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Robert Fico to become Slovakia’s new prime minister

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:19:44 GMT

Robert Fico will become Slovakia’s next prime minister on Wednesday, the spokesperson of the country’s president confirmed.“The president will name the new cabinet and the new prime minister tomorrow at 2 p.m.,” spokesperson Martin Strižinec told POLITICO. Slovakia’s constitution stipulates that the president, currently Zuzana Čaputová, must appoint the government before it can officially start governing.This will be Fico’s fourth term in office, and follows his resignation as PM in 2018 after massive protests erupted calling for political change after the murder of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnirová. Kuciak had been investigating the activities of the Italian mafia in Slovakia and was killed because of his work. Fico and other ministers in his cabinet at the time resigned after some 50,000 people demonstrated on the streets.Last week, Čaputová refused to back climate-change denier Rudolf Huliak from the rightist-populist Slovenská nár...

China fires missing defense minister, two months after he disappeared

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:19:44 GMT

China’s Defense Minister Li Shangfu was fired Tuesday, almost two months after he was last seen in public, as part of what seems to be an ongoing purge of senior Chinese officials. Li has been missing since late August, a prolonged disappearance that has raised several questions about his whereabouts and safety.On Tuesday, China’s national broadcaster CCTV reported that he had been removed from his posts as defense minister and as state councilor, without offering further explanation or mentioning a replacement.This is the second time in three months that a senior Chinese official has been sacked from President Xi Jinping’s administration after mysteriously disappearing.Earlier this year, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang was fired after only seven months in his role and about three weeks after he also disappeared from the public eye — something Beijing at the time attributed to “health reasons.”Qin had initially retained the title of state councilor, but on Tuesday...

‘Power problem’ causes train stoppage, portions of MBTA’s Green Line to switch to shuttle buses

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:19:44 GMT

Rail service on stretches of the MBTA’s Green Line came to a stop Tuesday morning as crews responded to an apparent power issue, officials said.The MBTA said shuttle buses would replace service in several areas, including between Kenmore and Park Street stations after a power problem led to trains halting in the area of Copley station.“We are working to restore service as quickly and safely as possible,” the transportation authority said on social media around 11:15 a.m.. “Riders downtown are encouraged to use Orange Line for service between Back Bay & North Station.”Meanwhile, service between Packard’s Corner and Government Center for the line’s B Branch was suspended, in addition to service on the E Branch between Prudential and Park Street.Tuesday’s issues appeared days after “an overhead wire problem” near Copley station caused a similar stoppage on Saturday.This is a developing st...

Donald Trump returns to civil fraud trial, with fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen set to testify

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:19:44 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Cohen once proclaimed he’d “take a bullet” for Donald Trump. Now, after breaking with the former president amid his own legal troubles, the fixer-turned-foe is poised to testify against his old boss Tuesday as a key witness at the civil fraud trial that threatens to upend Trump’s real estate empire and wealthy image.Trump voluntarily came to court for the highly anticipated testimony, appearing at the Manhattan courthouse for a sixth day this month. Cohen, whose testimony was delayed from last week by an unspecified health issue, has said it would be his first time seeing Trump in five years.“This is not about Donald Trump vs. Michael Cohen or Michael Cohen vs. Donald Trump,” Cohen said as he arrived at the courthouse to await his turn to testify. “This is about accountability, plain and simple.”Trump, heading into court, noted that Cohen served prison time after pleading guilty to tax evasion, lying to Congress and camp...

Intensive talks underway to free a larger number of hostages held by Hamas but major obstacles remain

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:19:44 GMT

(CNN) — Talks to secure the release of a large number of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza are ongoing, two sources familiar with the matter and one western diplomat familiar with the discussions told CNN, but the negotiations are being complicated by a number of factors.The United States, Israel, Qatar, Egypt and Hamas are engaged in the ongoing deliberations. Four hostages – two American and two Israeli – have been freed so far. But the hope now is to reach a deal for a bigger group of hostages released at once.Israel is pressing for a comprehensive plan for such a release, another source said, after seeing just two sets of two hostages released so far. Israel has said there are more than 200 hostages believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.Israel has so far held off on making a ground incursion into Gaza, and the US has pressed Israel to further delay its invasion to allow for the release of more hostages held by Hamas.The sources said the timin...

