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Republic of Radev: Bulgaria’s impasse empowers its elusive president

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:50 GMT

SOFIA — Bulgaria’s fifth general election in two years on Sunday is unlikely to break the country’s long-running political deadlock, meaning that the enigmatic president, Rumen Radev, is once again likely to be the main winner on the night. Bulgarian presidents usually only play a largely ceremonial role, but the utter disarray among parliamentary parties in the past two years means the former MiG-29 pilot and head of the air force now plays an outsize role in appointing technocratic caretaker administrations — with major repercussions for the NATO country’s foreign policy during the Ukraine war. But what’s his agenda? Anti-corruption fighter, or pro-Russian stooge? He’s a slippery, versatile personality to pin down, but no one doubts the 59-year-old’s ambition to stick around and pull the strings. He was little known before he burst onto the scene and won the presidential election in 2016, nominated by the Socialists, the successors of the former...

Inside the deal: How Britain joined CPTPP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:50 GMT

LONDON — It was all meant to happen in early March.Negotiators from the 11 nations that make up the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) gathered on the palm-lined Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc with their U.K. counterparts, led by Britain’s chief negotiator Graham Zebedee, for a week-long summit. After 18 months of talks, the U.K. was on the verge of becoming the trade bloc’s first new member since its formation in 2018.CPTPP nations had watched with concern the long-running dispute between the U.K. and the EU over the Northern Ireland protocol on post-Brexit trading arrangements. But with the replacement Windsor Framework unveiled amid much fanfare on February 27 — just in time for the first day of talks — everything was falling into place for an agreement in principle on U.K. accession.But at the 11th hour, an issue that had lingered throughout the negotiations burst to the fore.Britain had already agreed to liberalize tariffs on beef and s...

Why Britain’s Pacific trade deal is about more than just trade

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:50 GMT

LONDON — The U.K.’s accession to an 11-strong Pacific trade pact is about much more than just whisky tariffs and beef imports. It’s about post-Brexit Britain’s place in a 21st century dominated by the rise of China.Formally announced in the early hours of Friday morning, Britain’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is being touted as the U.K.’s biggest trade achievement since leaving the EU in January 2020.But experts and government officials say the diplomatic benefits of U.K. membership are likely to far outweigh the economic upsides of joining the £9 trillion GDP Pacific trading bloc. London already has free-trade deals with nine of its 11 members, and the U.K. government’s own studies state CPTPP membership will not compensate for the post-Brexit fall in trade with its closest neighbor, the EU.Indeed, the move can be seen as just the latest piece in Britain’s 21st century foreign policy jigsaw, as set out in the go...

Tatum, Brown help Celtics demolish NBA-leading Bucks 140-99

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:50 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 40 points, Jaylen Brown added 30 and the Boston Celtics steamrolled the NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks 140-99 on Thursday night.The Celtics (53-24) shot 22 of 43 from 3-point range and moved within two games of the Bucks (55-22) in the Eastern Conference standings. The Celtics won the season series with the Bucks 2-1, which would give Boston the tiebreaker if both teams finish with the same record.Boston’s performance in those three games with Milwaukee should give the Celtics plenty of confidence they could knock out the Bucks again if they meet in the postseason. The Celtics beat the Bucks in seven games in last season’s East semifinals.The Celtics beat the Bucks 139-118 in Boston on Christmas Day and lost 131-125 in overtime on Feb. 14. The Celtics didn’t play Brown, Tatum, Marcus Smart or Al Horford in that overtime loss.Milwaukee took a hit on the floor as well as in the standings. Bucks forward Khris Middleton left the game...

Bruins wrap up Presidents’ Trophy with win over Blue Jackets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:50 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — David Pastrnak scored his 53rd goal of the season 41 seconds into overtime and the Boston Bruins wrapped up the Presidents’ Trophy with their franchise-record 58th victory, 2-1 over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night,Hampus Lindholm sent a pass to Pastrnak for the backhand winner.The Presidents’ Trophy goes to the NHL regular-season points leader. Boston broke a tie with the 1970-71 team for the franchise victory mark and moved four away from tying the NHL record of 62 set by Detroit in 1995-96 and matched by Tampa Bay in 2018-19.Tyler Bertuzzi had a tying power-play goal in the second and Linus Ullmark made 25 saves to help the Bruins win for the eighth time in nine games.Jack Roslovic scored for Columbus and Michael Hutchinson stopped 29 shots. The Blue Jackets have lost six of eight.Boston tied it when Bertuzzi redirected Pavel Zacha’s pass between Hutchinson’s pads.Roslovic tipped Liam Foudy’s pass just past Ullmark’s outstretched left skate at 8:08 of the...

