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China retaliates in EU trade row by launching liquor probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:28 GMT

China will investigate whether European producers of liquors are dumping their products on the Chinese market in apparent retaliation against a European Commission probe into subsidies for electric vehicles made in China.Though the Ministry of Commerce didn’t mention any countries or distillers by name in its announcement on Friday, the probe likely will target cognac, Armagnac and other varieties of French brandies. The ministry describes the focus as “spirits made from distilled wine originating in the EU and imported into containers of less than 200 liters.”The inquiry comes only three months after the official start of the EU’s investigation into whether subsidies for electric vehicle producers from China are unfair. Beijing has argued the ramping production of the cars is not due to subsidies but rather the result of carefully planning its access to raw materials plus a decade-long march to improve its industrial innovation.The commerce ministry launched the probe in resp...

Woman accused of killing Boston Police officer boyfriend expected in court Friday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:28 GMT

Karen Read, accused of killing her boyfriend in January 2022, will be back in court Friday.Prosecutors say after a night of drinking Read murdered Boston Police Officer John O’Keefe by running him over with her car and leaving him outside in the snow near a Canton home.Read has pleaded not guilty and her lawyers said she had nothing to do with the officer’s death.The state medical examiner said O’Keefe died from multiple injuries to the head and hypothermia.Read’s lawyers assert that O’Keefe was attacked by a dog and beaten in the Canton home after Read had left.

WATCH: Flight to Boston diverted due to unruly passenger

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:28 GMT

A flight from Fort Lauderdale to Boston Thursday had to be diverted to Orlando after an unruly passenger disrupted the flight with dangerous behavior.JetBlue confirmed the disturbance in service and said two people had to be escorted off the plane by law enforcement in Orlando.In a video captured by a passenger, the pilot can be heard explaining the situation to travelers over the plane’s intercom system.https://twitter.com/LeoRuiz037/status/1743143122073219172“We had a disruptive, violent passenger in the back,” the pilot said in the video. “Unfortunately, I could not make an announcement, tip him off. We didn’t want to agitate him more than he already was, he was attacking another passenger.”All passengers were forced to deplane so that the aircraft could refuel, pushing their arrival in Boston back further.Flight 170, originally scheduled to land at Boston’s Logan International Airport at 12:35 a.m., instead arrived hours later at ...

Boys cross-country All-Scholastics and league All-Stars

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:28 GMT

Altamo Ashkenasy (Brookline)Paul Bergeron (Westford Academy)Kalias Ciatto (Brookline)Thomas Corbett (Norwell)Stephen Goehringer (Wellesley)Jack Graffeo (Westford Academy)Isaac Gross (Marblehead)Ben Kasen (Brookline)Chris Larnard (BC High)Ryan Leslie (Billerica)Paulino Guevara Mateo (Cambridge)Eli Merritt (Wellesley)Pablo Tejedor Meyers (Brookline)Sean Moore (Danvers)Devin Moreau (Greater Lowell)Patrick Noonan (Lexington)Joey Ryan (Lexington)Ilan Sherman-Kadish (Newton South)John Wilson (BC High) ALTAMO ASHKENASYBROOKLINEThe junior finished a strong 13th to help lead the Warriors to the team win at the Meet of Champions. The Bay State Conference All-Star was fourth at the BSC Championships and 12th at the Div. 1A Championships. Ashkenasy, who also runs indoor and outdoor track, had a big day at the Twilight Invitational with a stellar fifth-place finish.PAUL BERGERONWESTFORD ACADEMYThe best runner in the state, Bergeron easily defended his Div. 1 Meet of Champions title. He went...

