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‘It is not easy to be a Christian in Europe,’ Orbán tells Georgian PM

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:34:45 GMT

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán spoke of the hurdles faced by Christians in Europe during talks with his Georgian counterpart Irakli Garibashvili in Tbilisi on Thursday. Religion was a big theme of the Hungarian leader’s trip to the South Caucasus nation as the two prime ministers visited a monastery together with their spouses and commended each other for upholding Christian values.“It is not easy to be a Christian in Europe, to govern a Christian government in Europe,” Orbán said as he shared his concerns that Christian traditions are “doomed to fail” unless they can be protected. Speaking in support of Georgia’s European aspirations, Orbán expressed disappointment at the EU’s decision not to grant Georgia membership candidate status “while it was given to countries that are far inferior to Georgia in terms of development.”Three countries applied for EU membership last year, with Ukraine and Moldova granted candidate status while the Commission said that ...

Polish parties scramble for coal miners’ vote in knife-edge election

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:34:45 GMT

WARSAW — They may be aging, fading in influence and dwindling in number, but Poland’s coal miners might just help swing the country’s nail-biting election.Parties are fighting hard to win coal miners’ backing ahead of Sunday’s vote — even if it means making them empty promises.Poland still produces 70 percent of its power from hard coal and lignite, and counts 80,000 miners backed by powerful trade unions mainly concentrated in the country’s southern region of Silesia.That also happens to be a swing region in an election that’s being pitched as an existential battle for the future of the country. The two main parties — Donald Tusk’s pro-EU Civic Coalition and Jarosław Kaczyński’s nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party — are scrambling for every extra vote as POLITICO’s poll of polls shows neither one is expected to win enough seats to rule alone.“This is very important region,” said Zdzisław Krasnodębski, a PiS MEP on the European Parliament’s energy committ...

Ukrainians in Israel — from one war zone to another

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:34:45 GMT

KYIV — Viktoriia Gryshchenko, an intellectual property rights specialist from Kyiv, arrived in Israel only 10 days ago, looking forward to a temporary break from Russia’s war on her homeland. “But I only escaped from war into another war. And I say that with a bitter smile on my face,” said Gryshchenko, who had not left Kyiv since the start of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine more than 19 months ago. On the morning of October 7, she awoke in Petah Tikva, a city 10 kilometers east of Tel Aviv, just as if she were back in Kyiv on February 24, 2022, as Hamas launched thousands of missiles at Israel. In addition to rocket barrages, Hamas militants stormed into Israel, killing hundreds and kidnapping dozens more. In response, Israel launched a large-scale assault and siege of Gaza. “I can compare both wars. And Hamas is acting just like Russia. Identical attacks, identical atrocities,” Gryshchenko told POLITICO. “I can see this is the same evil that came...

Johns Hopkins DL Luke Schuermann drawing NFL attention: ‘His statistics don’t look real’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:34:45 GMT

Before he developed into a three-year starting defensive end for Johns Hopkins football, Luke Schuermann was a high school student in St. Louis who was unsure whether he was destined to continue his career at the college level.“When I first started playing high school football, my thought process was, ‘Oh, I’ll enjoy it, but I don’t really think I want to play in college,’ he said. “Then I kind of had a change of mind and decided to go in that direction.”Schuermann’s choice seems prophetic. The 6-foot-4, 255-pound senior defensive lineman is the two-time reigning Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Year and ranks second in the league in both sacks (five) and tackles for loss (8 1/2). The Blue Jays (5-0, 1-0 conference) are ranked No. 7 in the most recent American Football Coaches Association poll and sit just behind Muhlenberg (5-0, 2-0) in the race for the league title.And that decision might continue to pay dividend...

Chicago Bears secondary could get some help — and it won’t have to defend against Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:34:45 GMT

The Chicago Bears could receive a boost in the secondary this week just in time for an NFC North matchup against the Minnesota Vikings — though the Bears won’t have to face star wide receiver Justin Jefferson.The Bears designated nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon to return from injured reserve Monday, one day before the Vikings reportedly decided to put Jefferson on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. Gordon had surgery on his broken hand after the season opener and missed the last four games. The Bears now have 21 days to put Gordon back on the 53-man roster.Coach Matt Eberflus declined to delve into injury updates Monday as the Bears returned to Halas Hall from their mini-bye following Thursday’s 40-20 victory over the Washington Commanders. The statuses of safety Eddie Jackson (foot) and cornerback Jaylon Johnson (hamstring) also will be worth monitoring this week after both missed extended time in the last month.But Eberflus did speak of the value of getti...

