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Ukraine rejects Bulgarian president’s claims that Kyiv is to be blamed for Russia’s ongoing war

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:45:27 GMT

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Ukraine on Saturday criticized Bulgaria’s pro-Russian president over his remarks that Kyiv is to blame for Russia’s ongoing war and that supplying arms to Ukraine only prolongs the conflict. President Rumen Radev had told reporters on Friday, during a news conference in which he spoke about the recent NATO summit, that he wanted “to make it clear that Ukraine insists on fighting this war.” “But it should also be clear that the bill is paid by the whole of Europe,” he added.The remarks by the pro-Russian leader are part of his continuing efforts to keep Bulgaria out of joint EU military support for Ukraine.The Embassy of Ukraine in Sofia in a statement on Saturday said Kyiv was making all possible efforts to restore peace and rejected Radev’s stance that supplying arms to Ukraine fuels and prolongs the war. Blaming the war on Ukraine, which “was treacherously attacked by its northern neighbor, is one of the most common supporting theses of Russian propaga...

Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu rushed to hospital, his office says he is in ‘good condition’

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:45:27 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was rushed to a hospital on Saturday, but was in “good condition” as he undergoes a medical evaluation, his office said.The Israeli leader’s office said he was being treated at Israel’s Sheba Hospital, near the coastal city of Tel Aviv, but gave no further details.Walla, a leading Israeli news site, quoted an unnamed official close to Netanyahu as saying he had fainted but was fully conscious at the hospital. The report could not immediately be confirmed.Netanyahu, 73, is Israel’s longest serving leader. He has served multiple terms stretching over 15 years in office. His current far-right government, a collection of religious and ultranationalist parties, took office last December.

Tenants at two west-end buildings staging rent strike rally Saturday

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:45:27 GMT

Hundreds of tenants at two west-end properties are taking part in a “Rally for Fair Rent” today. Residents at 33 King Street and 22 John Street have not paid rent since June 1 citing mismanagement by corporate landlord Dream Unlimited and increases they say are three times higher than the buildings’ rent control guidelines. Provincial guidelines allow landlords of rent-controlled buildings to increase rents for most existing tenants based on the annual rent increase guidelines, which in 2023 is set at 2.5 per cent. The rent increase guideline for 2024 will remain unchanged.The cap does not apply to rental units first occupied after Nov. 15, 2018.Landlords can also apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board for increases above the rate set by the province.Some tenants have reported rent increases of 22 per cent over the last five years. A spokesperson for the corporate landlord told CityNews earlier this month they had reached out to tenants to develo...

South Korea to expand support for Ukraine as President Yoon Suk Yeol makes a surprise visit

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:45:27 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Saturday, offering support for the invaded country in its war with Russia while demonstrating his own nation’s cooperation with NATO. Yoon’s office said he traveled to Ukraine with his wife, Kim Keon Hee, following trips to Lithuania for a NATO summit and to Poland. It’s his first visit since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.Yoon toured Bucha and Irpin, two small cities near Kyiv where bodies of civilians were found in the streets and mass graves after Russian troops retreated from the capital region last year. He laid flowers at a monument to the country’s war dead, before he sat down for a summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.South Korea, a key U.S. ally in Asia, joined international sanctions against Russia and has provided Ukraine with humanitarian and financial support to Ukraine. But the Asian nation, a growing arms exporter, hasn’t provided wea...

Wagner mercenaries entering Belarus as Minsk announces ‘road map’ for joint military drills

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:45:27 GMT

A large convoy carrying fighters from the Wagner private army was spotted entering Belarus from Russia early Saturday, a monitoring group reported after the country’s Defense Ministry said it planned for the mercenaries and Minsk’s own armed forces to conduct joint military drills. The independent monitoring group Belaruski Hajun, which tracks the movements of armed forces in Belarus, said at least 60 trucks, buses and other large vehicles crossed into the eastern European country accompanied by Belarusian police. The group did not immediately provide photos or videos of the vehicles but said they had license plates from Russian-occupied areas of eastern Ukraine, where Wagner mercenaries fought alongside Russian troops until a short-lived mutiny last month. The convoy headed toward a military base outside Osipovichi, a town 230 kilometers (142 miles) north of the Ukrainian border. Satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press this month showed rows of tent-like struc...

