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EU official from Sweden has been in prison in Iran for over 500 days

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:01 GMT

A Swedish citizen who works for the EU’s diplomatic corps has been imprisoned in Iran on espionage charges for well over a year.Johan Floderus, who works for the European External Action Service, was detained at Tehran’s airport in April 2022 on his way home from a vacation, the New York Times reported on Monday.He has been held in the Evin prison in the Iranian capital for more than 500 days, according to the media report.Floderus held several positions within the EU. He served as an aide to the European commissioner for migration, Ylva Johansson, and joined the EEAS in 2019.The EU and the Swedish government had not revealed details about the arrest until Monday. The European Commission refrained from making specific comments on this case on Monday, prompting a furious row between the NYT reporter who broke the story and an EU spokesperson during a daily media briefing.In a statement to POLITICO, Sweden’s Foreign Affairs Minister Tobias Billström said, “The G...

Live blog: Lawmakers set to grill incoming EU innovation chief Iliana Ivanova

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:01 GMT

A select group of European Parliament lawmakers will on Tuesday quiz Iliana Ivanova, Bulgaria’s designated commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth, to assess whether she’s capable of taking over the portfolio from Mariya Gabriel, who resigned in May to become the country’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister. It’s the first of more such hearings, as more members of Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s team jump ship as the end of the mandate looms. Ahead of her hearing, Ivanova made the pitch that the EU should team up with its non-member allies, such as the United Kingdom and Switzerland, on research and innovation in order to win the ongoing race to control new technologies. To do so, the EU could leverage the power of its flagship R&D program Horizon Europe, which lawmakers claim is underfunded — as it’s often raided to meet new requirements.

A suspected drunken driver accidentally called 911 on himself

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:01 GMT

(CNN) — A suspected drunken driver accidentally called Nebraska law enforcement on himself, leading to his arrest.The man called 911 to report another driver who he thought was driving on the wrong side of the highway, according to a Facebook post from the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office on Thursday released a video of the March incident along with audio from the driver’s 911 call.When authorities arrived, it became clear the caller himself was the one driving on the wrong side of the road – and he was intoxicated.“I’m on Highway 77 going north and there is somebody that is on the wrong side of the road,” the driver says in a recording of the 911 call. He added that the other driver “almost ran me off the road.”“That was gnarly,” he said. “That was like, a lot.”The video then shows the unidentified driver being pulled over by a police officer.“Do you know why I stopped you?” asks the officer.“Yeah, because I was on the wrong side of the road,” admit...

Two people detained in China for allegedly damaging Great Wall with excavator

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:01 GMT

(CNN) — Two people have been detained in China after allegedly damaging a section of the Great Wall in the northern Shanxi province with an excavator, according to state broadcaster CCTV.Authorities in Youyu County said they received a report on August 24 that a gap in the wall was created in Yangqianhe Township, CCTV reported.After an investigation, police found a 38-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman had used an excavator to breach the wall in order to create a shortcut to pass through, causing “irreversible” damage to the integrity and safety of that portion of the wall, the broadcaster said.Police said the investigation was ongoing.The area, known as the 32nd Great Wall, is one of the surviving complete walls and watch towers dated back to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and is listed as a provincial cultural relic site. The Great Wall was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

Patriots practice: Roster move incoming; DeVante Parker returns

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:01 GMT

The Patriots will be announcing a roster move by the end of the day.At practice Monday, defensive lineman Jeremiah Pharms Jr., who is not listed on the team’s roster, was present, while offensive linemen Riley Reiff and James Ferentz (practice squad) were absent. The Patriots have either released Ferentz from the practice squad and signed Pharms, or placed Reiff on injured reserve and added Pharms or another practice squad player to their 53-man roster.A source told the Herald last week that Pharms would be signing to the practice squad after he was cut Tuesday and passed through waivers Wednesday.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Bill Belichick was excited to see Patriots get surplus of depth at important position New England Patriots | Patriots QB Mac Jones has improved in these 3 areas, according to Bill Belichick New England Patriots | Bill Belichick breaks silence on Patriots’ decision to cut Bailey Zappe New Engl...

