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Europe heading for huge excess LNG import capacity, experts warn

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:40 GMT

European countries risk wasting huge sums of money on gas import infrastructure they won’t need after “panicking” in response to Russia’s pipeline shutoffs, expert analysts warned.In a rush to find alternative sources of gas after Russia’s Gazprom began limiting Europe’s vital pipeline imports, many European countries — and Germany in particular — fast-tracked plans for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure to bring in supplies by sea from the United States, Qatar and elsewhere.But according to a new analysis by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), shared with POLITICO, European countries may have hugely overshot the mark, with current planned import capacity far exceeding likely LNG demand by 2030.If current infrastructure plans are carried out, LNG terminal capacity across Europe — including in the U.K., Norway and Turkey, which are closely connected to the EU’s gas market — could exceed 400 billion cubic meters (bcm), the analysis...

Bruce Springsteen performs ‘Dirty Water’ during encore at TD Garden concert

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:40 GMT

Bruce Springsteen performed the Boston crowd-pleaser as part of an encore at his TD Garden concert Monday night. The audience sang along as Springsteen and the E Street Band covered “Dirty Water” by The Standells. Springsteen also received two custom Bruins and Celtics jerseys. TD Garden Tweeted a photo of the jerseys with “The Boss” written on the back.https://twitter.com/tdgarden/status/1638020774383501315?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EtweetOn Tuesday, Springsteen heads to Washington D.C. to be honored by President Biden with the National Medal of Arts. Other recipients of the award include Cambridge native and actress Mindy Kaling, legendary singer Gladys Knight, and Emmy Award-winning actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The Boss announced Tuesday that he will return to Boston on August 26 for a show at Gillette Stadium. Tickets go on sale March 24.

Jury convicts three in 2018 murder of rapper XXXTentacion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:40 GMT

(CNN) — A Florida jury convicted three men in the murder of rapper XXXTentacion on Monday.Michael Boatwright, Dedrick Williams and Trayvon Newsome were all found guilty of first-degree murder and armed robbery.XXXTentacion, who was 20, was shot and killed outside of a motorsports store in Broward County in June 2018. He was also robbed of $50,000 in cash.The Florida native, whose real name was Jahseh Onfroy, rose to fame after his song “Look at Me” went viral on social media and audio distribution platform SoundCloud in 2016, according to CNN affiliate WSVN-TV.His 2018 album “?” premiered at No. 1 when it was released in March, according to Billboard. The album’s single “Sad!” peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent 15 weeks on the charts.News of his death prompted an outpouring of condolences from musicians like Kanye West, Tyga and Big Sean.“Look At Me: XXXTENTACION,” a documentary about the rapper...

Los Angeles school workers will go on a 3-day strike, shutting down the nation’s second-largest district

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:40 GMT

(CNN) — A union representing 30,000 Los Angeles school custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and other support staff will start a three-day strike Tuesday, effectively stopping classes for more than a half million students in the nation’s second-largest school district.Service Employees International Union Local 99 members will walk off the job after nearly a year of negotiations with the Los Angeles Unified School District. United Teachers Los Angeles, a union representing about 30,000 teachers, will participate in a solidarity strike this week and join the support workers union rallies, it said.Superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced schools would be canceled for students starting Tuesday after last-minute negotiations, which included new raise offers, failed.The union wants “equitable wage increases, more full-time work, respectful treatment, and increased staffing levels for improved student services,” it said. Workers’ average...

Los Angeles schools shut down as staff begin 3-day strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:40 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tens of thousands of workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District walked off the job Tuesday over stalled contract talks, and they are being joined in solidarity by teachers in a three-day strike that has shut down the nation’s second-largest school system.Demonstrations began at a bus yard and are expected at schools across the city by members of Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 30,000 teachers’ aides, special education assistants, bus drivers, custodians, cafeteria workers and other support staff.The workers joined picket lines before dawn, demanding better wages and increased staffing. The district has more than 500,000 students from Los Angeles and all or part of 25 other cities and unincorporated county areas.Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho accused the union of refusing to negotiate and said that he was prepared to meet at any time day or night. He said Monday a “golden opportunity” to make progress was lo...

