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Zelenskyy has no choice but to ask his fighters to hold Bakhmut — for now

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:14 GMT

Jamie Dettmer is opinion editor at POLITICO Europe.French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was famously averse to retreating. “However skillfully effected a retreat may be, it always lessens the morale of an army,” he noted. “In a battle the enemy loses practically as much as you do; while in a retreat you lose and he does not.”Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears to be of like mind — over the course of the war, he was reluctant to pull out of the salt-mining town of Soledar earlier this year after a nearly six month-long fight, and he has now rejected calls to withdraw from an even more prolonged and ferocious fight in nearby Bakhmut.There’s been some behind-the-scenes disquiet among the Ukrainian ranks about continuing with this almost 9-month-long battle at Bakhmut. And earlier this week, United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters that “if the Ukrainians decide to reposition, I wouldn’t view that as an operational or strategic setback.”Russia, meanwhile, has...

‘No one wanted to employ me’: Fiona Hill lifts the lid on life after Downing Street

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:14 GMT

LONDON — Theresa May’s all-powerful former chief of staff Fiona Hill has revealed her despair at being fired from Downing Street in 2017, and told how she struggled for “years” to find work in the aftermath.Hill — one of the most powerful women in Britain as May’s joint-chief of staff in No. 10 — was forced to resign amid a flurry of bad headlines after the disastrous 2017 general election, in which May lost her majority. In a rare interview with POLITICO’s Westminster Insider podcast, Hill said she was “in shock” after the June 2017 result and unable to find work for an extended period.“I was worried about money and I was worried about what I would do next,” she said.“I remember thinking — ‘I do not want to become a bitter person,’” she added. “I read the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi over and over again. It was almost like doing the rosary or something. “It was just something in my head, I was fixated with it. I kept saying to m...

Sunak and Macron seek Indo-Pacific team-up at Paris summit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:14 GMT

LONDON — Rishi Sunak and Emmanuel Macron will discuss combining British and French military resources in the Indo-Pacific region when the pair meet Friday.At a bilateral summit in Paris — the first between a British prime minister and a French president in five years — the two leaders are expected to send a strong message of unity to the Kremlin and pledge continued support to Ukraine in its fight against Russia.And No. 10 Downing Street said ahead of the meeting that the pair will talk about ways to ensure a permanent presence of like-minded European allies in the Indo-Pacific, where China is increasingly assertive.This could include an agreement to place European warships permanently in the region by alternating the deployment of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales carriers and France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.Sunak’s official spokesman told reporters that Europe’s security “is indivisible from Indo-Pacific security, so the U.K. will work together to incr...

North End residents discuss neighborhood’s outdoor dining debate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:14 GMT

A group of residents in Boston’s North End neighborhood gathered Thursday to discuss developments in the neighborhood’s ongoing debate over outdoor dining. The North End Residents’ Association held the meeting to hear what community members had to say. Speaking during the event, some backed recent actions by Mayor Michelle Wu, saying they don’t want outdoor dining in the area.“People don’t understand, it’s not just cars on the street, there are all of the serving stations, there are the umbrella tables, there are the dividers between restaurants,” Mary McGee told 7NEWS.“There are ten thousand plus residents and everybody seems to have forgotten about us,” McGee continued. Boston city officials announced new outdoor dining rules earlier this year requiring restaurants in the North End to take tables off streets. Under the new policy, outdoor dining in the North End will be limited to sidewalks and patios. Where some residents have celebrate...

Mobile betting launches tomorrow in Massachusetts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:14 GMT

The wait for mobile betting in Massachusetts is almost over, as betting apps get set to go live Friday morning. While sports wagers are in the spotlight, other topics are also on the table.Experts have said the apps that have been approved in Massachusetts will be taking bets from people who are aged 21 or older on awards shows such as the Academy Awards as well as the sports bets that have been made physically at casinos since in-person sports betting launched in Massachusetts back in January. This, experts say, could open many doors for those who wouldn’t typically bet on sports but who still want to test their luck. “[T]hat’s the secret sauce right there,” Bill Speros, a senior betting analyst at Bookies.com said. Speros said the betting is a win-win for some parties involved, not only getting people to wager on events they wouldn’t normally watch, but also getting people to watch events because they wagered on them. “It drives fan engagement through the...