Michelle Deal-Zimmerman: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are desperate distraction from a world on fire | STAFF COMMENTARY

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:19:44 GMT

I’m not a Swiftie. I don’t own a single friendship bracelet, concert merch or a ticket stub from her “Eras Tour” movie.But I know everything about Taylor Swift and her now official boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs player Travis Kelce.Well, saying I know “everything” might be stretching it a bit. But I certainly know way more than I should about the love life of two 30-somethings I’ve never met.And now, I’m deeply invested in this must-see-NFL-TV romance.They were on “Saturday Night Live” together, swoon! He helped her from the car like a true gentleman! They even held hands! And omg, his hand is larger than hers! Finally, Taylor has security in a relationship! Not some manboy like the other guys she dated, every one of whom I have never laid eyes on and could not name if I wanted to.Still, I hope this romance never ends because then I will have to peel my eyes from the VIP box of practically any and every NFL stadium to look a...

Unsung heroes: Filipino WWII veterans

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:19:44 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Broken promises on the war front. Cenon Audencial was a guerilla with the Philippine Resistance Movement turned second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Forces in the Far East in the early 1940s. Like many of the 260,000 Filipinos who fought and served under and alongside the U.S. military during World War II, Audencial may never be recognized for his war efforts because of lost documentation. This story dates back several decades. There was a call for Filipinos to serve under the U.S. Armed Forces in 1941 when the Japanese advanced on Philippine soil during World War II. Among the organized military forces were the young men and women in recognized guerilla units, The Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippines Scouts.  MORE: Veterans Voices “It wasn’t their war to fight,” recalled Cita Gruta, whose father worked as a spy for the U.S. during that time. Bienvenido Guiam disguised himself as a poker player who was well liked by the Japanese. His war stor...

AI pioneers Hinton and Bengio call for more regulation in new proposal

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:19:44 GMT

TORONTO — Several Canadian pioneers in artificial intelligence have signed a new document urging governments to better manage the technology’s risks as its capabilities continue to advance.Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey Hinton are among 24 signatories of a letter warning that AI has already surpassed some human abilities because these systems can act faster, absorb more knowledge and communicate faster than humans.They warn further advances mean AI could exacerbate global inequities, facilitate automated warfare, orchestrate mass manipulation and pervasively surveil people. To keep up with the pace of AI innovations and mitigate risks, the signatories are urging governments and companies to allocate one-third of their AI research and development funding to the safe and ethical use of systems.They also want creators of AI systems to adopt safety measures that can counter their products’ dangerous capabilities and companies who make these technologies to be held liable for the...

A German tourist who went missing in a remote Zimbabwe wildlife park is found alive 3 days later

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:19:44 GMT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A German tourist who went missing in a national park teeming with wild animals in northern Zimbabwe has been found alive and in “good health” along with his rental car three days later, a spokesperson for the national parks agency said Tuesday.Tinashe Farawo with the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said Andreas Hoberg had last been seen buying a drink at the park shop in Matusadona National Park before going for a game drive around 3.30 p.m. on Saturday.He failed to return by 6 p.m., when all game drives should end, and the car rental company failed to locate him on its GPS tracking system, Farawo said.Authorities deployed a helicopter, vehicles and sniffer dogs to scour the remote 1,400-square-kilometer (540-square-mile) park that is home to lions, buffalo, leopards, elephants “and all the dangerous animals you can expect in the bush,” Farawo said.The spokesman said the telephone network is poor in the area and he was yet to get more informa...

Prosecutors close investigation of Berlin aquarium collapse as the cause remains unclear

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 20:19:44 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Prosecutors in Berlin said Tuesday they have closed their investigation into the spectacular collapse of a huge aquarium last December after an expert report failed to pin down a reason why the tank burst.The AquaDom aquarium, which stood in a hotel lobby in the center of the German capital, burst in the early hours of Dec. 16, sending 1 million liters (264,000 gallons) of water gushing into the building and the street outside. Two people were slightly injured.Prosecutors said they have closed an investigation of persons unknown on suspicion of causing bodily harm by negligence after evaluating the export report, commissioned by the building’s owners, which they received on Oct. 6.Its author, engineer Christian Bonten, has presented three theories but said there was no clear evidence to prove any of them. The hypotheses were that an adhesive seam holding together the cylinder may have failed; that the tank may have been damaged by a dent in its base when the aqua...