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Italy must open up beach concessions, EU’s top court says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:35 GMT

Italy can’t allow beach clubs to keep control of the sandy shore until 2033, the European Union’s top court ruled on Thursday.While Italy’s seafront is public property, large parts of beaches are dotted with umbrellas, sunbeds and restaurants managed by private beach businesses that strike concessions with local authorities. Italian lawmakers in 2020 allowed these contracts run until 2033.The Court of Justice said that can’t happen. Beach concessions “cannot be renewed automatically” and must face “an impartial and transparent selection procedure,” judges said in a ruling that sets out EU law for an Italian court handling a dispute between the country’s competition authority and the town of Ginosa.Beaches are a hot political issue in Italy, sparking clashes last year within the coalition government led by former Prime Minister Mario Draghi who had only wanted to extend the concessions until the end of 2023.National courts and loc...

NATO chief makes first wartime visit to Kyiv

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:35 GMT

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is in Ukraine on Thursday, a NATO official confirmed, visiting the country for the first time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. The surprise trip, coming more than a year after the war began, is highly sensitive and arrives at a time when Ukrainian officials are pushing the Western military alliance to give Kyiv a clearer path to membership. Ukraine’s government formally requested “accelerated accession” to join NATO in September last year. But while NATO promised in 2008 that Ukraine will eventually become a member, most allies — including the U.S. — have been wary of creating a concrete pathway to the alliance for Kyiv while war rages on. The issue has fueled frustration and disagreements within the alliance. While all allies agree Ukraine cannot become part of NATO right now, some Eastern flank members are pushing for the alliance to give Kyiv at least a symbolic gesture that it is moving closer to NATO. The debate w...

‘People sacrificed their lives for just 10 dollars’. At least 78 killed in Yemen crowd surge during packed Ramadan charity event

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:35 GMT

(CNN) — Dozens of people were killed in a crowd surge in Yemen’s capital on Wednesday as needy residents in the war-torn nation flocked to receive charity handouts from local merchants during the holy month of Ramadan, officials have confirmed.Video of the tragedy in Sanaa showed a chaotic scene with dozens of people packed tightly together, unable to move and shouting for help.Those trapped formed a tangled wall of bodies with some desperately stretching out their arms for help. A couple of men who were freed could then be seen attempting to pull others out of the deadly crush. Images from the aftermath showed shoes and slippers heaped into piles as well as scarfs strewn on the floor.“What happened tonight is a tragic and painful accident, as dozens of people were killed due to a large stampede of a number of citizens caused by a random distribution of sums of money by some merchants and without coordination with the Ministry of Interior,” the spokesman of t...

NFL Draft 2023: Broderick Jones and 9 potential Patriots offensive tackles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:35 GMT

Welcome to Potential Patriots!Each day leading up to the NFL Draft on April 27, the Herald will introduce prospects the Patriots are likely targeting position by position. The Pats have 11 picks this year, starting at 14th overall, their highest selection in more than a decade. As for their other picks, the Patriots could pad their depth at virtually any position.Below is a breakdown of the Patriots’ best prospect fits at offensive tackle:CornerbacksWide receiversEdge rushersDay 1Broderick Jones, GeorgiaHt/Wt: 6-5, 311Projected round: 1stScouting report: He has less than two full seasons as a starter at left tackle, but has plenty of upside. With his size, length and athleticism, he should develop into a starter on the left side.In the long run, he might turn out to be the best tackle in the class given that upside. His ceiling is off the charts.A former basketball player in high school, Jones moves incredibly well for a big man. He’s already a destroyer as a run blocker.Darne...

Eager to contribute, Orioles’ Mike Baumann is embracing his move to the bullpen: ‘It’s been pretty electric’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:35 GMT

Pitching out of the bullpen rather than the rotation is “like playing a different sport,” Orioles reliever Bryan Baker said. But Mike Baumann has handled that transition with aplomb.The 27-year-old right-hander entered spring training as one of a dozen pitchers vying to be Baltimore’s five starting pitchers, but late in camp, the Orioles elected to permanently convert Baumann to a short-relief role. He’s since excelled, allowing one run over 10 1/3 innings, including a scoreless ninth Wednesday as Baltimore shut out the Washington Nationals for a second straight game.“My thought was that if this is how I can help the team, then this is what I want to do,” Baumann said. “If this is what you guys think I’ll be better at, then absolutely, I’d love to be able to help contribute.”Although most of Baumann’s major league appearances entering this season came as a reliever, the possibility of a return to starting remained, an...

