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Qatargate suspect Eva Kaili freed from house arrest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

BRUSSELS — Eva Kaili, one of the main suspects in a cash-for-influence corruption probe at the European Parliament, is no longer under house arrest.A spokesperson for the Belgian prosecutor’s office confirmed an earlier AFP report on this to POLITICO. “The investigation no longer requires her detention,” the prosecutor’s office said in a brief press release. Kaili’s lawyers, both in Belgium and Greece, didn’t reply to POLITICO’s request for comments. Kaili was one of the first to be detained last December, when the Belgian police launched raids in a sprawling investigation into whether foreign countries, including Qatar and Morocco, were bribing EU lawmakers. After her detention was prolonged a couple of times, she was moved from jail to house arrest with an electronic monitor in mid-April, pending trial. By being able to remove her electronic tag, Kaili is joining some of her fellow suspects — like Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella, who had this b...

3 years after Brexit, UK net migration has never been higher

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

LONDON — It’s official: net migration to the U.K. is at an all-time high.New figures published Thursday show migration added 606,000 people to the U.K.’s population in 2022 — the highest number on record.The data from the Office for National Statistics is likely to prompt fresh criticism of the governing Conservatives, who promised in their 2019 election manifesto to ensure “overall numbers come down” at a time when net migration stood at 226,000.The rise also comes three years after Britain left the EU touting more control over arrivals through a “points-based” system in place of the bloc’s free movement of people.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told ITV Thursday: “Numbers are too high, it’s as simple as that and I want to bring them down.” Labour accused him of having “no grip on immigration.”There’s plenty of nuance in Thursday’s numbers. Jay Lindop, director of the Centre for International Migration at the ONS, said th...

Boris Johnson aide joked about drone strike on Partygate investigator

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

LONDON — Well, that’s one way to deal with an annoying inquiry.A senior aide to Boris Johnson calmed him down by jokingly offering to order a drone strike against Sue Gray, the government official who was leading the “Partygate” probe into lockdown-busting gatherings in Johnson’s government.Speaking to a Global podcast about his brief spell in No. 10 as Johnson’s director of communications last year, Guto Harri said his boss was “literally hysterical” on the night before Gray published her damning report into the saga.As Johnson prepared a parliamentary speech responding to its findings, Harri recalled Johnson getting “more and more angry, uncharacteristically sweary and cross, the more he thought about the impact of this and what Sue Gray had done to his premiership.”Harri then floated an unconventional plan to soothe the frayed prime minister, saying to the then-PM: “Look at me. Here’s what we’re going to do. ...

McCarthy set to send the House home without a debt limit deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

(CNN) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy appears set to send members home after votes on Thursday, signaling that debt negotiations with the White House will continue as the risk of a first-ever default grows.While the speaker urged lawmakers to stay close to the nation’s capital over Memorial Day weekend, his top deputy, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, announced that the House will recess following votes on Thursday as negotiators continue to work on a debt ceiling deal.“Following tomorrow’s votes, if some new agreement is reached between President Biden and Speaker McCarthy, members will receive 24 hours’ notice in the event we need to return to Washington for any additional votes, either over the weekend or next week,” he said.Negotiators are trying to make progress on a handful of outstanding issues – in addition to cutting federal spending, which remains a major sticking point. Two sources familiar with the matter said the White House is weighing ...

Francisco Alvarez hits 6th homer for Mets, Kodai Senga throws career-high 106 pitches in 4-2 loss to Cubs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

CHICAGO — Francisco Alvarez did all he could to will his club to a victory Wednesday night at Wrigley Field going 2-for-3 with a two-run homer off former Mets right-hander Marcus Stroman. But the Mets’ bats were as cold as the nearly 20 mph winds blowing in from Lake Michigan and the offense produced little else in a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Cubs.The Mets, who came into the Windy City riding a five-game winning streak, dropped the series with their second straight loss.Alvarez’s home run came in the top of the third. The biting winds that blew in from right field made life difficult for right-handed hitters, but Alvarez drove the ball right through the thick, icy air sending it back 390 feet for his sixth home run of the season.“I know his two-seam sinker doesn’t really go side-to-side, it drops a little more,” the catcher said. “So I was just trying to get out and be level with it and I kind of had to uppercut it.”The wind didn’t...

