Month: February 2022

LIVE UPDATES: Hungary Offers to Host Negotiations Between Ukraine and Russia

The latest on the Russia-Ukraine crisis: Hungary’s foreign minister has offered Budapest as a possible location for negotiations between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine as Russia’s invasion intensifies. “Budapest can serve as a safe venue for both the Russian and Ukrainian negotiation delegations,” Peter Szijjarto said in a video on Facebook late Friday, adding…


LIVE UPDATES: Russian Troops Attack Kyiv Military Base, Are Repelled: Ukraine Military

Russian troops attacked an army base in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv but the assault was repelled, the Ukrainian military said in a Facebook posting early on Saturday. Separately, the Interfax Ukraine agency said Russian soldiers were trying to capture one of the city’s electricity generating stations. — Ukrainian President Says Russian Forces Will Assault…


Hong Kong’s New COVID-19 Cases Top 10,000 in Spiraling Outbreak

HONG KONG—Hong Kong on Feb. 25 reported another sharp jump in new COVID-19 cases to more than 10,000 in the latest 24-hour period as it battles its worst outbreak of the pandemic. The new daily case count reached 10,010, health officials said, after topping 6,000 last week and 8,000 earlier this week in a spiraling…


Hong Kong Families Despair as COVID-19 Rules May Separate Them From Children

HONG KONG—Guada, a mother of two young children and pregnant with twins, cries herself to sleep at night, worried that Hong Kong’s severe COVID-19 rules will separate her from her kids or force her to give birth alone. Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 in Hong Kong, including infants and children, are put into isolation…


Evergrande Sells 4 Projects to State-Owned Firms for $337 Million

HONG KONG—China Evergrande Group said on Friday it sold stakes and “right to debt” in four developments to two state-owned trust firms for 2.13 billion yuan ($337.35 million), in a move to ensure their construction goes ahead as well as delivery of its other projects. The world’s most indebted property developer is struggling to complete…


UEFA Moves Champions League Final From St Petersburg to Paris

UEFA has moved this year’s Champions League final from St Petersburg to Paris in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, European soccer’s governing body said in a statement on Friday. UEFA also said the home games of Ukrainian and Russian club and national teams competing in UEFA competitions would be played at neutral venues…


Florida House Passes ‘Parental Rights in Education’ Bill

Florida’s House of Representatives on Feb. 24 passed a bill related to parental rights in education, which, among various measures, would ban discussions in classrooms about “sexual orientation or gender identity in certain grade levels or in a specified manner.” The Republican-backed measure, HB 1557 (pdf), passed the House with a 69–47 vote, with mostly Republican support. It…


Progressive, Socialist Policies Are Destructive, Have Never Brought Prosperity: Economist Robert Genetski

After years of data accumulation and analysis, top U.S. economist Robert Genetski found that progressive or socialist policies are destructive and can only bring America away from prosperity. He also said the Biden administration’s economic policies are “absolutely” progressive or socialist. Genetski is “one of the nation’s premier interest rate forecasters,” according to the Heartland…


Newsom Lifts Most COVID-Related Executive Orders

SACRAMENTO—Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Feb. 25 all but 5 percent of California’s COVID-19 related executive orders would be lifted by the end of June while keeping the state of emergency declaration in place. “As we move the state’s recovery forward, we’ll continue to focus on scaling back provisions while maintaining essential testing, vaccination and…


Valencia: History at its Heart, Fire in its Soul

“In 2014, they invited the director of restoration of the Sistine Chapel. He entered here and exclaimed, ‘Why didn’t you tell me you had a Sistine Chapel in Valencia?’” our guide Konstantin, of Discovering Valencia, paused as my wife and I stared up in awe where beams of sunlight, glowing in the incense smoke, lit…