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Tories take one more shot at Partygate watchdog Sue Gray before she joins Labour

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:54 GMT

LONDON — Sue Gray broke Whitehall’s strict impartiality rules as she discussed leaving the civil service to become opposition leader Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, according to the British government.In a parting shot at Gray, a long-serving official who led a damning probe into Boris Johnson’s administration before making the leap to Labour, Cabinet Office Minister Jeremy Quin said Gray had committed a “prima facie” breach of the Civil Service Code in her discussions about the job.“It is right that we maintain the principle of confidentiality with respect to individual personnel matters,” Quin said. “However, I am sure the House will agree with me that the facts in this case, when compared to the rules and guidance in place for civil servants, speak for themselves, and that there is a public interest in ensuring that the Civil Service Code is adhered to.”Gray’s appointment has raised eyebrows in Whitehall — which prizes th...

Super crops are coming: Is Europe ready for a new generation of gene-edited plants?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:54 GMT

Brussels is finalizing a law to legalize new gene-editing technologies for crops across the European Union.The EU’s ultra-restrictive GMO regulation, which predates newer technologies, sets extremely high hurdles for growing genetically engineered crops and allows EU countries to ban them even after they have been proven to be safe.The new law aims to cut red tape and allow easier market access for plants grown with “new genomic techniques” (NGTs), such as CRISPR-Cas9, which target specific genes without necessarily introducing genetic material from outside the breeders’ gene pool.The rules are being pushed by multinationals such as Bayer, Syngenta and Corteva, which together control the lion’s share of the plant breeding sector, as well as a host of smaller companies, scientists and farmers’ groups such as Copa-Cogeca.They argue that the EU risks falling behind the rest of the world in using new crops with special traits that can make them more nutritious, efficient and...

Boston Pops gearing up for Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular on the Esplanade

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:54 GMT

Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart says the Pops are ready for their annual Fourth of July performance on the Esplanade and are keeping a close eye on the forecast ahead of the big show Tuesday night.“It’s always been a pleasure, one of the highlights of my year,” he said Sunday as the world-renowned orchestra prepared for the festivities.This year’s special guests are country music duo LoCash, Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez, and 90s R&B group En Vogue.Lockhart says he’s keeping his fingers crossed for a favorable forecast on the Fourth.The gates open on the Esplanade at noon on the Fourth of July. Some road closures are already in place as crews prepare for the crowds.

Biden should watch RFK Jr., pundits say Kennedy will likely win New Hampshire primary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:54 GMT

Despite the odds stacked against Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s run at the White House, his campaign isn’t so novel or fringe that President Biden should swiftly dismiss the scion of the powerful political family and likely victor of the first Democratic primary contest, experts tell the Herald.RFK Jr., as he is popularly called, the son of the former attorney general and New York Sen. Robert Kennedy, announced he would follow in his father’s footsteps and seek the presidency in April, effectively answering the question of whether Biden would sail into the general election absent the weight of responding to his record throughout a primary contest.“If you are Joe Biden, this is the last thing you wanted,” Ken Cosgrove, a professor of political science and legal studies at Suffolk University, told the Herald. “He’s sort of a hybrid of Bernie Sanders and Trump.”“I think he’s identified a market space that certainly exists. People don’t necessarily want socialism, on the other hand they want t...

Israel targets a West Bank militant stronghold with drones and troops, killing 8 Palestinians

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:54 GMT

JENIN, West Bank (AP) — Israel used drones to strike targets in a militant stronghold in the occupied West Bank early Monday and deployed hundreds of troops in the area, in an incursion that resembled the wide-scale military operations carried out during the second Palestinian uprising two decades ago. Palestinian health officials said at least eight Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded.Troops remained inside the Jenin refugee camp at midday Monday, pushing ahead with the largest operation in the area during more than a year of fighting. It came at a time of growing domestic pressure for a tough response to a series of attacks on Israeli settlers, including a shooting attack last month that killed four Israelis.Black smoke rose from the crowded streets of the camp, exchanges of fire rang out and the buzzing of drones could be heard overhead as the military pressed on. Residents said electricity was cut off in some parts and military bulldozers plowed through narrow streets, d...

