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EU Parliament hammers out long-awaited anti-harassment reforms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:25 GMT

STRASBOURG — The European Parliament is thrashing out a revamp of its anti-harassment reforms in a closed-door meeting of top MEPs Monday evening, amid fears that many cases in the institution are flying under the radar because victims fear coming forward.At a meeting of the powerful Bureau of 20 top MEPs, including President Roberta Metsola and her 14 vice presidents, MEPs will chew over a slate of reforms that have been cooked up during seven months of talks. Already this year, two MEPs — Mónica Silvana González and Monica Semedo — were sanctioned for psychologically harassing staff.Looming over the deliberations is a recent survey carried out by an in-house campaign group called MeTooEP, which found that of the 1,001 respondents, just under half (484 people) had experienced psychological harassment, 16 percent (159) experienced sexual harassment, and 7 percent (67) faced physical violence. The majority of respondents were civil servants; MEPs’ assistants were the next bigges...

EU and US reach a deal to let data flow across the Atlantic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:25 GMT

BRUSSELS — The European Union on Monday approved a new deal allowing companies to freely transfer data between the EU and the United States, potentially ending three years of legal limbo for tech giants such as Facebook and Google.The European Commission formally recognized the U.S. as a country with sufficient protection for Europeans’ personal data, adopting a so-called adequacy decision under its landmark privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation.The deal, known as EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, clears the way for lucrative transatlantic data exchanges after the EU’s top court in 2020 struck down the governments’ previous data agreement, known as Privacy Shield, over concerns that U.S. intelligence agencies had too much leeway to snoop on Europeans’ personal data.The stakes for success are high: According to the White House, transatlantic data flows underpin $7.1 trillion in economic activities, and thousands of companies do business on both continents.“Today we ...

Russian mercenary leader Prigozhin’s commanders pledge loyalty at Kremlin after short-lived mutiny

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:25 GMT

By The Associated PressMercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin ‘s commanders pledged loyalty to the Russian government in a Kremlin meeting with President Vladimir Putin five days after they staged a short-lived rebellion, a senior government spokesman said Monday, the latest twist in a baffling episode that has raised questions about the power and influence both men wield.The three-hour meeting took place June 29 and involved not only Prigozhin but commanders from his Wagner Group military contractor, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Putin gave an assessment of Wagner’s actions on the battlefield in Ukraine — where the mercenaries have fought alongside Russian troops — and of the revolt itself.“The commanders themselves presented their version of what happened. They underscored that they are staunch supporters and soldiers of the head of state and the commander-in-chief, and also said that they are ready to continue to fight for their homeland,” P...

What happens if UPS goes on strike?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:25 GMT

As a potential UPS workers strike becomes increasingly likely, you might be wondering what would happen to your packages as well as how a strike might affect businesses and the economy.A strike would slow the movement of goods, which means consumers could expect package delays, higher shipping costs and, potentially, higher prices for goods. Businesses may not get hit quite as hard unless they rely on UPS — as many small businesses do.These supply chain disruptions wouldn’t really be the same as the ones seen over the past few years during the height of the pandemic; the sooner UPS workers get a contract, the sooner packages would get moving again.How did we get here?Negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters union, which represents UPS workers, fell apart this week. A strike could come as early as Aug. 1, right after the union’s contract expires July 31, according to the Teamsters. If that happens, the strike would be one of the largest in U.S. history and would likely throw the U....

Enrique Bradfield Jr. on joining Orioles as No. 17 overall selection: ‘It was meant to be’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:25 GMT

Enrique Bradfield Jr. knows professional baseball will be an adjustment. “The game is fast,” he said.But so is he.Bradfield, the speedy outfielder out of Vanderbilt who the Orioles selected No. 17 overall Sunday night in the first round of the MLB draft, said during his introductory press conference that he’s confident he’ll hit the ground running to begin his professional career in Baltimore’s minor league system.“I have no concerns about going up to the next level and not having success,” Bradfield said. “I’ve been able to adapt to every level I’ve ever been at and be able to produce, and I feel like this one’s going to be no different.”Bradfield, who Baseball America ranked as the 16th-best prospect in the draft, was surprised the Orioles selected him because he didn’t have much communication with the organization during the predraft process. While becoming an Oriole “definitely came as a shock,&#...

