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Former Albania PM put under house arrest amid corruption probe

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:06:29 GMT

An Albanian court has ruled that Sali Berisha, a former prime minister and current opposition leader, should be placed under house arrest as he is investigated for corruption.Berisha, Albania’s prime minister between 2005 and 2013, is under investigation for allegedly abusing his power to help privatize public land to build 17 apartments for the benefit of his son-in-law. Berisha, now head of the main opposition Democratic Party, has denied the allegations, arguing that the case is politicized and orchestrated by current Prime Minister Edi Rama. Berisha’s lawyer said he would appeal Saturday’s verdict, which also bars him from leaving the country and communicating with anyone except family members.In a statement, Berisha’s Democratic Party denounced the ruling as “imposed without any evidence, facts or documents” and accused Rama of violating Albania’s constitution and taking “Stalinist measures” to silence his rival. Rama said h...

Bulgaria, Romania get official green light for partial entry into Schengen

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:06:29 GMT

EU member countries reached agreement Saturday on removing air and maritime internal border controls with Bulgaria and Romania, but the two countries’ full entry into the bloc’s passport-free Schengen zone remains subject to further discussions.Controls at sea and air borders with Romania and Bulgaria will be lifted as of March 31, the Council of the EU, which represents EU countries, said in a statement on Saturday. “A further decision should be taken by the Council to establish a date for the lifting of checks at internal land borders,” according to the statement.The European Commission said talks on removing controls at land borders will continue in 2024. “A decision by the Council on this matter is expected to be taken within a reasonable time frame,” the EU executive said in a statement. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called Saturday’s decision “a historic moment for Bulgaria and Romania.”“This is a major step forward ...

Michigan home explosion heard for miles kills 4 and injures 2, police say

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:06:29 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Four people died and two others were injured Saturday in a Michigan house explosion that could be heard miles away, police said.The explosion happened before 4 p.m. in Northfield Township, about 45 miles (72.4 kilometers) west of Detroit. The structure was destroyed, leaving only the basement, Northfield Township Police Lt. David Powell told reporters Saturday.The blast, which could be heard about 9 miles (14.4 kilometers) away, sent debris into the air that landed on both sides of a nearby highway. Neighboring homes were not damaged, Powell said.Six people were in the home, with four fatalities discovered at the scene and the two surviving victims hospitalized in critical condition. Police did not immediately know if the victims were related, Powell said.Authorities have not determined the cause of the explosion.Northfield Township police did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press seeking additional information on Sunday.

New Year, New Pattern… For Now

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:06:29 GMT

How about that dry air in place? It’s certainly a welcomed change of pace, and one that will stick around for a few days. The trade off is that chillier air is back with us, but overall, it’s just a seasonable chill and nothing unusual for the time of year. Skies remain draped with more clouds than sun today as highs slowly rise up into the upper 30s. The breeze today is out of the northwest, around 10mph, gusting to 15-20mph. It’ll be even a bit lighter tonight with gusts only to about 10mph, allowing for a pleasant First Night weather-wise. Visibility for the fireworks will be good too as no fog is expected. That’s the general rule across much of Southern New England. The dry air lasts until Thursday, and even then, it’s not a big storm for us, just a few spotty rain/snow showers as the main part of the storm stays to our south. Any bigger storm potential won’t arrive until late next weekend, and that’s not a lock at this point, just some...

American democracy has overcome big stress tests since the 2020 election. More challenges are ahead

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:06:29 GMT

Over the past three years, the world’s oldest democracy has been tested in ways not seen in decades. A sitting president tried to overturn an election and his supporters stormed the Capitol to stop the winner from taking power. Supporters of that attack launched a campaign against local election offices, chasing out veteran administrators and pushing conservative states to pass new laws making it harder to vote.At the same time, the past three years proved that American democracy was resilient.Former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results failed, blocked by the constitutional system’s checks and balances, and he now faces both federal and state charges for those efforts. Then the voters stepped in. In every presidential battleground state, they rejected all candidates who supported Trump’s stolen election lies and were running for statewide offices that had some oversight of elections.The election infrastructure in the country...

