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Turkish century: History looms large on election day

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:05:30 GMT

ISTANBUL — From the Aegean coast to the mountainous frontier with Iran, millions of Turks will vote at the country’s 191,884 ballot boxes on Sunday — with both President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his main rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu warning the country is at a historical turning point.In the last sprints of the nail-bitingly close election race, the dueling candidates have both placed heavy emphasis on the historical resonance of the vote falling exactly 100 years after the foundation of the secular Turkish republic by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923.In the Istanbul district of Ümraniye on the final day of campaigning, Erdoğan told voters the country was on “the threshold of a Turkish Century” that will be the “century of our children, our youth, our women.”Erdoğan’s talk of a Turkish century is partly a pledge to make the country stronger and more technologically independent, particularly in the defense sector. Over the past months, the president has been quick to associate himself with ...

Who are the bad guys? Police brutality shapes Greek election

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:05:30 GMT

ATHENS — The biggest crime in Greece? The state of the police force.That’s according to opposition politicians, who are putting security and law enforcement center-stage ahead of this month’s national election.Syriza, the leftist main opposition party, accuses the conservative New Democracy, which is hoping for another term in office after the May 21 vote, of allowing the police to become run by organized crime gangs. The conservative government maintains a lead in the polls, although a second round will likely be needed and is penciled in for July 2.“The Greek police are collaborating with the crime instead of fighting crime,” Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras said, adding that the “Greek mafia is in the police.”For sure, Greek police have been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons of late, thanks to the alleged involvement of police officials in mafia gangs profiting from illegal brothels and casinos; the murder of a 16-year-old Roma boy during a police chase; an alleg...

Wagner chief should avoid the tea

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:05:30 GMT

Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe.Irritating or challenging Russian President Vladimir Putin is a dangerous game that often ends with a crash and a thud — or a neat suicide in a dacha when a mess isn’t warranted.And since the invasion of Ukraine, the tempo of mysterious deaths of prominent Russians has sped up, with at least seven Russian oligarchs dying in odd circumstances and a bevy of officials meeting untimely deaths.So, when will Yevgeny Prigozhin, the murderous and foul-mouthed leader of the Wagner paramilitary group, inexplicably tumble through a window or keel over after sipping a nice cup of Da Hong Pao? Did he finally cross a line with his obscenity-strewn rant last week about the “grandfather,” widely interpreted in Russia to be Putin? Russians have surely piled out of windows for much less.In a video posted online, Prigozhin suggested Putin remained convinced Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would end with a glorious victory for Moscow. “If he turns ou...

How Zelenskyy got Luke Skywalker and Bear Grylls to fight Russia: The inside story

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:05:30 GMT

Everyone in Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office was crying.The Ukrainian president and football legend Andriy Shevchenko fell into each other’s arms, unable to find words for their perilous predicament. Both knew they were caught in a fight that would define their lives.Shevchenko, one of Ukraine’s greatest-ever athletes, was in the office last May to become the first ambassador of Zelenskyy’s fundraising platform United24. The Ukrainian president was desperate to tackle Russia’s lethal onslaught, not just on the battlefield — but in the fight for hearts and minds around the world.Shevchenko was first. Luke Skywalker, British adventurer Bear Grylls and tennis superstar Elina Svitolina were among many more who followed.This is the inside story of how Ukraine’s leadership used celebrities and pop culture to fight back against Russia’s brutal invasion.The first miracleUkraine’s millennial Digital Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, put in charge of the initiative by Zelenskyy, approac...

Chris Sale strikes out nine, but Kenley Jansen blows another save as Red Sox lose 4-3 to Cardinals

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:05:30 GMT

Just days ago Kenley Jansen was living the dream. The veteran closer had been all but automatic to start his first season in Boston, and on Wednesday he became the seventh player in MLB history to record 400 career saves.Since then it’s been an abrupt crash back to reality.A day after blowing the save in Friday night’s loss to St. Louis, Jansen endured another ninth-inning meltdown, giving up three runs to sink the Red Sox in a deflating 4-3 loss to the Cardinals. Jansen walked two to start the inning, allowed an RBI double and was ultimately undone by a two-run error by Kiké Hernández, who threw away what would have been the game-ending double play ball and allowed St. Louis to take the lead.The disastrous ninth also squandered an outstanding effort by Chris Sale, who pitched his best outing since undergoing Tommy John surgery .Jansen’s confounding outing veered into the absurd when he was called for three quick pitch violations, two of which came against Willson ...

