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Slovakia’s president refuses to back climate change denier as environment minister

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:39 GMT

A climate change denier will not be Slovakia’s next environment minister, the country’s president, Zuzana Čaputová, said Thursday.Rudolf Huliak — who was elected on the ballot of the populist Slovenská národná strana (Slovak National Party) but is not a member of the party — had been put forward for the environment job in Robert Fico’s government. Huliak has long been a climate change denier and has shared inflammatory messages about climate activists, NGOs, and the LGBTQ+ community on social media.“A candidate who for a long time does not recognize the scientific consensus on climate change and, according to him, [believes] no real climate crisis exists, cannot lead and represent a department whose main task, according to the law, is the protection of nature and the Earth’s climate system,” Čaputová wrote in a statement, shared with POLITICO. She asked Fico to nominate a new candidate.The SNS party, however, said it will not change the nomination and w...

Nigel Farage: I’ll be leader of the UK Conservative Party by 2026

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:39 GMT

LONDON — Watch out, Rishi Sunak. Nigel Farage says he believes he’ll be leading the Conservative Party within three years. Speaking to the Politics Home website, the staunch Brexiteer said: “I’d be very surprised if I were not Conservative leader by ‘26. Very surprised.” It’s far from clear how seriously the famously jocular Farage is taking the prospect of a high-profile return to Tory politics. The former Brexit Party leader insisted he was “serious” about aiming for party leadership, then later told the site that he made the statement “in jest.” Farage was a prominent fixture at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester this month, where he gained entrance as an anchor for his upstart TV outlet GB News. The former MEP was greeted as a hero by the Tory faithful and spent much of his time posing for selfies and signing autographs — sparking gossip he may be considering an unlikely return to frontline politics.For Farage, however, the first hurdle would be...

Tyson Bagent’s 159 passing TDs at Shepherd set an NCAA record. 12 numbers to know as the Chicago Bears face the Las Vegas Raiders.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:39 GMT

The Chicago Bears will look to end a 56-week drought without a home victory Sunday when they face the Las Vegas Raiders at Soldier Field. The Bears are again underdogs, however, and will have to put forth a crisp and complete effort to get back on the winning track.As kickoff nears, here’s a look at a dozen attention-grabbing facts and figures.159Passing touchdowns for quarterback Tyson Bagent during his career at Shepherd University, an NCAA record among all divisions. Bagent made 53 starts for the Rams between 2018 and 2022 and completed 1,400 passes for 17,034 yards, which is a Division II record. He threw for a career-high 518 yards in his college debut — a loss to Notre Dame College in 2018. Bagent threw for a career-high seven touchdowns in a win against West Virginia Wesleyan later that season.6Bagent passes targeted for DJ Moore during the second half of his NFL debut Sunday. Bagent threw 14 passes overall and connected four times with Moore for 44 yards. His fin...

Column: Random thoughts on a fall day, from Kyle Schwarber’s postseason record to the perplexing popularity of Pat McAfee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:39 GMT

Fall might be the best time of the year to live in Chicago.The changing colors and cooler temperatures are always agreeable. The start of the Blackhawks and Bulls seasons provide hope for better days ahead. And the countdown to the first mock draft gives Bears fans something to look forward to as well. It’s a good time to let your mind wander aimlessly, which leads to random non sequiturs like the following.There was only one Mr. October.Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber tied Reggie Jackson’s postseason home run mark for left-handed hitters Tuesday in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series.Both have 18, so Schwarber figures to set the record soon.The difference is that 10 of Jackson’s 18 home runs came in his five World Series appearances. He had a 1.212 OPS in 98 World Series at-bats, earning the nickname “Mr. October” with his three homers against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the 1977 Series.Only three of Schwarber’...

Orioles’ John Means looking forward to ‘normal’ offseason, spring training after return from Tommy John surgery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:39 GMT

As the Orioles packed up their lockers in the visitors’ clubhouse at Globe Life Field last week, John Means had similar — yet also different — feelings of disappointment.Means diligently worked for 16 months to make his way back from elbow surgery and pitched like one of Baltimore’s best starters in September, only to have a flare-up in his left elbow two days before the American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers started.“Yeah, it was tough,” Means said about missing the ALDS after the Orioles’ loss in Game 3. “These guys have been so good all year. But obviously I wanted to be out there, try and help this team, but it just wasn’t in the cards.”That elbow discomfort Means felt during his two-inning simulated game turned out to be something “small,” he said, and the decision to hold him out of the ALDS was “just one of those precautionary things.”Past the disappointment of missing the O...

