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Your own personal jet. Luxembourg PM flew into NATO summit on Depeche Mode’s plane

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:35 GMT

Luxembourg’s NATO summit delegation jetted into Vilnius on the plane recently used by Depeche Mode on their world tour — and covered in the band’s logos. When Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn and Defense Minister François Bausch arrived Tuesday in Vilnius, reporters were surprised to see a “big red skull on the plane used by peaceful little Luxembourg,” wrote AP journalist Philip Crowther on Twitter. Turns out, Luxembourg’s top politicians were deplaning from a jet used by the English electronic rockers, with the large red skull accompanied by the letters DM (for the band) and MM (referring to Depeche Mode’s new album). How did this happen? Luxembourg’s army tried to book a flight through the European Air Transport Command, but it just can’t get enough private jets for major international events, so Luxembourg had to charter another available plane in which they could enjoy the silence before the summit, re...

Ukraine must show ‘gratitude’ to the West to keep support, UK defense minister warns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:35 GMT

VILNIUS — Ukraine must show “gratitude” to its allies, despite its disappointment over the way NATO framed Kyiv’s future membership prospects, in order to maintain long-term Western public and political support, the British defense secretary warned on Wednesday.Speaking to reporters at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Ben Wallace cautioned that the U.S. is heading for a presidential election next year, and lawmakers from countries making big military donations to Kyiv could face a political problem if they are met with Ukrainian anger. There is concern across Europe that NATO-skeptic Donald Trump could return as U.S. president.“Sometimes you have to persuade lawmakers on the Hill in America, you have to persuade doubting politicians in other countries that, you know, that is worth it, that it is worthwhile and that they are getting something for it,” he said. “And whether you like it or not, that’s the reality of it.”Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vented his disappointment...

First attempt to kill EU nature law fails in Parliament vote

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:35 GMT

The conservative European People’s Party on Wednesday failed to get a majority of lawmakers in the European Parliament to reject new EU rules aimed at restoring the bloc’s degraded ecosystems.An amendment submitted by the EPP calling to reject the draft Nature Restoration Regulation outright and send the European Commission back to the drawing board failed to pass in a plenary vote. It was voted down with 324 votes against, 312 in favor and 12 abstentions.The Commission’s proposed legislation, a highly contentious part of the Green Deal, aims to restore at least 20 percent of degraded ecosystems by 2030. European lawmakers will now proceed to voting on amendments to the Commission’s proposal. A final vote on the entire proposal will determine whether the Parliament supports the legislation or not. If a majority of MEPs votes to back the proposal, the Parliament can start inter-institutional negotiations with EU countries to find a compromise under the Spanish presi...

Bringing The Heat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:35 GMT

How about that day yesterday? Mid to upper 80s, humidity in check and a lot of sunshine winning out. Wish we could have more of those days this summer! Today, while we step up the temps another notch, we’ll also notch in another beach/pool day across the region. Temps are set to soar into the upper 80s to lower 90s as more hazy sunshine wins out. While there is the risk of a late-day storm northwest, near and outside 495, much of the day is rain-free. Will Boston hit 90 today for the first time this year? Whew… it’ll be close. The west wind isn’t overly strong, so it’s possible a sea breeze caps temps in the upper 80s at Logan Airport, where the official city temps in taken. With that said, Downtown Boston, Back Bay, Fenway, and other areas of the city that’s not on the water’s edge will likely push into the lower 90s. Low 90s will be common across much of eastern Mass. Even Cape Cod runs mid to upper 80s this afternoon. Tomorrow, temps wil...

Sumner Tunnel closure impacting travelers making their way to and from Logan Airport

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:35 GMT

As the Sumner Tunnel closure continues into its second week, traffic impacts continue to be felt across the city, especially at Logan Airport, where travelers arriving in Boston are finding themselves waiting in traffic and those looking to catch flights are having a harder time getting to the airport.Government officials are calling this week the real test for their mitigation attempts as traffic in and out of the city returns to normal levels after a vacation week. Over the last few days, traffic in and around the airport has been one of the pain points for drivers.Officials also say work is progressing well inside the tunnel, which is scheduled to remain closed through the end of August.Stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates related to the Sumner Tunnel closure.

