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The year of the unpleasant return is finally over!

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:18 GMT

Welcome to a special POLITICO 28 edition of Declassified, a weekly humor column.So, as 2023 staggers to a close like a bloody-nosed drunk lurching down the street on the way to the all-night garage, there’s one main takeaway: Never rule out terrible people and things making a comeback. Obviously, top of the list is the conflict in the Middle East, which had definitely gone away until October 7 (are you absolutely sure about this?: International affairs editor). Not far behind was the U.K., whose tumultuous political year was bookended by two very unlikely returns. First, in February, Liz Truss came back. You may remember that Truss was unceremoniously and embarrassingly ousted as prime minister after just 45 days in October 2022 — that’s less time than Rihanna’s “Umbrella” spent at No. 1 in the U.K. singles chart — because the  economy had crashed through the floor. But she roared back in style with a 4,000-word essay in the Sunday Telegraph in which she sla...

2023: The year in figures and charts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:18 GMT

2023 was marked by crisis, transition and conflict.As the war in Ukraine dragged into its second year, the EU was confronted with yet another conflict on its doorstep: The Israel-Hamas war, which brought fresh instability to the Middle East and exacerbated divisions between EU countries.Europe now heads into a big election year and governments are left grappling with major challenges: The lingering effects of the cost-of-living crisis, the impact of migration and an ever-warming planet.From the toll of bloody wars to sky-high temperatures, here are the figures behind the topics that defined 2023.

For Israel, Gaza is a preventative war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:18 GMT

Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe.Israel’s top politicians sense a possible near-term election. And in their preparation, they have started complicating Israel’s war on Hamas, making relations with the country’s key Western ally, the United States, more difficult.In fact, currently, none of the key contenders in this race are talking of a short war — nor are they embracing calls from the U.S. and Europe for a serious effort to revive long-moribund talks on a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.They wouldn’t dare even if they wanted to. There’s no appetite in Israel for a revival of two-state talks, as no one can envision how it would bring peace in the wake of the brutal Hamas attacks on southern Israel on October 7, which left 1,200 dead in a terrifying spree of violence.And it is this collective stance — not just Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — that is increasingly at odds with the U.S. administration, which has publicly called for a...

From ULEZ to fuckpigs: Westminster’s words of 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:18 GMT

LONDON — What’s in a word?Turns out, quite a bit. Westminster’s finest politicos found themselves frantically Googling this year as they tried to get their heads around a whole bunch of words they had never heard before. No, not “integrity,” “honesty” and “compassion” — but a host of weird and wonderful constructions that would have seemed entirely alien 12 months ago.POLITICO rounded up the best of them, as a treat. Parental advisory: Swearing is big, clever and cool.De-bankingPronunciation guide: diː-ˈbæŋkɪŋDefinition: The closure of an account by banks who perceive the holder to pose a financial, legal, regulatory, or reputational risk to the bank. Or all four, in Nigel Farage’s case. Context: The former Brexit Party leader found himself in a big fight with Coutts when the luxury bank canceled his account after discussing his controversial public profile in a private meeting. It helped keep him in the spotlight he loves. A...

Amber Alert issued for mother and child after abduction in Maine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:18 GMT

SACO, Maine (WHDH) — Maine State Police have issued an Amber Alert at the request of the Saco Police Department in connection with a mother and child abduction at 11:30 a.m. Thursday.The child is 3-year-old Angie Rodondi, who is 2 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 25 pounds. She has brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a pink dress and brown top.Her mother is 35-year-old Norma Rodondi Jambikt, who is described as being 5 feet, 11 inches tall, weighing 170 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a green shirt, black pants, and a black jacket. The two, who were residing in the Biddeford area, were forced into a white Ford Explorer with New York registration by a male suspect. At 3:41 p.m. the vehicle crossed the tolls into New York State.Anyone with information is asked to call the Saco Police Department at 207-284-4535.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Celtics send Detroit to NBA record-tying 28th straight loss, beating Pistons 128-122 in OT

