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‘Not a done deal’: Dutch pick for EU climate job faces tough Parliament grilling

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:08 GMT

Wopke Hoekstra’s bid to run Europe’s climate policy is running into resistance. The Dutch choice to replace Frans Timmermans as commissioner is set to face a difficult grilling in the European Parliament, where key lawmakers greeted his nomination with skepticism on Friday. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will interview Hoekstra on Tuesday, spokeswoman Dana Spinant said. If she approves, he’ll have to convince MEPs in a parliamentary hearing. Left-leaning MEPs, however, have major reservations. “It’s not guaranteed that Parliament will back him,” said Mohammed Chahim, vice president of the center-left Socialists & Democrats (S&D), the assembly’s second-largest group. “The probability of us supporting him depends on whether he surprises us at the hearing. But we’re not very keen on him,” he added.Timmermans, an S&D member, resigned as executive vice president responsible for the European Green Deal this week to run for prime min...

‘Shameful’ Spanish football chief must go over sexism scandal, deputy PM says 

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:08 GMT

Spain’s deputy prime minister said Friday the government will use any means necessary to force out belligerent football chief Luis Rubiales, who has refused to resign amid a sexual harassment furor. In a combative speech to football bigwigs on Friday afternoon, a defiant Rubiales — president of the Spanish football federation — said he would not resign despite widespread criticism after he kissed footballer Jenni Hermoso on the lips on Sunday. Speaking to POLITICO, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Teresa Ribera called Rubiales’ actions and later comments “shameful” and “unacceptable.”“No one doing & saying this can be in a position to represent any institution,” Ribera said in a text message. “No women can be used in such a way. No one can accept an invitation to his male mates to take this as the ‘normal’ way to behave. [Rubiales] should not stay in office any longer and the government will take any actions to step him down.”Spain has been roiled for days by the snowball...

Latvia PM: Let EU countries with no colonial past lead diplomacy with BRICS+

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:08 GMT

Outgoing Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš called on Europe to let member countries without a history as colonial overlords handle the crucial but often tense diplomatic relations with countries across Africa, Asia and South America.“The countries that were formerly colonized may not necessarily care for the advice of the former colonies. Certainly in Latvia, we can understand this,” he said during a video interview from Riga. During a recent EU summit with Latin American countries “I realised that, actually, their perception of Europe was often a little bit like the Baltics’ perception of Russia,” he said. In the same vein, Kariņš also compared the view that former French colonies can have of Paris, to the perception Latvians have of Moscow. “I suppose to … an old French colony, those people listening to what the French president has to say, may seem similar to a Latvian listening to what Putin has to say,” he argued.In a sign of a potential shift in the coord...

UAW members approve possible strikes at GM, Ford and Stellantis

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:08 GMT

New York (CNN) — Members of the United Auto Workers union overwhelmingly approved possible strikes at the nation’s three unionized automakers next month, as the union tries to win back many of the concessions it lost more than 15 years ago and protect members during the transition to electric vehicles in the years ahead.The union said 97% of those participating in the strike authorization voted in favor of possible strikes at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, the company that sells vehicles under the Ram, Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler names. There are 145,000 UAW members at the three companies.“Our union’s membership is clearly fed up with living paycheck to paycheck while the corporate elite and billionaire class continue to make out like bandits,” said UAW President Shawn Fain.However, the vote does not mean there will be a strike at any of the three automakers. It just empowers union leadership to call a strike if they can’t reach a deal with management before a contract ...

Orioles icon Adam Jones to retire with franchise Sept. 15

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:08 GMT

Longtime Baltimore center fielder Adam Jones will return to the franchise Sept. 15 to retire as an Oriole, the team announced Friday morning on social media.Jones, 37, played for the Orioles from 2008 to 2018 and ranks among Baltimore’s statistical leaders in several categories. He last appeared in the majors in 2019 with the Arizona Diamondbacks before spending the next two seasons playing in Japan.The Orioles have not provided specifics on Jones’ return, simply posting a brief social media video in which a server brings out a pie, places it next to a Jones bobblehead and puts down a note announcing Jones’ Sept. 15 retirement. During much of Jones’ tenure in Baltimore, postgame celebrations for wins featured Jones smashing a pie into the face of that night’s player of the game.The Sept. 15 home game against the Tampa Bay Rays, broadcast nationally on Apple TV+, includes a Jones T-shirt giveaway for the first 15,000 fans.Acquired as part of the February...

