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Kingmaker liberals pitch compromise deal on EU nature law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:52 GMT

The European Parliament’s liberal Renew group is pitching itself as an honest broker to resolve a standoff on highly controversial new EU nature rules, which face a key vote in the plenary next week.The proposed legislation — aimed at restoring key ecosystems across the bloc by the end of the decade — has come under heavy fire from conservative lawmakers, who claim the new rules endanger the livelihoods of farmers and risk undermining food security.The European People’s Party, which has led the charge against the bill, failed to kill the legislation outright, but managed to rally enough MEPs to vote down the text in the Parliament’s agriculture, fisheries and environment committees. The Renew group — which has been split on the issue, with some of its MEPs voting to reject the legislation — is now betting it can convince a majority of the Parliament’s lawmakers, including its own group, to back a new compromise ahead of the plenary vote next week. I...

Glyphosate is safe to use in agriculture, says EU food safety watchdog

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:52 GMT

Europe’s food safety regulator found on Thursday that glyphosate, the controversial weedkiller, is safe to use in farming, in a win for the pesticide industry lobby that sparked outrage among green campaigners.In a long-awaited verdict, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) found no “critical areas of concern” for human, animal and environmental health from the use of glyphosate in agriculture.That could herald a new lease on life for the herbicide that was invented by Monsanto, now part of Bayer, and has been the target of class-action litigation in the United States that has already cost the German chemicals-to-crops giant upward of €11 billion.The chemical weedkiller is the most widely used pesticide in the world, but critics say it has been linked to cancer and can be harmful to wildlife. It was last approved for use in the EU in a highly controversial process in 2017, and the five-year license was extended for another 12 months last December.Environmental groups denoun...

Driver faces charges after car slams into home in Hanover

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:52 GMT

A driver is facing charges after his car slammed into a house in Hanover early Thursday morning, police said. Hanover police said a homeowner on Circuit Street in town first called 911 shortly after 3 a.m. saying they believed a car had just driven into the side of their home. While on the phone, police said, the homeowner found the car stuck, indeed, stuck in a dining room area. Police said emergency crews arriving at the scene found the car appeared to have left Circuit Street and crashed into the home after driving through the side yard. While paramedics provided first aid to the driver, police said officers “could immediately detect a strong odor of alcohol.”Police identified the driver as a 22-year-old man and said he was taken to a hospital. Fire officials separately described the driver’s injuries as non-life-threatening. Police said the driver is facing multiple charges including OUI liquor. He is expected to be arraigned at a time to be determined.&...

Mass. officials reiterate call to ‘ditch the drive’ as Sumner Tunnel shutdown continues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:52 GMT

State officials gathered outside the Orient Heights MBTA station Thursday, reiterating a call for commuters to “ditch the drive” as the planned nearly two-month shutdown of the Sumner Tunnel entered its second day. Acting Governor Kim Driscoll, Transportation Secretary Gina Fiandaca and others themselves then boarded a Blue Line train bound for downtown Boston.  The Sumner Tunnel, which connects East Boston to the downtown area, closed on Wednesday morning as part of an ongoing project to make repairs within the tunnel. The current closure is scheduled to last until the end of August. Traffic is being diverted through Everett, Route One and the Ted Williams Tunnel, in the meantime.Officials have warned of delays and traffic congestion linked to the tunnel shutdown, advising commuters to utilize public transit, if possible. To that end, the Blue Line is running fare-free service throughout the Sumner Tunnel shutdown. Fares on the Commuter Rail are reduced and...