Japanese leader arrives in Kyiv as China’s Xi visits Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:40 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Kyiv for a surprise visit Tuesday, hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in neighboring Russia on a three-day trip. Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine will be in the spotlight at both meetings. Footage shown on Japanese national broadcaster NHK showed Kishida walking on the platform of Kyiv Central Station, escorted by a few people who appeared to be Ukrainian officials. The Ukrainian capital has not felt the brunt of the war, which has become bogged down eastern Ukraine. It was uncertain whether either of the Asian leaders’ visits to Kyiv and Moscow would change the course of the almost 13-month war in Ukraine, but the talks about 800 kilometers (500 miles) apart highlighted the war’s repercussions for international diplomacy as countries line up behind rival parties. The meetings came after a week in which China and Japan both enjoyed diplomatic successes that have emboldened their foreign polic...

Ukraine, Russia trade claims after blast rocks Crimean town

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:40 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian and Ukrainian officials on Tuesday gave conflicting accounts of what appeared to be a brazen attack late Monday on Russian cruise missiles being transported by train in the occupied Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula.A Ukrainian military spokesperson indicated that Kyiv was behind the explosion that reportedly destroyed multiple Kalibr cruise missiles near the town of Dzhankoi in northern Crimea, while stopping short of directly claiming responsibility.Natalia Humeniuk, the spokeswoman for Ukraine’s southern operational command, described the strike as a signal to Russia that it should leave the Black Sea peninsula it illegally took from Ukraine in 2014.Speaking on Ukrainian TV, Humeniuk pointed out Dzhankoi’s importance as a railway junction and said that “right now, the way ahead (for Russian forces in Crimea) is clear — they need to make their way out by rail already.”A vague statement by Ukraine’s military intelligence agency on Monday said that multiple mi...

Yellen says bank situation ‘stabilizing,’ system is ‘sound’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is trying project calm after regional bank failures, saying the U.S. banking system is “sound” but additional rescue arrangements “could be warranted” if any new failures at smaller institutions pose a risk to financial stability.Yellen, in an excerpt of remarks prepared for delivery to the American Bankers Association on Tuesday, says that overall “the situation is stabilizing.”“And the U.S. banking system remains sound,” Yellen says.Yellen’s remarks come after a series of troubling bank developments this month.Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California, failed on March 10 after depositors rushed to withdraw money amid anxiety over the bank’s health. It was the second-largest bank collapse in U.S. history. Regulators convened over the following weekend and announced that New York-based Signature Bank also had failed. They said that all depositors at both banks, including those holding uninsured funds, th...

Yemeni rebels sentence activists to prison for criticism

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:40 GMT

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A court in Yemen’s rebel-held capital on Tuesday sentenced four activists to prison terms, ranging from six months to three years, over their criticism of the Iran-backed rebels on social media, a lawyer said. According to their lawyer, Waddah Qutaish, the four were convicted of inciting chaos, disrupting public peace and insulting the Iran-backed rebels, also known as Houthis. They were detained in Sanaa in December and January on charges stemming from videos they had posed on social media last year criticizing the Houthis over alleged corruption and their handling of the economy. The rebels control Sanaa and most of northern Yemen. The activists’ arrest and trial are part of the Houthis’ crackdown on dissent and on those seen as working for the enemy, the Saudi-led coalition which has been battling the Houthis in Yemen’s civil war since 2015 in an effort to restore the internationally recognized government to power. One of the activists, Ahmed Elaw,...

Google suspends Chinese shopping app amid security concerns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:40 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Google has suspended the Chinese shopping app Pinduoduo on its app store after malware was discovered in versions of the app from other sources.Google said in a statement Tuesday that it suspended the Pinduoduo app on the Google Play app store out of “security concerns” and that it was investigating the matter.The suspension of the Pinduoduo app –- mainly used in China –- comes amid heightened U.S.-China tensions over Chinese-owned apps such as TikTok, which some U.S. lawmakers say could be a national security threat. They allege that such apps could be used to spy on American users.Pinduoduo is a popular e-commerce app in China which often offers discounts if users team up to buy multiples of an item. Google warned users Tuesday to uninstall any Pinduoduo app not downloaded from its own Play store. “Google Play Protect enforcement has been set to block installation attempts of these identified malicious apps,” Google said in its statement. “Users that have maliciou...