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How the Australian Labor Party taught Keir Starmer to fight dirty

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

LONDON — The history of the U.K. Labour Party is one of electoral failure. Only two of the party’s leaders have won general elections in the past 60 years.But with Labour now in an unfamiliar position — streets ahead in the polls as a U.K. general election looms in 2024 — leader Keir Starmer is taking advice from his sister party in Australia, which won a famous victory of its own last year.The advice from Down Under is simple — aim low and get personal if you want to win. Starmer’s Labour has been happy to oblige.“You win elections by using every tool in your toolbox — and we have now reached deep into the toolbox and pulled a few out that haven’t been dusted off in a while,” one shadow Cabinet minister said. April’s local elections in England proved a testing ground for Labour’s new approach, with the party trialing a controversial ad accusing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of being soft on sex offenders.The simple social media graphic showed a beaming Sunak bes...

Infinite plastic recycling: The technology is ready, but what about legislation?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

The future of the circular economy in the EU is currently being shaped, with substantial investments planned to address the critical environmental challenge of plastic waste. But will legislation encourage or limit the changes needed to enable a circular economy?Mark J. Costa, board chair and chief executive officer, Eastman | via Eastman ChemicalInnovative chemical recycling technologies that are available now offer the ability to recycle hard-to-recycle plastic waste, which is currently incinerated, landfilled, or left in the environment. They do so with exceptionally high yields, producing ‘virgin-like’ quality recycled plastic output with a carbon footprint that is 40-80 percent lower than traditional fossil production of new plastics. Current mechanical recycling processes work well for a portion of the waste stream — mainly clear bottles that are well sorted — however even with this stream of material, mechanical recycling output degrades over several cycles. Therefore, new ch...

UK has ‘lost’ global climate leader status, say its own advisers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

LONDON — The U.K. has “lost its clear global leadership position” on climate change and is at serious risk of missing legally-binding emissions targets, according to a damning new report from the government’s official climate adviser.The Climate Change Committee (CCC) said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government had “backtracked” on commitments to phase out fossil fuels by granting consent for a new coal mine and supporting new oil and gas production in the North Sea.Ministers have also been “slow” to react to major new climate policies from the U.S. and the EU, the report said, adding that the government failed to respond to the spike in gas prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with effective policies to cut energy demand and emissions.The committee’s chair, former Conservative Environment Secretary John Gummer, said there was a “worrying hesitancy by ministers to lead the country to the next stage of net zero commitments.”Gummer, who will stand down at the end of June aft...

Mets Notebook: Owner Steve Cohen to speak with media Wednesday amid team’s poor start

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

With the Mets continuing to sink deeper and deeper toward the bottom of the standings, the fans are clamoring more and more for action. Whether it’s firing manager Buck Showalter or pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, or even cutting ties with struggling slugger Daniel Vogelbach, fans are begging the Mets to do something to shake things up. Some fans are often begging owner Steve Cohen directly via social media.So, Cohen has decided it’s time to talk. The hedge fund manager sent a tweet to his 286,043 followers Tuesday afternoon announcing that he will be meeting with the media before Wednesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers.“I will be doing a press conference tomorrow before the game,” the tweet said. “You will get it from me straight.”Owners typically don’t talk much during the season, preferring to let their operations executives who run the team day-to-day do the speaking. But Eppler has only met with reporters four three times thi...

Failed Wagner revolt leaves a question in Africa: Will the ruthless mercenaries remain?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

BIRAO, Central African Republic (AP) — The Russian mercenary group that briefly threatened President Vladimir Putin’s authority has for years been a ruthless force-for-hire across Africa, protecting rulers at the expense of the masses. That dynamic is not expected to change now that the group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been exiled to Belarus as punishment for the failed rebellion.The Wagner Group brutalizes civilians in the Central African Republic, Mali and elsewhere to crush dissent and fend off threats to their leaders’ power. In exchange, Russia gains access to natural resources and ports through which weapons can be shipped, and receives payments that enrich the Kremlin and help it fund operations elsewhere, including the war in Ukraine.Neither Russia nor the African leaders dependent on Wagner’s fighters have any interest in ending those relationships. But many questions linger in the aftermath of Wagner’s stunning revolt, such as who will lead its thousands...

