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Macron’s abaya ban nods to the right, splits the left

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:42 GMT

PARIS — With the ban on abayas in schools, French President Emmanuel Macron is killing two birds with one stone: He sends a signal to the right and divides the left.But he also risks opening a Pandora’s box.The decision to forbid the long, flowing robes worn by some Muslim women has ended a period of hesitation at the top levels of government over its approach to the sacrosanct principle of secularism in France.The message sent out this week by Macron’s Cabinet was one of resolve and steadfastness. Freshly appointed Education Minister Gabriel Attal said that French schools “were being tested,” while Olivier Véran, the government spokesperson, described the wearing of abayas as “a political attack.” Attal has argued the government is acting to stem a growing trend of students wearing Muslim dress in spite of a 2004 ban on religious symbols, including the Islamic hijab or headscarf, in public schools. Bruno Jeanbart, vice president of the polling ag...

Europe needs to think bigger to build its capital markets union

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:42 GMT

Fabio Panetta has been serving as a member of the executive board of the European Central Bank since 2020.With rising geopolitical tensions and urgent global challenges such as the climate and digital transitions, Europe needs to bolster its resilience to shocks and invest strategically. In order to achieve this, we need to work together, as a more integrated Europe is better positioned to realize shared goals in a fragmented global economy.Central to this strategy is the creation of an integrated European capital market — a vision set out by the European Commission in 2015, and commonly known as the capital markets union (CMU).A fully functioning CMU would both enhance Europe’s economic structure and benefit the euro area. It would do this in three main ways:It would allow us to reap the benefits of euro area-wide capital markets, and facilitate greater risk-sharing across member countries. At present, barriers between national markets are deterring cross-border investment, leaving...

How Italy’s far-right leader learned to stop worrying and love migration 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:42 GMT

Before becoming Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni was one of the most strident voices on migration in the European Union. As an opposition politician, she warned darkly of efforts to substitute native Italians with ethnic minorities and promised to put in place a naval blockade to stop migrants crossing the Mediterranean. During her time in office, she has taken a markedly different tack — presiding over a sharp spike in irregular arrivals and introducing legislation that could see as many as 1.5 million new migrants arrive through legal channels. Coming at a time when the right and far right are in ascendance ahead of the European Parliament election next spring, Meloni’s policies represent an important course correction for the Continent’s conservative bloc, as fiery rhetoric yields to the cold practicalities of governing. “Once in government, you need to find solutions, instead of scapegoats,” said Claudio Cerasa, the editor of th...

Tory green wars are about to heat up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:42 GMT

LONDON — It’s been a summer of civil war inside Britain’s main political parties over all things green — and with the nights drawing in, the real battles are about to begin.The fallout from the U.K. Conservatives’ successful by-election campaign in Uxbridge, west London, in July, which targeted Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan’s plan to tax heavily-polluting vehicles, reverberated through an unusually quiet August break. And as recess draws to a close, both major parties now face internal pressure to scale back environmental commitments which could hit household budgets during an ongoing cost-of-living squeeze, as they enter what will effectively be an extended general election campaign.Tensions will move up a notch when the U.K. parliament returns next week from its summer recess, with MPs set to debate the final stages of the Energy Bill as one of the first main items of business. It’s the last chance to influence a huge array of policy decisions arising from a major piece...

Bregman, Alvarez homer in 1st inning leading Astros over Red Sox 6-2

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:42 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez hit back-to-back homer runs in the first inning and the Houston Astros continued their late-August surge with a 6-2 win over the Red Sox on Tuesday night.Mauricio Dubón added a two-run double in the sixth for the Astros, who kept pace in a tight race for the AL West after entering the night one game behind division-leading Seattle.The Astros opened a 3 1/2-game lead over Toronto for the final AL wild card spot and are 1 percentage point behind Texas, which is second.Since dropping three straight last week, including a pair of losses to the Red Sox in Houston, the defending World Series champion Astros have slugged their way to four straight wins, scoring 45 runs during the streak.J.P. France (10-5) pitched 5 2/3 innings, holding Boston to two runs on five hits with one walk and three strikeouts.Adam Duvall homered for Boston, which has lost four of five and fell one step closer to being knocked out of playoff contention with 29 games rem...

