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COP28 chief under fire from EU and US lawmakers over oil ties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:57 GMT

More than 130 lawmakers from the European Union and the United States are calling for the removal of oil executive Sultan Al Jaber as president of this year’s COP28 climate talks. In a joint letter — addressed to the United Nations, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and U.S. President Joe Biden — the lawmakers warn of fossil fuel companies exerting “undue influence” over the negotiations, which take place in the United Arab Emirates at the end of the year. The UAE’s appointment of Al Jaber, who runs the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, sparked controversy from the moment it was announced.  The lawmakers’ letter adds weight to a growing campaign on both sides of the Atlantic to replace Al Jaber. “The decision to name as president of COP28 the chief executive of one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies — a company that has recently announced plans to add 7.6 billion barrels of oil to its production in the comi...

Writer who called Polish president ‘a moron’ should not be punished, court rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:57 GMT

The Polish Supreme Court on Tuesday backed an earlier ruling that a writer who called President Andrzej Duda a “moron” on social media should not face prosecution.Insulting the head of state is a crime in Poland.Dismissing an appeal from the National Prosecutor’s Office as “manifestly unfounded,” the court said the social media post by writer Jakub Żulczyk did not constitute a crime, and caused negligible harm, according to Polish outlet Onet.Żulczyk said he was relieved at being “finally acquitted.”“I am very happy that FINALLY we can bring all this to an end,” he wrote on Facebook.In Poland, insulting the president — of Poland or even of another country — is punishable by up to three years in prison.In November 2020, after the U.S. presidential election, Żulczyk took to Facebook to complain about the way Duda congratulated then-President-elect Joe Biden on his victory. Duda had said he was awaiting Biden’s “nominati...

Celtics look to pull off the impossible as Heat stand on brink of making NBA Finals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:57 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Blown out in Game 3, facing elimination in Game 4, tasked with engineering the sort of comeback that no team in their league has ever pulled off before.This may sound familiar to Boston fans.Yes, what the Red Sox did to the New York Yankees in 2004 was discussed around the Boston Celtics on Monday. A day after a debacle in Miami to fall into a 3-0 deficit in these Eastern Conference finals — “embarrassing,” Boston forward Jaylen Brown said — the Celtics will try to extend the series and at least delay a Heat celebration in Game 4 on Tuesday night.“We still believe we’re the better team,” Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon said Monday. “We have not played like it in any of the three games. But, you know, there is always a first.”No NBA team has rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a series; it’s happened only once in Major League Baseball, when the Red Sox shook off a 19-8 drubbing in Game 3 to win four straight and top the Yankees in that 2004 AL champ...

Raynham police ask for help in search for missing 14-year-old girl

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:57 GMT

Raynham police are turning to the public for help as they search for a missing 14-year-old girl.Emmie Chabot, of Raynham, was last seen around 7:15 a.m. Tuesday in the area of King Street. She was reported missing by a family member and is believe to be traveling on foot.She was last seen wearing a black sweatshirt, pink shorts, and has red hair.Anyone with information about Emmie’s whereabouts is asked to call Raynham police at 508-824-2716.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Police: Sex offender threatened couple with golf club at Hynes Station for refusing request for money

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:57 GMT

A registered sex offender was arrested at the MBTA’s Hynes Station late Monday night after allegedly threatening a couple with a golf club after they refused his request for money, police said.The suspect, whose name was not released, also had numerous warrants for his arrest to include failure to register as sex offender, drug violations, and receiving stolen property, according to transit police.No additional information was immediately available.https://twitter.com/MBTATransitPD/status/1660983184010485760This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Mass. father, son sentenced for decadelong, $20 million lottery fraud scheme

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:57 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A father and son from Massachusetts have both been sent to prison for running an elaborate lottery fraud scheme designed to enrich themselves and help prize winners avoid paying taxes on their windfall, prosecutors said.Ali Jaafar, 63, and Yousef Jaafar, 29, both of Watertown, cashed in 14,000 winning lottery tickets over a roughly 10-year period, laundered more than $20 million in proceeds, and then lied on their tax returns to cheat the IRS out of about $6 million, the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston announced Monday.The Jaafars purchased winning lottery tickets at a discount from people who wanted to avoid identification by the state lottery commission, which withholds taxes and outstanding child support payments from payouts.After purchasing the tickets, using the stores that sold them as go-betweens, the Jaafars claimed the full prize amount. Although they reported the winnings on their tax returns, they also claimed equivalent fake gambling losses as an of...

Russia claims it has defeated alleged incursion from Ukraine, a day after attack began

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:57 GMT

By SUSIE BLANN (Associated Press)KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops and security forces quashed Tuesday an alleged cross-border raid from Ukraine, claiming to have killed more than 70 attackers in a battle that lasted around 24 hours, a senior Moscow official said.It was not possible to independently confirm claims about the armed incursion into Russian territory that began Monday. Nor was it possible to say with any certainty who was behind the attack or what its aims were.Disinformation has been one of the weapons of the almost 15-month war.Moscow blamed the raid on Ukrainian military saboteurs. Kyiv portrayed the incident as an uprising against the Kremlin by Russian partisans. It wasn’t immediately possible to reconcile the two versions.The battle took place in the Belgorod region, about 80 kilometers (45 miles) north of the city of Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine.Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed the armed attackers were routed by local troop ...

Top 8 tips for parents and teens on social media use: U.S. surgeon general

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:57 GMT

Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general, is calling for “immediate action” by tech companies and lawmakers to protect kids’ and adolescents’ mental health on social media.But after years of middling and insufficient action by both social media platforms and policymakers, parents and young people still bear most of the burden in navigating the fast-changing, often harmful world of secretive algorithms, addictive apps and extreme and inappropriate content found on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.So what can parents and young people do now? The surgeon general has some tips.“Our children and adolescents don’t have the luxury of waiting years until we know the full extent of social media’s impact,” Murthy said in an advisory released on Tuesday. “Their childhoods and development are happening now.”TIPS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE— Reach out for help: If you or someone you know is being negatively affected by social media, reach out to a trusted friend or adult for help. Check t...

U-Haul truck driver who crashed into security barrier at park near White House is arrested

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Police have arrested a man they believe intentionally crashed a U-Haul truck into a security barrier at a park across from the White House.The box truck’s driver smashed into the barrier near the north side of Lafayette Square on Monday at around 10 p.m., Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement. No one was injured. Officers from the Secret Service and the Metropolitan Police Department searched the truck after the crash. Video posted by WUSA-TV shows a police officer at the scene picking up and inventorying several pieces of evidence from the truck, including a Nazi flag. Based on a preliminary investigation, investigators believe the driver “may have intentionally struck the security barriers at Lafayette Square,” Guglielmi said. Authorities offered no additional details about the possible motive and had not released the driver’s identity.The U.S. Park Police said the man was arrested on multiple charges, including threaten...

Tempers rise as German government’s clean heating plans go up in smoke

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:57 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s government is facing a major test after two junior partners in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party coalition sparred publicly over a key element in the country’s ambitious climate policy.Economy and Energy Minister Robert Habeck of the environmentalist Greens accused the libertarian Free Democratic Party of backtracking on agreements by refusing to let lawmakers debate a bill for replacing home heating systems with greener alternatives.The bill was approved by Cabinet in March after months of intense haggling between the parties. A major stumbling block was the Green party’s demand that the installation of new oil or gas furnaces should be banned from next year to ensure Germany can meet its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2045.A compromise saw numerous exceptions and subsidies included in the bill, but the Free Democrats later said they still had misgivings, meaning it is unlikely to be taken up by parliame...