Tensions erupt in a Paris suburb after a 17-year-old delivery driver is killed in a police standoff

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A 17-year-old delivery driver was shot and killed by a police officer Tuesday in a Paris suburb, according to his family’s lawyers. The death unleashed tensions between angry residents setting barricades on fire and police firing tear gas.The police officer was detained on suspicion of manslaughter, according to the prosecutor’s office in the Paris suburb of Nanterre. It said the shooting took place during a traffic check.The victim was wounded by a gunshot and died at the scene, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement. A passenger in the car was briefly detained and released, and police are searching for another passenger who fled.Deadly use of firearms is less common in France than in the United States, and Tuesday’s death drew national attention. A team of three lawyers for the driver identified him as 17-year-old Nael M. In a statement, the lawyers rejected a reported statement by the police that officers’ lives were in danger because the driver had ...

Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani interviewed in Jan. 6 investigation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rudy Giuliani, who as a member of Donald Trump’s legal team sought to overturn 2020 presidential election results in battleground states, was interviewed recently by investigators with the Justice Department special counsel’s office.A spokesman for Giuliani confirmed he met with the special counsel. “The appearance was entirely voluntary and conducted in a professional manner,” Ted Goodman said in a statement. A person familiar with the matter said the interview was not done before a grand jury. The person, who insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, would not say what questions investigators asked.The interview is an additional sign of busy investigative activity by special counsel Jack Smith as his team of prosecutors scrutinizes efforts by Trump and his allies to undo the results of the election in the weeks before the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. Smith filed a separate case earlier this month charging Trump with ...

Former Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett has died in an apparent drowning

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

DESTIN, Fla. (AP) — Former Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett, who also played for New England, Houston and Baltimore during five seasons in the NFL, has died. He was 35.Mallett died in an apparent drowning, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. Mallett was a football coach at White Hall High School in his native Arkansas, and the school district also confirmed his death in a post on its website on Tuesday.Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said the university “lost an incredibly special person.”“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, friends and teammates of Ryan Mallett,” Yurachek posted on Twitter.Mallett played for the University of Michigan for one season before finishing his college career at Arkansas. He passed for 7,493 yards and 62 touchdowns in two seasons with the Razorbacks.Mallett was selected by New England in the third round of the 2011 NFL draft. He appeared in four games with the Patriots during the 2012 season, completing 1 of 4 passes fo...

Gunmen abducted 14 police officers in the Mexican state of Chiapas

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A commando of armed men abducted 14 state police officers in southern Mexico on Tuesday, prompting a heavy deployment of federal and local forces, authorities said.The Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection in Chiapas state said in a statement the 14 officers were all men and an air and ground operation was underway to locate them. An official with the state police force, who asked not to be quoted because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said the agents were traveling to the capital of Chiapas in a personnel transport truck when they were intercepted by several trucks with gunmen.The women in the vehicle were released while the men were taken away, the official said.The abduction occurred on the highway between Ocozocoautla and Tuxtla Gutiérrez.Violence in the Mexican border region with Guatemala has escalated in recent months amid a territorial dispute between the Sinaloa Cartel – which has dominated the area – and the Jalisco New G...

Florida issues health advisory after 4 locally contract malaria in first spread in US in 20 years

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:32 GMT

TERRA CEIA ISLAND, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Department of Health has issued a statewide mosquito-borne illness advisory after four locally contracted cases of malaria were reported along the Gulf Coast south of Tampa.On Monday, a health alert issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also noted that another case has been detected in Texas, marking the first time there has been a local spread of malaria in the United States in 20 years.The four residents in Sarasota County received treatment and have recovered, according to the state’s Department of Health advisory. Malaria, caused by a parasite that spreads through bites from Anopheles mosquitoes, causes fever, chills, sweats, nausea and vomiting, and headaches. It is not spread person to person.It’s the threat of the mosquito-borne illness that concerns Kathleen Gibson-Dee, who lives on Terra Ceia Island, which is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Sarasota County. Even though no malaria cases have be...