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Dutch go to polls in mid-term provincial elections

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Local elections with national impact opened Wednesday in the Netherlands as voters cast their ballots for the country’s 12 provincial legislatures — which in turn elect the national parliament’s upper house.A big swing away from the ruling four-party center-right coalition of long-serving Prime Minister Mark Rutte could affect his ability to push through reforms in the remainder of his term.The vote comes amid widespread dissatisfaction with Rutte’s government and anger among farmers at plans to rein in nitrate pollution.Underscoring the discontent, Rutte and other political leaders were briefly unable to leave the venue of the final election debate Tuesday night because of farmers and others protesting outside.Dozens of parties take part in the provincial elections in this nation of nearly 18 million, many of them small and local. Voters also will elect members of the country’s 21 local water authorities, key institutions in a nation ...

Political tensions, new protests over French pension bill

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Opponents of French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension plan are staging a new round of strikes and protests Wednesday as a joint committee of senators and lower-house lawmakers examines the contested bill. The latest step in the legislative process to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64 is prompting a peak of political tensions and one key question: Will the bill command a parliamentary majority?Meanwhile, unions are hoping that demonstrations across the country will further show workers’ massive opposition to the plan, promoted by Macron as central to his vision for making the French economy more competitive. Wednesday’s meeting of seven senators and seven lawmakers from the National Assembly is meant to find an accord on the final version of the text. The Senate is expected to approve it on Thursday, as its conservative majority is in favour of raising the retirement age. The situation at the National Assembly is much more complicated, however. Macron’s cent...

UK Treasury chief seeks drama-free budget day amid strikes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

LONDON (AP) — U.K. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt will stage a moment of high political theater Wednesday, unveiling his budget to a crowd of baying lawmakers as consumers demand more help with the high cost of living and workers press for higher wages with strikes at schools, hospitals and the offices of civil servants.Even as Hunt plays his historically scripted role — emerging from his official residence with the spending plan in a battered red dispatch box, then carrying it to the House of Commons where he will be greeted by jeers and cheers — the truth is he will try to be as boring as possible.That’s because the last time the government staged a similar “fiscal event,” the mini-budget presented by Hunt’s predecessor last September, it set off an economic catastrophe by promising huge tax cuts without saying how it would pay for them. The value of the pound plunged, mortgage rates soared and the central bank was forced to intervene to protect pension funds.This time, strong and sta...

Thai policeman injured, detained after 24-hour standoff

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai police on Wednesday detained a senior police officer who fired multiple gunshots from his home in Bangkok, ending a standoff of over 24 hours after his colleagues tried to take him to be treated for mental illness.The gunman, identified as police Lt. Col. Kitikarn Sangbun was taken to hospital Wednesday for an injury after the ordeal, said police Lt. Gen. Samran Nualma, an assistant to the police chief. He did not specify the nature of Kitikarn’s injury and how it was obtained, but said no others were injured.Police Col. Rangsan Sornsing, superintendent of Sai Mai police station in Bangkok, said Wednesday that Kitikarn’s crazed episode began Tuesday morning.“His superior officer was going to take him to be treated at a mental institute but the situation got out of hand,” Rangsan said.Kitikarn then fired in the direction of police who arrived at the scene, starting the standoff.Police evacuated and cordoned off the area surrounding Kitikarn’s home as they tr...

German arms industry seeks clarity on Ukraine weapons orders

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s defense industry says it stands ready to ramp up its output, including the kinds of arms and ammunition needed by Ukraine, but needs clarity about what governments want before investing in further production capacity.Ukraine became the world’s third largest importer of arms in 2022 after Russia’s invasion triggered a big flow of military aid to Kyiv from the United States and Europe, according to Swedish think tank SIPRI.Some of those arms were transferred from Western military stocks to Ukraine, while in other cases Kyiv has purchased equipment with its own money or funds provided by allies. But there are concerns particularly over the rate at which Ukraine is using ammunition, straining the capacity of Western defense companies to keep both the Ukrainian military and their own resupplied.“What’s important for us as an industry is to get predictability,” the head of Germany’s arms manufacturing association said in an interview this week with The Associ...