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:18 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Hoping to avoid a 28th straight loss that would match the longest losing streak in NBA history, the Detroit Pistons forced overtime against the league-best Celtics on Thursday night before Boston recovered to win 128-122.Despite making it to overtime for the first time in the skid, Detroit matched the “Trust the Process” Philadelphia 76ers with 28 consecutive losses. The Pistons need a victory at home against Toronto on Saturday night to avoid breaking the record.Detroit opened a season-high 21-point lead in the first half only to trail 106-100 in the final two minutes of regulation. Jaden Ivey scored six straight points to erase the deficit, then Bojan Bogdanovic made a putback with 4.6 seconds left to send it to OT.But Derrick White scored 10 of his 23 points in the extra period and Kristaps Porzingis had six in the overtime — dunking after a full-court pass from Jayson Tatum and then sinking a pair of free throws to make it 125-117. Porzingis had 35 points — 11 in t...

Celtics narrowly avoid embarrassment with OT win over lowly Detroit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:18 GMT

The Celtics insisted that their approach Thursday night against the worst team in the NBA, on a historic losing streak, would not, and should not change based on those unique circumstances. On paper, the Celtics – boasting the best record in the NBA – should have dusted the Pistons.But sometimes, that’s just not reality.“I think just the expectation of it’s supposed to go a certain way or it’s supposed to be easy,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said pregame of the unique challenge facing his team. “It’s just not the case. So, just playing the game. It’s another game regardless of the other team’s record.”The Celtics have mostly heeded their coach’s emphasis of a consistent mindset this season, as they’ve plowed through the early portion of their schedule. But taking care of business proved to be easier said than done on Thursday night. Perhaps a hint of relaxation seeped in as the C’s welcomed a Pistons team on a record 27-game losing streak. Maybe they were sti...

15-year-old boy with stab wounds taken to hospital from TTC Sheppard West subway station

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:18 GMT

A 15-year-old boy has been taken to a Toronto hospital with serious injuries from the TTC’s Sheppard West subway station after he was stabbed, authorities say.A Toronto Police Service spokesperson told CityNews emergency crews received a call from a collector’s booth inside the station after 9:30 p.m. with a report someone was injured. It wasn’t immediately clear where exactly the stabbing occurred.A spokesperson with Toronto Paramedic Services said the boy was taken to the hospital in serious, but non-life-threatening condition.Officers said the suspect is believed to be a boy around the same age. He was last seen wearing a black vest, black pants and a black mask. The spokesperson said they didn’t have information on where the suspect was last seen.The TTC briefly suspended service at the station due to the incident. Stabbing: (UPDATE)9:36 pmSheppard Ave W & Dufferin St-victim has non-life threatening injuries-ongoing investigation-anyone w/info call 41...

15-year-old surfer dies in South Australia state’s third fatal shark attack since May

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:18 GMT

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — A 15-year-old surfer has died in the third fatal shark attack in the waters off South Australia state in recent months.Khai Cowley was attacked by a suspected great white shark Thursday while surfing with his father off remote Ethel Beach on the Yorke Peninsula west of his hometown of Adelaide, authorities said.He was brought to shore but emergency services were unable to revive him.Surfers died in shark attacks in remote parts of South Australia in May and October. Their bodies were never recovered.South Australia Premier Peter Malinauskas said there have been 11 fatal shark attacks in the state’s waters since 2000.The fact that three of those fatalities occurred since May is “startling and is of concern,” he told Nine Network television Friday.Malinauskas said there was little the government could do to make beaches safer outside Adelaide, the state capital and its most populous city.Outside the state, a 16-year-old girl killed by a bull shark in a river...

Trump is blocked from the GOP primary ballot in two states. Can he still run for president?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:18 GMT

DENVER (AP) — First, Colorado’s Supreme Court ruled that former President Donald Trump wasn’t eligible to run for his old job in that state. Then, Maine’s Democratic secretary of state ruled the same for her state. Who’s next?Both decisions are historic. The Colorado court was the first court to apply to a presidential candidate a rarely used constitutional ban against those who “engaged in insurrection.” Maine’s secretary of state was the first top election official to unilaterally strike a presidential candidate from the ballot under that provision.But both decisions are on hold while the legal process plays out.That means that Trump remains on the ballot in Colorado and Maine and that his political fate is now in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Maine ruling will likely never take effect on its own. Its central impact is increasing pressure on the nation’s highest court to say clearly: Can Trump still run for president after the Jan. 6,...