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I was playing air guitar! Belgian minister hits back in peeing scandal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:28 GMT

I wasn’t pretending to pee; I was just playing air guitar.That’s what Belgian Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne — widely known as “Quickie” — told reporters Tuesday evening, in response to the “Pipigate” scandal which has dominated Belgian headlines following his 50th birthday party last month.Three of Van Quickenborne’s guests, invited to his house to celebrate the occasion, were caught on surveillance cameras urinating on police vans parked by the minister’s home.Van Quickenborne’s office initially released a statement saying the minister “disapproves of this behavior,” and that he was not “present” at the time of the incident or aware that it had happened.But video footage released by Belgian public broadcaster VRT this week seemed to dispute his claim, as it showed the minister walking outside at around 4 a.m., standing on the sidewalk, leaning back and “pretending to pee,” according to VRT.Van Quickenborne has since come forward with his own...

PMQs scorecard: Unruly pupils Starmer and Sunak trade blows over collapsing schools

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:28 GMT

Prime minister’s questions: a shouty, jeery, very occasionally useful advert for British politics. Here’s what you need to know from today’s session in POLITICO’s weekly run-through.What they sparred about: Schools, concrete, and money. Whose fault is it that 156 schools have dangerous RAAC concrete? Labour says the Conservatives, the Conservatives say Labour. Welcome back, folks. What Westminster is on about: Concrete is the word of the day, with most of Westminster also talking about the issue of crumbling school buildings. The Department for Education on Wednesday finally published the list of schools with potentially dodgy structures, and Starmer named many of them in the house.Biggest Labour cheer of the day: Starmer described the scandal as something “you’d expect from cowboy builders” not “the cowboys running the country.” And the crowd goes wild.Second biggest Labour cheer of the day: Starmer noted that the education secretary (of telling a reporter she’s “d...

Police investigating after man shot in Everett

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:28 GMT

Police are investigating a shooting in Everett overnight that left a man hospitalized, officials said.Officers responding to a reported shooting near the intersection of Main Street and Pierce Avenue could be seen searching through a single unit of a multi-family home. The man who was shot was taken to a nearby hospital with undisclosed injuries.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Police identify motorcyclist killed in crash in Hingham

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:28 GMT

Hingham police have identified the Weymouth man who was killed in a crash while riding his motorcycle earlier this week. Officers responding to a reported crash involving an SUV and a motorcycle on Beal Street around 4:50 p.m. Monday found Alfredo Aureliz Galarza, 32, injured, according to Hingham police. He was taken to South Shore Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The driver and passenger in the SUV were not injured.A preliminary investigation indicates Galarza was riding north on Beal Street when he went off the road and hit a utility pole, sending the motorcycle into the side of the SUV. Police say no charges will be filed in connection with the crash.

Greek ferry captain, 3 seamen face homicide charges over death of tardy passenger pushed into sea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:28 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A Greek island ferry captain and three of his crew faced homicide charges Wednesday over the death of a tardy passenger who was pushed by crew members into the sea as he tried to force his way onto the departing vessel in the country’s main port of Piraeus.The incident captured on a video and shared on social media sparked anger across the maritime country. It showed the passenger running onto the Blue Horizon ferry’s loading ramp, which was still down and in place on the quay, as the ship had cast off its moorings and was about to leave. He tried to push past two crew members on the ramp who stopped him and manhandled him onto the quay.When the man once again stepped onto the ramp, one crew member stopped him and pushed him off as the ferry was departing, with the man vanishing into the growing gap between the vessel and the quay.The crew then appeared to do nothing to help him, and the ferry continued sailing towards the island of Crete before being ord...

