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UK inflation falls to lowest level in over a year but food prices keep decline in check

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Inflation in the U.K. has fallen to its lowest level since the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, though elevated food prices meant it didn’t fall as much as anticipated. The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that the inflation rate, as measured by the consumer prices index, dropped to 8.7% in the year to April from 10.1% in March, largely because last year’s energy spike in the wake of the invasion dropped out of the annual comparison. The fall took inflation to its lowest level since March 2022, a month after the war began.Though welcome, the decline wasn’t as big as anticipated, especially as prices in the wholesale gas market have been falling for months. The consensus in financial markets was that it would ease back further to 8.3%,One of the main reasons why inflation is consistently running higher than anticipated — and generally higher than other nations in the Group of Seven — is that food prices remain ele...

Hankinson: ‘Vetting’ of migrants shouldn’t make you feel safe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

Amid all the confusion at our border, at least one question with national security and public safety implications has gone almost entirely unexamined: We’re told that those who enter our country illegally are “vetted” before they’re released into our communities, but what does this mean?Not much.Since President Biden took office, the Department of Homeland Security has released an estimated 2 million migrants into the U.S. after minimal “processing.” This means taking their photos and fingerprints, entering (unverifiable) names and birth dates, running this data through U.S. law enforcement and immigration databases, and creating an immigration file if a prior one isn’t found.Some of those who are released get a “notice to appear” at a future immigration court hearing to argue why they shouldn’t be removed from the U.S. for being here illegally. But when overwhelmed, DHS has simply released them with a “notice to report” to their nearest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) off...

US aircraft carrier arrives in NATO-member Norway

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A U.S. aircraft carrier arrived Wednesday in Oslo with the Norwegian armed forces saying it gives them “a unique opportunity to further develop cooperation and work more closely with our most important ally, the United States.”The nuclear-powered ship USS General Ford entered the Oslo fjord escorted by a rapid dinghy-type boat with armed people on board. The Norwegian armed forces has said any boats must stay a half-kilometer (half-mile) away from the aircraft carrier and a no-fly zone was created over the area where the aircraft carrier was.Described as the largest aircraft carrier in the world, the vessel’s first foreign call was broadcast live on Norwegian public television. Onlookser, some using binoculars, were seen on land watching as the large aircraft carrier glided deeper and deeper into the fjord and eventually reach the city of Oslo.The vessel will stay in the Norwegian capital until Tuesday. After that, it will take part in drills with th...

Red Sea corals threatened by mass sea urchin die-off, Israeli researchers say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Sea urchins in Israel’s Gulf of Eilat have been dying off at an alarming rate, researchers announced Wednesday — a development that threatens the Red Sea’s prized coral reef ecosystems. According to Tel Aviv University scientists, an unknown pathogen is killing off the black sea urchin, Diadema setosum. The massive die-off first began in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, from where it has spread to the neighboring Red Sea, the scientists said.The black sea urchin is critical to maintaining a healthy reef habitat. Without them, algae grow unchecked, choking off corals and compromising the delicate balance of the reef ecosystem. A paper outlining the findings was published Wednesday in the journal Royal Society Open Science. “It’s a fast and violent death: within just two days a healthy sea urchin becomes a skeleton with massive tissue loss,” said Oren Bronstein, a marine biologist at Tel Aviv University and lead author on a series of papers on the sea urchin death...

Sustainable till death do us part, and 45 days beyond; mushroom coffin a last best wish for some

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

DELFT, Netherlands (AP) — For those seeking to live in the most sustainable way, there now is an afterlife too.A Dutch intrepid inventor is now “growing” coffins by putting mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms, together with hemp fiber in a special mold that, in a week, turns into what could basically be compared to the looks of an unpainted Egyptian sarcophagus. And while traditional wooden coffins come from trees that can take decades to grow and years to break down in the soil, the mushroom versions biodegrades and delivers the remains to nature in barely a month and a half. In our 21st century, when the individual spirit can increasingly thrive way beyond the strictures of yore, death and funerals are all so often still hemmed in by tradition that may fall far short of the vision of the deceased or their loved ones. “We all have different cultures and different ways of wanting to be buried in the world. But I do think there’s a lot of us, a huge percentage of us, that would...

