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Estonia’s Kaja Kallas secures government coalition agreement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:23 GMT

Estonia’s Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has reached an agreement with two other political parties to form a coalition government, according to media reports. About a month after the elections, Kallas announced on Saturday a deal between her center-right Reform Party, the centrist Estonia 200 Party and the Social Democratic Party, the Associated Press reported. “This agreement ensures that Estonia is protected, that we can continue as an independent and self-sustaining country,” Kallas told a press conference, according to AP. The Reform Party — which was at the helm of a coalition government with the Social Democrats and the Fatherland party until now — comfortably won re-election in early March. Kallas, Estonia’s first female prime minister, is expected to keep the job she’s been holding since 2021. Her party will have seven ministerial portfolios, according to AP, including finance and defense. The former MEP, a long-standing critic of Russian President Vladimi...

New MBTA leader’s former boss defends his overtime record following criticism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:23 GMT

The former boss of incoming MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng defended his record on overtime at Long Island Rail Road, stating that this spending, which had been “out of control” there for decades, went down each year Eng was in charge.Patrick Foye, president and then CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority from 2017 to August 2021, said getting a handle on excessive overtime wasn’t easy, but Eng made it a priority, even keeping numbers down in the midst of major capital projects at the Long Island Rail Road.Eng, who starts his new position at the MBTA on Monday, chose not to fill non-essential vacant positions, tightened management procedures, and directed the LIRR’s then-chief operating officer to focus on the issue, following years of rampant overtime abuse and pension fraud there, Foye said.“Overtime was excessive and out of control,” Foye told the Herald. “It was a significant matter for the Long Island Rail Road and the other MTA agencies, and I think Phil, the proof ...

Orioles pitcher Tyler Wells wants the challenge of being a starter: ‘That’s what makes it so fulfilling’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:23 GMT

Tyler Wells wants to be a starting pitcher.Well, of course he does. Most pitchers prefer starting over relieving. It’s a more glamorous job, and usually a higher-paying one, too.But for Wells, who won the last spot in the Orioles’ rotation in spring training, his desire to be a starter is more about the pressure than the prestige.“For me, I think that being in control of a game is one of the biggest responsibilities you can have,” Wells said as spring training neared an end. “I’m a guy who likes to put a lot of responsibility on my back.”Wells, who will start his first game of the season Sunday, admits that hitting 100 mph fastballs and physics-defying offspeed pitches might be the hardest part of playing baseball. But for pitchers, there’s no greater challenge than being a starter. Taking the ball every fifth day, week after week, and facing a lineup multiple times, throwing upwards of 100 pitches and having a “W” or ̶...

Pope, big crowd mark Easter in flower-adorned Vatican square

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:23 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis opened a celebration of Mass on Easter Sunday joined by dozens of prelates and tens of thousands of pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter’s Square, where spring flowers made the vast space bright. made bright by spring flowers.Orange-red tulips, yellow sprays of forsythia and daffodils, and other colorful seasonal blooms were transported in trucks from the Netherlands on Saturday and set up in planters to decorate the Vatican square, which quickly filled up Sunday with Rome residents and Holy Week visitors to the city.Some 45,000 people had gathered by the start of the mid-morning Mass, according to Vatican security services. At the beginning of the Easter ceremony inspired by the core Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead after his crucifixion, Francis sprinkled holy water and sounded somewhat tired as he recited ritual words in Latin. A canopy on the edge of steps on the square sheltered the pontiff, who was back in the public eye 12 hours af...

Roadside bomb kills two soldiers in NW Pakistan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:23 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A roadside bomb exploded in northwest Pakistan, killing two soldiers who were traveling in their vehicle, the military said. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan gave a higher death toll in Saturday’s attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, saying eight soldiers died. There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.The TTP also claimed responsibility for a hand grenade attack on a police van in the Swabi area of the province that killed a police officer and injured two others on Saturday.Pakistan is witnessing increased attacks on security forces after the militant TTP ended a cease-fire with the government last November. To counter the wave of violence, the government said Friday it will carry out a massive anti-terrorist operation across the country within the coming weeks.The National Security Committee, comprising the prime minister and the military’s top brass, agreed to re-launch the oper...

