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He’s running! Putin wants to be Russian president again

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:32 GMT

Who could have seen this coming?! Russian President Vladimir Putin is on track to maintain his grip on the country’s top job until the end of the decade, declaring his intent to win an election even his own officials have said is more or less a formality given the near-total clampdown on domestic opposition. The 71-year-old confirmed he will seek another six years in office during a vote scheduled for March 17 next year, state-owned news outlet TASS reported after Putin spoke at an event in the Kremlin on Friday.In an interview over the summer, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov revealed his boss “will be reelected next year with more than 90 percent of the vote” because Russia’s presidential election “is not really democracy, it is costly bureaucracy.” Peskov later claimed he’d been misinterpreted and meant the vote was a done deal for reasons of Putin’s popularity alone. Putin was first elected as Russian president in 2000 and, other than a break when...

Russia launches new winter missile barrage at Kyiv

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:32 GMT

Russia bombarded Ukraine on Friday, firing cruise missiles at Kyiv for the first time in months and targeting infrastructure facilities.A total of seven Russian jets fired 19 X-101/X-555 cruise missiles at Ukraine from the Saratov region of southwestern Russia, the Ukrainian Air Force reported Friday. Fourteen of the missiles were shot down but some struck targets.“Some of the enemy missiles were aimed at infrastructure facilities in the Dnipro region” while others were aimed toward Kyiv, the air force said.In the Kyiv region all Russian missiles were shot down, Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration, said in a statement.  “After a long pause of 79 days, the enemy began to use strategic aviation again for attacks on peaceful cities,” Popko said. However, falling debris damaged several houses and a gas pipe, the Kyiv region’s police reported.In November, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Russia will increase missile strikes on Ukrai...

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will seek re-election in 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:32 GMT

(CNN) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says he will seek re-election in March 2024, in a move that could see him retain power until at least 2030.Putin made the announcement after a ceremony at the Kremlin, the official residence of the Russian president, TASS said.Putin will bid for his fifth presidential term at the elections, set to take place on March 17, 2024, as he aims to solidify his continuous hold on power as head of state or prime minister for more than two decades.The upcoming elections will also mark the first time that residents of the occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, annexed by Russia during the conflict, will participate in the presidential elections.The international community previously condemned local elections in these regions, organized by Russian-backed officials, as a sham.The Kremlin has not yet released an official statement on Putin’s candidacy.

Temp Trend Up… Storm Ahead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:32 GMT

While it’s not quite as cold this morning as yesterday morning, we still have a chill in the air with temps near 20 outside of Boston and around 30 in the city. With very little wind in place, it’s an easy cold to handle. Temps this afternoon rebound into the lower 40s, under light winds and a mix of sun and clouds. A nice seasonable December day to end the workweek. The temp trend is up through the weekend, peaking late Sunday into Monday morning. It’ll stay dry Saturday into Sunday morning, but we’ll likely have scattered showers start to kick in mid to late afternoon Sunday, especially inland. Sunday night into Monday morning is the main concern for a potent storm moving through. As southerly winds increase Sunday night, temps stay warm, near 60. A lot of moisture moves in from the west, with downpours, thunder and strong winds predawn Monday, through most of the morning commute. Rain totals run 1-3″ across Southern New England and winds will gusts 4...

CWB Financial Group reports Q4 profit up from year ago, raises quarterly dividend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:32 GMT

EDMONTON — CWB Financial Group raised its dividend as it reported its fourth-quarter profit rose compared with a year ago.The Edmonton-based bank says it will pay a quarterly dividend of 34 cents per share, an increase of a penny.The higher payment to shareholders came as CWB says its common shareholders’ net income totalled $76.8 million or 80 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Oct. 31, up from $67.7 million or 72 cents per diluted share a year earlier.Revenue totalled $291.8 million, up from $279.8 million in the same quarter last year.CWB reported a provision for credit losses of $9.8 million for its fourth quarter compared with $12.2 million in the same quarter a year ago.On an adjusted basis, CWB says it earned 94 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 88 cents per share a year earlier.“We expect to maintain strong financial results in fiscal 2024 against continued volatility in economic and market conditions,” CWB chie...

Man fatally shot by police at Newmarket apartment; SIU investigating

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:32 GMT

The province’s police watchdog is investigating a police-involved shooting in Newmarket that left a man dead on Thursday night.York Regional Police officers were called to an apartment on Crowder Boulevard, near Leslie and Mulock, around 10:30 p.m. for a domestic disturbance.The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) say officers found a 37-year-old man in a stairwell of the building. The man was shot following an interaction with police.The man was pronounced dead at the scene.The SIU has assigned five investigators and three forensic investigators to the case. A post-mortem is scheduled for Saturday.The SIU is an independent agency that investigates the conduct of police officers that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault or the discharge of a firearm at a person.

Greek soccer matches postponed after clashes leave police officer in critical condition

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:32 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — This weekend’s top-level soccer matches in Greece have been postponed following serious clashes involving sports fans that left a police officer in critical condition after he was hit by a flare.Greek league organizers said weekend matches would be rescheduled after it failed to fill referee positions for key matches.The decision announced Friday followed a series of violent sport-related incidents and came hours after police detained more than 400 people following the riots outside a volleyball stadium in Athens.Violent groups of soccer fans often choose other sports where their clubs are represented, and have a lower level of policing, to carry out attacks.“The perpetrators of these horrendous crimes have nothing to do with sport. … They are common criminals who threaten and sometimes take human lives and destroy property,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. The latest clashes occurred during a volleyball match between the city’s two larg...

Woman dead after alleged homicide in East Gwillimbury

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:32 GMT

York police’s homicide unit is investigating after a woman has died after an altercation in East Gwillimbury on Thursday night.Police responded to a call at approximately 9:55 p.m. last night for an assault at a home on Davis Drive east of Warden Avenue.Allegedly there was an altercation with several people that occurred inside the home, and a woman in her 30’s was found on scene with vital signs absent. Paramedics say she was possibly suffocated, she was transported to hospital where she was pronounced dead.Police say it is an isolated incident and there is no threat to public safety. There is no word on anyone in custody.

Man in 30s injured in shooting at Scarborough tow yard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:32 GMT

Police are searching for a white car after an overnight shooting at a tow yard in Scarborough that left a man with serious injuries.Emergency crews were called to the area of Birchmount Road and St. Clair Avenue East around 2 a.m. Friday for reports someone had been shot.Officers located a man in his 30s with gunshot wounds at a tow yard in the area.Paramedics say the man was rushed to hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.Police say the suspect, or suspects, left the area in a white car before officers arrived.

Crowds line Dublin streets for funeral procession of The Pogues singer Shane MacGowan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:16:32 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Thousands of people lined the streets of Dublin on Friday to say goodbye to The Pogues front man Shane MacGowan as his funeral procession wound through the Irish capital.MacGowan died Nov. 30 at the age of 65 after a lifetime of drinking, carousing and writing songs that fused Irish tradition with the spirit of punk.Crowds applauded as a horse-drawn glass-sided carriage bore MacGowan’s coffin, draped in an Irish tricolor, through the streets, and some people sang the folk song “Dirty Old Town,” recorded by The Pogues in the 1980s. A marching band struck up “Fairytale of New York,” The Pogues’ most famous song.Many mourners said they had vivid memories of the band’s rowdy performances.“I remember the first time I saw The Pogues in the Hammersmith Odeon in 1985,” said Aidan Grimes, 60. “It is imprinted in my mind forever, just the madness and mayhem, the raucous nature of his singing and the music they were playing.“Through the years he evolved into a great poet and he w...