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Labour Party leader Keir Starmer makes his pitch to UK voters with a speech vowing national renewal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:19 GMT

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — U.K. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer delivers a speech on Tuesday that amounts to a public job interview for the post of prime minister. He’ll set out to answer the question in many voters’ minds: “Why Labour?”Starmer is addressing the opposition party’s annual conference, likely the last before a national election next year. He needs to persuade voters fed up with economic stagnation and political turmoil to switch allegiance to his party, which has been out of office since 2010.He plans to pledge “a decade of national renewal,” after what he depicts as 13 years of decline under the Conservatives.“What is broken can be repaired, what is ruined can be rebuilt,” Starmer will say, according to the party. Starmer’s speech to the conference in Liverpool is a key moment for a politician who has managed to unite a fractious party and gain a substantial lead in opinion polls, but remains a blank slate to many voters. A barrister and former head of the...

Commission approves €132.3 million Polish state aid scheme to support cereal and oilseeds producers in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:19 GMT

The European Commission has approved an approximately €132.3 million (PLN 610m) Polish scheme to support the cereal and oilseeds production sectors in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine. The scheme was approved under the State Aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023 to support measures in sectors which are key to accelerate the green transition and reduce fuel dependencies. The new Framework amends and prolongs in part the Temporary Crisis Framework, adopted on 23 March 2022 to enable member states to support the economy in the context of the current geopolitical crisis, already amended on 20 July 2022 and on 28 October 2022.Under the scheme, the aid will consist in limited amounts of aid in the form of direct grants. The scheme will be open to cereal and oilseed producers that fulfil the criteria established under the emergency measures Poland implemented to support these sectors in accordance with the provisions of EU Regul...

Israel “A democracy under threat”.

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:19 GMT

Taiwan's Representative to the EU and Belgium has voiced concern about the latest bloody unrest in the Middle East.Speaking on Monday (9 October), Alexander Tah-ray Yui described Israel as “another democracy under threat”.His comments came in the wake of the deadly outbreak of violence in the region at the weekend.He told an audience of EU and Belgian policymakers he wanted to express “our condemnation in the strongest terms against the terrorist acts perpetrated by Hamas against the State of Israel and its people, and our deepest condolences to the Israeli families who have lost dear ones during these senseless attacks.”He added: “It is during these moments when you realize who really are your friends and we stand beside Israel during these difficult times.”He added: “Likewise, Taiwan has supported Ukraine’s resistance against Russia’s invasion since the beginning and continues to do so, as it is also a democracy under threat. We do what we can in the relief of humanitarian assista...

Harriette Cole: My husband berates me because he forgets what I tell him

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:19 GMT

DEAR HARRIETTE: I feel like I tell my husband things, and he never remembers.Related ArticlesAdvice | Harriette Cole: I’m tired of hearing about her kids’ private school Advice | Harriette Cole: I outed a cheating husband, and I didn’t expect the repercussions Advice | Harriette Cole: It’s hard to resist getting even with my no-show friend Advice | Harriette Cole: It seems like my co-workers are avoiding me. Is it because of how I got hired? Advice | Harriette Cole: When she acted puzzled about my marriage, it got me thinking When I bring up the topic, whether it’s an event he agreed to attend or a story about mutual friends, he berates me when I tell him that we discussed the topic before.It’s getting out of hand. He is becoming hostile. Anything can set him off seemingly for no reason other than that if he doesn’t remember something, that means to him it didn&#...

Miss Manners: A virtual stranger hijacked our lunch date. What could we have done?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:19 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: The scenario: Four friends gather at a cafe, looking forward to catching up. A woman with a tenuous connection to one of the four comes over to chat while waiting for her dining companion, who never shows. She proceeds to sit at the table, eat her lunch and monopolize the conversation.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: I wasn’t going to let a runty lobster ruin my carefully planned dinner Advice | Miss Manners: What could I have said to this blithe line-jumper? Advice | Miss Manners: My wife insists this is a rule about children’s birthday parties Advice | Miss Manners: I’m stunned by my father’s request for the wedding dinner Advice | Miss Manners: My husband doesn’t like my strategy for dealing with his vexatious relatives How can we handle this in the future, short of securing a smaller table, which isn’t often available? What is a polite way ...

