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EU failed to tackle corruption in Parliament, MEPs say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:36 GMT

BRUSSELS — One year into the biggest corruption scandal ever to hit the European Parliament and the Qatargate questions keep coming. Members of the European Parliament on Wednesday spent an hour debating the cash-for-influence allegations during a debate in Strasbourg, with many suggesting they’re unsatisfied with the EU’s response so far. In December 2022, police launched a series of raids across Brussels, rounding up key suspects including high profile political figures, and seizing bags of cash. Suspects were later handed preliminary charges, accused of taking cash or gifts in exchange for doing the bidding of Qatar, Morocco and Mauritania in what became known as Qatargate.Parliament’s authorities have taken some steps to tighten the rules over lobbying and influence in EU democracy. But a number of MEPs used the debate in the Parliament on Wednesday to voice concerns that not enough has been done. “This whole scandal has sullied us all,” Karima Delli from t...

Estonia builds new fence on Russian border

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:36 GMT

VÕRU, Estonia — Estonia is shoring up its border with Russia, this week completing a 40-kilometer fence along its southern frontier with its giant neighbor.“Our ambition is a high-tech modern border infrastructure,” Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets told POLITICO during Tuesday’s inauguration ceremony, adding that once it’s finished in 2025, “the EU’s eastern frontier running along the Estonian border should be equipped with the most advanced security and drone surveillance systems.” Estonia wants to beef up its border security as worries grow about Russia’s unfriendly actions toward other EU countries. Finland shut its border crossings after accusing Russia of driving migrants and asylum seekers to the frontier to sow discord as payback for the Nordic country’s joining the NATO military alliance. Two of those crossings are now being reopened, but Helsinki is still wary that Moscow will try to weaponize migrant flows. Rus...

Bulgaria moves to end Russia sanctions opt-out as pressure mounts

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:36 GMT

BRUSSELS — Bulgarian lawmakers on Wednesday took the first step toward ending a sanctions exemption that has raised millions of euros for Russia, bowing to growing calls for action. The move, while previously planned, came shortly after POLITICO reported that Bulgaria had imported Russian oil above a G7 and EU price cap from August to October, netting €430 million in direct taxes to the Kremlin. The trade was legal because of Bulgaria’s one-of-a-kind exemption to the EU’s ban on Russian seaborne oil sanctions imports. The EU granted Bulgaria the opt-out to insulate the country from dramatic fuel price spikes. But the loophole has also allowed Moscow to profit handsomely. In total, the exemption has led to €2 billion in export revenues for Russia since the sanctions kicked in, resulting in an estimated €1 billion in taxes for Moscow, POLITICO reported last month.Following that report, Bulgaria’s government announced plans to end its sanctions opt-out on March 1 inst...

GLX Repair Work Might Need A Second Extension

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:36 GMT

Contractors responsible for fixing narrow rails on the MBTA’s newest stretch of tracks requested a second extension for their project that could push its endpoint into the new year, the agency’s top boss said Wednesday.MBTA General Manager Phil Eng said his team has not yet approved the latest proposal for more work to widen rails across the 4.4-mile Green Line Extension, more than two-thirds of which are too close together.Green Line Extension Constructors, the consortium of contractors that built the tracks and is now tasked with resolving the problems, was unable to complete repairs on the initial timeline that involved 14 nights of work.Eng said once GLXC requested its first extension, T officials told contractors to come up with “a new staffing plan” including “the level of supervision that will be there.” Firms increased the number of employees on site from 14 to about 30, he said, adding that “the production levels have improved.̶...

Massachusetts supervised injection sites would slash opioid overdose deaths: Department of Public Health

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:36 GMT

Supervised injection sites would help reduce opioid overdose deaths in the Bay State, according to state health officials as drug fatalities continue to remain elevated amid an unrelenting opioid epidemic.A new Massachusetts Department of Public Health report has found that “overdose prevention centers” in the Bay State would help cut down on the number of local opioid overdoses and deaths. This comes as DPH reported on Wednesday that more than 2,300 overdose deaths occurred in the state during a recent one-year span.Overdose prevention centers, which have operated for decades in other countries like Canada and Australia, are sites where people can use drugs under the supervision of trained staff — who can administer overdose reversal medication, also known as Narcan.No overdose death has ever been reported at a sanctioned overdose prevention center, as highlighted in the DPH report.“We know most overdose deaths occur in private and go unwitnessed,” sai...

