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France starts pulling soldiers out of Niger

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:25 GMT

PARIS — France started to pull troops from Niger on Thursday, the French armed forces ministry said in a statement. “The disengagement of military personnel and assets stationed in Niger begins this week. This maneuver should enable all military personnel to return to France before the end of the year,” the statement reads. In September, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that France would gradually withdraw its 1,500 soldiers by the end of the year. For more than two months, the French leader had taken a defiant stance toward Niger’s junta — which came to power in July after a military coup — but eventually conceded to their demand that French troops leave. Macron’s decision comes in the wake of forced withdrawals from neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali. After more than a decade of French presence in Africa’s Sahel region to fight against Islamist terrorism, Paris’ influence has waned significantly in recent months. Questions remain f...

Shrimpgate hits European Parliament after staffer suffers allergic reaction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:25 GMT

A European Parliament staffer who says he suffered a near-death experience after eating a soup containing unadvertised shrimp at the institution’s canteen in Strasbourg is calling for action to ensure people’s safety.Martynas Norbutas, an assistant to Lithuanian MEP Bronis Ropė, wrote in a mass internal email Tuesday that he was eating soup when he “immediately realized something was wrong.” The soup, purchased at Parliament’s Strasbourg canteen, contained unadvertised shrimp, which Norbutas said he’s “extremely allergic” to. “I had to run to look for a medical point and ask for anti-allergy medicine,” he added.“I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a situation where you thought you had 30 minutes at most [to] take action or you will die,” Norbutas wrote in the email, which POLITICO has seen. He added that when it comes to the Parliament’s canteens, “allergens are not listed anywhere.”Norbutas subsequen...

Russia launches more drone attacks as Ukraine President Zelenksyy travels to a European forum

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:25 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia targeted Ukraine with drones in another massive attack early Thursday as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Spain to rally support from Western allies at a summit of some 50 European leaders.Ukraine’s air force said that the country’s air defenses intercepted 24 out of 29 Iranian-made drones that Russia launched at the southern Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovohrad regions.Ukrainian officials didn’t immediately report any casualties of damage.The attack came as Zelenskyy arrived in Granada in southern Spain to attend a summit of the European Political Community, which was formed in the wake of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.“The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defense, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners,” he said in a statement posted on his Telegram channel.During the last winter, Russia targeted Ukraine’s energy system and other vital infrastructure in a steady bar...

2 Palestinians killed in gunfight with Israeli troops in West Bank raid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:25 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Two Palestinian men were killed by Israeli gunfire during an army raid in the West Bank on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said.They were the latest deaths in a monthslong surge of violence in the occupied territory.The Israeli military said its troops carried out a raid in the Tulkarem refugee camp in the early morning hours. It said that soldiers came under fire and that troops shot Palestinian gunmen. Five border police officers were wounded in the clashes, it said. The incident was the latest in a spiral of violence that has gripped the occupied territory for more than 18 months.The Israeli military has mounted near-nightly raids into Palestinian towns, often prompting deadly clashes with residents. Militancy has surged among young Palestinians who have lost hope in their leadership and in the prospect of a political resolution to the conflict.Nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire so far this year in the West Bank, according to a tal...

Trains collide in northern Polish city, injuring 5 people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:25 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Two trains collided head-on in the northern Polish city of Gdynia on Thursday morning, injuring five people, emergency services said.Four people were taken to a hospital while a fifth person was treated on-site. The Gdynia fire brigade said all five people were railway employees. The collision occurred at 7 a.m. near the main station in Gdynia, a city on the Baltic Sea. The impact pushed the first car of one train off the tracks and onto its side, according to photos published in Polish media.The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.The Associated Press

Some 50 European leaders are to stress their support for Ukraine at a meeting in Spain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:25 GMT

GRANADA, Spain (AP) — Some 50 European leaders are gathering in southern Spain’s Granada on Thursday to stress they that they stand by Ukraine, at a time when Western resolve appears somewhat weakened. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is at the meeting of the European Political Community forum, which was formed in the wake of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine that drastically reset the continent’s political agenda and fundamentally undermined long-held beliefs on peace and stability on the continent. Despite the political, economic and military support, the desperate struggle to rid Ukraine territory of invading Russian has ground to a stalemate. Meanwhile, the steadfast opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown cracks because of internal strife both within the United States and the European Union. The leaders in Granada, however, are keen to stress that they are united behind Ukraine.“When it comes to facing down the threat from Puti...

