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Britain is awash with failed prime ministers. It’s costing taxpayers a fortune

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:31 GMT

LONDON — After years of political turmoil, it’s boom time for at least one British industry: Demand for political bodyguards is through the roof.For the first time in modern history, the U.K. now has six living former prime ministers, all of whom continue to receive extensive — and expensive — security protection.With the ruling Conservatives on their fourth leader in as many years, and with the three most recently-departed — Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss — visibly cashing in on the lucrative international speaking circuit for ex-prime ministers, some are raising questions about the mounting cost to U.K. taxpayers.Because every time an ex-prime minister travels abroad — even to earn themselves a six-figure sum for speaking at an obscure business conference — U.K. taxpayers are likely picking up the security tab.“It’s an industry, there is no other word for it,” Dai Davies, a former head of royal protection at the Met Police, said.The number of living ex-prime minist...

Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities are a growing threat to Europe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:31 GMT

Behnam Ben Taleblu is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. He is the author of “Arsenal: Assessing the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Ballistic Missile Program.”As Europe struggles to combat Iran’s drone proliferation to Russia for use against Ukraine, it can ill afford to ignore improvements to an even greater unmanned aerial threat that may soon land on its doorstep: the country’s ballistic missile arsenal — the largest in the Middle East.While Iran’s much reported potential transfer of short-range ballistic missiles to Russia is yet to materialize, the causal force behind this is likely not Tehran’s fear of transgressing some unwritten agreement that’s being secretly negotiated with Washington. Instead, the Islamic Republic may well be waiting for the termination of U.N. prohibitions on ballistic missile testing and transfers this October, before further arming Moscow with precision-strike systems.In fact, Iran may even want the move to be deemed “licit” to p...

After the riots, Macron must fix a broken France

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:31 GMT

PARIS — France is slowly catching its breath after days of large-scale urban unrest but a greater challenge looms for President Emmanuel Macron: How to tackle the root problems the riots have exposed.Macron has walked a thin line between showing empathy and sending out a message of toughness after a police officer shot and killed teenager Nahel M. last week, leading to days of riots. He flooded the streets with police officers in an effort to contain the violence.This weekend there were fewer arrests than on previous nights and the unrest appears to be waning, at least temporarily.But the series of incidents have fanned the flames around police brutality and the treatment of racial minorities into a broader, violent rejection of French institutions.Overnight on Saturday, attackers rammed a car into the house of the local mayor in L’Haÿ-les-Roses, a suburb south of Paris, injuring the official’s wife as she tried to flee with her young children.Elsewhere in France, the violence...

Authorities investigating after 20-year-old man shot and killed in New Bedford

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:31 GMT

An investigation got underway Monday after a 20-year-old man was shot and killed in New Bedford.The Bristol County District Attorney’s office, in a statement, said police first received a 911 call reporting possible shots fired shortly after 12 a.m. in the area of Tallman and North Front streets. The DA said officers searched the area and found a victim, identified as 20-year-old Lorenzo Gomes, on nearby Belleville Avenue. Gomes, the DA said, “appears to have attempted to drive to the hospital before losing consciousness in his vehicle.”Gomes was later pronounced dead at Saint Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford, according to the DA. Back in the area of Tallman and North Front streets, the DA said witnesses told officers they heard “loud bangs that sounded like gunshots.” The DA said a homicide investigation into this incident was ongoing as of Monday morning.   

Orioles unable to hold early 3-run lead against Yankees, allow tiebreaking 3-run homer in 8th in 6-3 loss

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:31 GMT

A Baltimore offense that was silent for much of the latter half of its latest homestand hoped Sunday’s eighth-inning rally would spark a turnaround. That seemed to be the case for the first third of Monday’s game at Yankee Stadium.But the lineup’s inability to produce returned for the rest of what became a 6-3 loss to the New York Yankees to open the final road trip before the All-Star break. Unable to hold an early three-run lead, the Orioles (49-34) are only three games above New York for the American League’s top wild-card spot.The Yankees (46-39) plated four runs over their final two offensive innings, rallying against three of Baltimore’s most dependable bullpen arms. With the Orioles leading by a run in the seventh, Mike Baumann left two in scoring position for Yennier Cano, who was a pitch away from escaping before an 0-2 sinker went to the backstop and evened the game. Danny Coulombe inherited a runner from Cano in the eighth and allowed another...

