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Belgian PM wants to hit ‘pause’ on nature restoration rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:51 GMT

BRUSSELS — Politics in Belgium often devolves into battles between Flanders and Wallonia — and the EU’s call to boost nature restoration efforts is no exception.Flanders wants the proposal watered down, hoping to spare angry farmers, while Wallonia wants a more ambitious law. It’s also splitting the federal government, with Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on Tuesday saying it’s time to “hit the pause button” on the EU’s Nature Restoration Regulation, while his climate minister is pushing in the opposite direction.That political deadlock means Belgium has no unified national position on the file, and without that, it can’t take a stance in ongoing talks at the Council of the EU, which are expected to conclude on June 20.The proposed regulation aims to restore at least 20 percent of the EU’s degraded ecosystems by 2030, and all areas in need of restoration by mid-century. But that could wreak havoc on farmers — a powerful political constituency in Flande...

Finally — UK inflation falls below 10 percent, but the stickiness is too obvious to ignore

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:51 GMT

U.K. inflation finally fell back below 10 percent in April but still overshot expectations, underlining how deeply it has taken root in the last two years. The consumer price index rose by 8.7 percent on the year, down from 10.1 percent in March, as last year’s energy price spike started to pass out of the annual calculations. However, that was about the only positive news from a report which was disappointing in almost all other respects: prices rose 1.2 percent on the month, showing that the current inflationary dynamic is still extremely strong. Economists had expected a rise of 0.8 percent. Moreover, core inflation, which strips out volatile energy prices, rose from 6.2 percent in March to 6.8 in April, the highest since 1992. And food prices, the most visible part of the ongoing cost of living crisis — and the most painful for lower-income households — only fell negligibly to 19.1 percent from 19.2 in March. The figures make for yet more unpleasant reading for the Bank of...

Suicide bomber hits checkpoint in northwest Pakistan, killing 4 in second attack in as many days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:51 GMT

Miran Shah, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber targeted a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing two soldiers, a policeman and a civilian, security officials said. It was the second attack to hit Pakistan in as many days.The bombing happened in North Waziristan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan and is a former stronghold of the militant Pakistani Taliban group, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. A number of civilians were also wounded in the attack, according to Rehmat Khan, a local police official.No one claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban.In the last six months, the TTP has stepped up its attacks since it unilaterally ended a cease-fire with the Pakistani government, brokered by neighboring Afghanistan last year. Also Wednesday, the TTP claimed responsibility for an attack the previous day on an oil and gas plant in Hangu, a district in Khyber Pakhtu...

Vinícius Júnior soccer racism dispute ignites heated off-field debate in Spain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:51 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Repeated racist insults against Brazilian soccer star Vinícius Júnior have unleashed a heated debate in Spain about tolerance for racism in a society that is becoming rapidly more diverse on and off the field.Since the season began in August, the Real Madrid winger has suffered racist abuse by fans of at least five rival teams, including the hanging of an effigy depicting the Black player from a bridge by a group of Atletico Madrid fans in January.“Racism is normal in LaLiga,” Vinícius said of the top league in Spanish soccer on Instagram and Twitter after he was targeted with monkey chants from Valencia fans at a game on Sunday. “The competition thinks it’s normal, as does the federation, and the opponents encourage it.”Through his social media presence, Vinícius has repeatedly called out racist attitudes that he says prevail in a southern European country where a third of children are now born to foreign parents, the majority from Latin America and Africa, and ...

On Beijing visit, Russian prime minister says pressure from West is strengthening ties with China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:51 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Pressure from the West is strengthening Russia’s ties with China, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing Wednesday. Mishustin’s visit comes as Russia is increasingly turning to China for diplomatic and economic support amid growing isolation over its invasion of Ukraine. In opening remarks at his meeting Wednesday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Mishustin did not mention the 15-month-old war that China, in deference to Moscow, has refused to criticize, focusing instead on economic cooperation between the neighbors that have partnered in challenging the U.S. lead in global affairs. Relations between the two countries are “at an unprecedented high level,” influenced by the “increased turbulence in the international arena and the pattern of sensational pressure from the collective West,” Mishustin said. China says it is a neutral party between Russia and Ukraine and wants to help broker an end to the conflict. Bu...

