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Baltics blast China diplomat for questioning sovereignty of ex-Soviet states

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

France and the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia are asking Beijing for answers after China’s top envoy to France questioned the independence of former Soviet countries like Ukraine. Lu Shaye, China’s ambassador to France, said in an interview on Friday with French television network LCI that former Soviet countries have no “effective status” in international law.Asked whether Crimea belongs to Ukraine, Shaye said that “it depends how you perceive the problem,” arguing that it was historically part of Russia and offered to Ukraine by former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.“In international law, even these ex-Soviet Union countries do not have the status, the effective [status] in international law, because there is no international agreement to materialize their status as a sovereign country,” he said. The comments sparked outrage among Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia — three former Soviet countries. Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkēvičs said i...

Cedric Mullins quietly capitalized on one of MLB’s new rules. The Orioles’ speedster expects to do it again.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

In the Orioles’ clubhouse before Saturday’s matchup with the Detroit Tigers, Cedric Mullins took on fellow outfielder Ryan McKenna in a game of chess. A night earlier, he won a metaphorical match with Tigers right-hander Michael Lorenzen.One of baseball’s best base-stealers, Mullins took an extra bag against Lorenzen on Friday without needing to put that skill fully on display. Among a collection of rule changes introduced this season, Major League Baseball now limits pitchers to two unsuccessful disengagements — either pickoff attempts or steps off the rubber — per plate appearance. A third results in an automatic balk, advancing runners by one base.“A guy picking off five, six times, it wears you out,” Mullins said. “You’re hitting the ground, you’re mentally engaged every single time, and you know the purpose of them doing that was to make you not want to run because you might be physically tired, mentally tired, whateve...

Howie Carr: They don’t make mobsters like Zip Connolly any more

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

John “Zip” Connolly is apparently one of those hoodlums who cares what his obituary says about him after he’s dead and gone.At age 82, the infamous ex-FBI agent seems obsessed with clearing at least one indelible stain off his remarkably squalid (even by Boston G-man standards) underworld career.He’d prefer not to have “Mob hitman” in the first sentence of his death notice. There’s not much he can do about the racketeering conviction, or all his tawdry connections to the Bulger Crime Family.But “Mob hitman” is a bit much.Sadly, Zip has failed yet again to remove “assassin” from his c.v., after a pathetically feeble attempt in Florida to clear his name.A state appeals court in Florida this month denied Zip “post-conviction relief” from his second-degree murder conviction. He was found guilty of setting up the 1982 gangland hit on a Boston businessman who was preparing to testify against Zip and his serial-killing, cocaine-dealing gangland bosses, Whitey Bulger and Stevie Flemmi.Zip r...

ASK IRA: Can Duncan Robinson and Kyle Lowry do it again for Heat?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

Q: Ira, you could see the vision Pat Riley had with Duncan Robinson and Kyle Lowry. Kyle settled the team when Jimmy Butler was out and Duncan did his 3-point thing. – Taylor.A: Agree and agree. Both offered the exact type of complementary performance you need to win, especially in the playoffs. And if both were being paid like complementary performers in a salary-cap league, say along the lines of a Caleb Martin, then no issue. But Duncan is being paid like a starter, which requires more than the occasional contribution. And Kyle is being paid like a star, which means more than coming off the bench in relief of Gabe Vincent. That’s not to minimize the contributions of either in Saturday’s victory over the Bucks. Both played very well. Just now, do it again. And again.Q: Could it be that the Milwaukee Bucks outsmarted themselves by holding out Giannis Antetokounmpo in Game 3? – Roland, Borrego Springs, Calif.A: Not if he was injured and injured to the point t...

NFL notes: Is the Patriots’ interest in Kentucky QB Will Levis real?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

A pre-draft visit by Kentucky quarterback Will Levis? Interest in Florida’s Anthony Richardson?Are the Patriots really in the market for a top-tier quarterback two years after taking Mac Jones with a first-round pick?Probably not.It’s highly unlikely the Patriots will shock the world and take either prospect if one of them slides to 14th overall, and yet, given the current climate in Foxboro, it’s hard to avoid thinking something’s afoot.Yes, there’s due diligence involved, given the possibility one or both of them don’t go in the top 10. So it makes sense for the Patriots to get a better read on Levis and or Richardson if either one drops in their lap or to a competitor. Or, at the very least, show interest to try and increase their leverage if another team wants to trade up.But is it as simple as that?Maybe. But where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.In recent weeks, a lot has been written about Bill Belichick’s refusal to endorse Jones as his No. 1 quarterback. He also p...

