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A Foe turned Friend

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:49:16 GMT

On the face of it, he is a perfect opposition politician - all righteous anger and condemnation when you browse through his social networks or listen to him speaking in front of a rally with his supporters.Igor Dodon, an ex-President of Moldova and one of the country’s most prominent politicians, does not mince words when it comes to bashing the incumbent Maia Sandu or her ruling PAS party whom he accuses of having turned Moldova into a dictatorship. Switching fluently between Russian and Romanian, he tours Moldova calling on his supporters to “send a clear message to the authorities that they are no longer legitimate.” His anti-Western stance has even earned him a reputation as the most pro-Russian politician in Moldova who once came to power by capitalizing on a photograph with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and was Putin’s only foreign guest of honour at a military parade in Moscow in 2017.Mr. Dodon lost to Sandu in a 2020 run-off and has been at the helm of the largest opposition Socia...

Bangladesh in December 1971: ‘The sahibs are crying inside’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:49:16 GMT

As the people of Bangladesh observe one more anniversary of their triumph on the battlefield in 1971, it is only proper that we travel back to the time when the bandwagon of freedom was beginning to move inexorably toward its destined goal- writes Syed Badrul Ahsan.We speak of those tumultuous days of December 1971. We will always reflect on the nature of that great victory that transformed us into a free nation, into masters of our destiny as it were. We will celebrate again as dawn breaks on 16 December this year. We will mourn the three million of our compatriots who gave their lives for the rest of us to live in liberty.And, to be sure, we will not forget the events and incidents which have forever etched December 1971 in our souls. There is that terse announcement made by Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi late in the evening on 3 December, when she informed the world that Pakistan’s air force had carried out raids on Indian air bases and that the two countries were now at war...

Begin estate planning for parents before you have to

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:49:16 GMT

Question: Our parents’ Bay Area home will be sold someday. I have three siblings. We grew up in the home. My parents are alive and well. However, they never created a trust for their estate. These are sensitive subjects. Money and death. Topics that my family avoids discussing.What ramifications will adult children face in our situation?Answer: During my career, on countless occasions, I heard that someone’s deceased parent(s) “Refused to pay for estate planning.” They were half right. They will pay while alive or deceased. It is an informed or uninformed decision. As attorneys often joke for those lacking a trust, “The state has an estate plan for you. It is called the probate process.”You or your siblings collectively should offer to pay for an elder law attorney to create a trust. Pay now or pay later. If not, one or all of you might hire a probate attorney. Assets are accessible to a successor trustee. Assets are frozen during probate. The family home’s equity can enhance the qu...

Cottle: Was it all worth it, Kevin McCarthy?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:49:16 GMT

 And now, the end is nearAnd so I face the final curtain.Come on! You know the Sinatra classic. Croon along with me as we emotionally gird ourselves for the closing act of Kevin McCarthy’s long, disappointing stint in Congress.Having spent most of 2023 as a punching bag for his conference’s right flank, McCarthy has finally reached his pain threshold. At the end of this month, he announced Dec. 6, he will pack up his toys and flee the House, having made history as the first speaker booted from the job.But do not cry for the former young gun. He has too few regrets to mention. As he bravely cheered his own performance in a Wall Street Journal essay announcing his departure, “I go knowing I left it all on the field — as always, with a smile on my face.”Boy, did he. In his fevered pursuit of the gavel, McCarthy time and again prostrated himself before the altar of Donald Trump, sacrificing basically all the things that matter: his dignity, his integrity, his values (such as ...

Billionaire-backed think tank played key role in Biden’s AI order

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:49:16 GMT

The RAND Corporation — a prominent international think tank that has recently been tied to a growing influence network backed by tech billionaires — played a key role in drafting President Joe Biden’s new executive order on artificial intelligence, according to an AI researcher with knowledge of the order’s drafting and a recording of an internal RAND meeting obtained by POLITICO.The provisions advanced by RAND in the October executive order included a sweeping set of reporting requirements placed on the most powerful AI systems, ostensibly designed to lessen the technology’s catastrophic risks. Those requirements hew closely to the policy priorities pursued by Open Philanthropy, a group that pumped over $15 million into RAND this year.Financed by billionaire Facebook co-founder and Asana CEO Dustin Moskovitz and his wife Cari Tuna, Open Philanthropy is a major funder of causes associated with “effective altruism” — an ideology, made famous by disgraced FTX found...