Belarusian blogger arrested on Ryanair flight pardoned - state media

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:51 GMT

Roman Protasevich (pictured) was pardoned by the Belarusian government news agency BelTA on Monday (22 May). He was arrested in 2021, after his Ryanair flight was forced to land at Minsk.Protasevich told reporters: "I literally signed all relevant documents that state that I've been pardoned," BelTA reported. "This is great news."Protasevich was sentenced to eight years imprisonment, for crimes including inciting terrorism and mass disturbances. He also slandered Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko.He was a journalist for the news outlet Nexta. Nexta reported extensively on the mass protests that took place against Lukashenko after the presidential election in 2020, which the opposition and Western governments deemed to be rigged.All significant opposition figures were jailed or forced into exile during the clampdown that took place around the time of elections.Stsiapan Rudik, the former editor of Nexta and Stsiapan putsila, its founder, were both sentenced to jail in absentia...

Detached house in San Jose sells for $1.5 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:51 GMT

5706 Holland Lane – Google Street ViewA 1,385-square-foot house built in 1960 has changed hands. The property located in the 5700 block of Holland Lane in San Jose was sold on May 3, 2023, for $1,520,000, or $1,097 per square foot. The property features four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a garage, and two parking spaces. The backyard also has a pool. The unit sits on a 6,000-square-foot lot.Additional houses have recently been purchased nearby:In October 2022, a 2,302-square-foot home on Weathersfield Way in San Jose sold for $1,900,000, a price per square foot of $825. The home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.A 1,574-square-foot home on the 5700 block of Tubac Lane in San Jose sold in March 2023, for $1,625,000, a price per square foot of $1,032. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Chambertin Drive, San Jose, in October 2022, a 1,573-square-foot home was sold for $1,648,000, a price per square foot of $1,048. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. 

Three-night docuseries ‘FDR’ premieres Memorial Day on History Channel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:51 GMT

Hear our full chat on my podcast “Beyond the Fame with Jason Fraley.” toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews 'FDR' with Doris Kearns Goodwin (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); Last Memorial Day, Doris Kearns Goodwin executive produced the History Channel docuseries “Teddy Roosevelt.”This Memorial Day, she tackles another Roosevelt with “FDR,” premiering Monday on the History Channel....

UK inflation falls to lowest level in over a year but food prices keep decline in check

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:51 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Inflation in the U.K. has fallen to its lowest level since the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, though elevated food prices meant it didn’t fall as much as anticipated. The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that the inflation rate, as measured by the consumer prices index, dropped to 8.7% in the year to April from 10.1% in March, largely because last year’s energy spike in the wake of the invasion dropped out of the annual comparison. The fall took inflation to its lowest level since March 2022, a month after the war began.Though welcome, the decline wasn’t as big as anticipated, especially as prices in the wholesale gas market have been falling for months. The consensus in financial markets was that it would ease back further to 8.3%,One of the main reasons why inflation is consistently running higher than anticipated — and generally higher than other nations in the Group of Seven — is that food prices remain ele...

Hankinson: ‘Vetting’ of migrants shouldn’t make you feel safe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:51 GMT

Amid all the confusion at our border, at least one question with national security and public safety implications has gone almost entirely unexamined: We’re told that those who enter our country illegally are “vetted” before they’re released into our communities, but what does this mean?Not much.Since President Biden took office, the Department of Homeland Security has released an estimated 2 million migrants into the U.S. after minimal “processing.” This means taking their photos and fingerprints, entering (unverifiable) names and birth dates, running this data through U.S. law enforcement and immigration databases, and creating an immigration file if a prior one isn’t found.Some of those who are released get a “notice to appear” at a future immigration court hearing to argue why they shouldn’t be removed from the U.S. for being here illegally. But when overwhelmed, DHS has simply released them with a “notice to report” to their nearest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) off...