These schools are closed Friday due to a boil water advisory

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:08 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A boil water advisory in effect for Coronado’s Silver Strand, parts of Imperial Beach, San Diego and Chula Vista has prompted several school closures for Friday.This comes as residents are urged to boil their water before using it or use bottled water after E. coli bacteria was found in the drinking water system. Jet crashes near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar The advisory states the water is not safe to drink and should be boiled for 3 minutes to kill bacteria. Residents are also encouraged to use bottled water for drinking, brushing teeth and cooking. More on what to do during a boil advisory can be found here.The following schools will keep their doors closed Friday, Aug. 25 due to this advisory:-- All schools in the San Ysidro School District: San Ysidro Middle School, Vista Del Mar Middle School, La Mirada Elementary School, Ocean View Hills Elementary School, Smythe Elementary School, Sunset Elementary School and Willow Elementary School.FOX 5 has reached out ...

Michigan storms with 75 mph winds down trees and power lines, five people killed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:08 GMT

CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Severe storms powered by winds of up to 75 mph (121 kph) in Michigan downed trees, tore roofs off buildings and killed five people while leaving hundreds of thousands of customers without power, officials said. The National Weather Service said Friday some of the damage may have been caused by two tornadoes. In western Michigan, the Kent County Sheriff’s Office said a 21-year-old woman and two girls, ages 1 and 3, died Thursday night after two vehicles collided head-on as it was raining.“There was two vehicles traveling toward each other. One hydroplaned on water and it was occupied by four people,” Sgt. Eric Brunner told WZZM-TV. The sheriff’s office said a 22-year-old Gowen man who was driving the car carrying the Gowen woman and two girls was seriously injured in the crash, which occurred when his car struck an SUV. That vehicle’s driver suffered minor injuries.In Lansing, the state capital, one person died Thursday night after a tr...

S&P/TSX composite down, U.S. stock markets after Powell speech

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:08 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was down in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were mixed following a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell who said upcoming decisions on interest rates will be based on what the incoming data says about inflation and the economy.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 21.18 points at 19,754.65.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 76.18 points at 34,175.60. The S&P 500 index was down 5.80 points at 4,370.51, while the Nasdaq composite was down 58.39 points at 13,405.58.The Canadian dollar traded for 73.34 cents US compared with 73.72 cents US on Thursday.The October crude contract was up 89 cents at US$79.94 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was unchanged at US$2.64 per mmBTU.The December gold contract was down US$12.90 at US$1,934.20 an ounce and the September copper contract was down two cents at US$3.76 a pound.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 25, 2023....

India’s lunar rover keeps walking on the moon, days after spacecraft’s historic touchdown

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:08 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s lunar rover continued its walk on the moon Friday after the historic touch-down of India’s spacecraft near the moon’s south pole earlier this week, the country’s space agency said. The rover’s data collection and experiments could help determine if there is oxygen and hydrogen on the moon. The Chandrayan-3 Rover is expected to conduct experiments over 14 days, including an analysis of the mineral composition of the lunar surface, the Indian Space Research Organization has said.“The rover has successfully traversed a distance of about 8 meters (26.2 feet),” ISRO said Friday. “All payloads on the propulsion module, lander module, and rover are performing nominally.” The rover will also study the atmosphere of the moon and seismic activities, ISRO Chairman S. Somnath said.“These experiments would pave the way for new scientific research about the availability of oxygen and hydrogen on the surface of the moon and can give us a...

Estonia’s pro-Ukrainian PM faces pressure to quit over husband’s indirect Russian business links

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:08 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Estonia’s strongly pro-Ukrainian Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, came under increasing pressure Friday to resign, after Estonian media revealed her husband’s role in a company that indirectly did business in Russia after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.Kallas, 46, one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Ukraine, had urged all EU companies to stop doing business with Russia after the war in Ukraine began in February 2022.Her husband, Arvo Hallik, said Friday he would sell his 25% stake in Stark Logistics, a trucking company that worked with an Estonian company involved in Russia. He also said he would resign as the company’s chief financial officer and step down from the board.The opposition has urged Kallas to resign, while members of the center-right, three-party coalition government have been calling for more answers regarding Hallik’s activities. “We believed that we were doing the right thing, helping the right people and saving a ...