Nets rally from down 22, fall short in loss to Bucks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:14 GMT

Stars or no stars, the Nets remain one of the more resilient teams in all of basketball.That much became clear as they clawed back from down 22 to make it a tight game down the stretch before the Bucks pulled away for a 118-113 victory over the Nets in Milwaukee.And it marked the fourth time in the aftermath of the trades that sent Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving out West that the Nets have erased a significant double-digit deficit against a quality opponent.The Nets set a new record for largest comeback of this season when they erased the Celtics’ 28-point advantage to secure a 115-105 victory on the road in Boston on March 3.They came back from down 18 to lose in Atlanta on Trae Young’s buzzer-beating, game-winning floater on Feb 26.And in the hours that followed the Durant deal on the night of the Feb. 9 trade deadline, the Nets erased a 13-point deficit to defeat Chicago Bulls, 116-105.Then came Thursday.The Bucks put all their starters on the floor minus their MVP can...

MBTA announces Red, Orange, Blue and Green lines to go only 10-25 mph

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:14 GMT

Better get up a bit early in the morning if you use the MBTA.The agency announced tonight the Red, Orange, Blue and Green lines will operate at speeds of 10-25 mph “out of an abundance of caution.”The system-wide speed restriction was implemented following negative findings from the Department of Public Utilities during an inspection of a stretch of Red Line track on Monday.Trains will travel no faster than 25 mph, effective immediately, on the Red, Orange, Blue and Green Lines, the MBTA said.“These actions will add additional travel time for people taking the T,” spokesperson Lisa Battiston said. “The MBTA apologizes in advance for these inconveniences and remains committed to operating the transit system in the safest way possible.”DPU, the T’s state safety oversight authority, issued six violation letters to the MBTA on Tuesday as a result of their inspection of southbound Red Line track between Ashmont and Savin Hill.Inspectors observed multiple trains “oversho...

Bruins cough up lead and lose to Edmonton, 3-2

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:14 GMT

The Bruins held Connor McDavid in check all night, but the Edmonton Oilers found a way to climb out of a hole and beat the mighty B’s without a major contribution from the best player in the world.The B’s coughed up a 2-0 lead and the Oilers scored two third-period goals to snap the B’s 10-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory. It was just the B’s third regulation loss at the Garden.Darnell Nurse gave the Oilers their first lead of the game with a long shot from the left point that found its way through Jeremy Swayman’s pads with 4:49 left in the third period.The B’s took a 2-1 lead into the third period but did not protect it. Patrice Bergeron could not connect on a neutral zone pass to Charlie McAvoy and the Oilers wound up with possession in the Boston zone. From behind the net, Devin Shore fed Ryan McLeod out front for the equalizer at 6:08.After an initial push from Edmonton to start the game, the B’s eventually found their footing and...

China’s Xi awarded third term as president, extending rule

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:14 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping was awarded a third five-year term as president Friday, putting him on track to stay in power for life.The endorsement of Xi’s appointment by the ceremonial National People’s Congress was a foregone conclusion for a leader who has sidelined potential rivals and filled the top ranks of the ruling Communist Party with his supporters since taking power in 2012.The vote for Xi was 2,952 to 0 by the NPC, members of which are appointed by the ruling party.Xi, 69, had himself named to a third five-year term as party general secretary in October, breaking with a tradition under which Chinese leaders handed over power once a decade. A two-term limit on the figurehead presidency was deleted from the Chinese constitution earlier, prompting suggestions he might stay in power for life.No candidate lists were distributed, and Xi and those awarded other posts were believed to have run unopposed. The election process remains almost entirely shrou...

Fiji’s former leader Frank Bainimarama released on bail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:28:14 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Fiji’s former leader Frank Bainimarama was released on bail Friday after pleading not guilty to a charge that he abused his power as prime minister by stopping a police investigation. Both Bainimarama and the nation’s suspended police commissioner had spent the night in jail after they were arrested Thursday.“I served as Fiji’s prime minister with integrity and with the best interests of Fijians at heart,” Bainimarama told reporters outside the courtroom, adding that he would fight the charge not only for his legacy but also for democracy. The development adds another twist to the volatile political situation on the Pacific island nation, where Bainimarama in December lost a tense election to Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. Last month, Bainimarama, 68, was suspended from parliament for three years for insulting the president, and this week he resigned from parliament in protest.Bainimarama and Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho each face a ...