Defense attorneys in Karen Read case point to others they say are culpable in death of John O’Keefe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

Karen Read faces charges that she struck the man she loved with her car and left him to die in the cold, but defense attorneys say the death of Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe is anything but her fault.Instead, the defense team’s recent court filings blatantly state, police should be looking to two others present at the party for culpability in O’Keefe’s death.“Ms. Read’s defense is predicated, in no small part, on a third-party culpability defense,” wrote defense attorney Alan Jackson, a Los Angeles-based lawyer who joined the team last September, in an affidavit filed on April 12 that is chockablock with original discovery documents. “[T]he defense has uncovered significant and reliable evidence that not only exculpates Ms. Read, but that inculpates Jennifer McCabe and Brian Albert.”The affidavit was filed in support of a motion requesting all the records related to Albert’s phone, as well as location records related to McCabe’s phone. Other documents show the defense’s forensi...

Top election official in Myanmar assassinated by guerrillas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — A top election official in Myanmar was fatally shot in his car in Yangon, the country’s commercial capital, in the latest attack attributed to militants opposed to military rule.Sai Kyaw Thu, deputy director-general of the military-appointed Union Election Commission, was shot multiple times on Saturday, according to the military’s information office, media reports and a statement of responsibility from an urban guerrilla group.The information office on Sunday said the attack was carried out by the People’s Defense Force, the loosely organized armed wing of the pro-democracy National Unity Government, an underground group that opposes the military-installed government that was established when the army seized power two years ago.Many opposition forces including local People’s Defense Force groups operate autonomously from the National Unity Government but the military labels them all as “terrorists.” A resistance group calling itself “For The Yangon” said it carried o...

RCMP sifting ‘fairly large volume’ of information in Ukraine war crimes probe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

OTTAWA — RCMP Cpl. Kate Walaszczyk honed her policing skills as a homicide investigator, painstakingly reconstructing crime scenes and gathering evidence.She is turning that hard-earned know-how to the global stage, working with other countries to document war crimes and crimes against humanity in the unfolding conflict in Ukraine.Canada is co-operating with partners abroad, including the International Criminal Court, to ensure perpetrators of heinous acts — from rape to mass killings — are held accountable.The focus of the RCMP investigation, launched over a year ago, is collection and preservation of evidence of possible crimes for use in prosecutions, which might take place much later. The Mounties have asked anyone with a Canadian connection who has information about potential war crimes to contact the force through a special web portal.The force is seeking information about acts of violence in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022, and in Crimea or the Donbas region since 2014 to assist ...

South Africa envoy urges Ukraine peace talks, says Canada stance on war ‘shocking’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

OTTAWA — South Africa’s envoy to Ottawa is urging Canada to help broker an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, arguing that sending arms to Kyiv will only prolong a dangerous conflict that is aggravating hunger in developing countries.“We have all the instruments of human agency to stop this war, but we just simply don’t want to,” Rieaz Shaik said.In a wide-ranging interview, he said Russia needs to be held accountable, buturged the Trudeau government to drastically change course on its most central foreign-policy issue.“I just hope they could stop for a moment and reflect (on) how much Canada has contributed to peace in the world. And why throw that away?”South Africa is among 32 countries that have abstained from United Nations votes calling on Russia to end its invasion of Ukraine.While Canada and other G7 countries have said they will support Ukraine for as long as it takes, the majority of the world’s population lives in countries tha...

Minnesota bucks other Midwest states’ anti-transgender trend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:52 GMT

Gender-affirming care for transgender people, particularly transgender youth, has stirred major political debates and actions across the United States this year.It’s a subset of health care that Minnesota medical providers have been practicing for a long time.“I’ve been engaged in trans health since 2003 … and by now, I’ve seen well over 1,500 patients and families, and without a doubt, I can say that this is life-saving care that we are providing,” said Cesar Gonzalez, a clinical health psychologist and clinical director of Mayo Clinic’s Transgender and Intersex Specialty Care Clinic in Rochester, Minn.Several state legislatures have passed or are expected to pass bills prohibiting medical providers from administering gender-affirming care to minors. Last month, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a pair of bills that ban gender-affirming care for minors and restrict trans youth from using school bathrooms that align with their gender identity. South D...