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How conspiracy theories infected British politics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:08 GMT

LONDON — Welcome to Britain, where an elected member of parliament openly rages against “crime against humanity” COVID vaccines and a £12.50-a-day pollution charge is a “trojan horse” for government “control.”Conspiracy theories are not a new force in British politics. But there’s mounting concern that, on a host of issues, once-fringe ideas are increasingly being ushered into the mainstream — with a little help from politicians.Such worries stepped up a notch earlier this year when Andrew Bridgen, a Conservative MP since 2010, lost the party whip after comparing the COVID-19 vaccine rollout to the Holocaust.Since being ousted from the Tories, Bridgen sits as the sole parliamentary member of TV actor Lawrence Fox’s avowedly “anti-woke” Reclaim Party. Although Fox and his other MP hopefuls have failed at every race they’ve run in, adopting Bridgen into the fold means Reclaim has achieved parliamentary representation without having to win an election.Rod Dacombe, a reader in politics ...

As Azerbaijan launches attacks in Nagorno-Karabakh, Moscow leans back

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:08 GMT

While Armenia called on Russian peacekeepers to intervene after Azerbaijan launched “anti-terrorist” operations in the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Dmitry Medvedev, the chairman of Russia’s security council, wrote cryptically on Telegram about someone from a so-called brotherly country who had flirted with NATO.“Guess what fate awaits him …” added Russia’s former President Medvedev.The thinly veiled verbal jab reflected Russia’s current stance as Turkey-backed Azerbaijan escalated a three-decades-old conflict with Armenia. With a military base in the ex-Soviet country, Russia has long held the role of Armenia’s security guarantor, including managing tensions around Nagorno-Karabakh, which is inside Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized borders and has been held by its ethnic Armenian majority since the fall of the Soviet Union. In 2020, Russia negotiated a ceasefire agreement, monitored by Russian peacekeepers, between the two South Caucasus co...

We don’t know if Elon Musk brought Armageddon closer — all we know is uncertainty

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:08 GMT

Sergey Radchenko is the Wilson E. Schmidt Distinguished Professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He has written extensively on the Cold War, nuclear history, and on Russian and Chinese foreign and security policies.In an opinion piece published this month, historian Timothy Snyder launched a fiery critique of tech billionaire Elon Musk for his apparent refusal to turn on Starlink satellite coverage for Crimea last year, which would have enabled a Ukrainian drone attack on Sevastopol.Snyder argued that the failure to provide Starlink coverage was inexcusable, and that the entrepreneur was “duped” by Russian nuclear blackmail, leading to needless casualties and making nuclear war more likely.Not only is this argument quite unsound, but its vehement presentation also falls far short of what academics — as opposed to political activists — should be aiming at.The key point in Snyder’s take is that Ukraine’s successful operations in Crimea against military ...

Why Europe’s next president may be made in France

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:08 GMT

PARIS — Thierry Breton, Europe’s self-proclaimed digital “enforcer” and scourge of Elon Musk, has his eye on one of the biggest jobs in Brussels: President of the EU Commission. Emmanuel Macron may be about to give him a leg up. Macron’s Renaissance party is frantically searching for the best candidate to lead its campaign in next year’s European Parliament elections. Whoever gets that role would be well placed to become the party’s nominee to take over from Ursula von der Leyen as Commission president when her term ends after the elections next June. According to reports in French media, and officials familiar with discussions inside Macron’s team, Breton, a flamboyant former telecoms executive and France’s current EU commissioner, is now firmly in the mix. “Everyone knows he wants to continue,” a French diplomat told POLITICO when asked about Breton’s future chances. “Some are wondering whether he doesn’t need to run as a lead candidate if he wan...

Trying to persuade Ukraine to negotiate with Putin would be an error

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:08 GMT

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former political prisoner and CEO of Yukos Oil company, is the author of “How to Slay a Dragon: Building a New Russia After Putin.”As Russian President Vladimir Putin’s pointless brutality against Ukraine continues, so too does Ukraine’s valiant resistance.However, three months into their counteroffensive, while Ukrainian forces have made modest gains, they are yet to deliver a decisive blow. As winter approaches and the war grinds on, siren voices urging Ukraine’s leaders to negotiate a ceasefire will get louder — and Putin will be hoping these voices will be further amplified as the United States presidential campaign looms.Based on everything I know about Putin and the nature of his regime, my own view is that such attempts to persuade Ukraine to negotiate with him would be an error — and no ceasefire agreed under the current circumstances would bring peace in the long-term.Instead, it would provide Putin’s regime with an opportunity to strengthen its abil...