NATO readies military plans to defend against bruised but unbowed Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:54 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Russia’s armed forces are bruised but by no means beaten in the war in Ukraine, a top NATO military officer said Monday, as he laid out the biggest revamp to the organization’s military plans since the Cold War should Moscow dare to widen the conflict.“They might not be 11 feet tall, but they are certainly not 2 feet tall,” the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, told reporters. “So, we should never underestimate the Russians and their ability to bounce back.”U.S. President Joe Biden and his NATO counterparts are set to endorse a major shakeup of the alliance’s planning system at a summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius next week.NATO, as an organization, does not provide weapons or ammunition to Ukraine. It’s sought to avoid being dragged into a wider war with nuclear-armed Russia. At the same time, it is massively reinforcing the security of member countries near Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.Around 40,000 troops are on standby from Estonia in ...

French rioting appears to slow on 6th night after teen’s killing by police in Paris suburb

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:54 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Unrest across France sparked by the police shooting of a 17-year-old appeared to slow on its sixth night, but fires and vandalism continued to target public buildings, cars and municipal trash cans overnight into Monday.The riots appeared driven by a teenage backlash. The interior minister said the average age of those arrested was 17 and that children as young as 12 or 13 had been detained for attacking law enforcement and setting fires. In all, according to the Interior Ministry, there were 157 arrests overnight out of a total of 3,354 since last Tuesday, and that two law enforcement stations were attacked, among other damage. “We all have to ask ourselves about the responsibility of families,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.There has been little in the way of organized protests beyond a march last week for Nahel, the teenager killed last Tuesday. But many activists say the nighttime riots are a lashing out against a French state that many young people with im...

From telecoms to grocers, competition concerns keep bubbling up in federal politics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:54 GMT

OTTAWA — As Canadians grow more concerned about rising inflation, competition across different sectors of the economy has become a “kitchen-table issue” at a time when the federal government is reviewing its competition law. The country’s two largest newspaper chains, Postmedia and the owners of the Toronto Star, recently confirmed talks about a potential merger, signalling more consolidation in an industry that already has a limited number of players.In a highly anticipated report about food inflation last week, the Competition Bureau called for more competition in the grocery sector, tying the higher prices to the limited options for consumers.All of that builds on the mounting scrutiny of several sectors, with the telecommunications industry being the prime example.The head of the competition watchdog recently said that scrutiny is creating a window of opportunity for action, as the federal government undertakes a review of the Competition Act. “Competitio...

Long wait for US passports snarling summer plans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking a valid U.S. passport for that 2023 trip? Buckle up, wishful traveler, for a very different journey before you step anywhere near an airport.A much-feared backup of U.S passport applications has smashed into a wall of government bureaucracy as worldwide travel rebounds toward record pre-pandemic levels — with too few humans to handle the load. The result, say aspiring travelers in the U.S. and around the world, is a maddening pre-travel purgatory defined, at best, by costly uncertainty.With family dreams and big money on the line, passport seekers describe a slow-motion agony of waiting, worrying, holding the line, refreshing the screen, complaining to Congress, paying extra fees and following incorrect directions. Some applicants are buying additional plane tickets to snag in-process passports where they sit — in other cities — in time to make the flights they booked in the first place.So grim is the outlook that U.S. officials aren't e...

Charles Barkley rewriting his will to make Auburn 'more diverse' in wake of affirmative action ruling

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:54 GMT

(The Hill) - Basketball legend Charles Barkley plans to rewrite his will in an effort to make his alma mater, Auburn University, “more diverse” in the wake of the Supreme Court striking down affirmative action last week. Barkley, who is set to headline a new primetime weekly CNN show “King Charles,” with longtime broadcaster Gayle King this fall, told media outlet AL.com that he wanted to do something to help black students at his alma mater after hearing the news. Barkley, also known as “Sir Charles,” initially had in his will his plan to donate $5 million to the Alabama-based University.“In my will, I am leaving Auburn $5 million,” the 60-year-old NBA Legend told the media outlet on Friday. “I’m going to change it to be just for scholarships for Black students. That’s just my way of trying to make sure Auburn stays diverse.”“I love Auburn,” Barkley added. “I’ve actually changed it to be used for kids from poor homes. But after that ruling yesterday, my phone was blowing up. I...