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‘They have been sent to death’: Home Commissioner on migrants’ journeys to EU

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

A perilous sea route from eastern Libya to Europe taken by thousands of migrants, including hundreds involved in a fatal shipwreck Wednesday, has seen an increase of vessels carrying migrants by nearly 600 percent in 2023 alone, European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson told POLITICO. “They have not been sent to the EU, they have been sent to death,” she said. In what the U.N migration agency IOM called “one of the biggest tragedies in the Mediterranean,” the overcrowded fishing boat sank while attempting to reach Italy. It refused help from a Greek coast guard boat, Greek authorities said. The boat sank just days after EU interior ministers reached a deal to unblock key issues in long-disputed migration reform. At least 79 people died in the fatal wreck but a joint statement from the IOM and the U.N.’s refugee agency, UNHCR, estimated hundreds are dead and missing. Johansson skirted a question about whether Frontex, the European Border and Coast...

The EU is getting a German-infused PR machine — with double the money

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

Ursula von der Leyen wants to sell you on Europe — via Germany.Starting in 2024, the EU’s top executive is planning to double the European Commission’s annual communications budget from €30 million to €60 million. There’s a war on, the rationale goes, and Europe can’t afford to lose out in the battle to capture the narrative. Disinformation is rampant. Disillusionment is creeping in.“Particularly, in times of crisis, it is more important than ever that democratic institutions communicate clearly to all citizens about their actions to solve our most pressing challenges,” a Commission spokesperson said.But the Commission’s plan to operate and fund the endeavor already has people bristling.On the operation side, von der Leyen has brought in another aide from Berlin to steer the project, adding to a pile of criticism that she is too reliant on German confidants. And a big, €5 million PR contract was also recently awarded to two German sister companies under an accelerated procedure, fue...

Neglect is a choice. We must choose a different path

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

Janez Lenarčič is the European commissioner for humanitarian aid and civil protection. Jan Egeland is the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council.Last year, funding for the world’s many humanitarian crises fell $22 billion short of meeting the most basic requirements of people in need. This may sound like a lot of money — but it is roughly what Europeans spend on ice cream each year.“We’ve seen many atrocities, and we now feel forgotten by everyone,” explained Sabine, a school director in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).Sabine is one of the 6.2 million people who have been internally displaced by the escalating conflict in eastern DRC and remain worryingly invisible. “We haven’t received any support or assistance since. We just wish that the international community would see us,” she said.Currently, over 1 million people have been displaced in Sabine’s province alone, yet humanitarian funding for the Congo has dried up. And hum...

Trump, Johnson and Berlusconi: The unholy trinity of false outrage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

Welcome to Declassified, a weekly humor column.Spare a thought for poor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The actor’s iconic “Terminator” line “I’ll be back” has now been used by a slightly less imposing but equally scary figure: Boris Johnson, when discussing his political future. As part of his ongoing war of words with current British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the former British prime minister — who announced last week that he’s stepping down from parliament to spend more time with his ego — told the Conservative Party “we must fully deliver on Brexit and on the 2019 manifesto. We must smash Labour at the next election.”He added: “Nothing less than absolute victory and total Brexit will do — and as the great Arnold Schwarzenegger said, ‘I’ll be back.’” Johnson has used an iconic Terminator line before, saying in his final House of Commons session as prime minister: “Hasta la vista, baby.”Alas, Schwarzenegger has not repaid the favor by repeatedly s...

WATCH: Bear climbs into work truck, steals lunch from worker at job site in NH

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

The crew of a local auto glass company recently had an unusual encounter when a bear showed up to their job site and stole one of their lunches before running off into the woods.The incident happened on Wednesday in Sunapee, New Hampshire. Two family members later spoke with 7NEWS about the encounter. “I thought that they were playing a joke on me of a man in a bear suit in the truck,” said Melinda Scott. Scott watched Wednesday’s bear encounter through a FaceTime call while her son-in-law, who works for American Plate Glass, experienced it all first hand. “I see something move out the corner of my eye and I turn and it was a bear nonchalantly just having lunch in the front seat of the truck,” said Curtis Fidler. Fidler said he was startled by the sighting and “kind of jumped back a bit.”Speaking this week, Scott said she believes this was not the average bear. Rather, she said this unexpected moment meant much more to her, nine months after her husband passed aw...