Germany’s Greens and Liberals call for action on immigration as far-right strengthens

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:08 GMT

BERLIN — You know fears over immigration and the rise of the far-right are boiling over in Germany when even the Greens are calling for a crackdown on illegal asylum seekers.In a remarkable intervention on Monday, Green co-chair Ricarda Lang — whose party is usually known for advocating a moderate course on migration — criticized key officials from her two coalition partners for not doing enough to ensure that asylum seekers without a valid reason to stay, such as fleeing a warzone, are being sent back to their home countries.There’s no doubt the political temperature is rising fast in Germany. A poll published Tuesday showed that the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany party has become the strongest political force in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, making it the fourth eastern German state — after Brandenburg, Thuringia and Saxony — in which the far-right is leading in polls. This is particularly spooking established parties as the latter three states are heading to the polls i...

Teens in Las Vegas face murder charges as adults for hit-and-run they captured on video, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:08 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Two teenagers have been arrested and face murder charges as adults after targeting a bicyclist in Las Vegas and capturing the moments they hit the former California police chief on video, authorities said Tuesday.Las Vegas police said they have tied the teens to at least three hit-and-run incidents on the morning of Aug. 14. They believe the death of 64-year-old Andreas Rene Probst, a former police chief in Bell, California, ended the spree.Graphic video shows a dashboard view from the front seat of a vehicle approaching Probst from behind while he was riding near the curb on an otherwise traffic-free road. Laughter and comments from inside the car are heard before the bicyclist, wearing a red shirt and dark shorts, was struck and thrown against the windshield.A final image from the moving car shows Probst on the ground next to the curb. Deputy Police Chief Nick Farese called the recording from inside a stolen vehicle appalling and a “cowardly act.” Clark Coun...

Nigerian Canadian Debby Friday wins Polaris Music Prize for ‘Good Luck’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:08 GMT

TORONTO — Debby Friday has won the 2023 Polaris Music Prize for her album “Good Luck.”The debut full-length release from the Nigerian-born Canadian was selected for the $50,000 prize by an 11-member grand jury that named it best Canadian album of the year based on its artistic merit.“Good Luck” finds Friday building on the industrial sounds of her earlier EPs with more soulful vocals.Music critics have likened her album to artists as diverse as industrial metal band Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, rappers Run the Jewels and Beyoncé.The Polaris Music Prize is considered one of the country’s most prestigious music awards.Previous winners include Pierre Kwenders, Haviah Mighty, Jeremy Dutcher and Kaytranada.Friday thanked many of the people who helped her career and reflected on her childhood in a small village in Nigeria.“This is something that I didn’t realize was a possibility,” she said from the stage.“Now I’m here today and it just feels like a miracle.”An...

International Criminal Court says cybersecurity incident affected its information systems last week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:08 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court said Tuesday that it detected “anomalous activity affecting its information systems” last week and took urgent measures to respond. It didn’t elaborate on what it called a “cybersecurity incident.”Court spokesman Fadi El Abdallah said in a written statement that extra “response and security measures are now ongoing” with the assistance of authorities in the Netherlands, where the court is based.“Looking forward, the Court will be building on existing work presently underway to strengthen its cyber security framework, including accelerating its use of cloud technology,” his statement added.The court declined to go into any more detail about the incident, but said that as it “continues to analyse and mitigate the impact of this incident, priority is also being given to ensuring that the core work of the Court continues.”The ICC has a number of high-profile investigations and preliminary inquiries underway in na...

Stock market today: Asian shares decline ahead of Fed decision on rates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:08 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares declined Wednesday as markets awaited a decision on interest rates by the Federal Reserve.Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.1% in morning trading to 33,200.34. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.6% to 7,152.70. South Korea’s Kospi edged down 0.1% to 2,556.20. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped 0.4% to 17,932.24, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.3% to 3,115.10. Trade data for Japan showed exports fell 0.8% last month from a year ago, marking the second straight month of declines, as exports to China lagged, dropping 11%. Japan’s exports to the U.S. rose 5.1%, while exports to Europe surged 12.7%. By product category, auto exports zoomed 40.9%, while those of semiconductors rose 8.1%, according to Finance Ministry data.“We think the weak recovery in China will continue to have a negative impact on exports for a while, but semiconductors seem like they are bottoming out from the down cycle,” Robert Carnell, regional head of research...