Patriots might as well see what they have in Malik Cunningham at this point

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:34:45 GMT

FOXBORO — It would be difficult for the Patriots to be worse on offense, so entering desperation mode at just the one-third mark of the season, Bill O’Brien and the offense might as well pull out all of the stops Week 6 against the Raiders.Yes, that should include elevating preseason hero Malik Cunningham, a quarterback/wide receiver-hybrid, from the practice squad and seeing if he can provide a spark on offense.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | J.C. Jackson gaining confidence back in return with Patriots New England Patriots | Will Tyquan Thornton get thrown into Patriots’ injury-ravaged receiver mix? New England Patriots | Patriots mailbag: What QB options are available after 2023 season? New England Patriots | Callahan: The Patriots defense can help the offense with this one fix New England Patriots | Patriots-Raiders injury report: S Kyle Dugger added to list of 16 injured players T...

Bill Belichick scouts speedy Patriots WR who could make team debut Sunday

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:34:45 GMT

The Patriots will likely be without two of their top receivers against the Raiders this weekend, as JuJu Smith-Schuster and Demario Douglas remain in concussion protocol.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | J.C. Jackson gaining confidence back in return with Patriots New England Patriots | Will Tyquan Thornton get thrown into Patriots’ injury-ravaged receiver mix? New England Patriots | Patriots mailbag: What QB options are available after 2023 season? New England Patriots | Callahan: The Patriots defense can help the offense with this one fix New England Patriots | Patriots-Raiders injury report: S Kyle Dugger added to list of 16 injured players Thursday Neither player participated in any of the team’s three practices this week. Their expected absences should create an opportunity for the Patriots to elevate practice-squad wideouts like Jalen Reagor to their game-day roster.Reagor, a 2020 ...

Chicago Bears Week 6 storylines: Luke Getsy’s grounded outlook, Jaylon Johnson’s revised test and the threat of T.J. Hockenson

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:34:45 GMT

Chicago Bears coach Matt Eberflus used the extra time after the Oct. 5 victory at Washington to perform an in-depth examination of his team. Sure, the Bears are 1-4 and just won their first game in more than 11 months. But Eberflus is convinced he sees an improving and unified group that has gotten stronger through adversity and can build on last week’s performance in a meaningful way.The next opportunity comes Sunday in an NFC North home game against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field. As the Bears look to further their growth, here’s the inside slant on three notable storylines.One step at a timeLuke Getsy is nothing if not levelheaded, an offensive coordinator with an aversion to unnecessary worry but also severely allergic to the kind of delirious excitement that tends to mushroom after short surges of success. So it was only fitting Thursday morning to take Getsy’s temperature on the state of his Bears offense, a unit that sputtered through September an...

Ravens vs. Titans staff picks: Who will win Sunday’s Week 6 game in London?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:34:45 GMT

Here’s how The Baltimore Sun sports staff views the outcome of Sunday’s Week 6 game between the Ravens (3-2) and the Titans (2-3) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.Brian Wacker, reporterRavens 24, Titans 20: For all of the Ravens’ foibles in last week’s loss to the Steelers, they still had several opportunities to win. They also haven’t played back-to-back poor games this season, and it seems unlikely they’ll be plagued by so many dropped passes again. Their offensive line also has a chance to be fully intact and healthy again with the possible return of Morgan Moses and Ronnie Stanley getting a few more practices under his belt since returning In Week 5. Still, the Titans are physical, always play the Ravens tough and have playmakers in Derrick Henry and DeAndre Hopkins. Like most of the Ravens’ games this season, this one figures to be close.Mike Preston, columnistRavens 21, Titans 17: Ravens receivers have something to prove a...

Winter Olympic host cities for 2030 and 2034 to be chosen at the same time in July

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:34:45 GMT

MUMBAI, India — Citing concerns about the effects of climate change, the International Olympic Committee said Friday it wants to pick two Winter Olympic host cities in July — putting Salt Lake City quickly into play for the 2034 edition.IOC president Thomas Bach said the Olympic body aims to confirm hosts for both the 2030 and 2034 Winter Games at its meeting on the eve of next year’s Paris Olympics.Sweden, Switzerland and France have been working on possible bids for the 2030 edition and Salt Lake City officials have long targeted 2034. That would avoid the United States hosting back-to-back Olympics after the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games.Picking Salt Lake City a decade in advance would give the IOC a trusted partner amid changing weather patterns and also could keep together people who have worked toward bringing the Olympics back the city that hosted the 2002 Games.The double award proposal by the IOC executive board still needs approval by the full membership at the Olymp...