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Belarus pardons activist jailed after dramatic plane hijacking

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:56 GMT

A dissident blogger detained in Belarus after his flight was forced to land in the Eastern European country has received a presidential pardon and escaped close to a decade behind bars, state media reported.Speaking to government-run news outlet Belta on Monday, Roman Protasevich said he had “just signed all the relevant documents for my pardon,” and “personally thanked” Belarus’ autocratic leader Alexander Lukashenko for the decision.The 28-year-old was editor-in-chief of opposition Telegram channel Nexta during widespread protests that followed the country’s disputed elections in 2020. Hundreds of thousands of Belarusians took to the streets to demonstrate after Lukashenko, who has ruled the country since soon after the fall of the Soviet Union, declared victory amid reports from international observers that the vote was rigged in his favor. Tens of thousands were detained and several people died as security forces cracked down on the rallies.Al...

Mitsotakis calls for second Greek election, possibly on June 25

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:56 GMT

ATHENS — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday called for a new election, to be held possibly on June 25, a day after his conservative party posted a resounding victory but fell short of an outright majority.Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou granted Mitsotakis a three-day mandate to form a coalition government after the ruling New Democracy party scored a massive but inconclusive victory in Sunday’s vote.“I intend to return the exploratory mandate to you this afternoon so that we can hold elections, possibly even on June 25,” Mitsotakis told Sakellaropoulou on Monday. “There are no conditions for the formation of a government.”Later in the afternoon, after calling the other political leaders to inform them about his decision, Mitsotakis returned the mandate to Sakellaropoulou.New Democracy got 40.8 percent of the vote on Sunday, thrashing the left-wing Syriza party, which received only 20.1 percent. The Socialist Pasok party had 11.7...

Police investigating apparent shots fired incident in Waltham

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:56 GMT

A large police presence could be seen gathered in Waltham early Monday morning amid an active police investigation into an apparent shooting.The investigation is unfolding on Lyman Street, which was partially blocked off with crime scene tap for much of the morning. When investigators left the area, a vehicle could be seen nearby with a bullet hole marked off on a passenger door and a smashed rear window.A neighbor who lives in the area said she heard a series of gunshots overnight.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Patriots hire first female scout

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:56 GMT

The New England Patriots are breaking barriers this offseason. The Pats recently announced they’ve hired Maya Ana Callender as their first female football scout.Callender had served as the Director of Football Operations at Princeton University since 2019 and did NFL fellowships with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Russia claims eastern city of Bakhmut, but Ukrainian military leaders say battle isn’t over

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:56 GMT

By SAMYA KULLAB (Associated Press)KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Although Russia claims it has won control of Ukraine’s eastern city of Bakhmut after a grinding nine-month conflict in which tens of thousands of fighters have died, top Ukrainian military leaders say the battle is not over.Ukrainian officials acknowledge they control only a small part of Bakhmut. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Monday that Ukrainian troops hold some areas in its southwestern outskirts, while fighting continues for the strategic heights in the northern and southern parts of the suburbs.“The offensive potential of the enemy has been significantly reduced. Huge losses have been inflicted on the enemy. We have gained time for certain actions, which will be revealed later,” Maliar said.Ukraine says their fighters played a key role in their strategy of exhausting Russian forces. And they say their current positions surrounding Bakhmut will let them strike back inside the 400-year-ol...

More women sue Texas, asking court to put emergency block on state’s abortion law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:56 GMT

By AMANDA SEITZ (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — One woman had to carry her baby, missing much of her skull, for months knowing she’d bury her daughter soon after she was born. Another started mirroring the life-threatening symptoms that her baby was displaying while in the womb. An OB-GYN found herself secretly traveling to Colorado to abort her wanted pregnancy, marred by the diagnosis of a fatal fetal anomaly. All of the women were told they could not end their pregnancies in Texas, a state that has enacted some of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws. Now, they’re asking a Texas court to put an emergency hold on some abortion restrictions, joining a lawsuit launched earlier this year by five other women who were denied abortions in the state, despite pregnancies they say endangered their health or lives.More than a dozen Texas women in total have joined the Center for Reproductive Rights’ lawsuit against the state’s law, which prohib...

Couple with Boston ties killed at Texas mall shooting with their 3-year-old son had ‘perfect synergy’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:56 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — Kyu Cho had a generous spirit and joyous belly laugh that delighted his friends. His wife, Cindy Cho, was quieter, described by those who knew her as sweet and kind. Together, the parents of two young sons complemented each other perfectly, strong in their faith and devoted to family and friends.“That’s what I keep hearing in my head when I think of them: Just Kyu laughing so deeply and Cindy just kind of shaking her head and laughing along,” said their friend, Phyllis Myung. “Every interaction I ever had with them, we were always laughing so hard.”Cindy and Kyu grew up in Texas. They met while pursuing their careers as young adults in Boston — her as a dentist, him as an attorney. Wanting to be near their families, they decided it was time to return to Texas when they started a family of their own.The couple and their sons — 6-year-old William and 3-year-old James — were not far from their Dallas home when a gunman opened fire at an outdoor mall as they shopped earlie...

Fire razes school dormitory in Guyana, killing at least 20 children, many of them Indigenous

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:56 GMT

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Fire raced through a school dormitory in Guyana early Monday, killing at least 20 students and injuring an undetermined more, authorities said.The Guyanese government said in a press statement that the fire broke out in the dormitory building of a secondary school in the southwestern border town of Mahdia, 200 miles (320 kilometers) south of the capital, Georgetown.“This is a horrific incident. It’s tragic. It’s painful,” said President Irfaan Ali, adding that his government was mobilizing all resources to care for the children.The government said several other students were being treated for injuries and at least six were flown to the capital for treatment.Ali said officials were contacting parents and mobilizing psychologists to help deal with those affected by the fire.“I cannot imagine the pain right now of the parents,” he said. “This is a major disaster.”The fire began shortly after midnight at the school that serves mostly Indigenous chil...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts higher amid debt ceiling talks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:56 GMT

TOKYO — Wall Street is trading small gains and losses early Monday as a deadline nears to reach a deal to avoid a federal default.Dow and S&P futures rose less than than 0.1% before the bell. There’s a pivotal meeting set for later in the day at the White House between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on the debt ceiling. A default on the U.S. debt would almost surely cause a recession in the American economy, which would have damaging effects on economies worldwide. “It seems pretty likely that a full-fledged deal will be reached before early June, but the timing is hard to predict,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said of the U.S. efforts to avoid a potentially disastrous default on its debt.“While negotiation strategy and political incentives imply a last-minute deal, we will soon find out if it’s baked beans or lobster during the Memorial Day holiday.” The White House and House Republicans wrapped up another round of talks o...

Greece faces new ballot in weeks, after election triumph fails to deliver center-right majority

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:46:56 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece faces new national elections as early as June 25, with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis confirming Monday he would not try to build a coalition government — despite having dominated the ballot hours earlier by the most decisive margin in half a century.It was a tantalizing result for the center-right leader: although Mitsotakis slightly expanded his New Democracy party’s standing, got double the votes of leftwing Syriza and nearly four times those of third-place Socialist Pasok, the one-off electoral law in place Sunday denied him a governing majority.He’ll now pin his hopes on a second vote — expected no later than July 2 — where the electoral system will revert to boosting the first party with a bonus of up to 50 of Parliament’s 300 seats. That system would have secured ND more than 170 seats Sunday.With 99.70% of the votes counted, New Democracy has 40.79% and 146 seats, five short of a majority, winning in 58 of the country’...