AP image of Mariupol hospital attack wins World Press Photo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:35 GMT

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Associated Press photographer Evgeniy Maloletka won the World Press Photo of the Year award on Thursday for his harrowing image of emergency workers carrying a pregnant woman through the shattered grounds of a maternity hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, in the chaotic aftermath of a Russian attack.The Ukrainian photographer’s March 9, 2022, image of the fatally wounded woman, her left hand on her bloodied lower left abdomen, drove home the horror of Russia’s brutal onslaught in the eastern port city early in the war.The 32-year-old woman, Iryna Kalinina, died of her injuries a half-hour after giving birth to the lifeless body of her baby named Miron.“For me, it is a moment that all the time I want to forget, but I cannot. The story will always stay with me,” Maloletka said in an interview before the announcement.“Evgeniy Maloletka captured one of the most defining images of the Russia-Ukraine war amid incredibly challenging circumstances. Without his unfli...

Greece: 1 migrant dead, 47 rescued after sailboat hits rocks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:35 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Authorities in southern Greece say one migrant has died and 47 others have been rescued after a sailboat crashed into rocks and partially sank in a remote coastal area of the Greek mainland. The coast guard said the migrants ‒ 15 men, 16 women and 16 minors ‒ were located Thursday near the southern tip of the Peloponnese region, some 250 kilometers south of Athens, after managing to reach a beach and call for help. The migrants carried a man found to be unresponsive by rescuers and later confirmed dead, while four children and three women were hospitalized for observation. The nationality of the migrants was not immediately known. Officials said coast guard divers had checked the hull of the sailboat and found no one trapped inside. Migrants have typically embarked on riskier journeys in recent years to try and avoid heavily patroled Greek islands near the coast of Turkey. Boats heading to the Greek mainland or Italy are frequently abandoned by smugglers in the...

Yellen calls for better US-China relations as tensions rise

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:35 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will strike a conciliatory tone when she talks about U.S.-China relations on Thursday, calling for “cooperation on the urgent global challenges of our day” while supporting economic restrictions on China to advance U.S national security interests. “We seek a healthy economic relationship with China: one that fosters growth and innovation in both countries,” Yellen says in prepared remarks to be delivered at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies in Washington. Yellen plans to deliver a speech that calls for improved relations between the two countries, which have seen increasingly strained relations after the discovery of a Chinese surveillance balloon in U.S. air space and since the Communist nation has grown its ties with Russia despite its continued invasion into Ukraine. “A growing China that plays by international rules is good for the United States and the world,” Yellen says. “Both countries ...

NATO chief visits Kyiv for first time since Russian invasion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:35 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is visiting Ukraine for the first time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion more than a year ago, an alliance official said Thursday.“The NATO secretary-general is in Ukraine. We will release more information as soon as possible,” said an alliance official, who asked not to be identified in line with NATO procedures.Pictures of Stoltenberg apparently paying tribute to fallen Ukrainian soldiers in Kyiv’s St Michael’s Square were published by local media.Apart from the important symbolism of the visit, the exact purpose of Stoltenberg’s trip wasn’t immediately clear. NATO has no official presence in Ukraine. As an organization of 31 countries, it only provides nonlethal support — generators, medical equipment, tents, military uniforms and other supplies — to the government in Kyiv.Stoltenberg has been the strong voice of the alliance throughout the war and has been instrumental in garnering and coordinating support ...

Stock market today: World shares trading mostly lower

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:35 GMT

Shares were mostly lower in Europe and Asia on Thursday after they barely budged on Wall Street following a mixed batch of earnings reports from big U.S. companies.U.S. futures and oil prices also declined. Germany’s DAX slipped 0.9% to 15,761.62 and the CAC 40 in Paris gave up 0.4% to 7,520.78. Britain’s FTSE 100 shed 0.3% to 7,877.39. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.4% and that for the S&P 500 was 0.5% lower. Japan reported that its trade deficit narrowed in March as exports rose more than expected, helped by a nearly 40% increase in the value of vehicle exports. But exports to China fell, reflecting the slow pace of the recovery from pandemic disruptions. Growth in imports also slowed. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 added 0.2% to 28,657.57 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was virtually unchanged at 7,362.20. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was unchanged at 20,365.84. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.5% to 2,563.11 and the Shanghai Compo...