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Qatargate: MEP Tarabella to be released on house arrest

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:24 GMT

BRUSSELS — Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella will be moved from jail to house arrest after being detained for over two months pending trial as part of a probe into an alleged cash-for-influence corruption scheme dubbed Qatargate.“We’ve just learned with relief of the imminent liberation of Marc Tarabella,” a member of the Socialist MEP’s close circle wrote to POLITICO. A spokesperson for the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office also confirmed Tarabella’s forthcoming release from a jail in Wallonia. Tarabella’s lawyer Maxim Töller said the MEP will be kept under house arrest — wearing an electronic surveillance bracelet — and vowed to continue fighting to secure his client’s full release at a court hearing next month.The European Parliament had voted to lift Tarabella’s immunity earlier this year to allow Belgian authorities to investigate, and the Socialists and Democrats group also suspended him as a member. Tarabella was then arrested ...

Qatargate: Italy again delays handing over MEP to Belgium

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:24 GMT

For the fourth time, Italian judges on Tuesday put off a decision on whether to extradite MEP Andrea Cozzolino to Belgium, his lawyers confirmed to POLITICO. Cozzolino is a key suspect in the European Parliament’s alleged corruption scandal, known as Qatargate.Once again, the court in Naples called on Belgian prosecutors to send evidence on the state of prisons and provide more details on the arrest warrant they issued in February. The next hearing in Italy is slated for May 2.The Belgian authorities have not sent any supporting documents since the previous hearing was held on March 14, Cozzolino’s lawyer Vincenzo Domenico Ferraro told POLITICO.Cozzolino’s defense team argued that the move to a Belgian prison would endanger their client’s health, as he suffers from a heart condition.  The Italian MEP — who attended Tuesday’s court hearing — is currently under house arrest in Naples and has not yet been interrogated by judges.Cozzolino is accused of accepting bribes from M...

Germany can’t fulfill NATO obligations, says army chief in leaked memo

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:24 GMT

BERLIN — Germany’s land forces cannot fulfill their NATO commitments, according to a leaked memo from a top soldier cited in a German media report.A division that Germany promised to NATO isn’t fully ready for battle, Bild newspaper reported Tuesday, citing a routine “leadership message” from Alfons Mais, the army’s inspector general, to the armed forces’ inspector general.  The memo increases pressure on Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who is being confronted with the Bundeswehr’s structural problems that also faced his predecessors.Berlin had promised a fully-equipped army division to NATO in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine as early as 2025, two years earlier than planned. However, without countermeasures, “the army will not be able to hold its own in high-intensity combat and will also only be able to fulfill its obligations to NATO to a limited extent,” the army chief was quoted by the newspaper.A spokesperson for the German defense ...

Police: Man arrested in connection with bank robbery in Northbridge

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:24 GMT

A man was arrested Tuesday in a connection with a robbery at Santander Bank on Providence Road in Northbridge Tuesday morning, according to police. Officers responded to a 911 call from a Santander Bank customer around 9 a.m. The caller told dispatch the bank had just been robbed and the masked suspect took off on foot. Police say the caller provided a detailed description of the suspect and their direction of travel. Within minutes, Chief Timothy Labrie located the suspect, later identified as Todd Mitchell, in front of Shaw’s Supermarket. Mitchell was taken into custody without incident and taken to the Northbridge Police Department. He is charged with unarmed robbery. Police found the clothing, gloves, and mask Mitchell allegedly used during the robbery in a nearby dumpster, the department said. They also seized $1,980.00 in cash.

Jonas Brothers add second Yankee Stadium concert this summer

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:24 GMT

The Jonas Brothers are going back to back at Yankee Stadium.The singing siblings from Wyckoff, N.J., will perform a second concert at the stadium in the Bronx this August, they announced Tuesday.The new show will take place on Aug. 13, a day after their first concert on Aug. 12.“New York!! We can’t believe the response to our show at @YankeeStadium, so we’re adding a second night,” the Jonas Brothers wrote on Instagram.Tuesday’s news comes exactly a week after the Jonas Brothers announced their first-ever concert at the home of the Yankees. At the time, the pop trio billed that concert as a “One Night Only” event.“We’ve been dreaming about this one our whole lives,” they wrote on Instagram last week.Following the initial announcement, Kevin, Joe and Nick Jonas visited Yankee Stadium and met Yankees stars including Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole before a game against the Philadelphia Phillies.The concerts continue a busy stretc...

