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Hoekstra ‘definitely’ fit for EU climate job, says environment chief

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:39:54 GMT

Former Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra, a fiscal hardliner with limited experience in climate policy, is “definitely” suited to lead the European Commission’s work on climate action, Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius told POLITICO. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier this week nominated Hoekstra as climate commissioner, a role in which he’ll be in charge of climate action “under the guidance” of Maroš Šefčovič, who was named executive vice president for the European Green Deal. Speaking to POLITICO, Sinkevičius said he had “no doubt in … [the] president’s choice” to replace Frans Timmermans, who held both posts before he resigned from the Commission to run in the Netherlands’ November election. While those shoes are “not easy to fill,” Hoekstra “deserves the chance and then … we can judge … his work at the end of the day,” the environment c...

Two Armenian soldiers killed in clash with Azerbaijan

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:39:54 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia — Two Armenian servicemen were killed by shelling on the tense border with Azerbaijan on Friday morning, the country’s ministry of defense said, amid warnings the neighboring South Caucasus nations could be spiraling toward another full-blown war.“There are two killed in action and one wounded on the Armenian side as a result of Azerbaijani armed forces’ fire at the Armenian combat outposts” near the village of Sotk, officials said in a statement. The ministry later added that “the intensity of fire … has decreased.” It said it urged citizens not to “disseminate unverified and unreliable information”on the attack.Azerbaijan’s defense ministry said its forces “are taking decisive retaliatory measures” after troops were targeted by “attack UAVs” launched from positions around Sotk, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles. Two of its servicemen were reportedly injured.The bloodshed comes ...

Sumner Tunnel reopens to motorists after lengthy closure for restoration

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:39:54 GMT

The Sumner Tunnel reopened to motorists Friday morning, nearly two months after it was closed for a massive, around-the-clock restoration effort.The tunnel reopened at 5 a.m. and 7NEWS had our Traffic Tracker drive through, providing a look at the updated interior of the tunnel.A steady stream of drivers who would have otherwise had to seek alternate routes made their way into the tunnel as it reopened.Updates include a higher ceiling, new lighting, fireproof walling, and other safety features.The 58-day closure was just one phase of a multi-year plan to restore the nearly century-old tunnel that connects Logan Airport to Cambridge.Weekend closures are expected to resume later this month.Another full closure is expected to complete the project next summer.

Post Malone looks like a new man – and here’s why

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:39:54 GMT

(CNN) — Post Malone has made an impressive physical transformation in recent months – and people have been taking notice.The musician has reportedly lost over 50 pounds, which he previously said is due to the healthier lifestyle he’s embraced – like quitting drinking soda – since welcoming his daughter last year.“I’m having a lot of fun performing, and have never felt healthier,” he wrote in an Instagram post in April, going on to say that “dad life kicked in and I decided to kick soda, and start eating better so I can be around for a long time for this little angel.”He also noted in his post that “next up is smokes and brews” in terms of what he’s attempting to quit using. Malone opened up about his alcohol use – along with psychedelic mushrooms – last month in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe.And while he’s most well known for his popular songs such as “White Iverson,” “Rockstar” and “Circles,” the performer is also famous...

Washington investigates Tesla’s ‘Elon Mode’ autopilot

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:39:54 GMT

(CNN) — US highway safety regulators are investigating an apparent hidden feature in Tesla’s Autopilot software that can reportedly disable the safety prompts Tesla gives to drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel. The regulators are demanding information from the automaker about whether consumers could try to circumvent the safety controls on Tesla’s driver-assist technology.In a letter to Tesla dated July 26 and made public by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this week, US authorities expressed concern that the recent discovery of the setting — which has since been widely and unofficially dubbed “Elon mode” — could encourage unsafe driving behavior.“NHTSA is concerned that this feature was introduced to consumer vehicles and, now that the existence of this feature is known to the public, more drivers may attempt to activate it,” wrote NHTSA Acting Chief Counsel John Donaldson in the letter. “The resulting relaxation of controls designed t...

