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PMQs scorecard: Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak get into the Christmas spirit with festive digs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:28 GMT

Prime minister’s questions: a shouty, jeery, very occasionally useful advert for British politics. Here’s what you need to know from the latest session in POLITICO’s weekly run-through.What they sparred about: It was the last PMQs before Christmas … and Keir Starmer used the moment to try to exploit Tory divisions over Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda legislation.Getting into the pantomime spirit: Starmer delivered a roll call of Sunak’s divided Tory MPs — reading out various anonymous critical quotes in the media from MPs about Sunak’s competence and asking them to put up their hands if they said those words. The PM said Starmer should hear what his MPs have to say about him. Festive punning: Starmer’s aides have clearly been working on the festive references, declaring of Sunak that “they’ve found the donkey for the nativity” and asking how his invite list was looking for No. 10’s Christmas party next week. They do know it’s...

Donald Tusk sworn in as Polish PM  

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:28 GMT

Donald Tusk was sworn in as Poland’s new prime minister on Wednesday by President Andrzej Duda and promised that his government would obey the country’s constitution — a kick at the outgoing Law and Justice (PiS) government which had been accused of violating the constitution in its effort to bring the justice system under tighter political control.“Allegiance to the provisions of the constitution will be the trademark of this team, this new government,” Tusk said during the ceremony.The emphasis on rule of law is an effort to repair relations with Brussels, which were strained to breaking point during the eight years that PiS governed the country. The European Commission has blocked €35 billion in EU grants and loans for recovering from the coronavirus pandemic as well as €76.5 billion of regular EU development money over Poland’s backsliding on the bloc’s democratic principles. Tusk stressed that growing dismay in the country about PiS’...

Tesla recalls 2 million vehicles to limit use of Autopilot feature after nearly 1,000 crashes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:28 GMT

New York (CNN) — Tesla is recalling nearly all 2 million of its cars on US roads to limit the use of its Autopilot feature after a review of nearly 1,000 crashes in which the feature was engaged.The recall was disclosed in a letter to Tesla posted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which said that Telsa had agreed to an over-the-air software update starting on Tuesday that will limit the use of the Autosteer feature if a driver repeatedly fails to demonstrate he or she is ready to resume control of the car while the feature is on.Tesla has been pushing its driver-assist features, including Autopilot and what it calls “Full Self Driving,” which Tesla has insisted make driving safer than cars operated exclusively by humans. But NHTSA has been studying reports of accidents involving Autopilot and its Autosteer function for more than two years.The recall comes two days after a detailed investigation was published by the Washington Post that f...

Patriots extra points: Bill O’Brien, Troy Brown preview Chiefs matchup

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:28 GMT

Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien offered a glimpse into this weekend’s matchup with the Chiefs during a Tuesday video conference with reporters.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots coach Troy Brown reacts to fellow assistant leaving midseason New England Patriots | Patriots lose backup QB to AFC rival Ravens after minimal playing time New England Patriots | Will Taylor Swift be in Boston for the Patriots-Chiefs game? New England Patriots | Bailey Zappe credits Patriots O-line with fast start, takes blame for later struggles New England Patriots | Patriots defender has message for fans who want team to tank for draft pick O’Brien noted Kansas City, which ranks third in the points allowed at 17.5 per game, uses several different personnel groupings and schemes under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. The Chiefs also blitz at the sixth-highest rate in the league, ...

Dollarama reports Q3 profit and sales up, raises comparable-store sales guidance

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:28 GMT

MONTREAL — Dollarama Inc. reported its third-quarter profit and sales rose compared with a year ago and raised its guidance for comparable-store sales.The retailer says it earned $261.1 million or 92 cents per diluted share for the 13-week period ended Oct. 29, up from a profit of $201.6 million or 70 cents per diluted share a year earlier.Sales totalled $1.48 billion, up from $1.29 billion in the same quarter last year.Dollarama says the increase in sales was driven by growth in its total number of stores and increased comparable-store sales. Comparable-store sales grew 11.1 per cent as the number of transactions rose 10.4 per cent and the average transaction size gained 0.6 per cent.In its outlook, the company says it now expects comparable-store sales for its full year to grow 11 to 12 per cent, up from earlier expectations for growth of 10 and 11 per cent.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2023.Companies in this story: (TSX:DOL)The Canadian Press

Thai police seize a record haul of 50 million methamphetamine tablets near border with Myanmar