Harrison Bader’s homer lifts Yankees in far-from-perfect win over Orioles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:31 GMT

Domingo German was far from perfect on Monday night, but neither was the Yankees’ defense. That didn’t matter in the end though, as Harrison Bader locked up a Yankees victory with a three-run blast to deep left in the eighth inning.Bader, facing southpaw Danny Coulombe, ripped his seventh home run of the year 415 feet. The no-doubter just missed the second deck and gave the third-place Yankees a 6-3, come-from-behind win over the second-place Orioles.Bader also singled in the game.German, meanwhile, couldn’t make it past the fifth inning in his first start since twirling a perfect game in Oakland on June 28. The right-hander totaled just 4.1 innings while allowing nine hits and three runs. He also struck out five while walking none over 86 pitches.Only two of German’s runs were earned, as a Bader error preceded a Cedric Mullins RBI single in the second.Adley Rutschman then hit an RBI double in the third, though Isiah Kiner-Falefa whiffed on the ball while lea...

Multiple people shot in Philadelphia; suspect in custody

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:31 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Multiple people were shot in Philadelphia on Monday night, according to police. A spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department told The Associated Press there were “multiple gunshot victims” but said no other information on their conditions was immediately available. Police spokesperson Miguel Torres told CNN a suspect was in custody and a weapon was recovered.Police spokesperson Jasmine Reilly told the network six victims were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and two were taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.The Associated Press

Argentine bishop named to Vatican office rejects criticism of his handling of abuse allegations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:31 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — An Argentine bishop named by Pope Francis to lead a powerful Vatican office that ensures doctrinal orthodoxy on Monday rejected accusations that he refused to believe victims of sexual abuse by a priest, saying he took actions when the allegations resurfaced in 2019.Monsignor Victor Manuel Fernández, archbishop of La Plata, Argentina, was appointed to head the Holy See’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, whose mandate includes handling sex abuse allegations lodged against clergy. BishopAccountability.org, a Massachusetts organization that maintains an online archive of abuse in the Roman Catholic Church, said over the weekend in a statement that Fernández refused to believe victims who accused Eduardo Lorenzo, a priest in the La Plata archdiocese, of sexually abusing boys. In a statement sent by La Plata Archbishop’s office to the Associated Press on Monday, Fernández stated that he “never” said he didn’t believe the victims, and tha...

UN nuclear chief is visiting Japan to give a final report on release of treated radioactive water

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:31 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The head of the U.N. nuclear agency is in Japan to meet with government leaders Tuesday and to see final preparations for the release of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant, on a visit Japan hopes will give credibility to the contentious plan.International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Mariano Grossi will meet with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida later Tuesday to submit IAEA’s final report on the water release. All of IAEA’s interim evaluations have been positive and the final report is expected to say that the water sampling, testing and monitoring plans involved in the release are adequate and fulfill international requirements.The treated radioactive water, stored in about 1,000 tanks that are nearing their 1.37 million ton capacity, must be removed to prevent accidental leaks and to make room for the plant’s decommissioning.Japanese regulators finished their final safety inspection of the equipment last Fr...

'The entire community was impacted:' Grief lingers one year after Highland Park Fourth of July parade shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:31 GMT

HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. — In the shadow of Highland Park’s City Hall, in a quiet rose garden, there is a memorial dedicated to the victims who were shot at the 2022 Fourth of July Parade. Karina Mendez and Nubia Hogan, two of Eduardo Uvaldo’s daughters, gathered with other family members at their father’s plaque ahead of the somber anniversary of his killing.“I feel close to my dad here,” Mendez said. “It’s the last place he was alive, so I feel like he’s, here. He’s not forgotten. We never forget.” Uvaldo, a 69-year-old retired maintenance worker especially loved the Highland Park parade, and often attended with his grandchildren.  “He was very present in our lives,” Hogan said.Uvaldo was one of seven people who were killed when a gunman, perched atop the roof of Ross Cosmetics, and armed with a semiautomatic rifle, opened fire on the parade crowd below on Central Avenue.These are the names of the victims:  Katherine Goldstein, 64, of Highland ParkIrina McCarthy, 35, of Highl...