Canadian authorities race to capture 5 million bees from roadway spill

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:39:54 GMT

(CNN) — Authorities raced to capture five million bees released yesterday after a truck carrying several crates of hives fell onto a roadway in Ontario, Canada, Halton Regional Police Constable Ryan Anderson told CNN.Halton Regional Police received a call shortly after 6 a.m. Wednesday, after the straps attached to the crates of beehives became loose and created a spill, releasing the millions of bees onto the roadway in Burlington, Anderson told CNN by phone.Burlington is south of Toronto. The city is located on the shores of Lake Ontario between Toronto and Niagara Falls, according to its website.After police shared a social media post warning residents and vehicles to stay clear of the area, about six or seven local beekeepers volunteered to help get the bees back to safety, Anderson said.“Within a couple hours, the majority of the bees were safely back in their hives in their crates, and were safely loaded back on the trailer,” Anderson said.A local Canadian ...

Thailand’s king reduces prison term of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to a single year

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:39:54 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s king on Friday reduced the prison term of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from eight years to one year following the divisive politician’s return from 15 years of self-imposed exile.The decision by King Maha Vajiralongkorn was published Friday in the Royal Gazette, making ii effective immediately.Thaksin was prime minister from 2001 to 2006, when he was ousted by a military coup. He fled Thailand in 2008 when he faced prison time on charges he described as politically motivated.He returned to Thailand last week and was immediately sent to prison, but was quickly transferred to a state hospital because of what was described as his frail health.The Associated Press

Israeli forces raid a West Bank town, sparking a firefight that kills a Palestinian teacher

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:39:54 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military on Friday raided a Palestinian town in the northern West Bank, besieging an apartment and sparking a gunfight with local militants that killed an apparently uninvolved Palestinian teacher, his family and Palestinian health officials said. It was the latest in a series of Israeli army raids in the occupied territory that have resulted in a high Palestinian death toll.Israeli security forces stormed into a town near Tubas, northeast of the Palestinian city of Nablus, and surrounded a house where militants were believed to be holed up. Israeli soldiers called on the wanted militants through loudspeakers to surrender, residents said. When the gunmen refused, the Israeli military launched soldier-fired missiles and grenades at the building to try to force them out. Videos showed giant plumes of smoke billowing from the apartment. But the gunmen refused to surrender themselves and managed to flee the wrecked house, the local branch of the Palestinian ...

Two women injured after jumping from 2nd floor to escape Scarborough house fire

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:39:54 GMT

Two women are in hospital after jumping from a second floor to escape a house fire in Scarborough on Friday morning.The one-alarm fire began around 2:30 a.m. at a residence on Homestead Road, near Kingston Road and Lawrence Avenue East.Police tell CityNews two women were taken to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries after they jumped from a second story window onto the roof of a parked vehicle below. One of the women landed on the windshield of the vehicle.The fire was quickly put out. Officials say it started in the back of the home.There is no word on the cause of the fire. The investigation is ongoing.

A 98-year-old German man is charged as an accessory to murder at a Nazi concentration camp

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:39:54 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A 98-year-old man has been charged in Germany with being an accessory to murder as a guard at the Nazis’ Sachsenhausen concentration camp between 1943 and 1945, prosecutors said Friday.The German citizen, a resident of Main-Kinzig county near Frankfurt, is accused of having “supported the cruel and malicious killing of thousands of prisoners as a member of the SS guard detail,” prosecutors in Giessen said in a statement. They did not release the suspect’s name.He is charged with more than 3,300 counts of being an accessory to murder between July 1943 and February 1945. The indictment was filed at the state court in Hanau, which will now have to decide whether to send the case to trial. If it does, he will tried under juvenile law, taking account of his age at the time of the alleged crimes.Prosecutors said that a report by a psychiatric expert last October found that the suspect is fit to stand trial at least on a limited basis. German prosecutors have brou...