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Commission consults member states on a proposal for a partial adjustment of the phase-out schedule of the State Aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework in view of the upcoming winter heating period

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

The European Commission has sent to member states for consultation a draft proposal to partially adjust the phase-out schedule of the provisions of the State aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework aimed at providing a crisis response following Russia's aggression against Ukraine and the unprecedented increase in energy prices.Since the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine and in the context of its direct and indirect effects on the EU economy, the State aid Temporary Crisis Framework, adopted on 23 March 2022, has enabled member states to provide timely, targeted and proportionate support to businesses in need. The Framework has allowed member states to act quickly and effectively to help companies affected by the significant economic uncertainties, disrupted trade flows and supply chains, and the exceptionally large and unexpected price increases, in particular of natural gas, electricity, numerous other input and raw materials, and primary goods. Those effects taken to...

Miss Manners: My neighbor is convinced I’m making this noise. How do I get him to drop it?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I have a neighbor in the apartment directly below mine who, during the 20 years I have lived here, has regularly complained about the various noises they hear from my apartment. Not once has X ever said anything to me that wasn’t a criticism about The Noise.Related ArticlesAdvice | Miss Manners: My wife rebuked cinema patrons who walked in front of us. Who was rude? Advice | Miss Manners: The host seemed put out by the guests’ sober dress. Were they rude? Advice | Miss Manners: Should I have done something about this shopper’s bad behavior? Advice | Miss Manners: How do I keep my wife’s art off our walls without a blowup? Advice | Miss Manners: Three years after disappearing, she sent me a rude email Do I have a pet? Do I exercise? Is there some machinery I am running?No, to all of these. I am sure any noise isn’t from me: My apartment is fully carpeted, I...

Gaza faces imminent typhoid, cholera outbreak, health bodies warn

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

Health organizations are warning of an imminent public health crisis in the Gaza Strip, where disruptions to health and water systems are raising the risk of disease outbreaks.The International Rescue Committee (IRC) on Thursday warned of the inevitable spread of waterborne illnesses such as cholera and typhoid, caused by contaminated water sources and a lack of sanitation.Currently, 95 percent of the population in Gaza has no access to safe water, while 64 percent of primary health facilities have shut down, IRC warns, as Israel conducts a lethal bombing campaign. “The conditions are ripe for the spread of communicable and waterborne diseases — diseases that adversely affect children and lead to preventable deaths,” said Bob Kitchen, the IRC’s vice president of emergencies.The World Health Organizations (WHO) on Wednesday warned that lack of fuel has disrupted waste collection and caused desalination plants to shut down, leading to a significant increase in the spread of bact...

Boris Johnson brands Rishi Sunak a ‘stooge’ put in place by Dominic Cummings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

LONDON — Boris Johnson accused his successor Rishi Sunak of being a “stooge” installed at the behest of Johnson-adviser-turned nemesis Dominic Cummings.In his most direct criticism yet of the current U.K. prime minister, Johnson also said Sunak had left the governing Conservatives “drifting to defeat” with no clear strategy.The comments came in an interview with Nadine Dorries, a staunch Johnson ally who has just published a book on what she calls the “political assassination” of the ex-prime minister.Johnson was forced from office in 2022 after a series of scandals, with the resignation of Sunak — then-Johnson’s lead finance minister — dealing his administration a mortal blow.In his interview with Dorries, Johnson claimed his own former adviser Cummings had always wanted to get Sunak into the top job.“I heard that Cummings has said he started to plot to get rid of me in January 2020,” Johnson said. “The plot was always to get Ri...

‘Merry Ham-Mas’: Aussie store pulls Christmas bag after outcry

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

Australia’s Kmart retail chain on Wednesday was forced to remove a Christmas bag bearing the inscription “Merry Ham-Mas” from sale after the item attracted criticism from a Jewish group.The colorful drawstring bag, which can be used to store a Christmas ham in a refrigerator, could no longer be ordered on Kmart’s website as of Thursday morning.“We got it wrong on this occasion, and we apologise unreservedly,” a Kmart spokesperson said in a written statement to POLITICO on Thursday.“When designing this product we clearly didn’t think through all the implications and the product has been removed from sale,” the spokesperson added.Launched just a few weeks after the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ violent attacks which killed more than 1,400 people in Israel, the Christmas bag sparked public outcry after the Australian Jewish Association (AJA) asked for the product to be pulled.“Although this is potentially funny (the AJA co...

