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Meet the Belarusians who tricked Russia into firing on its own men

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:40 GMT

KYIV — The Belarusian volunteers laugh as they tell the story of one of their commanders who deceived the Russians into unleashing artillery salvoes on their own positions near the war-torn salt-mining town of Bakhmut. “After we overran a trench, the commander used a radio we found, pretended to be Russian and gave false coordinates for a Russian fire mission,” explained Pavel Shurmei, a 46-year-old former Olympic rower who’s been fighting for Ukraine.“And it worked,” chimed in a 25-year-old volunteer, with a rueful smile.***Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has dubbed the Belarusians fighting for Ukraine “crazed citizens” — but of all the foreign troops battling in Ukraine, the Belarusian volunteers are largely seen by their peers as among the most disciplined and lionhearted. They’ve won battle honors, having in the early weeks after the invasion helped to defend Kyiv and recapture Irpin,...

Onions and prayer rugs: Turkey approaches its decisive battle for democracy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:40 GMT

It’s now easy to forget that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was once hailed as the paragon of a “Muslim democrat,” who could serve as a model to the entire Islamic world. In the early 2000s, hopes ran high about the charismatic, lanky, former football striker, who received only one red card in his playing career, unsurprisingly for giving an earful to a referee. The man from the working-class Istanbul neighborhood of Kasımpaşa promised something new: Finally, there was a master-juggler, who could balance Islamism, parliamentary democracy, progressive welfare, NATO membership and EU-oriented reforms. That optimism feels a world away now, as Turkey heads into crunch elections on May 14 marked by debate over the centralization of powers under an increasingly authoritarian and divisive leader — dubbed the reis, or captain. Prominent opponents are in jail, the media and judiciary are largely under Erdoğan’s thrall and the kid from Kasımpaşa now rules 85 million people f...

Got Brexit done? Now sort electric car ‘cliff-edge,’ UK and EU told

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:40 GMT

LONDON — Britain and the EU finally stopped beefing over Brexit — and electric carmakers want them to use the love-in to swerve an oncoming trade “cliff-edge.”Fresh from resolving the post-Brexit deadlock over Northern Ireland trade rules, industry hopes have been raised that the two sides can start hammering out a plan to stop carmakers being clobbered by new tariffs at the start of 2024.Four people familiar with conversations told POLITICO that Britain and the EU are now — tentatively — talking at an official level about the problem, which centers on so-called “rules of origin” requirements under the U.K.-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). Carmakers say they need much more clarity on the help they can expect, and fast.Under a temporary waiver in the TCA, up to 70 percent of an electric battery’s components can come from outside the U.K. or EU before tariffs kick in.But that threshold will plummet to 40 percent on January 1, 2024 — meaning vehicles exceeding this limit will ...

Wayland Middle School student targeted by racist remark

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:40 GMT

A Wayland Middle School student and his family are speaking out after a racist remark was made against the student after he won a race during a recent track meet.The principal at Wayland Middle School has responded to the incident, saying racism has no place in her school community. Speaking with 7NEWS, Jayden Taylor and his family have also described the incident and the race immediately before it.“Everytime I watch him run, I’m just always in awe,” said Jayden’s father, Eldridge.Taylor blew the competition away last Friday, winning a 200 meter race in 25.9 seconds — a personal best. “I was just trying to win because I knew everyone was watching me — everyone from my school and stuff,” Taylor said. “He’s been wanting to do that for awhile, and it was kind of overshadowed by what happened after the race,” said Jayden’s mother, Keisha. As Taylor finished the race, one of his teammates heard a runner from Sudbury use a racial slur.&nb...

Danvers 11-year-old gearing up for Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:40 GMT

An 11-year-old boy from Danvers is gearing up to help fight hunger as he takes part in Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger. Reece Leshin is using his Bar Mitzvah project to help raise thousands of dollars for people in need. He recently spoke about his efforts in an interview with 7NEWS. “I hope it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Leshin said.“I think it’s a nice thing to do because a lot of people can’t afford food,” he continued. Leshin’s team “TBA 23” is made up of friends and members of the Temple B’Nai Abraham in Beverly. Their initial goal was to raise $1,800 because the number 18 represents life in the Jewish tradition. But Leshin has already surpassed that goal. “He put together a little speech for the congregation to solicit fundraising and funds for it,” said Leshin’s father Robert. “It was a really fun project for him.”Philanthropy is nothing new for the Leshin family. Robert recently received recognition from Project Bread for helping students ...

