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Inside the monarchy

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:12 GMT

In modern Britain, the monarchy still shapes how the country is run.By Tim RossIllustration by Tim O’BrienLONDON — Queen Elizabeth II saw it all coming.  After seven decades as the United Kingdom’s head of state, her majesty knew better than perhaps anyone else the qualities that make for a good prime minister. Boris Johnson, she seemed to have decided, didn’t have them. “It was such a remarkable event, to witness the eye roll of Queen Elizabeth II,” recalled Andrew Gwynne, a British member of parliament.  In June 2019, as Brexit battles paralyzed parliament, the ruling Conservative Party was in the frenzied process of choosing a new leader to succeed Theresa May as prime minister. Gwynne, an opposition Labour MP, was among the guests at a reception for faith leaders among the gilt-framed portraits and chandeliers in Buckingham Palace. During a private chat between the queen and a handful of MPs, the question came up of who would take charge of the country. ...

Strong earthquake hits Japan; no tsunami threat

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:12 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A strong earthquake hit near central Japan on Friday, but officials said there was no preliminary damage and no tsunami threat.The 6.2 quake happened in Ishikawa prefecture near the central west coast of the main Japanese island of Honshu, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s earthquake information center.Japan’s Kyodo News agency reported that there was nothing concerning at a nearby nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture. Japanese officials said there could be small waves but no tsunami danger. Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone nations. A massive 2011 quake in the country’s northeast caused a devastating tsunami and nuclear plant meltdown that still reverberates today. The Associated Press

Belgium arrests Iraqi suspected of terror attack involvement

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:12 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Belgian authorities said Friday they have arrested an Iraqi on charges of murder, war crimes and crimes against humanity over bombings that took place in Baghdad more than a decade ago.The federal prosecutor’s office identified the suspect as a person in their 40s who has been living in Belgium since 2015. It said the suspect was believed to belong to a cell of the al-Qaida terrorist network that was “partly responsible for several bombings in the Green Zone of Baghdad in 2009 and 2010, which killed at least 376 people and injured more than 2,300.” The suspect was charged with “several murders with terrorist intent, participation in the activities of a terrorist group, war crimes and crimes against humanity.” The Associated Press

Finnish daily uses shooter videogame to dodge Russia's press restrictions

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:12 GMT

Finland's biggest daily Helsingin Sanomat took on Russian media restrictions in a popular videogame online to mark World Press Freedom Day.Editor-in-chief Antero Mukka said that the paper was forced to be creative to try to overcome the restrictions. They decided to hide articles in Russian about Russia's conflict in Ukraine within the popular shooter game Counter-Strike.Russia has crackeddown on independent journalism after initiating what Moscow refers to as "a special military operations" in Ukraine's neighbour last year. The country has banned free reporting and denied Russians access to media produced abroad.Helsingin Sanomat, in response to Moscow's laws restricting the freedom of press in Russia and Ukraine, began publishing some Ukraine and Russia-related news in Russian in last year. However, access to its content from Russia was quickly restricted.Mukka said: "We have been concerned about the situation of press freedom and freedom to speak in Russia. We decided it might be...

International coalition praises the leadership of the UAE in human rights, led by President Bin Zayed

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:12 GMT

The United Arab Emirates will present its universal periodic review to the United Nations on May 8th 2023. During its review, the UAE will explain the developments and efforts it has made to enhance respect for, and compliance with, human rights and the implementation of international obligations. According to a coalition of non-governmental human rights organizations, representing “53 non-governmental human rights organizations” concerned with monitoring human rights conditions and following up on the results and outputs of the Universal Periodic Review mechanism for countries that have made remarkable contributions and achievements in the field of human rights, the UAE has topped the countries in the region following what was monitored by the International Coalition for its leadership in globalism and in devoting commitment to high human values and principles.  The coalition of human rights organizations had submitted to the United Nations its report on the universal per...

Single-family home sells in San Jose for $1.6 million

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:12 GMT

4863 Pepperwood Way – Google Street ViewA house located in the 4800 block of Pepperwood Way in San Jose has a new owner. The 1,240-square-foot property, built in 1960, was sold on April 7, 2023. The $1,600,000 purchase price works out to $1,290 per square foot. The property features three bedrooms, two baths, a garage, and two parking spaces. There’s also a pool in the backyard. The unit sits on a 6,000-square-foot lot.Additional houses that have recently changed hands close by include:A 1,776-square-foot home on the 4800 block of Banberry Way in San Jose sold in October 2022, for $1,985,000, a price per square foot of $1,118. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In December 2022, a 3,302-square-foot home on Holden Court in San Jose sold for $2,800,000, a price per square foot of $848. The home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.On Sally Drive, San Jose, in December 2022, a 2,050-square-foot home was sold for $1,565,000, a price per square foot of $763. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 ...

