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Sunak under pressure as UK inflation remains stubbornly high in May

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:13 GMT

LONDON — U.K. inflation held steady at 8.7 percent in May despite analyst expectations it would fall to 8.4 percent following a broader European trend, the Office of National Statistics confirmed today.It makes it almost certain the Bank of England will increase interest rates to 5 percent in August.The Bank is currently expected to lift rates by 0.25 percentage points at its meeting on Thursday to 4.75 percent, but before today’s data not all analysts were agreed there would be another in August. With core annual inflation — which strips out volatile items like energy and food — rising to 6.5 percent in May from 6.2 the previous month. the highest rate since November 1991, the scope for any imminent rate-hiking pause by the Bank has been greatly reduced. The country’s economy now risks a wave of mortgage defaults as a slew of fixed rate deals head for expiry in the second half of this year.Among the factors unexpectedly pushing rates higher this month included rising p...

Italy has won migration. It’s aiming for Europe next

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:13 GMT

BRUSSELS — The stage was set. In one corner: Italy, Giorgia Meloni, and a coterie of conservatives sensing an opportunity.In the other: Germany, Olaf Scholz, and a fractious coalition on the left. The two combatants were battling over a deal to reshape, for the first time in years, how the EU welcomes and relocates migrants. And the talks were on the brink of failing, just as they had for years. Italy wanted more authority to remove rejected asylum seekers. Germany was worried it would create human rights violations. But this time, when Italy and the conservatives didn’t budge, Germany and the left blinked. It was a telling moment. Germany, the EU’s most populated country and its largest economy, often gets what it wants when negotiating in Brussels. Italy, with its constantly changing governments, doesn’t.This time, however, the ground had shifted. Europe’s traditional center-right conservatives were now willing to caucus with Meloni, who leads a post-fasci...

UK borrowers brace for more expensive loans as inflation fails to fall as anticipated

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:13 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Borrowers in the U.K. will be bracing themselves for further increases in lending costs after official figures Wednesday showed inflation failing to fall as anticipated in May.The Office for National Statistics said inflation, as measured by the consumer prices index, held steady at 8.7% in the year to May against expectations for a modest decline to 8.4%, a development that is likely to see the Bank of England raise the cost of borrowing again on Thursday.The agency said rising prices for flights, recreational and cultural goods and services, and second-hand cars boosted the inflation rate, while gas prices at the pump provided the biggest downward pressure.“After last month’s fall, annual inflation was little changed in May and remains at a historically high level,” the agency’s chief economist Grant Fitzner said.Financial markets think news of the unchanged rate will mean the Bank of England will increase its benchmark interest rate on Thursday from the ...

Lawsuit: Insufficient prototype testing could put Titanic sub passengers in ‘extreme danger’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:13 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — The company whose submersible vanished in the North Atlantic on a tourist dive to the wreck of the Titanic was repeatedly warned that there might be catastrophic safety problems posed by the way it was developed, documents show.With five people aboard a vessel that if still functioning would have a dwindling amount of oxygen, an expanding international fleet of ships and airplanes is searching for the Titan, operated by OceanGate Expeditions. The undersea exploration company based in Everett, Washington, has been making yearly voyages to the Titanic since 2021. In the first piece of good news since the search began, a Canadian aircraft detected underwater noises, though the vessel has not been found, the U.S. Coast Guard reported early Wednesday.David Lochridge, OceanGate’s director of marine operations, wrote an engineering report in 2018 that said the craft under development needed more testing and that passengers might be endangered when it reached “extreme depths,...

Police say fiery collision on major GTA highway leaves 1 dead, shuts down traffic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:13 GMT

Ontario Provincial Police say a multi-vehicle collision has claimed at least one life and sparked a massive fireball on Highway 401, at Brock Road in Pickering, east of Toronto.O.P.P Sergeant Kerry Schmidt says just before 11:00 p.m. ET Tuesday, there was a significant collision involving two transport trucks and a passenger vehicle. During the crash, an explosion occurred and all three vehicles were consumed by fire.Schmidt says at least one person has been confirmed dead at this time. The accident has closed down Highway 401 in both directions, between Westney Road in Ajax and Whites Road in Pickering, and police say due to fire damage, it will likely remain closed into the morning rush. Commuters are warned to expect heavy delays while rerouting off the highway to avoid the crash site. In a video update posted to Twitter, Schmidt asks for witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage of the crash to call the O.P.P.The clean-up and the investigation into the crash are ongoing. Further ...

