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Are all oligarchs the same?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:48 GMT

An exhaustive new study welcomes western sanctions against Russia’s “aggression” in Ukraine but calls for a “constructive critique” of their current effectiveness. The legal study, authored by two experienced, Berlin-based lawyers, states that sanctions, or “restrictive measures”, are to be welcomed as they are an “important” and “effective” tool.Sanctions “send a clear signal of disapproval” to the Russian regime over its invasion of Ukraine, it adds.But the authors say there is still “room for improvement” and call for a “constructive” review of current sanctions so as to make them “more effective”.The study findings of the report and current sanctions against Russia were debated at a day-long Brussels conference, attended by about 170 legal experts and political scientists in person and via livestream, on 23 March. It was organised by NAIMA Strategic Legal Services.The report was authored by Dr Anna Oehmichen, founder and lawyer at Oehmichen International, a Berlin-based law comp...

Word Game: March 25, 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:48 GMT

TODAY’S WORD — JAMBOREES (JAMBOREES: jam-buh-REEZ: Large, festive gatherings.)Average mark 32 wordsTime limit 45 minutesCan you find 48 or more words in JAMBOREES? The list will be published Monday.YESTERDAY’S WORD — STEALTH sale salt sate seal seat shale slat slate stale stat state steal stet tale taste teal teat test that theta east lase lash last late latest lath lathe latte leash least lest hale halt haste hate heal heatTo purchase the Word Game book, visit WordGameBooks.com. Order it now for just $5 while supplies last!RULES OF THE GAME:1. Words must be of four or more letters.2. Words that acquire four letters by the addition of “s,” such as “bats” or “dies,” are not allowed.3. Additional words made by adding a “d” or an “s” may not be used. For example, if “bake” is used, “baked” or “bakes” are not allowed, but “bake” and “baking” are admissible.4. Proper nouns, slang words, or vulgar or sexually explicit words are not allowed.Contact Word Game creator...

Bridge: March 25, 2023

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:48 GMT

“Simple Saturday” columns focus on basic technique and logical thinking.New players often attribute magical powers to experts. I have had beginners ask me whether I can tell what everybody has right after the cards are dealt. An experienced declarer can visualize the defenders’ hands, based on the bidding and play; nothing about it is magic.Today’s South reaches four hearts after West has tossed in a passed-hand overcall of two diamonds. West cashes the K-Q of diamonds, then leads the ace. South ruffs, draws trumps and takes the top spades. How should declarer proceed to attack the clubs?NINE POINTSDeclarer cashes the ace and leads the four. West plays the three and ten. South knows that West, who didn’t open the bidding, has shown nine points in diamonds, so he won’t hold the king of clubs. South plays low from dummy and makes his game when East must play the king.“Card reading” is within the grasp of any player. Most of the inference...

Horoscopes March 25, 2023: Elton John, make your mark

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:48 GMT

CELEBRITIES BORN ON THIS DAY: Jenny Slate, 41; Laz Alonso, 49; Sarah Jessica Parker, 58; Elton John, 76.Jenny Slate (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP) Happy Birthday: Refuse to let anger consume you when reason and practical action are required. Striving to help and make a difference will pay off. Don’t take unnecessary risks or limit what you can do by trying to cut corners. Use your intelligence and connections to reach your goal and make your mark. Your numbers are 4, 12, 22, 25, 33, 37, 46.ARIES (March 21-April 19): Leave nothing undone; completion is the key to success. False claims will lead you astray. Verify information before you invest your time or money. Make a point not to overload your plate; you’re better off doing one thing well than many incompletely. 3 starsTAURUS (April 20-May 20): Don’t count on anything or anyone but yourself and your attributes. Stay focused on what’s important to you, and don’t stop until you are satisfied ...

Mueren al menos 21 personas tras tormentas generadoras de tornados en Mississippi

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:48 GMT

(CNN) — Al menos 21 personas murieron después de poderosas tormentas y al menos un tornado que azotaron Mississippi este viernes por la noche, arrancaron techos de casas, casi arrasaron algunos vecindarios y dejaron sin electricidad a miles, dijeron las autoridades este sábado por la mañana.El Servicio Meteorológico Nacional confirmó que un tornado azotó las ciudades de Silver City y Rolling Fork, que un residente describió como borrado tras el paso devastador de la tormenta.“Nunca había visto algo así”, dijo a CNN Brandy Showah, residente de Rolling Fork. “Esta era una pequeña ciudad muy grande, y ahora se ha ido”.Se registraron al menos 13 muertes aproximadamente a 96 km al noroeste de Jackson en el condado de Sharkey, muy afectado, hogar de Rolling Fork, según la forense del condado Angelia Easton.Otras tres personas murieron y al menos dos personas se encuentran en estado crítico en el condado de Humphreys, dijo a CNN el director de gestión de emergencias, Royce Steed, est...