I-94 paving project from Oakdale to Wisconsin border restarts soon. Public meeting set for Tuesday.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:23 GMT

MnDOT will host a public meeting 4-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 11, 2023, at Woodbury City Hall to provide an overview of the Interstate 94 repaving project between Oakdale and the St. Croix River. (Courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Transportation)The pavement project on Interstate 94 between Oakdale and the St. Croix River, one of the biggest road-construction projects in the east metro, is expected to start up again in mid-April, weather permitting.The $120 million construction project started last summer and will continue through the fall of 2024. Construction is being done in three main stages, with the majority of the work being done this year and in 2024.I-94 will be reduced to two lanes in both directions between Woodbury Drive and the St. Croix River through this fall, according to Minnesota Department of Transportation officials, and motorists can expect delays and impacts throughout the project area. Lanes also will be reduced in May and June east of Century Avenue to in...

Here’s the real reason to turn on airplane mode when you fly

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:23 GMT

By Doug Drury | CNNWe all know the routine by heart: “Please ensure your seats are in the upright position, tray tables stowed, window shades are up, laptops are stored in the overhead bins and electronic devices are set to flight mode.”Now, the first four are reasonable, right? Window shades need to be up so we can see if there’s an emergency, such as fire. Tray tables need to be stowed and seats upright so we can get out of the row quickly. Laptops can become projectiles in an emergency, as the seat back pockets are not strong enough to contain them.And mobile phones need to be set to flight mode so they can’t cause an emergency for the airplane, right? Well, it depends whom you ask.Technology has advanced a great dealAviation navigation and communication relies on radio services, which has been coordinated to minimize interference since the 1920s.The digital technology currently in use is much more advanced than some of the older analog technologies we use...

Ask Amy: Why do people say these things at funerals?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:23 GMT

Dear Amy: I lost my husband almost a year ago.After the funeral a lot of promises were made by my friends and fellow church congregants that would always be there for me in whatever way I needed.Those promises were sincere, I’m sure, but the majority just went on with their lives. I understand this.My question is: Why make these promises if you can’t follow through?Honestly, I would have appreciated a phone call to see how I’m doing, someone dropping in to visit, or inviting me out for coffee. I’m all alone all week until my son visits on the weekend.It’s been a lonely year.Lonely WidowDear Lonely: I’m so sorry for this loss, and certainly for the loneliness that has followed.Oftentimes people make these promises after a loss, but don’t follow through in part because after the structured memorial events are over, we don’t seem to have any cultural roadmap for what to do next.People are wary and uncomfortable navigating another person’s loss, but as you point out, it’s actually easy!...

3 injured in Montgomery Co. house fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:23 GMT

Three people were taken to the hospital, one with serious injuries, after a home in Montgomery Village, Maryland, caught fire Easter Sunday, Montgomery County Fire and EMS officials said.It happened just before 1 a.m. in the 9600 block of Whetstone Drive.A Montgomery County firefighter who sustained non-life-threatening injuries was also taken to the hospital following the house fire, according to Fire and EMS spokesperson Pete Piringer.Piringer said that three people were rescued in the hours that followed. One person has been hospitalized with critical injuries; all others are expected to survive the fire.Three family dogs also died following the fire, Piringer said.Roughly 75 firefighters responded to the blaze. It isn’t clear what caused the fire, but Piringer said it likely started in a screened-in porch area at the back of the house.It appears the home had functioning smoke alarms, Piringer said, and at least two of the people inside heard the alarms.Firefighters are exp...

Macron incite les Européens à ne pas se penser en “suiveurs” des Etats-Unis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:02:23 GMT

To read this story in English, click here.Pour Emmanuel Macron, l’Europe doit réduire sa dépendance à l’égard des États-Unis et éviter d’être entraînée dans une éventuelle confrontation avec la Chine au sujet de Taïwan.Le président français s’est exprimé sur le sujet lors d’un entretien accordé à POLITICO et à deux autres médias français dans l’avion qui le ramenait d’une visite d’État de trois jours en Chine, quelques heures avant que Pékin ne lance des exercices militaires de grande ampleur autour de Taïwan.Prenant la parole après avoir passé environ six heures avec le président chinois Xi Jinping au cours de son voyage, Emmanuel Macron est revenu sur son concept fétiche d'”autonomie stratégique” pour l’Europe — dans laquelle la France jouerait, cela va sans dire, un rôle de premier plan. L’objectif : faire de l’Union européenne une “troisième superpuissance”.Pour le président, “le gran...