Russia says it shot down drones in border region after raid from Ukraine territory

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces shot down “a large number” of drones in Russia’s southern Belgorod region, a local official said Wednesday, a day after Moscow announced that its forces crushed a cross-border raid in the area from Ukraine.The drones were intercepted overnight over the province, Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a Telegram post. He said that no one had been hurt, but unspecified administrative buildings, residential buildings and cars were damaged.Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment.Russia said the previous day that it beat back one of war’s most serious cross-border attacks, with the Defense Ministry saying that more than 70 attackers were killed in a battle in Belgorod that lasted around 24 hours. It made no mention of any Russian casualties.Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that local troops, airstrikes and artillery routed the attackers.Twelve local civilians were wounded in the attack, officials said, and an older woman...

In The News for May 24 : Trudeau heads to Winnipeg

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

In The News is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to kickstart your day. Here is what’s on the radar of our editors for the morning of May 24 …What we are watching in Canada …Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to be in Winnipeg today.Trudeau is set to meet with Indigenous high school students in the morning before making an announcement about protecting fresh water.He is also scheduled to take part in a town hall in the evening.The visit comes a day after a special rapporteur said a formal inquiry into foreign interference isn’t needed.Former governor general David Johnston says he plans to hold his own public hearings about the issue later this year.Trudeau had asked Johnston in March to investigate the extent and impact of foreign interference in Canada, amid allegations China meddled in the last two federal elections.—Also this …A funeral is being held today for a mother and her child who were stabbed to death outside...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set to spend day in Winnipeg

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to be in Winnipeg today.Trudeau is set to meet with Indigenous high school students in the morning before making an announcement about protecting fresh water.He is also scheduled to take part in a town hall in the evening.The visit comes a day after a special rapporteur said a formal inquiry into foreign interference isn’t needed.Former governor general David Johnston says he plans to hold his own public hearings about the issue later this year.Trudeau had asked Johnston in March to investigate the extent and impact of foreign interference in Canada, amid allegations China meddled in the last two federal elections.This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2023.The Canadian Press

Daily horoscope for May 24, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

Moon Alert: Avoid shopping or important decisions from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. EDT today (2 a.m. to 8 a.m. PDT). After that, the Moon moves from Cancer to Leo.Happy Birthday for Wednesday, May 24, 2023:You are curious, clever and interested in everything. You’re also interested in people, which is why you like to be up on whatever is happening around you. Take inventory of your life this year. It’s time to let go of people, places and things that have held you back.ARIES(March 21-April 19) ★★★It’s important to remember that patience is the antidote to anger, especially on a day like today. Sports events, romantic relationships and parents’ relationships with their kids are classic areas where it’s easy to lose it. Be patient. Tonight: Relax.TAURUS(April 20-May 20) ★★Despite the chaos and increased activity on the homefront, take a deep breath and think of the best way to handle dealing with family, relatives and whatever is going on at home. Be calm; you need...

Russian governor says Ukrainian 'saboteurs' cross border, entering Russian territory

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:48 GMT

The governor of Russia's Belgorod region said on Monday (22 May) that a Ukrainian "sabotage group" had entered Russian territory in the Graivoron district bordering Ukraine and was being repelled by Russian security forces.Unverified reports of attacks well past midnight on the main town of the region bordering Ukraine were posted on social media. Reports on some channels said the local headquarters of the interior ministry and FSB security service had been targeted.The Ukrainian outlet Hromadske cited Ukrainian military intelligence as saying two armed Russian opposition groups, the Liberty of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), were carrying out the attack.Hromadske said both were composed of Russian nationals committed to fighting the Kremlin authorities. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted that Kyiv was "watching the events in the Belgorod region" but was not involved.The Liberty of Russia Legion is a Ukraine-based Russian militia led by Rus...