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Russian Schemes for Instability in the Caucasus: Georgia and Karabakh

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:21:46 GMT

Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, and partly due to a decreased interest in the West, Russia has managed to become a regional superpower, exerting its influence over the other post-Soviet countries. writes James Wilson.Russian attempts to cling to “past glory” has involved making other republics bend to its will and interests. Some tried to oppose it. Prime examples are Georgia, which Russia invaded in 2008, and Ukraine, chunks of which Russia occupied in 2014 before invading again in 2022. With Georgia’s mass protests in Tbilisi making today’s headlines across the world, over a controversial bill that the Georgian government it is trying to pass, Russia has once again reverted to its strategy of destabilisation and issuing official threats.The proposed bill, named “Transparency of Foreign Funding”, would require non-governmental organisations in Georgia to register as "agents of foreign influence" if the funds they receive from abroad amount to more than 20% of the...

Turning Hot Ahead of Strong Front

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:21:46 GMT

A more active weather pattern has returned to South Florida. A weak front neared the area on Saturday, sparking isolated showers along with warmer temperatures. That front just missed us and has moved offshore, keeping us warm. It’s not until Tuesday when a stronger front with cooling arrives.At least in the short term today, expect mostly sunny skies this Sunday with highs in the mid to upper 80s to mark the start of Daylight Saving Time. A warm, southerly wind flow which will be gusty at times will lead to moderate humidity levels along with a high risk for rip currents at our east coast beaches. It will remain dry into tonight with slightly warmer temperatures ranging from the upper 60s to mid 70s.On Monday, the heat will be turned up by a couple more degrees with a forecast high of 90F for Miami. As the cold front approaches, that will cause winds to veer out of the southwest and therefore promoting further warming. Monday will feature increasing clouds throughout the day ...

French Senate adopts pension reform as street protests continue

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:21:46 GMT

The French Senate voted in favor of the controversial pension reform overnight, paving the way for a potential final adoption of the law on Thursday, as thousands of people continue to demonstrate across the country.The widespread opposition to the retirement overhaul is a political test to French President Emmanuel Macron, whose liberal party has been struggling to pass the reform ever since it lost its majority in parliament last summer.“A decisive step to bring about a reform that will ensure the future of our pensions. Totally committed to allow a final adoption in the next few days,” French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne tweeted after the vote.The French government wants to change the retirement age from 62 to 64, with a full pension requiring 43 years of work as of 2027. The right-leaning Senate adopted the reform with 195 in favor and 112 against the measure. Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated across France on Saturday, and protests were expected to cont...

MIAA Statewide scoreboard and highlights from Saturday

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:21:46 GMT

SATURDAY’S HIGHLIGHTSBOYS BASKETBALLDavid Brown scored 27 points as defending Div. 3 state champion St. Mary’s advanced to the state semifinals with an 83-71 win over seventh-seeded Tech Boston. Omri Merryman (15), Nick Sacco (13) and JJ Martinez (12) all scored in double figures for the Spartans, who improved to 18-7 on the season. … Jaydan Exalus scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as No. 4 Cardinal Spellman (18-4) rallied from a double-digit halftime deficit to defeat No. 21 Bishop Stang, 59-50.In the Div. 1 quarterfinals, Zach Wolinski netted 27 points as No. 9 North Andover (16-7) edged No. 17 Waltham 47-46. … Henry Bickford scored 14 points, including the game-winner with 21.1 seconds left, as No. 5 Needham (22-2) edged fourth-seeded Central Catholic, 43-41.Cam Hoekstra scored a game-high 22 points as No. 2 David Prouty (23-0) defeated 10th-seeded Roxbury Latin 70-42 in a Div, 4 state semifinal.GIRLS BASKETBALLOlivia Gamberoni scored 32 points as No. 3 Wahconah (20-3) adv...

Orioles World Baseball Classic roundup: Anthony Santander homers in Venezuela’s win over Dominican Republic

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:21:46 GMT

Anthony Santander didn’t waste any time making his presence felt at the World Baseball Classic on Saturday.In his first plate appearance in Venezuela’s WBC opener, the Orioles’ right fielder smacked a solo home run in the second inning to help lead Venezuela to a 5-1 victory over the Dominican Republic.The blast tied the score at 1 after the Dominican Republic took the lead in the first inning. Santander turned on a 99 mph sinker from Sandy Alcántara, who was pitching in his home stadium in Miami’s LoanDepot Park, and deposited it 393 feet to right field.The long ball wasn’t Santander’s only highlight of the game, though. In the eighth inning, he made a crucial diving catch that stymied a potential Dominican Republic rally. The Dominican Republic had runners on first and second with one out, but Santander’s grab robbed Jeimer Candelario of a likely RBI hit.Santander then tripled in the bottom half of the eighth and scored on a single fr...