Violinist on Russian trains soothes weary commuters

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:12 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — The commuter trains that take wearied workers out of Moscow every day can be difficult — a long and slow trip in close quarters with strangers, some of them drinking alcohol or sprawled sleeping across the seats. But a few days a week, riders might get a lift when Oksana comes aboard to soothe them with her violin artistry. Classics, jazz, Russian folk music and children’s songs all flow as she glides her bow across the strings.It’s not just her repertoire that raises the passengers’ spirits, but her instruments themselves. She makes her own violins from kits and decorates them with intricate, colorful paintings of flowers and winding vines.The 49-year-old Oksana, who did not want her surname reported out of safety concerns, once worked at a cultural center in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don but moved to Moscow after she lost that job. There was a house loan to pay off along with support for her two children, who live with their father. At first sh...

Detienen al sospechoso del segundo tiroteo masivo en Serbia

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:12 GMT

(CNN) –– Al menos ocho personas murieron y otras 13 resultaron heridas en un tiroteo en el municipio de Mladenovac en Serbia, confirmó a CNN el portavoz del Ministerio del Interior del país.El sospechoso, un joven de 21 años identificado como Uros B., fue detenido, según informó este viernes a CNN el portavoz del Ministerio del Interior de Serbia. La captura se produjo la mañana de este viernes en el pueblo de Kragujevac, a 60 kilómetros del municipio de Mladenovac donde ocurrieron los tiroteos, informó la radiotelevisión pública RTS.El tiroteo ocurrió en la noche del jueves, a las 11:00 p.m. hora local, dijo el portavoz del Ministerio del Interior de Serbia. El atacante disparó primero a un grupo de personas con un arma automática en el pueblo rural de Dubona, a unos 60 kilómetros de Belgrado, antes de disparar a otras personas en los pueblos de Mali Orašje y Šepšin, según informó el canal N1, afiliado de CNN.Las tres localidades se encuentran en el municipio serbio de Mladenovac.T...

Biden nombrará a general de la Fuerza Aérea como próximo jefe del Estado Mayor Conjunto de EE.UU.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:12 GMT

(CNN) — Se espera que el presidente Joe Biden nombre al general Charles Q. Brown Jr., jefe de las Fuerzas Aéreas, como su elección para el próximo general de más alto rango de EE.UU., según una fuente familiarizada con el asunto.Si el Senado lo aprueba, sería la primera vez en la historia de Estados Unidos que el secretario de Defensa y el presidente del Estado Mayor Conjunto son afroamericanos, un hito notable para una administración que se ha enorgullecido de la diversidad de sus dirigentes.Brown sucedería al general Mark Milley, nominado por el expresidente Donald Trump en 2018. Sería solo el segundo hombre negro en convertirse en jefe del Estado Mayor Conjunto, después de que el general Colin Powell ocupara el cargo entre 1989 y 1993 bajo los presidentes George H.W. Bush y Bill Clinton.El anuncio está previsto para antes de julio, según un segundo funcionario estadounidense, aunque el momento exacto no está claro.Alto general de EE.UU. dice a CNN que el “orden de seg...

Rishi Sunak is failing his first major electoral test

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:12 GMT

LONDON — The Conservative Party suffered a heavy night of losses in Rishi Sunak’s first major electoral test since he became prime minister in October.Voters went to the polls on Thursday to elect local representatives in 230 councils across England. In results counted overnight, Labour gained control of some of its top target councils including Plymouth and Stoke-on-Trent and seized Medway council from the Tories after 20 years. The Conservatives lost control of 10 councils and more than 200 council seats, leading to forecasts they are now on track to lose up to 1,000 seats — at the worst end of independent expectations.The Liberal Democrats took control of Windsor and Maidenhead council, in former Prime Minister Theresa May’s constituency, for the first time in 16 years. Many seats are still to be counted through Friday, but the earliest results make for grim reading in Conservative headquarters.Local election results are always an imperfect indicator. Thursday’s vote only t...