Health officials celebrate new FDA rules allowing many gay and bisexual men to give blood

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:42 GMT

Health officials rolled up their sleeves in Dedham to give blood Tuesday at an event aimed at bringing awareness to recently updated rules enabling many gay and bisexual men to donate their blood.Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Health Robbie Goldstein and former Centers for Disease Control Director Rochelle Walensky spoke at the event, saying changing the policy for blood donation eligibility was a personal mission. “I remember the morning after the Pulse nightclub attack and just tears coming to my eyes and crying and knowing that I wanted to do so much and there was actually very little that I could do in that moment,” Goldstein said. “I couldn’t donate blood and I couldn’t give back in that way and it was something that was so necessary.”Many gay and bisexual men had previously been unable to donate blood. The FDA issued new rules in May, though. This month, the American Red Cross began accepting blood donations from newly eligible donors. Before the change, Goldstein a...

Orioles explode late to top White Sox, 9-3, match 2022 win total with 30 games remaining

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:42 GMT

The Orioles were the biggest surprise in the major leagues last season. They’re on pace to be even bigger overachievers this year.Baltimore entered the 2022 campaign expected to be the worst team in the major leagues, with FanGraphs projecting the rebuilding club to win 63 games. Those Orioles suddenly emerged in the summer as playoff contenders, vastly outshooting that projection to win 83.The 2023 Orioles won their 83rd contest Tuesday — a 9-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox — and still have 30 games to go. They were projected entering the season to win just 75 games. They’re now on pace to win 100.“I didn’t put any sort of win goal or anything on the year. I honestly just wanted to improve from last year,” manager Brandon Hyde said before Tuesday’s win. “I’ve been so impressed with our team. Our players deserve so much credit for the season they’ve had up to this point. They’ve come together extremely well...

Defense dooms Brayan Bello as Red Sox lose to Astros 6-2, fall 6.5 back in Wild Card

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:42 GMT

When Brayan Bello is at his best, he’s keeping the ball on the ground and trusting his defense to make plays behind him.Neither of those things happened on Tuesday, and the result was another long night for the Red Sox bullpen.Bello allowed back-to-back home runs in the first inning and was let down by his infielders in the fifth, as a error by Rafael Devers and a botched double play attempt extended the inning and led to another run and Bello departing after only 4.2 innings. Those setbacks, plus a quiet night for the offense, doomed the Red Sox as they lost 6-2 to the Houston Astros.The loss may have doomed Boston’s postseason hopes as well. The Red Sox are now 6.5 games back in the American League Wild Card race with 29 games left to play.“After the first inning he was good, we just didn’t make plays behind him,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said of Bello’s performance. “We put ourselves in a bad spot by not making plays.”Bello’s...

Multiple spot fires set in East County; suspect arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:42 GMT

SPRING VALLEY, Calif. -- A man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of starting multiple spot fires in Spring Valley, authorities said.Marcus Fox, 33, faces four counts of arson to property and was booked into custody at the San Diego Central Jail, Sgt. Anthony Portillo with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said in a news release.The fires, which were set to trash, wood pallets and a trash dumpster, were reported to deputies just before 6 a.m. along Bancroft Drive and Troy Street, according to law enforcement. Suspect shot, killed mom and 2 dogs before standoff in Encanto house: SDPD No structures were burned or threatened as firefighters and several witnesses put out the small fires.Deputies detained a man, later identified as Fox, found near one of the fires, Portillo said. Upon investigation, authorities determined the cause of the fires to be arson and developed probable cause to arrest Fox.

Unclear how many in Lahaina lost lives as Hawaii authorities near the end of their search for dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:42 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — Crews in Hawaii have all but finished searching for victims of the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, authorities said Tuesday, and it is unclear how many people perished. Three weeks after the fire devastated Maui’s historic seaside community of Lahaina, the count of the dead stands at 115. But an unknown number of people are still missing. Officials suggested that responders likely have already recovered any remains that are recognizable as such, and they are shifting the response to focus on removing hazardous waste and making the area safe for residents to begin returning.“We have wrapped up almost completely the search and recovery mission and moving into the next phase,” Darryl Oliveira, the interim administrator of the Maui Emergency Management Agency, said at a news conference.The next phase would be hazardous waste removal conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, he said. Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said urban search and...