NFL Notes: Casting some doubt on Bill Belichick’s strategy with in-house free agents

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:21:46 GMT

Over the years, Bill Belichick has had an interesting approach to dealing with the Patriots’ best in-house free agents.In short, it’s called rolling the dice.Instead of working out a deal before they officially hit the market, Belichick typically tells them to find their best offer, and come back before signing on the dotted line elsewhere. If the player returns, Belichick decides if he’ll increase his offer to either match or come close, and then it’s take-it-or-leave-it time for the player.“Their M.O. is always the same,” one agent told the Herald recently. “They’ll let a guy get close to free agency, and see what the market is. A lot of teams don’t like doing that. But the Patriots have never minded going that route.”In the past, Belichick’s strategy most notably worked with Devin McCourty, Dont’a Hightower, Julian Edelman, Matthew Slater and David Andrews, to name a few.In McCourty’s case, it came down to the wire in 2015. It was nail-biting time. The Eagles, Giants ...

Howie Carr: Former Congressman Brian Donnelly, not a bad guy and worth remembering

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:21:46 GMT

I don’t know how many people will even read this column, because I’m not sure if more than a handful of people even remember Brian Donnelly anymore.He was a former congressman and state rep from Dorchester who died last week, just a few days short of his 77th birthday.I hadn’t seen Donnelly in more than 30 years, and I’m not the only one who’d lost track of him. He left the US House in 1993 and served as an ambassador under Bill Clinton. In 1998 he came back to Massachusetts to run for governor and finished third in the Democrat primary with only 17 percent of the vote.It was the first time he’d ever lost an election, and it was his last. At the age of 52 Brian vanished, more or less, at least from public life. He’d been living in East Dennis, on the Brewster line.Like everyone who knew him, I liked Brian Donnelly, even though I didn’t know him very well. You couldn’t not like the guy. He was affable, unaffected, totally normal.They’re not making Democrats like Brian Donnelly anymor...

California sustainability group told people to stop eating lobster, so Massachusetts lobstermen file suit

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:21:46 GMT

Standing on a dock in his hometown of Gloucester, lobsterman Arthur Sawyer looked out at the peaceful, calm waters off of Cape Ann.Sawyer and fellow lobstermen are barred from taking to Massachusetts waters until May 15, a measure the state Division of Marine Fisheries has implemented over the years to better protect North Atlantic right whales.When the waters do open, lobstermen use what they say are “weak ropes,” equipped with breakaway links built in, meaning it’s likely to part if a North Atlantic right whale encounters it.Those conservation efforts are not enough for some of the world’s top sustainability groups.Sawyer, president of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, and three other Bay State lobster fishers filed a class action lawsuit earlier this month against Monterey Bay Aquarium and the international Marine Stewardship Council, groups that consider lobstering a major risk to North Atlantic right whales and, hence, people shouldn’t buy lobsters a...

Russian advance stalls in Ukraine’s Bakhmut, think tank says

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:21:46 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s advance seems to have stalled in Moscow’s campaign to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, a leading think tank said in an assessment of the longest ground battle of the war.The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said there were no confirmed advances by Russian forces in Bakhmut. Russian forces and units from the Kremlin-controlled paramilitary Wagner Group continued to launch ground attacks in the city, but there was no evidence that they were able to make any progress, ISW said late Saturday.The report cited the spokesperson of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Eastern Group, Serhii Cherevaty, who said that fighting in the Bakhmut area had been more intense this week than the previous one. According to Cherevaty, there were 23 clashes in the city over the previous 24 hours.The ISW’s report comes following claims of Russian progress earlier this week. The U.K. Defense Ministry said Saturday that paramilitary units from the Kremli...

AP News in Brief at 6:04 a.m. EDT

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:21:46 GMT

Oil giant Saudi Aramco has profits of $161B in 2022DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Oil giant Saudi Aramco reported Sunday its profits surged to $161 billion last year off higher crude prices, a record result for an energy firm crucial to the kingdom’s economy.The firm, known formally as the Saudi Arabian Oil Co., said in its annual report that the profit represented “its highest annual profits as a listed company.” That came off the back of energy prices rising after Russia launched its war on Ukraine in February 2022, with sanctions limiting the sale of Moscow’s oil and natural gas in Western markets. Aramco also hopes to increase its production to take advantage of market demand, raising the billions needed to pay for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to develop futuristic cityscapes to pivot Saudi Arabia away from oil. However, those plans come despite growing international concerns over the burning of fossil fuels accelerating climate change.“Gi...