Driver convicted in racially motivated road rage attack in Belmont to be sentenced

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:35 GMT

A Hudson man convicted in a deadly road rage incident in 2021 that was motivated by race is set to be sentenced Wednesday.Dean Kapsalis had been in a verbal altercation with 35-year-old Henry Tapia in January of 2021 before he hurled a racial slur at him, got into his Dodge Dakota pickup truck, and ran Tapia over, dragging him a short distance before fleeing the scene. Tapia, a father of three, later died at Mass. General Hospital in Boston.Kapsali’s second-degree murder charge carries a mandatory life sentence.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

South Boston beach remains closed after $31.2M renovation; residents boil

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:35 GMT

Southie residents are steaming over the $31.2 million renovation of the Curley Center.As temperatures soar, residents can’t cool off behind the new digs at the L Street Beach, as its called.It looks like the beach will stay closed for at least the next week, if not longer, as the city’s Conservation Commission still needs to approve a beach operation and management plan that the state has already signed off on.The commission is scheduled to meet July 19, and City Councilor At-Large Erin Murphy says officials have not responded to a request for an emergency hearing to expedite the opening.If the commission held a meeting earlier than next Wednesday, the beach could reopen shortly after, Murphy told the Herald on Tuesday. But a city spokesperson refuted that claim, saying the threatened piping plover bird species continues to stand in the way of access.Murphy requested the emergency meeting in a letter last week to Conservation Commission Executive Director Elena Itämeri. The co...

Howie Carr: Lucky 28 towns get migrants … guess who doesn’t?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:35 GMT

The Healey administration has released a list of the 28 cities and towns where it is spending millions on hotels and motels for thousands of handout-demanding illegals arriving from the Third World.Oddly, however, almost all the ultra-affluent suburban communities most loudly committed to celebrating diversity have thus far been unable to provide suitable free housing for the new non-working classes.The illegals are not being sent to, among other millionaire destinations, Cambridge, Brookline, Newton, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Chatham, Swampscott, Newburyport, Wellesley, Dover, Sherborn, Amherst….Do you begin to get the picture?These melanin-impaired preserves of the Beautiful People all have Hate Has No Home Here signs festooned on every lawn.  Yet oddly they somehow remain unaffected by the Democrats’ ongoing “fundamental transformation” of America into a Third World flophouse.To sum it up, the self-proclaimed sanctuary cities and towns are no-shows when it comes to providing ...

OBF: Just when you thought the Sox were out of it, they pull you back in

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:35 GMT

LAS VEGAS – It was 110 here Tuesday But it’s a dry heat. In much the same way a blizzardoften buries everything with light and fluffy snow covering a sheet of ice. Or in the way the furyof those nuclear weapons once detonated north of the city only sent mild doses of radiationtoward The Strip.Las Vegas continues to evolve. New and colorful ways to take your money are everywhere.Lights and mayhem mask the losses while aggravating your hangover. The decibel never dropsbelow “What Did You Just Say?” They need to mask the sound of all that digital cash beingvacuumed up by casinos, hotels, sports books, and other forms of entertainment.The lights are darkest at the dawn. Morning is the ugliest time of the day here. Those who workbehind the scenes are either coming home from or heading into another day of work at thetables, in the kitchen, at the desk, behind the counter, or cleaning up the mess left from thenight before.Sunshine remains the ultimate disinfectant. It cannot, sadly, do muc...

Ripples of Fukushima: Hong Kong to ban more Japanese products if radioactive water is released

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:14:35 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong would immediately ban the import of aquatic products from Fukushima and other Japanese prefectures if Tokyo discharges treated radioactive wastewater into the sea, a top official in the city said Wednesday. Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said although the wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant would be treated before discharging into the Pacific Ocean, any errors in the process would significantly affect ecology and food safety. The concern stems from Japan’s U.N.-endorsed, but controversial, plan to gradually release the treated water. “Our assessment shows prefectures near Fukushima have higher risks, so we are now taking a responsible way for our residents,” he told reporters at a briefing. The 10 affected territories are Tokyo, Fukushima, Chiba, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Gunma, Miyagi, Niigata, Nagano and Saitama, he added. A massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 destroyed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant’s cool...