‘Ontarians simply cannot cope’: Ford calls on Bank of Canada to stop raising interest rates

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:01 GMT

Premier Doug Ford is calling on the Bank of Canada to stop raising interest rates ahead of its next decision expected to come down Wednesday.Ford echoed British Columbia Premier David Eby, who wrote a letter to BoC’s governor Tim Macklem last Thursday, urging him to think about the “human impact” of the hikes.In his letter sent on Sunday, Ford writes that “interest rate increases are hurting people,” and harming families and small businesses alike.He says the 10 interest hikes over the last 18 months have had a “devastating impact on people who are already struggling to get by.”RELATED: B.C. urges Bank of Canada to avoid ‘devastating’ interest rate hike in SeptemberThe last rate hike on July 12 brought the BoC’s key interest rate up by a quarter of a percentage point, to five per cent — the highest it’s been in more than two decades.The rate hikes are being used as an anti-inflation measure by the BoC, but Ford says it is having ...

Boil water advisory enters fourth day in two Montreal suburbs, lifted in Longueuil

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:01 GMT

MONTREAL — A boil water advisory affecting more than 60,000 residents of two Montreal suburbs is now in its fourth day, despite being lifted in the neighbouring community that supplies their drinking water. The cities of Boucherville, Que. and St-Bruno-de-Montarville, Que., on Montreal’s south shore, say residents are still being asked to boil water for at least one minute before drinking it.The advisory has been in place since Friday, when E. coli bacteria was found in the water supply. Boucherville spokeswoman Julie Lavigne says test results received on Sunday showed no contamination it the city’s drinking water, but a second round of negative tests — the results of which are expected today — is required before the advisory can be lifted. She says all three communities get their drinking water from a plant in Longueuil, Que., but are responsible for testing in their own networks.She says her city wasn’t able to test its water or send samples to a lab as quickly a...

3 injured in stabbing in Moss Park neighbourhood

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:01 GMT

Three people were injured in a stabbing incident in the Moss Park neighbourhood on Monday afternoon.Toronto police were called to the area of Queen Street East and Ontario Street at 12:30 p.m. for reports of someone being “slashed” with a weapon.Police say there was an altercation between a group of people and one person has been arrested.One man was taken to hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries. The two other victims were treated on the scene with minor injuries.

UN experts urge forces of powerful Libyan commander to stop evicting residents, demolishing homes

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:01 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — United Nations-commissioned experts on Monday called for forces of a powerful Libyan military commander to stop evicting residents and demolishing their homes in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi.The experts said in a statement that the Libyan National Army, commanded by Khalifa Hifter, has since March removed more than 20,000 residents from their homes “at a very short notice.”They also said the destruction in the city center “is spreading in an alarmed manner,” with residents expelled and forced to give up their property or their ownership documents.The demolition is part of a development project in the city, according to local reports.“The intentional demolitions, including of historic neighborhoods, protected heritage sites and many residential units, have already caused irreparable harm to the urban architecture and living heritage of the city,” the experts said.A spokesman for Hifter’s forces didn’t respond to requests for comment.The experts said authorities in...

Member of Panama’s national soccer team shot and killed in Colon; 2nd in 6 years

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:00:01 GMT

PANAMA CITY (AP) — A member of Panama’s national soccer team was killed when gunmen opened fire on a group of people gathered in the country’s violent port city of Colon. Authorities on Monday announced the arrest of one suspect.Defender Gilberto Hernández, 26, was the second member of the national team killed in Colon in the past six years.Hernández was with friends on Sunday along a street in central Colon when attackers in a taxi opened fire, according to police. Seven other people were wounded in the attack.Colon sits 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Panama City, where ships enter or exit the Caribbean Sea through the Panama Canal.Panama’s Colon province, with a population of about 300,000, recorded 102 homicides last year, nine fewer than the year before, according to government data. Authorities blame much of the violence on drug trafficking competition.In 2017, midfielder Amílcar Henríquez was shot to death in Colon province. He was a member of Panama’s national ...