In the news today: Pharmacare legislation ‘extremely fluid’: Holland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:25 GMT

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…Liberals and NDP haven’t yet agreed on promised pharmacare billThe New Democrats have rejected the first draft of the Liberal’s pharmacare legislation, in what the health minister describes as extremely fluid negotiations over the highly anticipated bill.The Liberals promised to table pharmacare legislation this fall as part of the supply and confidence deal the government struck with the New Democrats.The deal calls for “progress toward a universal national pharmacare program,” but NDP health critic Don Davies says the first draft didn’t meet the New Democrats’ expectations.The NDP says it would be willing to start with essential medicines and expand from there, but wants to see the timelines enshrined in the legislation. —Here’s what else we’re watching …Blue Jays swept again, fall to Twins in Game 2...

Mayor of Tokyo’s Shibuya district asks Halloween partygoers to stay away

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:25 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The mayor of Tokyo’s busy Shibuya shopping and entertainment district is asking Halloween celebrants not to visit, fearing that a large number of partygoers following the COVID-19 pandemic could cause a disaster similar to last year’s fatal crowd surge in South Korea’s capital. “This year, we are making it clear to the world that Shibuya is not a venue for Halloween events,” Shibuya city Mayor Ken Hasebe said at a news conference Thursday. “Please, do not come to the Shibuya station area for Halloween.”Hasebe said he understands that Halloween is a fun celebration around the world, but noted that a crowd crush like the one that killed about 160 people celebrating Halloween last year in Seoul’s Itaewon district could happen in Shibuya.“A fatal accident like Itaewon can happen here any time,” he said.Shibuya’s famed intersection by its train station, nicknamed “scramble crossing” for the large number of pedestrians attempting to cross, ...

‘Extremely fluid’: Liberals and NDP haven’t yet agreed on promised pharmacare bill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:25 GMT

OTTAWA — The federal New Democrats have rejected the first draft of the Liberals’ pharmacare legislation, in what the health minister describes as “extremely fluid” negotiations over the highly anticipated bill.The Liberals promised to table pharmacare legislation this fall as part of the supply-and-confidence deal the government struck with the NDP.That deal calls for “progress toward a universal national pharmacare program” and the passage of initial legislation before the end of the year. But NDP health critic Don Davies says the first draft of the bill didn’t meet expectations.“It doesn’t meet the New Democrats’ red lines at this point,” Davies said in an interview. “We’re waiting for a next draft to come to us.”Davies said the NDP will accept nothing less than a commitment to pharmacare paid for and administered through the public single-payer system, though it doesn’t have to happen all at once...

Take a delicious tropical vacation to Crasqui, St. Paul’s new Venezuelan gem

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:25 GMT

One of my favorite things to do in the doldrums of winter is to visit the most tropical restaurant I can think of, order a vacation drink and sit at the bar, pretending to be somewhere else.I like winter, but sometimes you need some color, something tropical, and food that isn’t the typical heavy, rich comfort foods we are all drawn to when it’s cold outside.I can already tell that Crasqui, which opened in August, is going to be a favorite of mine when the weather turns.In the former Catrina’s space on Wabasha Street, just south of downtown, chef Soleil Ramirez is serving soulful, upscale versions of the Venezuelan food she grew up eating. The space is open, bright, modern and tropical, with comfy, ivory and gold mid-modern chairs and an ocean-blue shimmery floor. Given that Crasqui is named for an island off the coast of Venezuela, the decor really fits the theme without being kitschy.Ramirez is a political refugee who worked closely with the late chef Jack Riebel at The Lexington ...