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UK cuts King’s funding — because he’s coining it from offshore wind

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:04 GMT

The U.K. government has more than halved the rate of public funding it gives King Charles III — because the monarch is making such big profits through offshore wind projects on the Crown Estate.The Sovereign Grant — the yearly payment made by the government to the royal household — will be reduced to 12 percent of Crown Estate net profits in 2024/25, down from 25 percent.The actual payment will remain flat at £86 million, but the change means Charles III and his household will receive nearly £300 million less over the next three years than they would if the rate had stayed the same.Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said the cut reflected “the unexpected significant increase in the Crown Estate’s net profits from offshore wind developments.”“For almost 300 years, kings and queens have surrendered the profits from the Crown Estate to the British people, and in return the government has provided a fraction of that to properly support the king in undertaking his official duties,” Hunt ad...

Frans Timmermans bids to return to Dutch politics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:04 GMT

EU Green Deal chief Frans Timmermans said Thursday he will run for the leadership of a joint Socialist-Green ticket in November’s Dutch election — which could mean his departure from the European Commission.The snap election was called after long-time Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced his departure from politics earlier this month following his government’s collapse. “I reported this morning to the Labor Party and GroenLinks that I would like to be a candidate to be a list leader for both of those parties in the next elections,” Timmermans said in a video announcement.“I think it is time for us in the Netherlands to grow together again, instead of growing apart. The fragmentation in politics must be countered. We have gigantic challenges, a climate crisis, nature is not in good shape,” the Dutchman said.Members of Timmermans’ Labor Party recently voted to fight in the upcoming election together with the Dutch Greens. “Timmermans as a prime minister is what the Netherland...

Boston police release video of car sought in deadly hit-and-run in Hyde Park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:04 GMT

Boston police released photos and a video Wednesday night of a car possibly connected to a hit-and-run crash that killed a four-year-old boy in Hyde Park on Tuesday. The car, police said, is described as a dark gray subcompact hatchback. It was last seen driving on Wood Avenue in the direction of Cummings Highway.Police have asked anyone with information to contact them as investigators continue efforts to track down a driver who they say left the scene of the deadly crash. Family members identified the child who was killed as Ivan Pierre. On Wednesday afternoon, Pierre’s uncle wiped away tears while speaking about his nephew. “We’ve pretty much seen it all, accidents happening here and drive-by shootings and now one of our own was taken from us,” Heroldy Limage said. Limage said the crash happened as the family gathered to see the boy’s mother’s new car around 9:30 p.m. Limage said the boy’s mother had just got home and family members were gath...

Iraq orders the expulsion of Sweden’s ambassador as a man desecrated the Quran in Stockholm

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:04 GMT

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s prime minister ordered the expulsion of the Swedish ambassador from Iraq and the withdrawal of the Iraqi charge d’affaires from Sweden on Thursday as a man desecrated of a copy of the Quran in Stockholm with permission from Swedish authorities.The diplomatic blowup came hours after protesters angered by the planned burning of a copy of the Islamic holy book stormed the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad early Thursday, breaking into the compound and lighting a small fire.Online videos showed demonstrators at the diplomatic post waving flags and signs showing the influential Iraqi Shiite cleric and political leader Muqtada al-Sadr before a planned burning of the Islamic holy book Thursday in Stockholm by an Iraqi asylum-seeker who burned a copy of the Quran in a previous demonstration last month. Following the incident, the Swedish Embassy announced that it had closed to visitors without specifying when it would reopen. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said ...

US jobless claims fall again as labor market continues to flash strength

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:04 GMT

Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week with the labor market continuing to cruise along despite higher interest rates intended to cool hiring. U.S. applications for jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 228,000 for the week ending July 15, from 237,000 previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday.The four-week moving average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, fell by 9,250 to 237,500.Jobless claim applications are viewed as reflective of the number of layoffs in a given week.For three weeks in late May and early June, jobless claims had appeared to reach a sustained, higher level, above 260,000. But the past four weeks, claims have retreated and the labor market remains historically healthy.Since more than 20 million jobs vanished when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in the spring of 2020, U.S. employers have added jobs at a blistering pace, more often than not beating forecasts. Despite the fastest interest rate hikes since 1989, the unemplo...