Ravens vs. Lions staff picks: Who will win Sunday’s Week 7 game in Baltimore?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:39 GMT

Here’s how The Baltimore Sun sports staff views the outcome of Sunday’s Week 7 game between the Ravens (4-2) and the Lions (5-1) at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.Brian Wacker, reporterLions 24, Ravens 17: The Lions’ offense has scored the third-most touchdowns (21) in the NFL, while the Ravens have given up the fewest (6) of any team in the league. But this is also the most complete team Baltimore has faced this season, with the Lions’ defense also surrendering just 18.8 points per game, ninth-fewest in the NFL. Detroit star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is also coming off a 12-catch, 124-yard game, and while the Lions are without running back David Montgomery, rookie Jahmyr Gibbs is likely to return from a hamstring injury.Mike Preston, columnistRavens 21, Lions 18: Detroit is one of the most physical teams in the NFL. The Lions have Jared Goff, who isn’t a great quarterback but is the best the Ravens have faced so far this season. This will be o...

French presidential couple attend funeral service of teacher slain in school attack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:39 GMT

ARRAS, France (AP) — Loved ones and colleagues mourned and celebrated the life of a French-language teacher who was stabbed to death in a school attack blamed on a suspected Islamic extremist. They remembered Dominique Bernard at his funeral service Thursday as a sensitive, crowd-shy man who loved literature, art and nature and was a devoted, playful mentor to his pupils.French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, were among mourners at the cathedral in Arras, the northern French town where Bernard taught at the Gambetta-Carnot school. White flowers adorned the coffin. A crowd, with some people clutching white flowers, also watched the service on a giant screen in an Arras square. Bernard was 57.His wife, Isabelle, described her husband as a great lover of literature, music, art, cinema and “the raking evening light,” who wasn’t fond of computers, crowds and social networks, didn’t have a cellphone and “didn’t like the noise and furor of the worl...

Woman suffers life-altering injuries after being struck by vehicle in Mississauga

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:39 GMT

A woman in her 20s is being rushed to hospital with life-altering injuries after she was struck by a vehicle in Mississauga during the morning commute.Emergency crews were called to Kennedy Road and Brunel Road, north of Matheson Boulevard East, just after 6 a.m. on Thursday.Paramedics say the woman has serious life-altering injuries.The driver remained at the scene.Police have blocked off Kennedy from Brunel to Britannia Road for the investigation.

ICC drops war crimes charges against former Central African Republic government minister

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:39 GMT

THE HAGUE, Nethlerlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court announced Thursday it was dropping some 20 charges including murder, extermination, deportation, torture, and persecution against a former government minister from the Central African Republic, citing a lack of evidence and available witnesses. Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor at the court based in The Hague in the Netherlands, issued a statement saying he was withdrawing all charges against Maxime Jeoffroy Eli Mokom Gawaka because there were “no longer any reasonable prospects of conviction at trial.”Mokom, 44, was accused of coordinating operations of the anti-Balaka, a mainly Christian group that fought against the predominantly Muslim Seleka rebel group. The fighting left thousands dead and displaced hundreds of thousands in 2013 and 2014.During a pretrial hearing in August, Mokom’s defense team told judges that prosecutors had already uncovered evidence that could exonerate Mokom, even before his arrest in neighbor...

Northern Europe braces for gale-force winds, floods

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:39 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Northern Europe braced for bad weather including gale-force winds from the east on Thursday and Friday, with authorities saying floods could cause major problems in inland Danish waters and in the Baltic Sea. Danish broadcaster TV2 said it likely would be the worst flooding in 110 years, and the Danish Meteorological Institute said waves could reach 4 meters (13 feet) along east-facing coasts. In the U.K., the Met Office issued a red alert for parts of Scotland, warning of “exceptional rainfall” Thursday and Friday, while in Ireland, Storm Babet brought flooding to several towns and villages, with some areas remaining under water and without power.In Denmark, residents scrambled to place sandbags along exposed areas. In Assens on the central island of Funen, the Danish Emergency Management Agency was deploying huge rubber tubes in the harbor to counter rising water levels, TV2 said. Southern Denmark police urged people along the east coast to leave exposed...