Tom Thibodeau benches hot-shooting RJ Barrett in final 7 minutes of Knicks’ Game 2 win

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:40 GMT

For the second time in the last three games, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has benched a key starter in crunch time.In Game 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Thibodeau benched All-Star forward Julius Randle the entire fourth quarter, riding a unit that gave the Knicks life to an 11-point series-clinching victory.And in Game 2 of his Knicks’ second-round playoff series against the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday, the head coach made an even bigger call.He subbed RJ Barrett out of the game late in the fourth quarter despite the fourth-year forward enjoying his hottest-shooting game of the entire season.Barrett hit four of his first six three-pointers on Tuesday and shot five-of-nine from downtown on the night. He finished with 24 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field and hit more threes than any Heat player, only out-done by six threes from his own teammate, Jalen Brunson.Thibodeau, however, still subbed Barrett out of the game at the 7:07 mark of the fourth qua...

Jalen Brunson’s clutch buckets narrowly lead Knicks past Heat to even series

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:40 GMT

It was a necessary win for the Knicks. And while it wasn’t pretty, they scraped by.Facing the Heat without Jimmy Butler, Tom Thibodeau’s squad played at a deficit for most of Game 2 but came alive in crunch time and walked out of Madison Square Garden with a 111-105 victory and an even series.The Knicks got 30 points from Jalen Brunson and 25 from Julius Randle. They trailed by three with five minutes remaining, but outscored Miami over the remainder, 18-9, picking up pivotal offensive rebounds and hustle plays from Isaiah Hartenstein and Josh Hart.All evening, the Heat thrived on 3-pointers while sending Knicks defenders into frantic rotations. The visitors led by six with seven minutes left, prompting audible angst from the sold-out Garden crowd. But Miami was ultimately too shorthanded and too saddled by a talent gap without its star, Butler, who sprained his ankle late in Game 1.“You knew that if he was out, it’d be a different type of game,” said T...

Sheriff: Suspected Texas gunman caught hiding under laundry

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:40 GMT

By JUAN LOZANO and NOMAAN MERCHANT (Associated Press)CLEVELAND, Texas (AP) — A four-day manhunt in Texas for a gunman accused of killing five neighbors ended Tuesday not far from the site of the shooting when authorities, acting on a tip, said they found the suspect hiding underneath a pile of laundry in the closet of a house.Francisco Oropeza, 38, was captured without incident near Houston and about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from his home in the rural town of Cleveland, where authorities say he went next door and shot his neighbors with an AR-style rifle after some of them had asked him to stop firing rounds in his yard because it was keeping a baby awake. “They can rest easy now, because he is behind bars,” San Jacinto County Greg Capers said of the families of the victims. “He will live out his life behind bars for killing those five.”The arrest happened near Conroe, ending what had become a widening dragnet that had grown to more than 250 people from...

Yankees end 4-game skid after beating Guardians, 4-2

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:40 GMT

The Yankees had not scored more than two runs in each of their previous four games, but a pair of solo shots helped them end that streak in Tuesday’s 4-2 win over the Guardians at Yankee Stadium.Cleveland took a 2-0 lead in the third inning, but Anthony Volpe put the Yankees on the board in the sixth when he homered off fellow rookie Tanner Bibee. Gleyber Torres proceeded to knock Bibee out of the game before Anthony Rizzo tied things at two with an RBI single off New York native James Karinchak.An inning later, Willie Calhoun cranked a Karinchak curveball for his first home run as a Yankee. It was also his first longball since April 11 of last year.The Yankees added an insurance run in the eighth thanks to two stolen bases from Volpe and an RBI single from DJ LeMahieu. Volpe is now 10-for-10 on swipe attempts this season.While Bibee finished his first start at Yankee Stadium with two earned runs over 5.1 innings, Gerrit Cole delivered another strong start for the Yankees.Cole...

Suspected gunman in Texas mass shooting caught: What to know

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:50:40 GMT

CLEVELAND, Texas (AP) — A man suspected of opening fire at his neighbor’s home and killing five people was arrested Tuesday after a four-day manhunt, authorities in Texas said.The hunt for 38-year-old Francisco Oropeza began Friday after he fled from the scene of the deadly shooting in the rural town of Cleveland, about 45 miles (72.42 kilometer) north of Houston.The shooting happened after Oropeza’s neighbors asked him to stop firing off rounds in his yard because a baby was trying to sleep. The baby’s mother and 9-year-old brother were among the five people killed, who were all originally from Honduras. Here are some things to know about the case:WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE MANHUNT?An FBI agent acknowledged Monday that authorities had little to go on in the widening search for Oropeza.More than 250 law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, including the U.S. Marshals, took part in the manhunt, which had come up empty despite additional manpower, scent-tracking dogs...