Quebec premier says moving forward on politicians’ $30K pay bump requires “courage”

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:05:30 GMT

SHERBROOKE, Que. — Courage was necessary to move forward on raising the salaries of provincial politicians by $30,000, Quebec Premier François Legault said Saturday as unions demonstrated outside his party’s convention to demand a raise, too.“It’s a file you have to have the courage to deal with to attract all people (to politics), not just people who have made money before,” Legault said as the Coalition Avenir Québec’s party convention got underway in Sherbrooke, Que., about 150 kilometres east of Montreal.About 850 members attended the convention to discuss party policy and to debate 32 proposals, many having to do with energy files like building more hydroelectric dams.But the pay bump was among the distractions as 1,000 members of four public sector unions protested outside the convention, dissatisfied with the progress of negotiations as the collective agreements of about 600,000 provincial employees expired on March 31.Quebec has made an offer th...

Toronto shows it can be a ‘great market’ for WNBA during pre-season test run

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:05:30 GMT

When WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert stood at the podium about an hour before history was made Saturday afternoon, she tried to put the possibility of league expansion into proper context.It was an impressive presentation.Heading into its 27th season, the WNBA has been taking a business-like, nearly scientific approach to its first expansion since 2008. The timing is TBD – at one point 2024 was a target but it there is no firm timeline. The league started with a data analysis of 100 different cities, gauging them for demographic, ‘psychographic’ and other elements — TV ratings for women’s sports, women’s NCAA basketball and the WNBA among them — that may or may not make them a good fit for a new franchise in the world’s best women’s basketball league.The list was then cut to 20 as the league drilled down into potential ownership groups, arena access, practice facilities and access to capital for investment and the like. Finally, over the past off-season the leagu...

Swedish singer Loreen wins Eurovision Song Contest for 2nd time at event feting Ukraine

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:05:30 GMT

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Swedish singer Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night with her power ballad “Tattoo,” at a colorful, eclectic music competition clouded for a second year running by the war in Ukraine.The diva from Stockholm beat acts from 25 other countries to take the continent’s pop crown at the final of the competition in Liverpool. Finnish singer Käärijä was second in a close-fought battle of the Nordic neighbors. Loreen previously won Eurovision in 2012 and is only the second performer to take the prize twice, after Ireland’s Johnny Logan in the 1980s. It’s Sweden’s seventh Eurovision victory, matching Ireland’s record.Loreen said winning a second time was “overwhelming.”Britain hosted Eurovision ton behalf of Ukraine, which won last year but couldn’t take up its right to hold the contest because of the war. Air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine as the contest was underway, and Ukrainian media reported a strike in Ternopil, home town of Ukrain...

Beware of scammers posing as Habitat for Humanity employees at your door

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:05:30 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Habitat for Humanity wants to warn homeowners about a scam: bad actors potentially posing as Habitat employees and accessing homes. It may be difficult to spot a real Habitat for Humanity employee when they aren't building a home, so don't be fooled. Scammers are currently hitting homes in the New Orleans area. Can folded dollar bills on the ground be deadly? What to know "They could try to get personal information or they may be casing the property to gain entry," said Marguerite Oestreicher, executive director of Habitat for Humanity in the New Orleans area. Oestreicher said the organization received a report of a man's mother getting a home visitor claiming he was there for home repairs."These people are showing up — they made fake logo shirts, fake paperwork. So people think it is Habitat but it is not Habitat," said the executive director.Just to be clear: Habitat for Humanity never goes door to door. If they show up at your house, it's because you alread...

Forest Lake’s Matt Wallner starting to get back on track for Saints

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:05:30 GMT

At 6-foot-5 and 246 pounds, Saints outfielder Matt Wallner is a big man who possesses a big arm and big-time power, a combination that has him on the cusp of greatness.But 36 games into the season, a player viewed to be on the fast track to the majors is stuck in neutral. Along with relatively pedestrian numbers, his body language suggests that the 25-year-old native of Forest Lake is a frustrated athlete looking to bust loose.The low-key Wallner had no problem with that assessment following the Saints’ 3-1 loss to the Indianapolis Indians on Saturday at CHS Field.“Maybe just trying to force it a little too much in certain instances,” Wallner said. “Just kind of at the in-between point.”In other words, not bad, but not up to his standards. It’s enough to make some players want to hit something — and not just a baseball. But Wallner said that’s not his style. Instead, he just keeps his head down and works, while occasionally calling on a friendly ear.“Teammates, old coaches, the coac...