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:28 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Thai police have seized what is being called a record haul of methamphetamine tablets in the western province of Kanchanaburi, close to the Myanmar border.Officers found an estimated 50 million tablets hidden in sacks in a six-wheeler truck they stopped at a joint police-military checkpoint on Tuesday. The occupants of the truck – a man and a woman – were arrested.The quantity of methamphetamine tablets seized is a record for Thailand, Jeremy Douglas, the Southeast Asia regional representative for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said Wednesday. The region’s biggest known seizure took place in neighboring Laos in October 2021, when a consignment of 55 million pills was discovered.“We’ve not seen major cases here in Kanchanaburi for a couple of years, and never anything like this,” Douglas said. “But it’s also not a surprise given the extreme supply being produced by militias and traffickers in northern Myanmar.”Myanmar has historically been the regi...

Gunmen kill four soldiers, abduct two South Koreans in ambush in southern Nigeria

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:28 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — At least four Nigerian soldiers were killed while two South Koreans were abducted during an attack by gunmen in Nigeria’s oil-rich southern Rivers state, authorities said.The gunmen ambushed a convoy escorting the Koreans on a work trip in the Ahoada East council area, resulting in a shootout, Maj. Jonah Danjuma, an army spokesman, said in a statement on Tuesday.“Troops are currently combing the general area to fish out the perpetrators of this dastardly act. Additionally, efforts are ongoing to ensure that the unaccounted oil workers are found,” Danjuma said.Abductions for ransom are common in parts of Nigeria, but it has been especially widespread in Rivers and other parts of the oil-rich Niger Delta region where many foreign companies in the oil and engineering sectors operate. The region also struggles with high poverty and hunger despite its natural resources.Hostages are usually released after the payment of large ransoms, though security forces in the pa...

Pakistan court says military trials can resume for 103 supporters of Imran Khan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:28 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s top court on Wednesday allowed military courts to resume the trials of more than 100 supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on charges of attacking military installations during violent demonstrations that broke out following Khan’s arrest in May. The latest order by the Supreme Court came less than two months after five judges on the same court stopped the trial of 103 civilians who were arrested as part of a crackdown on Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. The violence subsided only after Khan was released on orders of Pakistan’s Supreme Court. Khan, 71, is currently serving three sentences at a high-security prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. He was removed as prime minister in April 2022 following a vote of no confidence in Parliament. Though Khan is also accused of inciting people to violence, he is not facing military trial.According to the prosecution, Khan was indicted by a special court on charges of revealin...

Inflation is pinching Hungary’s popular Christmas markets. $23 sausage dog, anyone?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:28 GMT

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — On a cold night in Hungary’s capital, shoppers at one of Europe’s most famous outdoor Christmas markets browsed through food stalls of steaming local specialties and sipped from paper cups of hot mulled wine. A holiday light show played on the facade of the St. Stephen’s Basilica.But despite the Christmas cheer, a cost-of-living crisis in the Central European country means that many Hungarians and tourists alike are getting sticker shock at the beloved annual markets.A bowl of Hungary’s trademark goulash soup for $12. Stuffed cabbage for more than $18. A sausage hot dog for $23. Such were the prices on Monday at the bustling Budapest square. In a country where the median net wage is below $900 per month, the ballooning costs have left some Hungarians feeling that the markets aren’t priced for them.“This isn’t designed for Hungarian wallets,” said Margit Varga, a first-time visitor from the southern city of Pecs. “The prices are simply unrea...

Attacks on referees could kill soccer, top FIFA official Pierluigi Collina says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:28 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The attack on a top Turkish referee this week was an example of the “cancer” that threatens to kill soccer, leading FIFA official Pierluigi Collina said on Wednesday. Halil Umut Meler was hospitalized after being attacked by MKE Ankaragucu president Faruk Koca at the end of a match on Monday. He was also kicked by fans who invaded the field.“It’s a responsibility for all those who love the ‘beautiful game’ to take action and do something. Before it’s too late, before this cancer will kill football,” said Collina, chairman of FIFA’s Referees Committee. Meler sustained a slight fracture near his eye and was discharged from hospital on Wednesday. Koca punched the referee after the final whistle of a 1-1 draw in a Super Lig game against Caykur Rizespor. Meler fell to the ground and was also kicked in a melee when fans invaded the pitch after Rizespor scored a last-minute equalizer.Koca and two other people have been placed under pre-trial detention, facing cha...