German chancellor tours flooded regions in the northwest, praises authorities and volunteers

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:06:29 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz took a helicopter flight Sunday to check the flooded regions in the northwest of the country, where rivers have swelled and overflowed homes, roads and fields after weeks of heavy rain.In recent days, hundreds of people have been evacuated from affected areas in northern and eastern Germany as a precaution.Scholz landed in the morning in the town of Verden in Lower Saxony where dikes along rivers were soaked with water and close to bursting in some parts of the state.Talking to reporters near the Aller river which has flooded parts of Verden, Scholz thanked “the police, the fire department, the federal agency for technical relief and the German Armed Forces” for their joint efforts.“It is important that we stick together,” he said.The chancellor also expressed gratitude to the “countless citizens of our country who are now sacrificing their time and putting themselves in danger to ensure safety for us all.”Thousands of volunteers hav...

Pope recalls Benedict XVI’s love and wisdom on anniversary of death, as secretary reflects on legacy

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:06:29 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Tributes were paid Sunday on the first anniversary of the death of Pope Benedict XVI, with Pope Francis praising his love and wisdom and Benedict’s private secretary expressing hope he might one day be declared a saint.Benedict, the first pope to retire in six centuries, died last Dec. 31 at the age of 95 in the Vatican monastery where he spent 10 years as a pope emeritus. He is buried in the grottoes underneath St. Peter’s Basilica.Speaking at the end of his weekly noon blessing, Francis said the faithful feel “so much love, so much gratitude, so much admiration” for Benedict. He praised the “love and wisdom” with which Benedict guided the church and asked for a round of applause from the pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peter’s Square.Earlier in the day, Benedict’s longtime secretary, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, celebrated a special Mass in the basilica and then participated in an anniversary event to reflect on Benedict’s legacy.Speaking on th...

Xi says China will ‘surely be reunified’ with self-ruled Taiwan in New Year’s address

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:06:29 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping said China would “surely be reunified” with Taiwan during his televised New Year’s address, renewing Beijing’s threats to take over the self-ruled island, which it considers its own.Taiwan split from China amid civil war in 1949, but Beijing continues to regard the island of 23 million with its high-tech economy as Chinese territory and has been ramping up its threat to achieve that by military force if necessary.“China will surely be reunified, and all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose,” Xi said in his annual address, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.China has described Taiwan’s Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections as a choice between war and peace. Beijing considers the presidential front-runner, William Lai, who currently serves as vice president from the ruling Democratic People’s Party, a “separatist” and has accused him and Taiwan’s President Ts...

Plane carrying migrants from Texas landed in Rockford, en route to Chicago

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:06:29 GMT

CHICAGO -- A plane carrying hundreds of migrants arrived overnight at Chicago Rockford International Airport and several buses are reportedly bound for Chicago.The plane carrying migrants from Texas arrived just after 1 a.m. Sunday morning in Rockford, which is not classified as a Sanctuary City.The plane can hold up to 388 passengers, but it is unclear how many migrants were on board.More busses and planes are expected to arrive in cities like Rockford due to a recently passed ordinance that requires an advanced notice for incoming buses and fines for those who don't comply. Winnebago County's sheriff, board chair and Rockford's mayor were told about the incoming plane, a statement said.The plane was expected to land Saturday night but was delayed several hours and arrived Sunday morning.Officials said once the plane landed, migrants onboard would "offload and immediately board buses to Chicago's 'landing zone.'"They stated migrants would not exit airport property at any time befor...

Top 5 misconceptions about the economy in 2023

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:06:29 GMT

(The Hill) – 2023 was a year in which many experts got a lot of things wrong about the economy. From mistaken forecasts about an impending recession to errors about falling prices and why they had risen in the first place, 2023 was a year marked by economic confusion.Even the Federal Reserve got disoriented, predicting an economic downturn at the beginning of the year and then yanking that prediction over the summer.This waffling peeved some major players in the financial industry, including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who called the Fed out for providing unreliable guidance and being “100 percent dead wrong.”“Central banks 18 months ago were 100 percent dead wrong. Maybe there should be humility about financial forecasting,” he said during a panel event in Saudi Arabia in October.Here's a look back at some of the biggest misconceptions about the economy of 2023.Rising interest rates are sure to cause a recessionThere was virtual certainty among economists at the end of last yea...