1 rescued from North County house fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- One person was rescued from a house fire in North County Wednesday evening, said the Oceanside Fire Department.Fire units from Oceanside and Carlsbad were dispatched to a structure fire that was reported to be in a small single-story duplex located on the 1500 block of Higgins Street around 5:08 p.m., fire officials confirmed. Carlsbad City Council fails to pass flag policy that would include commemorative flags According to the Oceanside Fire Department, the first fire engine arrived on scene about three minutes after being dispatched and found heavy black smoke coming from the duplex.Firefighters immediately pulled fire hose lines to the front of the duplex in order to conduct aprimary search of the residence for any potential victims and to extinguish the fire.Meanwhile, additional fire engines assisted in that effort by securing the gas and electric lines while also assisting in the search for victims and fire suppression, the fire department explained. F...

Stock market today: AI excitement yanks tech stocks higher on Wall Street

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A monster financial forecast from one of Wall Street’s most influential stocks is helping to yank the stock market higher even as worries worsen about political rancor in Washington. The S&P 500 was 0.6% higher in early trading Thursday after chipmaker Nvidia reported stronger profit and revenue than expected for the latest quarter, benefiting from the tech world’s rush into artificial intelligence. It helped the Nasdaq composite soar 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.3%. Because it’s one of the most valuable stocks on Wall Street, Nvidia’s 23% surge was the strongest force pushing upward on the S&P 500.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Trading on Wall Street was mixed early Thursday as markets watched for signs of progress on a deal to avert a default on U.S. government debt. Futures for the Dow were off 0.3% and the S&P 500 rose 0.6%.Nasdaq composite futures jumped 1.8% boosted by Nvidia, whose shares climbe...

Key suspect in EU corruption case can remove electronic bracelet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The key suspect at the heart of the corruption scandal that rocked the European Union’s assembly last year no longer has to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office said Thursday. Former parliament vice president Eva Kaili was under electronic surveillance and house arrest since her release from jail last month while the investigation into the money-for-political favors case continued. The office said in a statement that the probe “no longer requires her detention.”“This release is subject to the usual conditions in such cases,” the statement read. Asked about the new conditions imposed on Kaili and whether she could travel abroad, a spokesperson at the prosecutor’s office said he could not elaborate. The Greek lawmaker was removed as vice president after she was taken into custody late last year on charges of corruption, money laundering and membership in a criminal organization. She denies wrongdoing, her lawyers s...

Sherpa guide who climbed Mount Everest a record 28 times says he’s not ready to retire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — One of the greatest mountain guides said Thursday he’s not ready to retire after climbing Mount Everest for a record 28th time.Nepalese Sherpa Kami Rita reached the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit of the world’s highest mountain on Tuesday, beating his own record less than a week after setting it.“I will continue to climb as long as my body allows,” the 53-year-old guide told reporters after arriving from the mountain at Kathmandu’s airport, where he was given a hero’s welcome by supporters and family members.He said his goal is not to compete for any records but to help his foreign clients scale the mountain.This year’s climbing season is almost over, and his next climb will have to wait until next spring.Kami Rita reached the summit a day after fellow Sherpa guide Pasang Dawa matched his previous record of 27 climbs.A race for the title began with Pasang Dawa climbing the peak for a 26th time on May 14, equaling Kami Rita’s earlier record...

Austin hopes F-16 fight jet training for Ukrainian pilots will begin in coming weeks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday he hopes that training for Ukrainian pilots on American-made F-16 fighter jets will begin in the coming weeks, bolstering Ukraine in the long run but not necessarily as part of an anticipated spring counteroffensive against Russia.Austin spoke as defense leaders from around the world assembled for a virtual meeting to discuss the ongoing military support for Ukraine. They were expected talk about which countries will provide F-16s, and how and where the pilot training will be done. The officials will also get an update on the war effort from Ukrainian leaders, including preparation for that anticipated counteroffensive and how the allies, who have faced their own stockpile pressures, can continue to support Kyiv’s fight against Russia.“We’re going to have to dig deeper, and we’re going to have to continue to look for creative ways to boost our industrial capability,” Austin said before the military leaders began th...