Lidia se fortalece hasta convertirse en huracán, Max ahora es una depresión y avanza hacia el interior del sur de México

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:19 GMT

(CNN) — Max tocó tierra este lunes por la tarde y se debilitó hasta convertirse en depresión tropical a medida que la tormenta continúa avanzando hacia el interior, según el Centro Nacional de Huracanes (NHC). Según el Gobierno de México, se permitió que expiren todas las advertencias de tormenta tropical asociadas con Max.Se espera que Max produzca precipitaciones totales de 101 a 203 milímetros con máximos locales de 305 mm hasta este martes en los estados de Guerrero y Michoacán. Es probable que estas lluvias produzcan inundaciones repentinas y urbanas, junto con posibles deslizamientos de tierra en áreas de terreno más alto cerca de la costa. Aún podrían ocurrir períodos de ráfagas de viento hasta el martes por la mañana.¿Dónde y cuándo va a tocar tierra la tormenta tropical Lidia?Lidia se fortaleció hasta convertirse en huracán, según la última actualización del NHC, y representa una amenaza para el centro-oeste de México a partir de este martes. El huracán Lidia tiene vi...

Top EU official wants European aircraft carrier and missile shield

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:19 GMT

BRUSSELS — Thierry Breton wants Europe to get serious about its defense — including by developing an aircraft carrier and missile defense shield.Speaking at a defense conference, EU Internal Market Commissioner Breton — whose portfolio also includes defense — said the European Commission “must present an ambitious European defense investment program” that makes sure fledgling efforts to build out production of ammunition and missiles can be sustained while also developing flagship initiatives like naval vessels and next-generation missile shield programs.A European defense industrial strategy is planned for November 8, a Commission official said, but Breton said it’s time to start discussing an aircraft carrier vessel to patrol the seas, a so-called Eurodome air defense system and a space-based “European threat detection and identification capability.”“With the return of high-intensity conflict on the European continent, we have no other choice,” he told def...

‘Resilient’ Orioles believe they can rally from ALDS deficit vs. Rangers: ‘I don’t want to go home yet’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:19 GMT

After the Orioles lost a second straight playoff game Sunday to leave their brilliant 2023 season one defeat from ending, veteran right-hander Kyle Gibson couldn’t encyclopedically recall how Baltimore responded to each of its two-game losing streaks during the regular season. He remembered only how they responded to salvage a series split with the Tampa Bay Rays last month.But on a team bus ride later that night, Gibson went through the schedule and saw, just as they did against the Rays, he and his teammates thrived at bouncing back. He believes it can help them do the same as they trail the Texas Rangers 2-0 in the best-of-five American League Division Series. The Orioles require victories in three straight elimination games to keep their season alive, beginning with Tuesday’s Game 3.“This team,” Gibson said, “is pretty resilient.“They’re young, but they got a lot of experience this year when it comes to playing in big games. None,...

Stock market today: Hopes that interest rate hikes will abate push world shares higher

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:19 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares climbed Tuesday in Europe and Asia after Wall Street advanced on potentially encouraging news about interest rates, which have been dragging markets lower since the summer. The International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday that the world economy is losing momentum in the face of higher interest rates, the war in Ukraine and widening geopolitical rifts.Global economic growth is forecast to slow to 2.9% in 2024 from an expected 3% this year, the IMF said. The forecast for next year is down a notch from the 3% it predicted back in July.But fueled by optimism over a respite from rising interest rates, Germany’s DAX jumped 1.6% to 15,375.23 and the CAC 40 in Paris was up 1.4% to 7,117.90. Britain’s FTSE 100 gained 1.5% to 7,604.40. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.2% higher. On Monday, the S&P 500 gained 0.6%, flipping from losses to gains after two Federal Reserve officials suggested interest rates might rema...

Chinese coast guard claims to have chased away Philippine navy ship from South China Sea shoal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:19 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s coast guard claimed Tuesday to have chased a Philippine navy ship from a disputed shoal in the South China Sea as tensions between the two countries over rich fishing areas escalate.Coast guard spokesman Gan Yu said the Philippine ship had sailed into waters next to the Scarborough Shoal, which China calls Huangyan Island, and ignored “multiple calls” to turn back. “The Chinese coast guard took necessary measures to expel the Philippine ship in accordance with the law, such as following it and forcing it out and controlling its route,” Gan said. In Manila, the Philippines’ military chief of staff, Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr., said authorities were still looking into the alleged incident but think it was more likely “propaganda from the Chinese” than an actual confrontation.“If we ever have a ship there, we will not agree to be driven away (from our) exclusive economic zone,” Brawner told reporters. “It’s our right to make sure that our...