After volunteering to do so, Orioles CEO John Angelos indicates he will not be sharing club’s finances after all

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:50 GMT

John Angelos is “as transparent as transparent gets,” he said Thursday. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be fulfilling his promise to share the Orioles’ books.Angelos, the Orioles’ chairman and CEO, had twice this year told reporters that he would reveal details of the Orioles’ financial situation. However, when asked Thursday in an interview on 105.7 The Fan if and when he’d be following through on his word, Angelos indicated that he would not be. He responded to the radio hosts’ question by criticizing The Baltimore Sun, alluding to a recent Sun article on the topic.“It’s an interesting concept and I saw that my good friends at The Baltimore Sun wanted to weigh in on that today. When the hedge fund that owns The Baltimore Sun, based in New York City, wants to open their books, I guess we’ll take a look at that. It’s difficult for me to understand what that fascination is,” Angelos said in th...

Chicago White Sox give Pedro Grifol a victory in his managerial debut, rallying for a 3-2 win against the Houston Astros in the season opener

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:50 GMT

The Chicago White Sox stood on the third-base line after both teams were introduced and watched as the Houston Astros held their 2022 championship ceremony before Thursday’s game at Minute Maid Park.Every major-league team is striving for the type of celebration that was on display.The party was followed by strong pitching and late offense in a 3-2 Sox victory in manager Pedro Grifol’s debut in front of a sellout crowd of 43,032.The Astros scored on a wild pitch in the seventh, and the Sox tied the game in the eighth with a two-out homer from Yasmani Grandal. Andrew Vaughn gave the Sox the lead with a two-run double in the ninth.Sox starter Dylan Cease and Astros starter Framber Valdez showed why they finished in the top five in the American League Cy Young Award voting last season.Cease, the Cy Young runner-up, struck out seven of the first 10 batters he faced and finished with 10 strikeouts, matching Jack McDowell (1991) for the most by a Sox pitcher on opening day. Ce...

Celtics make statement, demolish Bucks with dominant performance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:50 GMT

With just more than a week remaining in the regular season, it may be too late for the Celtics to catch the Bucks in the race for the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed, especially after Tuesday’s horrendous loss to the Wizards.But that didn’t stop them from making a statement in Milwaukee on Thursday night.The Celtics were due for a strong response – given that loss and the opponent – but probably not this strong. Led by their two best players, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the Celtics went into Fiserv Forum and handed the best team in the NBA its worst loss of the season, a 140-99 bludgeoning that was over by halftime.The Bucks were playing the second night of a back-to-back – and looked like it with their woeful performance on both ends – but this dismantling could have some ripple effects if the two teams end up meeting in the Eastern Conference Finals in a couple of months.The Celtics are now two games back of the Bucks with five games left and own the tiebreaker after winning th...

Decision expected Friday in $26B Rogers-Shaw merger

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:50 GMT

It appears we are finally getting a decision from the federal government on the Rogers-Shaw merger.Federal Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne is set to make an announcement Friday, and it could have big implications for Canada’s telecommunications sector.Champagne has called a news conference for 8:30 a.m. ET – a half hour before markets open, and the advisory says it will be to discuss competitiveness in the telecommunication sector.It comes just over a week after the minister said he was close to a decision on the $26-billion deal for Rogers Communications Inc. to take over Shaw Communications Inc.Since the initial merger announcement, it’s actually become a three-way deal with Quebecor Inc.’s Videotron Ltd. acquiring Shaw’s Freedom Mobile last month.The companies had pushed back their self-imposed deadline to March 31.The deal has yet to close because it is still awaiting Champagne’s approval. He must sign off on the transfer of wireless...

2 killed, 5 wounded in shooting outside Memphis restaurant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:10:50 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Two men were killed and five other people were wounded in a shooting outside a restaurant in Memphis, Tennessee, police said Thursday.Police said two people were arrested Thursday after the shooting that authorities said began with an altercation inside Privé restaurant and nightclub.Preliminary information provided by police showed one man was found dead at the location of Wednesday night’s shooting and another man died at a hospital.Four men and one woman, ages 25 to 35, were wounded and went to hospitals in private vehicles, police said. One of those arrested was charged with murder, and the other was charged with attempted murder, police told media outlets. The suspects were not immediately identified. The Associated Press