Greek police searching for killers of a North Macedonian businessman in a holiday resort

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:45:27 GMT

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A businessman from North Macedonia was fatally shot on Saturday at a holiday resort in northern Greece, and police were searching for two gunmen, officials said. Two masked men riding a motorcycle approached a villa in the resort of Hanioti, about 105 kilometers (65 miles) southeast of Thessaloniki, which the 39-year-old businessman was renting along with friends, police said. They parked outside, entered the villa and shot the man and his friend with at least 19 bullets, police said. The businessman, who was not identified, died instantly, and his 45-year-old friend was hospitalized with serious wounds, police say.The businessman, an ethnic Albanian, has been described as either a casino or game arcade owner in North Macedonia. Police officers, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak officially about a case under investigation, told The Associated Press they believed it was a contract killing. Costas Kantouris, The As...

Ford government plans to recoup COVID-19 loans to province’s doctors

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:45:27 GMT

The Ontario government says it plans to recoup loan payments issued to doctors at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic to cover their increased costs and loss of revenue from lower patient volumes.In a memo issued to the Ontario Medical Association on Friday, which was obtained by The Canadian Press, the province says it is “critical” to recover more than $521 million in outstanding loan payments in order to fund other priorities.Beginning next month, the Ministry of Health will deduct pay from physicians’ monthly OHIP payments over a one-year period, rather than the original five-month timeline it first proposed, with no interest charged.The ministry says it was clear when it launched the COVID-19 Advance Payment Program in April 2020 that monthly loan payments doled out to eligible health-care providers would need to be paid back.Since loan repayments began in April 2021, it says it has recovered nearly $139 million out of the total $660 million provided.But after...

Family of missing Alabama woman say they 'heard her scream' through the phone before she disappeared

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:45:27 GMT

HOOVER, Ala. (WIAT) – Officials in Alabama are searching for a 25-year-old woman who went missing after calling 911 to report seeing a child walking alone along the interstate.A $25,000 reward is being offered for the safe return of Carlethia "Carlee" Russell, who called police to report a toddler walking on the side of I-459 around 9:30 pm on Thursday, according to the Hoover Police Department. Russell then called a family member to tell them she was stopping to check on the child, police said."The family member lost contact with the caller, but the line remained open," Lt. Daniel Lowe of the Hoover Police said at a news conference on Friday.(Hoover Police Department)Upon arrival, police located Russell's car and some of her belongings nearby, but did not find her or the child. The also had not received any reports of a missing child.A witness, meanwhile, had reported seeing a man and a gray vehicle near the area where Russell reported seeing the toddler, Lowe said.Lowe shared addi...

Why are songs shorter now?

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:45:27 GMT

(NEXSTAR) — It's not just you — the songs you hear on the radio or stream on your favorite music app are shorter than they used to be. Historically, popular songs aimed to be at least 3 minutes long, a guiding principle known as the "3-Minute Rule." This goal length dates back to vinyl records, when artists hoped to have at least 3 minutes of material to fill out a 45 rpm disc, also known as a "single." As explained by Vox, singles were cheaper to create and cheaper to buy, so artists were incentivized to adhere to the rule. The Beastie Boys even made a song about it. Video of 11-year-old Texas boy looking for friends goes viral But these days, many popular songs don't even come close to 3 minute length.Some recent Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers, Morgan Wallen's "Last Night" and SZA's "Kill Bill clock in at 2:43 and 2:33, respectively.Compare that to this same week in 2003, when Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love" had just begun its eight-week run atop the Billboard Hot 100. The pop classi...

Weekend Break: Millennium Art Fair

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:45:27 GMT

Join WGN Weekend Break with Glenn Marshall at Chicago's Millenium Art Fair.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.