litres, 20%. Other producers exceeding 1% of the EU total were Germany (4%), Portugal (above 2%), and Hungary (below 2%). Source dataset: DS-056120Italy: The leading wine exporter in 2022In 2022, the EU members exported 7.2bn litres of wine. Almost half  (3.2bn litres, 44%) was exported to countries outside of the EU (extra-EU). Most of the wine was exported to the United Kingdom (0.7bn litres 23% of extra-EU exports), followed by the United States (0.7bn litres, 22%), Russia (0.3bn litres, 9%) and Canada (0.20bn litres, 6%).Italy was by far the top exporter of wine, with exports of 2.2bn litres in 2022, representing 30% of the EU members' exports of...

An Agreement that is bad for Europe and potentially ruinous for Bulgaria.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

Bulgaria’s Prime Minister will address MEPs on Wednesday in Strasbourg. Prime Minister Denkov is set to outline his views on the challenges facing Europe and its future. One issue that he could address is an extraordinary agreement made under a previous Bulgarian administration that undermines EU energy sovereignty - writes Dick RoacheThe Botas – Bulgargaz agreement which was negotiated by two state-owned enterprises without EU input, advantages Russia and Turkey, opens a gateway into the EU for rebranded Russian gas, tramples on EU principles, and significantly undermines EU ‘energy sovereignty’. The BackgroundOn 3rd January the Bulgarian state-owned Bulgargaz and its sister company Bukgartransgaz signed an agreement with their Turkish state-owned counterpart BOTAS.The agreement was signed less than a month before the fifth Bulgarian General Election in two years. The deal was praised by the then Bulgarian Energy Minister, Rosen Hristov. Minister Hrist...

The decline of Austria’s foreign policy: a view from inside

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

Being a small landlocked country in Central Europe, Austria has traditionally pursued a policy of neutrality and non-alignment in international affairs, especially between the East and the West. However, this policy has proven to be ineffective and counterproductive in the face of the recent challenges and crises that have confronted the European continent.            One of the most prominent examples of Austria’s foreign policy failure is its inability to position itself in relation to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Chancellor Karl Nehammer sought to reinforce Austria’s neutrality following the outbreak of the war: “Austria was neutral, Austria is neutral, Austria will remain neutral”. However, this continued ambiguity in international relations has been criticised by foreign affairs scholars and commentators alike. Indeed, Austria did not provide support to Ukraine’s ceasefire agreement offer in March 2022, and did ...

Dear Abby: I’m on the verge of blowing up at my boss over my unofficial duties

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

DEAR ABBY: My boss, who recently separated from her husband and is getting divorced, has moved within walking distance of work. The problem is, she can’t drive, and her daughter needs to be taken to and from school.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: The bride has no room for all the gifts she wants Advice | Dear Abby: They dated for a month, and now she’s threatening to reveal his private business Advice | Dear Abby: I’m tired of my husband telling me that he doesn’t intend to change Advice | Dear Abby: Is it out of line to tell him I’ll help him leave his odious wife? Advice | Dear Abby: After decades of gaslighting me, my mother refuses to admit what she did I offered to help her out with her daughter, but now she’s asking me to take her everywhere she needs to go.I have been accommodating and have done this for a couple of months. She has never offered me any money...

Kremlin seeking to eliminate me in Operation Maidan 3, Zelenskyy says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he’s aware of Russia’s latest plot to remove him from power by the end of the year.Zelenskyy told the Sun in an interview released late Monday that he had already survived at least “five, six” attempted assassinations since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with the latest campaign to remove him codenamed Operation Maidan 3.“It means to change the president,” Zelenskyy said. “Maybe it’s not by killing, I mean it’s changing — they will use any instruments they have.” The Kremlin’s deadline is “by the end of the year,” the president added.The codename appears to be a reference to Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan Revolution, during which protesters toppled the Moscow-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych.Russia has a history of assassination attempts against its opponents, and Zelenskyy has regularly alluded to the attempt...

Healey Pledges To “Hold The Line” On Free Speech

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

Without invoking specific protests or incidents on college campuses, Gov. Maura Healey emphasized Monday the importance of differentiating between free speech and potentially criminal conduct.“Unfortunately, I think you’re seeing more and more instances where demonstrations are lending themselves to action that is simply not protected under free speech doctrine,” Healey said at a press conference when asked about hate-based incidents on college campuses.The governor added, “I do want to be clear, there is a distinction, and I know that all of us who work together with law enforcement will make sure that we’re gonna hold the line when it comes to addressing that distinction.”At the University of Massachusetts Amherst this month, a student was arrested for assaulting a Jewish student following a UMass Hillel event focused on calling for the release of Israeli hostages in Gaza, according to Western Mass News. Also at UMass Amherst, about 60 pro-...

Germany’s defense minister is the latest foreign official to visit Kyiv and vow more aid for Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:47:14 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Tuesday and vowed to keep supporting Kyiv’s efforts to win its war against Russia.His trip came a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin traveled to Ukraine and pledged American support “for the long haul,” including an additional $100 million in weapons from U.S. stockpiles.The visits appeared to be part of an international political effort to keep the war in the public mind as other issues clamor for attention, including the Israel-Hamas conflict.European Council President Charles Michel reportedly was also due in Kyiv on Tuesday, which is the 10th anniversary of what Ukraine calls its Revolution of Dignity. That uprising that brought momentous change for Ukraine, pushing it closer to the West and bringing confrontation with Moscow.Ukraine’s fight to push out the Kremlin’s forces has lasted almost 21 months. A recent Ukrainian counteroffensive apparently has yielded no major...