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Inside the secret French camp where Ukrainians prepare for war

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:44 GMT

Chain-smoking Ukrainians tote French-made assault rifles as they hunker down in a newly conquered village to prepare for a counterattack.But this isn’t a firefight in eastern Ukraine. Rather, it’s a mock village in rural France where the Ukrainian troops are being trained by the French military, who are acting the role of the enemy.On a cold and sunny November day, the Ukrainians — both volunteers and draftees — are in the fourth and final week of training in a French military camp, part of a 48-hour exercise to put into practice what they’ve learned over the past month. From 5.30 a.m. to 8 p.m., six days a week, the French have been teaching their Ukrainian counterparts the skills of storming trenches and infantry fighting, including combat in urban and forest areas. The brief, as described by French officers: “To make them more lethal and harder to kill.” Back home, Ukrainians will return to a battlefield that has become, in the words of Ukraine’s top g...

2 people rescued from house fire in Worcester

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:44 GMT

Two people were pulled from the third floor of a burning home in Worcester on Sunday night, officials said.The people were rescued from the third floor of a home on Cohasset Street, according to the Worcester Fire Department.The fire displaced eight people.The cause of the fire remains under investigation.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Winter’s Chill to a Touch of Spring

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:44 GMT

Brrr… How about those chilly temps over the last couple of mornings? This morning is even colder than yesterday morning, yielding to coldest start to the season for many, and for Boston, the coldest start since March 20th, at 28 degrees. At least the winds are light and the sunshine is dominate this morning. Clouds do increase this afternoon as winds stay light and highs top off in the lower to middle 40s. While a few spotty rain/snow showers re possible across eastern New England this evening, much of the time will remain dry. Temps tonight fall back into the mid 20s to mid 30s. Temps tomorrow still run a bit below average (52 is average in Boston), but we’ll be a bit closer under a mix of clouds and some sun. Although a spot shower or two is possible, much of the day remains dry. There will be a bit of a midday/afternoon breeze, so despite it being a few degrees warmer than today, it may not feel that much different. While progress is slow the next few days, we trend u...

Pan-Mass Challenge donates record $72 million to cancer charity, closing in on $1 billion since 1980

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:44 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — The Pan-Mass Challenge handed over a record $72 million to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute on Sunday, moving the pioneering cross-state bicycle ride within sight of $1 billion raised.The summertime ride to the tip of Cape Cod is the largest single-event athletic fundraiser in the world, raising $972 million for cancer care since 1980. It is the largest single contributor to Dana-Farber and its Jimmy Fund.A total of 6,500 participants cycled up to 211 miles across the state for the 44th PMC in August.

Editorial: Evanston should approve Northwestern’s stadium

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:44 GMT

At its core, the battle over Northwestern University’s new football stadium in Evanston, and the zoning change allowing for the scheduling of six concerts therein, is a familiar one pitting substantial economic and educational benefits for an entire community against neighbors who understandably prefer their own peace and quiet.The battle royal, and that’s an apt phrase in this mother of all NIMBY wars, is scheduled to come to an end Monday as Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss casts the deciding vote at a scheduled City Council meeting.Biss should approve the university’s request.We’ve supported this stadium from the start. Our enthusiasm began with Northwestern making no requests for taxpayer support, in contrast to some NFL teams of our acquaintance. Thanks to the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan family, this $800 million project comes fully funded. Neither Evanston taxpayers nor Northwestern parents paying tuition are on the hook.As we wrote in September 2022, this...

Lucas: Biden getting soft as Israel-Hamas war wears on

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:44 GMT

It’s a good thing Joe Biden was not around for World War II.Otherwise, you would be reading this column in German with a Japanese translation for West Coast readers.That is because Biden would have thrown in the towel shortly after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Hitler’s declaration of war against the U.S.Seeking peace in his time, like Neville Chamberlain, Biden would have agreed to turn over the U.S. West Coast to Japan and the East Coast to Germany to avoid a fight.But being the wise negotiator that he is, Biden would have insisted that the U.S. retain the middle part of the county where Americans would be allowed to hunt buffalo and live in between the two occupying powers.It would have been called the American Strip.But times change even though Biden doesn’t.And if he is allowed to linger in the White House much longer, he could oversee the country fall apart like it would have had he been at the helm during the Big One.This time, though, Biden could oversee the country...

Pakistan opens 3 new border crossings to deport Afghans in ongoing crackdown on migrants

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:44 GMT

QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan on Monday opened three new border crossings to expedite the deportation of Afghans living in the country illegally, officials said. Nearly 300,000 Afghans have left Pakistan in recent weeks since authorities started arresting and deporting foreign nationals without papers after the Oct. 31 deadline for migrants without legal status to leave the country voluntarily.The expulsions mostly affect Afghans, who make up the majority of foreigners in Pakistan. It has drawn criticism from the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan as well as human rights organizations. The number of border crossings used to deport thousands of Afghans rose to five after the new facilities were opened in southwestern Baluchistan province, said Jan Achakzai, the caretaker provincial information minister. Currently, about 15,000 Afghans have been crossing the border every day from Pakistan. Before the crackdown, around 300 people were crossing each day.International aid agencies ...

Dozens of migrants are missing after a boat capsized off Yemen, officials say

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:44 GMT

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A migrant boat capsized off the coast of war-torn Yemen, leaving dozens of people, mostly from the Horn of Africa, missing, Yemeni officials said Monday.Khalid al-Subeihi, an official with the Yemeni coast guard in the coastal city of Mocha, said the boat with 75 migrants on board capsized Sunday.He told The Associated Press that 26 people survived but at least 49 others remain missing.Another coast guard official, Lt. Co. Olwan al-Qameri, said the search was still underway Monday.Citing an unnamed coast guard official, Yemen’s state-run SABA news agency reported that the boat capsized due to strong winds and that all those on board — including women and children — fell into the water.The shipwreck was the latest sea disaster involving African migrants seeking a better life in oil-rich Gulf countries.Thousands of people each year seek to make the perilous voyage from Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia to Yemen and on to richer Gulf countries as they flee poverty and ...

Family evacuated from home after fire in Scarborough

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:44 GMT

A family new to Canada needed to evacuate the home they are renting after a two-alarm house fire in Scarborough on Sunday evening.Emergency crews were called to a house near the intersection of Bellamy Road and Colonial Avenue, north of Kingston Road, around 10:45 p.m. for reports of a fire.Investigators believe the flames started in the basement of the home. One of the occupants tells CityNews he heard his dogs scratching at the basement door and when he opened the door he noticed the fire.Him and his family proceeded to go outside. He says the family is new to Canada and they were renting the property.Police confirmed the home was successfully evacuated. No injuries were reported.There is no word what caused the fire. The occupants say they did not hear a fire alarm.Roads were closed in the area for the investigation.

Trump believed fringe conspiracy he could be reinstated as president, book claims

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:11:44 GMT

Above: Trump joins media outlets in pushing his federal election interference case to be televised(The Hill) - A new book by ABC’s Jonathan Karl reveals that former President Trump seriously took to a fringe conspiracy that he could be reinstated as president after losing the 2020 election and well after leaving the White House.Karl’s new book, “Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Ole Party,” releasing Tuesday, includes details about how Trump came to believe the theory, which was supported by some of the former president’s staunchest allies. Among them was My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, who falsely peddled the notion that Trump could return to the White House on Aug. 13, 2021 — nearly seven months after the former president ended his first term on Inauguration Day.That groundless theory was linked to QAnon, which also falsely claimed President Biden was not actually the president and that the military was in power until Trump returned to office — which he neve...