Cheers to boilo, a homemade Yuletide brew that’s part of coal region history

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:36 GMT

Ron Devlin | Pottsville Republican HeraldWhen an old family recipe for boilo recently surfaced, it wasn’t long before cousins Ryan Twardzik and Paul Domalakes whipped up a batch of the potent holiday drink.“We made it for the first time the week before Thanksgiving,” said Domalakes, “and served it at a family gathering.”The rediscovery of the recipe, a rare 100-year-old formula that includes the aromatic spice cardamom, reestablished a link to the northern Schuylkill County family’s past.“It was a connection we didn’t even know existed,” said Domalakes, 31, a production supervisor at a seed company in Pottsville.Making boilo, a holiday tradition for many families, is an integral part of coal region culture and heritage. Immigrant miners from Lithuania and Poland are credited with developing the brew in the late 1800s and early 1900s. While it is a derivative of the Polish honey liqueur krupnik — krupnikas in Lithuanian — boilo has a character all its own.In her book “No Wrong Way to...

Recipe: French Apple Cake is a festive dessert or snack

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:36 GMT

It’s no secret that I love apple desserts. This custardy, apple-rich cake is well worth the effort. The small apple slices are microwaved prior to being added to a portion of the batter. To ensure that the apple slices soften fully, microwave them until they are pliable but not completely soft. To test them, try to snap one or two in half. If they snap in half, they are too firm; microwave for an additional 30 seconds and test again.Although the cake is delicious served warm, it is still scrumptious at room temperature. I will happily make it the day before Christmas and serve it the next day with a dollop of whipped cream next to each serving.French Apple CakeYield: 8 to 10 servingsINGREDIENTSVegetable oil spray for spraying pan1 1/2 pound Granny Smith apples (about 4 medium size), peeled, cored, cut into 8 wedges, and sliced 1/8-inch thick crosswise1 tablespoon Calvados; see cook’s notes1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided use1 cup plus 1...

Yannick Ngakoue will miss the rest of the Chicago Bears season with a broken ankle, forcing a resurgent pass rush to adjust

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:36 GMT

The surging Chicago Bears defense will be without defensive end Yannick Ngakoue for the remainder of the season.Ngakoue needs season-ending surgery to repair a broken ankle suffered in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 28-13 win over the Detroit Lions at Soldier Field. A unit that has made tremendous gains since the acquisition of fellow edge rusher Montez Sweat now must adjust.General manager Ryan Poles signed Ngakoue to a one-year, $10.5 million contract after training camp started, hoping to prop up what was a nonexistent pass rush last season. Ngakoue leads the Bears with four sacks, just ahead of Sweat, who has 3 1/2 since joining the team via trade in Week 9. Defensive tackle Justin Jones also has 3 1/2.“Really helped our young guys the entire year,” coach Matt Eberflus said Wednesday about Ngakoue, “and just want to really credit him for that and really appreciate him being a great teammate.”It’s a significant loss for the Bears, who have 11 s...

It’s a ‘silly notion’ that Trump’s Georgia case should pause for the election, Willis tells the AP

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:36 GMT

By KATE BRUMBACK (Associated Press)ATLANTA (AP) — The district attorney prosecuting Donald Trump over efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia says she has a duty to file charges against anyone who violates the law and that it’s a “silly notion” that the former president’s case should be paused just because he is running for office.In an interview this week with The Associated Press, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis declined to say whether she or her team has been in touch with U.S. Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, who has filed federal charges in an election interference case against Trump in Washington. She also raised the possibility that more of Trump’s 18 co-defendants in the Georgia case could take plea deals, further paring down the number who could go on trial with him.Willis is seeking an August trial date for Trump and his co-defendants, a time frame that would put the current front-runner for the Republi...

Psychedelic drugs: Follow the money as investors seek to replace Prozac, Zoloft and other drugs

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:36 GMT

The golden road to pharmaceutical riches can quickly become a rocky wilderness trail. Chemical compounds that hit a target in the lab often fall short in human studies.But biotech startups, academic scientists and investors say that research into psychedelic drugs starts with a major advantage: These substances are already known to work.The goal is simply to improve upon them – so they’re safer, more effective and faster-acting. Someday, perhaps, psychedelic-like drugs could treat mental illness for a fraction of what it costs to do therapy with conventional tools.RELATED: New psychedelic-like drugs: All treatment, no trip?Three drugs — MDMA, psilocybin, and ketamine — are the furthest along in clinical development for mental health disorders, according to Dr. Boris Heifets of the Stanford University School of Medicine.Investors are already betting tens of millions of dollars, sensing the opportunity to replace drugs like Prozac, Zoloft and other selective serotonin reuptake inhibit...