James Lewis, suspect in 1982 Tylenol poisonings that killed 7, dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:25 GMT

CAMBRIDGE  — The suspect in the 1982 Tylenol poisonings that killed seven people in the Chicago area and triggered a nationwide scare has died, police confirmed on Monday.Officers, firefighters and EMTs responding to a report of unresponsive person about 4 p.m. Sunday found James Lewis dead in his Cambridge, Massachusetts, home, Cambridge Police Superintendent Frederick Cabral said in a statement. He was 76, police said.“Following an investigation, Lewis’ death was determined to be not suspicious,” the statement said.No one was ever charged in the deaths of seven people who took drugs laced with cyanide. Lewis served more than 12 years in prison for sending an extortion note to Johnson & Johnson, demanding $1 million to “stop the killing.”When he was arrested in 1982 after a nationwide manhunt, he gave investigators a detailed account of how the killer might have operated. Lewis later admitted sending the letter and demanding the money, but he said ...

Yankees to hire Sean Casey as new hitting coach: report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:25 GMT

A new mayor is coming to New York City.The Yankees will hire Sean Casey to be their new lead hitting coach, according to multiple reports. Per the New York Post’s Joel Sherman, Casey’s deal is for the rest of the 2023 season.The club fired Dillon Lawson on Sunday after less than two seasons in the same job. As of Sunday, the Yankees planned on retaining assistant hitting coaches Casey Dykes and Brad Wilkerson.Brian Cashman said that he wanted to venture outside the organization for Lawson’s replacement, and Casey meets that requirement. However, he has plenty of experience working with Aaron Boone, as the two played for the Reds from 1998-2003.Cashman added that Lawson’s replacement would be in “lockstep” with the Yankees manager.While Casey, 49, has 12 years of playing experience with Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Boston, the Willingboro, New Jersey native has not worked as a major league coach before. Rather, he has been working...

Spain rescues 86 people near the Canary Island, but scores of migrants from Senegal remain missing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:25 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Spanish authorities rescued 86 people Monday from a boat near the Canary Islands that appeared to be from Senegal, after an aid group reported that three boats from the African country went missing with 300 people aboard.Spain’s Maritime Rescue Service said it could not confirm that the rescued boat was one of the three reported missing, but told The Associated Press that the vessel was a multi-colored, 20-meter-long (65-foot-long) canoe of the type known in Senegal as a pirogue.Eighty men and six women of sub-Saharan origin were rescued and expected to reach Spanish soil Monday evening, the Spanish agency said. It also said it had alerted boats sailing in Atlantic waters between the Canary Islands and West Africa to be on the lookout for other migrant boats still missing.Helena Maleno Garzon, coordinator for the aid group Walking Borders, which is known as Caminando Fronteras in Spanish, said earlier Monday that the three missing boats had departed Senegal in ...

Belarusian journalist faces up to 6 years in prison for opposition reporting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:25 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A prominent journalist went on trial in Belarus Monday, the latest step in a years-long crackdown on opposition figures, independent journalists and human rights activists.If convicted on the charges of assisting extremist activity, Pavel Mazheika, 45, faces up to six years in prison for his work covering the political opposition.He is accused of working for news outlets including Belsat TV, which broadcasts in Belarusian from its base in neighboring Poland. The Belarusian authorities have labeled Belsat as “extremist.” Journalists and activists in Belarus have faced large-scale repression since the August 2020 vote that handed a sixth term to President Alexander Lukashenko. Following the election, which was rejected as fraudulent by the opposition and the West, Belarus was swept by massive protests, some of which drew more than 100,000 people.Authorities responded with a brutal crackdown. More than 35,000 people were arrested, thousands were beaten by police...

Lightning sparks about 200 new wildfires across B.C. as heat grips Interior

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:25 GMT

VANCOUVER — Hundreds of lightning strikes in many parts of British Columbia almost tripled the number of active wildfires in the province over the weekend, with most burning in central and northern B.C.The BC Wildfire Service is reporting more than 300 fires, with 87 spotted in the last 24 hours and almost 200 of the total number ranked as out of control.The wildfire service is bracing for challenging conditions, with lightning storms still in the forecast for most of the week, as well as heat warnings or above-average temperatures through the central Interior.Of the 13 blazes listed as “fires of note,” all but two are located in the Prince George and Northwest fire centres, and the wildfire service says 11 have prompted at least one evacuation order, although no major communities are threatened.Some of the fires are threatening rural highways, including Highway 27 south of Fort St. James and Highway 77 north of Fort Nelson, while flames first spotted last Thursday near ...