Alex Caruso shut down Kevin Durant, but it wasn’t enough for a Chicago Bulls OT win — and 6 other takeaways from Wednesday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

For the final eight minutes of the Chicago Bulls’ Wednesday loss to the Phoenix Suns, Alex Caruso drove Kevin Durant into a state of frustration.The guard acted as a shadow for Durant throughout the night, poking and prodding to keep the forward from settling into a comfortable scoring rhythm down the stretch. Caruso hung all over Durant on his final attempt at a game-winner with time expired, forcing him to take a slightly off-balance shot that clanked off the rim to send the game into overtime.Durant finished with 25 points, nearly five points below his season average. But Durant scored only four in the final two frames of the game, a testament to Caruso’s nullifying presence.“It’s his mentality,” Durant said. “He’s a hard worker who’s going to do everything he can. He’s a phenomenal player. I don’t even want to call him a role player, but just a guy that you can plug with any lineup and he’s going to make the right...

A TotalEnergies pipeline project in East Africa is disturbing community graves, watchdog says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — The French oil company TotalEnergies is failing to protect the sanctity of hundreds of graves in a controversial project that aims to build a heated pipeline from oil fields in Uganda to a port in Tanzania, according to a report by a New York-based climate watchdog. In a report released Thursday, GreenFaith charges that TotalEnergies “has consistently failed to respect local customs and traditions related to the treatment of graves,” distressing local communities in the East African nations of Uganda and Tanzania. The report is the latest effort by a growing list of campaigners who urge TotalEnergies and its partners — China National Offshore Oil Corporation and the governments of Uganda and Tanzania — to cancel the project. As the majority shareholder, TotalEnergies has long faced legal pressure from activists who say the nearly 1,500-kilometer (900-mile) pipeline project undermines the Paris climate accord. TotalEnergies has denied each of the charges, sayin...

Putin visits Kazakhstan, part of his efforts to cement ties with ex-Soviet neighbors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Kazakhstan on Thursday, part of his efforts to cement ties with the ex-Soviet neighbor and major economic partner in the midst of tensions with the West over Ukraine.Putin’s talks in Kazakhstan’s capital of Astana follow his trip last month to Kyrgyzstan for a summit of ex-Soviet nations and a visit to China.Speaking at the start of his talks with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Putin hailed “multi-faceted” ties between the countries and said they would determine new areas of “strategic” cooperation.Oil-rich Kazakhstan and other Central Asian nations have maintained a delicate balancing act, preserving strong economic ties with Moscow but refusing to recognize its annexation of Ukrainian regions. The Russian leader has made few foreign trips since he sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022. The International Criminal Court’s move to indict Putin in March for alleged war crimes connected to the deportati...

Germans commemorate ‘Night of Broken Glass’ terror as antisemitism is on the rise again

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Across Germany, in schools, city halls, synagogues, churches and parliament, people were coming together Thursday to commemorate the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht — or the “Night of Broken Glass” — in which the Nazis terrorized Jews throughout Germany and Austria.Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Germany’s main Jewish leader, Josef Schuster, were set to speak at an anniversary ceremony at a Berlin synagogue that was attacked with firebombs last month.The commemoration of the pogrom comes at a time when Germany is again seeing a sharp rise in antisemitism following Hamas’ brutal attack that killed 1,400 people in Israel on Oct. 7 and triggered an ongoing war in Gaza.“I was there during Kristallnacht. I was in Vienna back then,” Holocaust survivor Herbert Traube said at an event marking the anniversary in Paris on Wednesday.“To me, it was often repeated: ‘Never again.’ It was a leitmotif in everything that was being said for decades,” Traube said, adding that he is upset bo...

The UK’s interior minister accuses police of favoring pro-Palestinian protesters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:16:51 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s interior minister has accused the country’s largest police force of being more lenient toward pro-Palestinian demonstrators than other groups, deepening a political feud sparked by the Israel-Hamas war.In a highly unusual attack on the police, Home Secretary Suella Braverman said London’s Metropolitan Police force was ignoring lawbreaking by “pro-Palestinian mobs.” She described demonstrators calling for a cease-fire in Gaza as “hate marchers.”Pro-Palestinian protests have been held in London and other British cities every weekend since the war began more than a month ago. The government has criticized organizers for planning a march on Saturday because it is Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of World War I, when many in Britain pause to remember the victims of war.The march is a day before the main Remembrance Sunday commemorations, when King Charles III, senior politicians, diplomats, military leaders and veterans attend a wreath-laying ceremony at ...