Britain says it was ‘regrettable’ that the EU called the Falklands by Argentina’s preferred name

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:04 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The British government said Thursday that the European Union made a “regrettable choice of words” when it referred to the U.K.-run Falkland Islands as the Malvinas, the name preferred by Argentina.A declaration from an EU-Latin America summit on Tuesday referred to the South Atlantic archipelago as ”the Islas Malvinas/Falkland Islands.” That was hailed as a diplomatic triumph by Argentina, which has long claimed the islands.It was seen by some in the U.K. as a snub to Britain, which left the EU in 2020 and was not at the summit to make its case.Max Blain, spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said EU officials had since “clarified their position.”He said “it would have been entirely unacceptable for the EU to question the Falkland Islanders’ right to decide their own future.”“To be clear, the Falkland Islands are British, that was the choice of the islanders themselves. The EU has rightly now clarified that their position on the Falklands has not changed after thei...

Major fire near Athens contained but Europe’s heat wave keeps authorities on alert

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:04 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s Fire Service intensified water drops west of Athens where a huge blaze was contained overnight, as authorities braced Thursday for a new round of extreme weather.Seven firefighting planes and nine helicopters were operating in the area, including four planes sent from Italy and France as part of a European Union support mechanism.Searing heat across Europe’s Mediterranean south has maintained a high or very high risk of fires in Spain, Italy and Greece. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the Fire Service and civil protection authority would remain on alert as a new heat wave moved eastward across Greece. Temperatures are expected to reach 45 degrees Celsius (113F) Sunday.“The hard times are clearly not over yet,” Mitsotakis said. “We are facing another heat wave and a possible strengthening of the winds. So, absolute vigilance and absolute readiness are required over the next few days.”A state of emergency was declared Thursday on the island...

At least 2 dead as Russia aims ‘retaliatory’ strikes at southern Ukraine cities for a third night

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:04 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia pounded Ukraine’s southern cities Thursday with drones and missiles for a third consecutive night, targeting some of the country’s critical grain export infrastructure and helping to drive up food prices in countries facing hunger.At least two people in the besieged port city of Odesa were killed in the strikes, which came days after President Vladimir Putin pulled Russia out of a wartime deal that allowed Ukraine to send grain to some needy countries. The attacks came after Moscow vowed “retribution” earlier this week for an attack that damaged a crucial bridge between Russia and the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula. Russian officials blamed that strike on Ukrainian drone boats.Odesa Gov. Oleh Kiper said Ukrainian air defenses destroyed all of the 12 Iranian-made Shahed drones and two Kalibr missiles that targeted Odesa. But he added that air defense systems were unable to shoot down some incoming missiles, in particular the X-22 and Onyx types. He didn&...

Tesla recalling nearly 16,000 of its 2021-2023 Model S and Model X vehicles due to seat belt issue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:04 GMT

Tesla is recalling nearly 16,000 of its 2021-2023 Model S and Model X vehicles because some front-row seat belts may not have been reconnected properly after being repaired.Tesla said in its safety recall report that in the vehicles, a first-row seat belt was disconnected from its pretensioner anchor as part of a necessary step to perform a repair. But the seat belt may not have been reconnected to its pretensioner anchor properly after the repair was made. The company said that if the seat belt isn’t reconnected properly, it may not perform as it’s supposed to in a collision, which may increase the risk of injury. U.S. highway safety regulators opened an investigation into possible Tesla seat belt issues in March. As of June 19, Tesla has identified 12 warranty claims related to the issue, but the company is not aware of any crashes, injuries or deaths that may be related to the seat belt issue. Notification letters will be mailed to owners who have vehicles related to ...

Beach closures because of contamination prevent sunbathers from taking a dip to beat the heat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:04 GMT

Many sunbathers who want to take a dip in the cool water to escape the summer heat are being thwarted by high bacteria levels in water at popular beaches across New England.The Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported that 78 public beaches were closed Wednesday, mostly because of high levels bacteria. Nearly a dozen beaches and bodies of water in New Hampshire were also under some sort of advisory. In Maine, eight beaches were closed because of contamination. There was no swimming at 10 state parks in Vermont.Most of the closures were because of high levels of E. coli associated with waste. Others were for algae blooms, some of which can be toxic.Some of the high levels of bacteria in lakes and ponds can be linked to heavy rainfall that caused flooding and contamination, including agricultural runoff. That’s also contributing to problems in coastal waters.Swimming in contaminated water can cause problems skin rashes to gastrointestinal and respiratory issues. Enviro...