TTC streetcar announcements temporarily offline

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:24 GMT

For the first time in years, Toronto streetcar riders will hear the voice of their driver, as automated stop announcements are temporarily offline.The TTC tells CityNews the issue is related to the Global Positioning System (GPS) used to inform the stop announcements and is affecting a majority of streetcar routes.Work to correct the problem is ongoing, but there is no estimate on when the system will be back online.Until then, drivers will manually call out all stops like they did pre-2014, when the new line of Flexity Outlook streetcars were first rolled out.

EPA acts, finding cancer risk from sterilization chemical

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:24 GMT

The Environmental Protection Agency proposed Tuesday to limit the use of the chemical ethylene oxide after finding higher than expected cancer risk at facilities that use it to sterilize billions of medical devices each year.The EPA says its proposal will reduce ethylene oxide emissions from 86 medical sterilization facilities across the United States by roughly 80%. The companies will also have to measure the antimicrobial chemical in the air.“EPA’s number one priority is protecting people’s health and safety,” EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a statement. “Together they would significantly reduce worker and community exposure to harmful levels of ethylene oxide.”But Darya Minovi, a senior research analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists, called the action overdue by “almost a decade” and said it should have gone further to require monitoring at a facility’s property line so that people can know what is entering their neighborhoods. “I’m relieved and pleased that the ...

Ford Motor Co. to spend $1.8B in Oakville to produce electric vehicles

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:24 GMT

Ford Motor Co. has revealed details of its plan to spend $1.8 billion an its Oakville Assembly Complex to turn it into an electric vehicle production hub.The automaker says it will start retooling the Ontario complex in the second quarter of 2024 and being producing electric vehicles in 2025.General Motors is already producing electric delivery vans in Canada, but Ford says this is the first time a full-line automaker has announced plans to produce passenger EVs in Canada for the North American market.Ford says the transformation of the Oakville site, to be renamed the Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex, will include a new 407,000 square-foot battery plant where parts from U.S. operations will be assembled into battery packs.The investment was first announced in 2020 as part of union negotiations with the company, with workers seeking long-term production commitments and the Detroit Three automakers eventually agreeing to invest in Canadian operations in concert with spending agreeme...

Firm restarting oil pipeline involved in California spill

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:24 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An offshore pipeline involved in a 2021 oil spill that fouled Southern California beaches is being put back in service, the operator said.Amplify Energy Corp. said Monday that it received approval from federal regulatory agencies to restart operations and last weekend began the process of filling the pipeline, which is expected to take about two weeks.“Following the line fill process, the pipeline will be operated in accordance with the restart procedures that were reviewed and approved by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration,” the Houston-based company said in a press release.The pipeline carries oil to shore from platforms in San Pedro Bay, near the Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors.Amplify Energy recently announced a settlement with companies associated with two ships it accused of dragging anchors and striking the pipeline during a January 2021 storm, leading to the spill of 25,000 gallons (94,600 liters) of crude oil months later.“The a...

Gators launch ‘Florida Victorious’ to revamp, streamline NIL

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:48:24 GMT

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Three months after losing blue-chip quarterback Jaden Rashada over of a failed name, image and likeness deal worth nearly $14 million, the University of Florida is revamping and streamlining its fundraising collective.Florida Victorious formally launched Tuesday with hopes of raising money to fund NIL deals for student-athletes — and ultimately help the Gators get back to national prominence in football and men’s basketball. Florida was one of six Power Five programs (along with Boston College, Cal, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma and Stanford) to finish below .500 in both revenue-generating sports.Most alarming, the Gators endured consecutive losing seasons in football for the first time since 1978-79.Florida Victorious is tasked with supporting the program’s planned turnaround. The nonprofit organization will work closely with the school’s University Athletic Association to raise money that should assist all 19 sports, most notably football.A recent amendment...