Ukraine targets $40 billion for 'Green Marshall Plan'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:13 GMT

War-torn Ukraine is seeking up to $40 billion to fund the first part of a "Green Marshall Plan" to rebuild its economy, a senior Ukrainian government official told Reuters ahead of a summit this week.Politicians and financiers will discuss the country's short-term funding issues as well as look at long-term reconstruction efforts at the two-day meeting, starting in London on Wednesday and co-hosted by Ukraine and Britain.The World Bank estimates Ukraine's reconstruction will cost $411 billion, three times the country's gross domestic product. Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, external backers have poured $59bn into Ukraine for financing needs.Giving the figure of $40 billion for an initial phase of reconstruction, Rostyslav Shurma, a deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office, said the first focus would be the iron and steel industry.The sector contributed around 10% of Ukrainian GDP in 2021, a third of export revenues and employed around 600,000 people. It also a...

Sale closed in San Ramon: $2.1 million for a four-bedroom home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:13 GMT

1324 Kellybrook Way – Google Street ViewA 2,784-square-foot house built in 2002 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 1300 block of Kellybrook Way in San Ramon was sold on May 26, 2023. The $2,100,000 purchase price works out to $754 per square foot. The property features four bedrooms, four bathrooms, an attached garage, and two parking spaces. It sits on a 5,156-square-foot lot.Additional houses that have recently changed hands close by include:A 4,232-square-foot home on the 3300 block of Rutherglen Drive in San Ramon sold in August 2022, for $2,450,000, a price per square foot of $579. The home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.In April 2023, a 2,363-square-foot home on Arrowfield Way in San Ramon sold for $1,815,000, a price per square foot of $768. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Riverland Court, San Ramon, in July 2022, a 3,472-square-foot home was sold for $2,375,000, a price per square foot of $684. The home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. 

China says Biden’s mention of dictators in reference to Chinese leader Xi is ‘extremely absurd and irresponsible’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:13 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China says Biden’s mention of dictators in reference to Chinese leader Xi is ‘extremely absurd and irresponsible.’Source

Kante joins Benzema at Al-Ittihad on 3-year deal as Saudi Arabia entices another star player

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:13 GMT

Saudi Arabian soccer champion Al-Ittihad has another high-profile French player to accompany Karim Benzema at the team next season.N’Golo Kante completed his move on a three-year deal on Wednesday after leaving Chelsea, with Al-Ittihad welcoming the 32-year-old midfielder with a series of tweets containing the hashtag “WelcomeBox2Box” — referring to his hard-running style of play.He will reportedly earn more than $100 million across the length of the deal at a club based in Jeddah and coached by former Tottenham and Wolverhampton manager Nuno Espirito Santo. It recently won the Saudi league ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.Kante, who won the World Cup with France in 2018, the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021 and has been one of the best players in the Premier League in recent years as a back-to-back champion with Leicester and Chelsea, has struggled with injuries over the past two seasons.That hasn’t put off Al-Ittihad from apparently spending big on Kante, a f...

Arresto en Escocia: piloto llega aparentemente borracho a su vuelo con destino a Nueva York

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:38:13 GMT

Un piloto de Delta Airlines fue arrestado en Escocia después de que presuntamente se presentó borracho para un vuelo con destino a la ciudad de Nueva York y forzó la cancelación del viaje, informaron las autoridades el martes.El vuelo 209 normalmente sale del aeropuerto de Edimburgo a las 10:35 a. m. SCT en un viaje de siete horas y media al aeropuerto internacional John F. Kennedy, pero nunca despegó el viernes.El piloto, identificado solo como un hombre de 61 años, fue arrestado alrededor de las 10 a.m. hora local, dijo la policía. Fue fichado bajo sospecha de violar la Ley de Seguridad del Transporte y Ferrocarriles del Reino Unido de 2003, que prohíbe que los pilotos y otros operadores de transporte se vean afectados en el trabajo.Esta información fue originalmente publicada en NBCNews. El solsticio de verano de 2023 comienza esta semana. Esto es lo que debes saber Sumergible desaparecido: avión de Canadá detecta ruidos en el área de búsq...