Trump meets with Teamsters boss, who says 45 agreed to sit down with union

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:28 GMT

The head of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the nation’s most powerful labor organizations, sat down for dinner with former President Donald Trump this week, as the million-member strong union considers which candidate to back in 2024 and Trump works to secure the support of the working class.The General President of the Teamsters, Sean O’Brien, and Trump, the leading contender for the Republican nomination, apparently met for a one-on-one meal Wednesday evening, during which the pair discussed the plight of workers in uncertain economic times, according to a Teamsters spokesperson.“O’Brien and Trump talked about a number of topics, including ‘right to work,’ antitrust, and trade,” a Teamsters spokesperson told the Herald following their meeting.On social media, the union described the meeting as an “in-depth and productive discussion on worker issues most important to the Teamsters Union.”According to the Teamsters, during the meeting O’Brien wa...

Car crashes into home in North York sending 5 people to hospital

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:28 GMT

Five people were taken to hospital after a car crashed into a home in North York overnight.Emergency crews were called to a townhouse complex on Parkway Forest Drive, just south of Sheppard Avenue, around midnight.Toronto Fire says a vehicle crashed into the first floor of the complex. The collision caused a home’s gas main to break off, leading to a gas leak.Paramedics say five adults were taken to hospital with minor injuries. There is no word on how many of the injured were inside the home, or were occupants of the vehicle.The car involved remained at the scene.The home and all adjacent homes have since been evacuated. Enbridge is on scene to repair the leak.Parkway Forest Drive is closed south of Sheppard for the ongoing investigation.

Live updates | A hostage held in Gaza dies in captivity, his southern Israeli community says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:28 GMT

A community that was attacked during Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault into southern Israel says one of its residents, who was taken hostage, has died in captivity. The Kibbutz Nir Oz community did not give a cause of death Friday for Tamir Adar, 38. Of some 250 people captured during Hamas’ attack, around 80 were taken from Nir Oz alone, out of a population of around 400. The Israeli government says militants are still holding 113 hostages. Hamas has said it will not release any more hostages until Israel ends its military offensive and withdraws from Gaza. Israel has vowed to crush the militant group and return all the captives. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant says several thousand Hamas fighters remain in northern Gaza, where entire neighborhoods have been blasted into rubble. Heavy fighting is also underway in central Gaza and the southern city of Khan Younis, where Israeli officials say Hamas’ military structure is still largely intact. Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack from Gaza into south...

Man critically hurt after being struck by vehicle in Midtown Toronto

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:28 GMT

A man is in hospital in critical condition after he was hit by a vehicle in Midtown Toronto early Friday.Paramedics tell CityNews they were called to a section of Yonge Street south of St. Clair Avenue around 2:30 a.m.They say a man was rushed to hospital with critical injuries.Yonge is closed in both directions between Shaftesbury Avenue and Woodlawn Avenue for the investigation.

4 patients die after a fire breaks out at a hospital in northern Germany

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:28 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Four people died after a fire broke out at a hospital in northern Germany and spread to several patients’ rooms, police said Friday.Emergency workers saw flames on the fourth floor of a wing of the building in Uelzen, southeast of Hamburg, when they arrived at the scene late Thursday evening. They could hear calls for help and evacuated several people, and were able to stop the fire spreading any further.Police said that three patients died at the scene and a fourth after being taken to another hospital, German news agency dpa reported. It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were injured or what caused the fire.The Associated Press

Europe’s inflation is up after months of decline. It could mean a longer wait for interest rate cuts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:28 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Inflation plaguing Europe rose to 2.9% in December, rebounding after seven straight monthly declines as food prices rose and support for high energy bills ended in some countries. The rise in price levels is casting doubt on predictions for speedy interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank.The figure released Friday was up from the 2.4% annual inflation recorded in November — but is well down from the peak of 10.6% in October 2022.ECB President Christine Lagarde warned that inflation could tick up in coming months, taking a detour from its recent downward path. The central bank for the 20 European Union countries that use the euro currency has raised its benchmark interest rate to a record-high 4% and says it will keep it there as long as necessary to push inflation down to its goal of 2% considered best for the economy.The faster-than-expected fall in inflation over the last months of 2023 had led some analysts to predict the central bank would star...