Three-peat for Needham: Rockets top Newton North for another state title

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

WORCESTER — There’s a expression Needham boys volleyball head coach Dave Powell reminds his team beyond the daily motto of cornering their own performance: Pressure is a privilege.But after a whole year of fighting the background noise of how the two-time defending champions’ reign could be over this season, the longtime unbeaten Rockets finally saw that pressure alleviate in yet another historic accomplishment.With a 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-19) win over No. 7 Newton North on Thursday in the Div. 1 state final at Worcester State, top-seeded Needham (27-0) became the third program in the sport’s MIAA history to win three consecutive state titles as part of its now 73-game win streak.Only New Bedford has a longer win streak with 92 games in the early 1990s, and is the other program besides Westfield to three-peat.“We had a wave of good kids after COVID, people were guess doubting, questioning if the reign was over, and these kids responded,” Powell said. “To win 72 in a row before this ...

Why the Chicago Cubs optioned prospect Matt Mervis to Triple-A Iowa with the return of Cody Bellinger

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

Cody Bellinger hadn’t played a major-league game at first base since 2021, and even then it consisted of only two starts.The lack of regular playing time at the position Bellinger spent the majority of his time during his first two big-league seasons (2017-18) with the Los Angeles Dodgers hasn’t diminished his confidence playing there. Bellinger came off the injured list Thursday and was back in the lineup, getting the start at first against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Wrigley Field. The Cubs optioned struggling first baseman Matt Mervis to Triple-A Iowa as the corresponding move.Bellinger went on the IL on May 16 with a bruised left knee, causing him to miss 26 games. Both of Bellinger’s rehab starts at Triple A came at first base, at which he played only 20 innings in 2021 and 143 innings over 16 starts in 2020.“His energy walking in today was pretty special,” manager David Ross said. “He’s a guy that loves to play baseball and is happy to b...

Tornado devastates Texas Panhandle town, killing 1 person and injuring dozens

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

PERRYTON, Texas (AP) — A tornado ripped through the Texas Panhandle town of Perryton on Thursday, killing one person, injuring dozens more and causing widespread damage as another in a series of fierce storms carved its way through Southern states.The National Weather Service in Amarillo confirmed that a tornado hit the area Thursday afternoon. But there was no immediate word on its size or wind speeds, meteorologist Luigi Meccariello said. “There are still reports of ongoing rescues,” he said.Perryton Fire Chief Paul Dutcher told Amarillo TV station ABC 7 that a person was killed in a mobile home park that took a “direct hit” from a tornado. Dutcher said at least 30 trailers were damaged or destroyed. At 6 p.m., firefighters were rescuing people from the rubble.First responders from surrounding areas and from Oklahoma descended on the town, which is home to more than 8,000 people and about 115 miles northeast of Amarillo, just south of the Oklahoma line.Storm chaser Brian Emfinger ...

Las Vegas police arrest man they say threatened mass shooting at Stanley Cup game

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Less than four hours before Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final was set to begin Tuesday on the Las Vegas Strip, authorities in Nevada arrested a man they say threatened to carry out a mass shooting at the arena where the Golden Knights would capture their first championship that night.An arrest report released Thursday by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department identifies the suspect as Matthew DeSavio, who is described by detectives in the document as a 33-year-old man with a history of mental illness and arrests “that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, intimidated, harassed or fearful for their immediate safety.” The report doesn’t say whether detectives have found any weapons in DeSavio’s possession.A lawyer who could comment on DeSavio’s behalf wasn’t listed in jail or court records Thursday evening.In a series of rambling text messages, phone calls and social media posts on Tuesday, according to the r...

Students meet under trees as schools shelter villagers displaced by Philippine volcano

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

MALILIPOT, Philippines (AP) — Nearly 20,000 people have fled from an erupting Philippine volcano and taken shelter in schools, disrupting education for thousands of students, many of whom are having classes in chapels and tents or under trees, officials said Friday.The Mayon volcano in northeastern Albay province, one of the deadliest of 24 active volcanoes across the Philippine archipelago, began expelling lava late Sunday in a gentle eruption that has not caused any injuries or death. But it could drag on for months and cause a prolonged humanitarian crisis, officials warned.Most of those forced to evacuate live in farming villages within a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius of the volcano’s crater that has long been designated as a permanent danger zone but has been home to thriving communities for generations.The evacuees were directed to more than 20 emergency shelters, which are mostly grade and high school campuses. Every classroom has turned into an overcrowded sanctuary for seve...