Europe must boost military capacity to counter Russia threat: German defense chief

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:49:16 GMT

Europe must ramp up its security and defense capabilities to respond to the threat that Russia poses, as the U.S. will likely reduce its involvement on the Continent in the coming years, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Saturday.“Regardless of who becomes the next [U.S.] president … there will be a, hopefully only moderate, reduction in American involvement in Europe,” Pistorius said in an interview with Welt am Sonntag. “This means that we Europeans must increase our commitment to ensure security on our Continent,” he said.Pistorious said the U.S. military is expected to increasingly turn its attention to the Pacific region in the next decade, meaning less focus on Europe.Russia’s scale-up of arms production to sustain its operations in Ukraine poses a real threat, especially to the Baltic states, Georgia and Moldova, Pistorius warned. “This isn’t just saber-rattling. Dangers could lie ahead at the end of this decade,” he said.Europe has to commit t...

Patriots-Chiefs preview: Can the Pats upset Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:49:16 GMT

Long gone are the days of the Patriots and Chiefs battling as AFC rivals, one league dynasty fighting to hold on while another emerges to take its place.But that doesn’t mean the Pats can’t hang another win on Patrick Mahomes and Co. on Sunday.After the Patriots were initially installed as 9.5-point underdogs, the point spread has shrunk by two points, a sign of the public’s belief in the Pats. Coming off an extended rest, and road upset at Pittsburgh, their offense may have finally settled on a winning, run-heavy formula. Defensively, though, is how the Pats must beat the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs who have dropped three of their last four.Can the Patriots make that four out of five? Here’s what to watch for in Foxboro:When the Patriots runEzekiel Elliott should again eat as the Pats’ lead back, coming off a performance in Pittsburgh where he churned out 140 total yards taking 52 of the offense’s 57 snaps. Elliott told reporters he feel...

NFL Notes: Inside the Dirty Show, one of the last hallmarks of the Patriots dynasty

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:49:16 GMT

In the early days of the Patriots’ dynasty, the defense that frustrated Tom Brady most often was his own.Not the legendary starting units that shared Brady’s locker room and sideline, but their backups: The Dirty Show.The Patriots’ scout-team defense earned its “Dirty Show” nickname from former linebackers coach Pepper Johnson, who orchestrated the unit that pestered Brady in practice, occasionally to the point of repeated outbursts. Offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien once referred to Johnson as the best scout-team coach ever; a coach who turned a mash unit of backups into a loud and proud defense that brought out the worst in the greatest of all time.Unlike most franchise hallmarks from that era, the Dirty Show tradition remains fiercely alive in Foxboro.“It’s about dudes who want to grind every day, show up to work and have fun doing it,” said Pats cornerback Alex Austin.According to Dirty Show cast members who previously playe...

Britain says a Royal Navy ship has shot down an attack drone over the Red Sea

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:49:16 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A Royal Navy warship has shot down a suspected attack drone targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea, Britain’s defense secretary said Saturday.Grant Shapps said that HMS Diamond fired a Sea Viper missile and destroyed a drone that was “targeting merchant shipping.” The overnight action is the first time the Royal Navy has shot down an aerial target in anger since the 1991 Gulf War.Shapps said attacks on commercial ships in the global trade artery by Yemen’s Houthi rebels “represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security.”“The U.K. remains committed to repelling these attacks to protect the free flow of global trade,” he said in a statement.Global shipping has become a target during the war between Israel and Hamas, which like the Houthis is backed by Iran. The Houthis have launched a series of attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, as well as launching drones and missiles targeting Israel.Earlier this month, three commercial ships in the Re...

Northbound highway 400 closed due to crash

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:49:16 GMT

An early morning crash involving a car and transport truck has closed a portion of Highway 400 in Vaughan.Ontario Provincial Police said just before 6 a.m. Saturday the northbound lanes of the highway were shut down at Bass Pro Mills Drive due to a motor vehicle collision. Photos from the scene show a badly damaged Tesla against the barrier of the passing lane of the highway and approximately 100 metres to the north, a transport truck with heavy damage to the front end sits in a ditch on the right-hand side.Transport truck with front end damage following an early morning crash on Highway 400 in Vaughan on Dec. 16, 2023. CITYNEWS/James TumeltyPolice have not indicated if anyone was seriously injured or any other details as to what may have led up to the crash. It’s unknown how long the highway will be closed.