VIDEO: Water main break drenches Escondido street

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:52 GMT

ESCONDIDO, Calif. -- A water main break spewed out into the street of a residential area in North County on Thursday morning.FOX 5 was at the scene at Encino Drive and Eldorado Drive in Escondido around 6:30 a.m., capturing the incident on camera. The water was seen drenching the area. Body found in Mission Beach City crews were also seen in the area with work trucks blocking a portion of the street. Motorists are encouraged to take alternative routes as this situation remains active. The scene of a water main break in Escondido on Thursday, July, 6, 2023. (KSWB)FOX 5 is working to gather more information about this incident and how it may affect residents in the area.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Girl dies after SUV crashes into a London school; a woman arrested for possible dangerous driving

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A girl was killed Thursday when an SUV crashed into an elementary school on a very narrow road in the Wimbledon district of southwest London, police said.The Metropolitan Police said there have been further injuries, but didn’t provide any new details. Earlier, police said that seven children and two adults were injured during the crash, which isn’t being treated as terror-related. “This is tragic news and our thoughts are with the girl’s family and friends, and everyone affected today,” said Detective Chief Superintendent Clair Kelland, the local police commander for southwest London.Police also confirmed that the driver of the vehicle, a woman in her 40s, was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.Police were called to The Study Preparatory School, a private all-girls school, at 9:54 a.m., along with paramedics on the ground and air ambulances. The driver of the vehicle, believed to be a Land Rover, stopped at the scene.Stephen ...

Stock market today: Wall Street opens lower as job market shows little sign of cooling

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are falling early Thursday after reports suggested the U.S. job market is much more resilient than many thought. While a sturdy labor market keeps the economy out of a long-expected recession, it could also push the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer in its campaign to defeat high inflation. That could mean more pressure on the economy and markets. The S&P 500 was 0.9% lower. The Dow fell 282 points, or 0.9%, while the Nasdaq was down 1%. ADP Research Institute said hiring by private employers was much stronger last month than expected. Treasury yields rose. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street headed lower for a second day and markets in Europe and Asia fell as well with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in China Thursday attempting to lower tensions between the world’s two largest economies. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5%. Share prices have ...

Belarus says Wagner chief who staged mutiny is in Russia, raising questions about Kremlin’s strategy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:52 GMT

MINSK, Belarus (AP) — The mercenary leader who led a short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin is in Russia and his troops are in their field camps, the president of Belarus said Thursday, raising new questions about the deal that ended the extraordinary challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s rule.Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s claim could not be independently verified, and the Kremlin refused to comment on Yevgeny Prigozhin’s whereabouts. But Russian media have reported he was recently seen at his offices in St. Petersburg.It was not clear if Prigozhin’s presence in Russia would violate the deal, which allowed the head of the Wagner Group military contractor to move to Belarus in exchange for ending the rebellion and a promise of amnesty for him and his troops. But the reports signaled that the agreement may have allowed him to finalize his affairs in Russia.If that’s true, it could suggest the threat posed by Prigozhin has not yet been full...

Serbia to seek meeting with NATO chief, UN Security Council session on Kosovo tensions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:52 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s president on Thursday accused Kosovo of carrying out “silent ethnic cleansing” of Serbs and said his country will seek a meeting with NATO’s chief and an urgent session of United Nations Security Council to demand their protection. “Things are out of control,” Aleksandar Vucic said. “Serbian people have been cornered.”Vucic said he will urge the meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg next week before requesting the U.N. Security Council session. Serbia could begin unspecified difficult “activities” if the two initiatives produce no results, he warned.“We have no right to allow further pogrom, persecution or ethnic cleansing of our people,” Vucic said.Serbia briefly heightened the combat readiness of its armed forces and threatened a military intervention after tensions recently soared in Kosovo between the ethnic Albanian-dominated government and the Serb minority living in northern Kosovo.Vucic cited recen...

Greece welcomes deescalation in the eastern Mediterranean without directly referring to Turkey

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:52 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Greece’s newly appointed defense minister on Thursday welcomed a deescalation of tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, expressing hope this would lead to a “climate of trust” without directly referring to Turkey.But Nikos Dendias said that trust must be built on the U.N. charter and on respect for the rule of law on land and at sea with the “absolute condemnation for the threat of the use of force.”Dendias, a former foreign minister, made the remarks after talks with his Cypriot counterpart Michalis Georgallas during his first overseas visit following the reelection of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.Although Dendias’ remarks were clearly referring to Turkey, the Greek top diplomat didn’t mention the country by name, ostensibly in hopes of encouraging reelected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to engage in dialogue with Athens and Cyprus on a host of issues that continue to be a source of friction between the neighbors.Dendias’ visit came two d...