Sri Lankan state workers strike, protesting high taxes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan health, railway, port and other state workers were on a daylong strike Wednesday to protest against sharp increases in income taxes and electricity charges, as the island nation awaits approval of an International Monetary Fund package to aid its bankrupt economy.Most government hospitals around the country suspended their outpatient clinics because doctors, nurses and pharmacists were on strike. The railways operated fewer trains and armed soldiers guarded carriages and train stations fearing sabotage.Trade unions say the increase in taxes and electricity charges have hit them hard amid difficulties from the country’s worst economic crisis. They have threatened to extend the strike indefinitely if the government fails to address their demands.The government says it was compelled to raise taxes to strengthen state revenue and electricity charges to cover production costs, key prerequisites to unlocking the proposed $2.9 billion IMF package....

Agriculture: Commission approves the first Geographical Indication from Iceland, ‘Íslenskt lambakjöt', and a new one from Türkiye, ‘Antakya Künefesi' 

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

On 13 March the Commission approved the first ever Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) from Iceland, the ‘Íslenskt lambakjöt'. ‘Íslenskt lambakjöt' is the name given to the meat from pure bred Icelandic lambs, which have been born, raised and slaughtered on the island of Iceland. Sheep farming has a long and rich cultural tradition in Iceland. The characteristics of ‘Íslenskt lambakjöt' first and foremost consists of a high degree of tenderness and gamey taste, due to the fact that lambs roam freely in demarcated wild rangelands and grow in the wild, natural surroundings of Iceland, where they feed on grass and other plants. The long tradition of sheep farming passing down generations on the island has led to high standards of flock management and grazing methods. One of the best examples of traditional Icelandic cooking is lamb meat soup. The Commission also approved today ‘Antakya Künefesi' from Türkiye as Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). ‘Antakya Künefesi' is one o...

Ask Amy: My child’s teacher was fired, and now I get these bizarre calls from her

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

Dear Amy: Several years ago, my daughter had a preschool teacher she loved who was fired for what seemed at the time a dubious reason.I related to the teacher’s predicament, and I met up with her a couple of times in the immediate aftermath so that my daughter could see her and talk about the situation.I did not expect to develop a long-term friendship with her.Since that time, she has contacted me sporadically, whenever she finds herself in a difficult emotional situation.We are not friends, and she only contacts me when she’s having an emergency. Then it’s urgent, at weird times, and time-consuming. It’s bizarre behavior.She is married and has family and friends. I’m not even close enough with her to recommend that she see a therapist.The most recent time this occurred, I hadn’t heard from her in about a year. She asked if we could meet up and I told her that I was really busy preparing for some travel, and that it would have to be scheduled for...

Sale closed in San Jose: $2.6 million for a three-bedroom home

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

5970 Friar Court – Google Street ViewThe property located in the 5900 block of Friar Court in San Jose was sold on Feb. 23, 2023. The $2,578,000 purchase price works out to $1,989 per square foot. The house built in 1963 has an interior space of 1,296 square feet. The property features three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a garage, and two parking spaces. The backyard also has a pool. The unit sits on a 5,850-square-foot lot.Additional houses have recently been sold close by:A 1,332-square-foot home on the 1100 block of Lockhaven Way in San Jose sold in September 2022 for $2,090,000, a price per square foot of $1,569. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Lynbrook Way, San Jose, in August 2022, a 1,128-square-foot home was sold for $2,330,000, a price per square foot of $2,066. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In August 2022, a 2,096-square-foot home on Di Napoli Drive in San Jose sold for $2,500,000, a price per square foot of $1,193. The home has 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.&...

Analysis: Syria rebuilding hopes dim as war enters year 13

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:24:24 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — The recent deadly earthquake in Turkey and Syria which caused billions of dollars in damage has boosted the prospects of Syria’s once widely shunned president return to the Arab fold, but appears unlikely to jump-start large-scale reconstruction in the war-ravaged country. As Syria’s conflict enters its 13th year Wednesday, President Bashar Assad’s government still refuses to make concessions to his domestic opponents, rejecting long-standing demands by the United States and its allies as a political solution remains elusive.Oil-rich Gulf Arab countries have been stepping up efforts to normalize ties with the Assad government, but analysts say the ongoing political paralysis is likely holding them back from pumping billions of dollars for reconstruction into Syria.The Feb. 6, earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria, killing more than 50,000 people, including about 6,000 in Syria, exacerbated the destruction caused by Syria’s 12-year conflict which has killed n...