DC man sentenced to 27 years in prison for killing girlfriend

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:48 GMT

A D.C. man convicted of killing his girlfriend while her 7-year-old son slept nearby was sentenced to 27 years in prison on Friday.Darnell Sterling, 57, was previously found guilty of second degree murder, among other charges, in the 2020 killing of his 34-year-old girlfriend, Olga Ooro.More Local NewsMore DC NewsIn July 2020, Ooro was reported missing a few days after the couple returned from a date after another tenant of her apartment building discovered her 7-year-old son wandering the halls, sobbing and asking for his mom.Prosecutors say Sterling killed Ooro inside her Northwest D.C. apartment while her son was asleep, cleaned up the crime scene, hid her body and left. He returned the next day to retrieve her body from the hidden location and transported it to a secondary site that has yet to be uncovered.At the time of Ooro’s disappearance, Sterling was under a protective court order stemming from a domestic abuse incident with Ooro in April 2020. Sterling was arrested J...

Esta noche es la Hora del Planeta 2023: qué es y cuándo es

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:48 GMT

(CNN) — Esta noche personas de todo el mundo apagarán sus luces durante una hora. Es parte de una campaña mundial llamada La Hora del Planeta.El Ártico está cada vez peor: así afecta el calentamiento global a la región, según NOAA¿Qué es la Hora del Planeta?La Hora del Planeta es una tradición anual iniciada por el Fondo Mundial para la Naturaleza (WWF, por sus siglas en español) en 2007 en Sydney, Australia, para crear conciencia sobre el cambio climático. Los participantes en más de 190 países apagarán sus luces durante una hora el sábado.Puntos de referencia mundiales —como la Ópera de Sídney, la Puerta de la India, el Phoenix Center de Beijing en China, la Puerta de Brandenburgo en Alemania, el Coliseo en Italia, el Empire State Building en Estados Unidos y el Cristo Redentor en Brasil— apagarán sus luces para mostrar su apoyo a la campaña.¿Cuál es el propósito de la Hora del Planeta?WWF describe el evento como un símbolo de “unidad” y “esperanza” p...

Pope expands sex abuse law, reaffirms adults can be victims

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:48 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Saturday updated a 2019 church law aimed at holding Catholic hierarchs accountable for covering up cases of sex abuse, expanding the norms to cover lay Catholic leaders and reaffirming that vulnerable adults can also be victims of abuse when they are unable to consent.Francis reaffirmed and made permanent the temporary provisions of the 2019 law that were passed in a moment of crisis for the Vatican and Catholic hierarchy. That law had been praised at the time for laying out precise mechanisms to investigate complicit bishops and religious superiors, but its implementation has been uneven and the Vatican has been criticized by abuse survivors for continued lack of transparency about the cases.The new norms conform to other changes in the Catholic Church’s handling of abuse that have been issued since then. Most significantly, they are expanded to cover leaders of Vatican-approved associations headed by lay leaders, not just clerics. That is a resp...

Service changes on almost 40 TTC routes set to take effect Sunday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:48 GMT

The Toronto Transit Commission will adjust scheduling on almost 40 of its routes on Sunday as part of its plan to align service with demand.As of March 26, the TTC says 37 daytime bus, streetcar and subway routes and two overnight bus routes will see “reliability improved and capacity will be matched to ridership demand, or both.”The adjustments will also mean longer wait times for customers on 11 of the routes affected. Customers on 24 other routes will see shorter wait times in some periods of the day and longer wait times in other periods, while two routes will have shorter wait times overall.The service reductions come into effect a little over a week before the TTC is set to increase fares for youth and adults by 10 cents.However, a new study by Toronto Metropolitan University found the upcoming service cuts will disproportionately impact the city’s marginalized communities who often depend on public transit for their everyday needs.The report – 2023 TTC Servi...

Montreal artist won’t change puppet that community groups say looks like blackface

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:48 GMT

MONTREAL — A theatre performance for children featuring a puppet that has been described as racist is continuing in the Montreal area.Several Black community organizations have criticized the puppet as being reminiscent of blackface minstrel shows — racist performances during which white people portrayed exaggerated stereotypes of Black people for laughs. But the show’s creator — Franck Sylvestre, who is Black — has no plans to change the puppet, which he said is a caricature of his own features. Sylvestre said in an interview he can’t accept the idea that he’s not allowed to create a caricature of someone who is Black because racists created caricatures of Black people in the past. “That’s unheard of for an artist,” he said.The play, called L’incroyable secret de barbe noire — French for The Incredible Secret of Blackbeard — first drew controversy in February. A performance at a municipal theatre in the Montreal suburb of Beaconsfield, Que....