ASEAN eyes Canada as anchor of peace in Indo-Pacific region

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:28 GMT

JAKARTA — Some southeast Asian leaders see Canada as an anchor for peace in the Indo-Pacific region, as they launch a new strategic partnership at a time when tensions continue to mount over territorial claims in the South China Sea. “As a strategic partner, I hope Canada can become an anchor for peace and stability in the region that respects international law, and that encourages co-operation that are more concrete and inclusive, in particular in the Indo-Pacific region,” said Indonesian President Joko Widodo as he welcomed Canada into a new strategic partnership on Wednesday.The partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is considered a symbolic gesture that reflects Canada’s expanded presence in the Indo-Pacific region. Trudeau, in a speech to ASEAN leaders Wednesday, said it shows the progress being made on a free-trade agreement between Canada and the 10-nation bloc.“We share clear commitments to peace and stability, openness and transp...

Blinken is expected to announce $1 billion in new U.S. funding for Ukraine during his visit to Kyiv

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:28 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited Ukraine’s capital Wednesday where he was expected to announce more than $1 billion in new American funding in a display of Washington’s unflagging support for Kyiv’s fight.Blinken also aimed to assess Ukraine’s 3-month-old counteroffensive and signal continued U.S. backing as some Western allies express worries about Kyiv’s slow progress in driving out Russian forces after 18 months of war, according to U.S. officials.“We want to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, not only to succeed in the counteroffensive but has what it needs for the long-term, to make sure that it has a strong deterrent,” Blinken said during the visit. “We’re also determined to continue to work with our partners as they build and rebuild a strong economy, strong democracy.”Blinken was set to pledge more than $1 billion in new U.S. funding, a senior State Department official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the...

BTS’ Jung Kook to join Global Citizen Festival lineup to make one of his first US solo appearances

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:28 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Jung Kook of BTS will join the Global Citizen Festival lineup, making one of his first live solo appearances at the Sept. 23 concert in New York’s Central Park.The record-setting K-Pop singer, whose debut solo single “Seven” hit No. 1 in the United States and around the world this summer, will join Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Anitta and Megan Thee Stallion as headliners of the event designed to encourage supporters, especially those in Gen Z, to take action on extreme poverty, gender inequality, climate change and other issues.“The festival sheds light on important causes and drives action and I’m happy to take part in it,” Jung Kook said in a statement. “I can’t wait to perform in front of many people at the Great Lawn in Central Park.”The Global Citizen Festival — which will also include performances from K-pop sensation Stray Kids, singer-songwriter Conan Gray, rapper-DJ D-Nice, and actor-singer Sofia Carson — provides free tickets to the event in exch...

Stock market today: Wall Street poised to open with losses; Roku rises on layoffs announcement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:28 GMT

Wall Street is on track for a modestly lower open Wednesday in a holiday-shortened week with so far little in the way of market-moving news.Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials were both off 0.2% before the bell.Coming off the Labor Day holiday in the U.S., investors have few major economic reports to look forward to this week, while the latest round of corporate earnings is essentially finished.The Institute for Supply Management releases its latest report on the U.S. services sector later Wednesday. The service sector employs most Americans and is a big component of the economy. Its health could provide more insight into how inflation is affecting consumer spending, which has been stronger than expected under the weight of extended inflation.Roku shares tumbled 13% in off-hours trading after the streaming company said it is cutting about 10% of its employees, or 360 people, as it looks to lower expenses. Major airlines are down after several predicted rising costs f...

A former Mossad chief says Israel is enforcing an apartheid system in the West Bank

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:28 GMT

HERZLIYA, Israel (AP) — A former head of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Israel is enforcing an apartheid system in the West Bank, joining a tiny but growing list of retired officials to endorse an idea that remains largely on the fringes of Israeli discourse and international diplomacy.Tamir Pardo becomes the latest former senior official to have concluded that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank amounts to apartheid, a reference to the system of racial separation in South Africa that ended in 1994.Leading rights groups in Israel and abroad and Palestinians have accused Israel and its 56-year occupation of the West Bank of morphing into an apartheid system that they say gives Palestinians second-class status and is designed to maintain Jewish hegemony from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.A handful of former Israeli leaders, diplomats and security men have warned that Israel risks becoming an apartheid state, ...