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Parliament is falling down — MPs prepare to order a patch up job

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:34:51 GMT

LONDON — A major program of works to restore the U.K. parliament is under threat, with MPs invited to consider an alternative approach of “patch and mend.”  Longstanding plans for a massive refurbishment of the Palace of Westminster have been hit by a series of setbacks and delays over the five years since MPs approved proposals to temporarily vacate the building while essential works were carried out.Much of the landmark palace dates back to the 19th century — although parts are considerably older — yet it has not been properly refurbished since before World War II. The National Audit Office and other expert bodies warn the risks posed by fire and falling masonry are growing.The project has been in limbo for the past three years with MPs divided over two main options: a “full decant” of MPs into temporary accommodation while work is carried out, versus some form of “continued presence” on the parliamentary debate.The estimated cost of full decant has risen from £4 billion, whe...

The accounting error that could kill Germany’s coalition

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:34:51 GMT

BERLIN — When Germany’s Social Democrats formed a three-way coalition with the Greens and the conservative Free Democrats in 2021, they sold the unconventional alliance as a progressive ménage à trois that would transform German politics.Two years later, it looks more like a clusterfuck.The government’s disarray was on full display after Germany’s highest court ruled Wednesday that the centerpiece of the alliance’s environmental strategy — a plan to repurpose €60 billion left over from an emergency COVID-19 fund to finance the coalition’s climate agenda — was unconstitutional.The decision blew a massive hole through the middle of the coalition’s signature legislative agenda, in particular a plan to remake the German economy root and branch by weaning it off of fossil fuels. If the parties fail to find a new way to finance those plans, the coalition itself could quickly collapse, some analysts warn. “If you want to put a fine point on it, you could say that this coalition is ba...

Berlin braces for Erdoğan’s anti-Israel vitriol

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:34:51 GMT

BERLIN — For German leaders, it’s never easy when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan comes to town. This time, things could hardly be more difficult.Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, Erdoğan has made it exceedingly clear on whose side he stands. He has referred to Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States, as a “liberation group” that is “waging a battle to protect its lands and people.” He has called Israel, by contrast, a “terror state” and accused it of embracing “fascism.”Addressing his parliamentary group this week, Erdoğan added a note of menace: “Israel,” he said, “your end is near.”On Friday Erdoğan will arrive for an official visit in Berlin, where he’ll meet with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The talks are likely to be intensely pained.After an initial attempt to play a diplomatic and mediating role in the war, Erdoğan has flipped to become one of the most vociferous backers of Hamas...

The problems of political namesakes and how to perform plastic surgery on Putin

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:34:51 GMT

Welcome to Declassified, a weekly humor column.We’ve reached the ‘what’s going on with Vladimir Putin’s cheeks?’ stage of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Rumors about the Russian president’s health have been swirling for a long time, with the Kremlin having to repeatedly deny that he’s dead. (Putin’s not a laugh-a-minute kind of guy so when he does go he’s unlikely to copy comedy legend Spike Milligan’s famous epitaph: “I told you I was ill.”)The latest round of claims about Putin’s health involves his puffy cheeks, with suggestions that he’s either been attacked by a swarm of bees or has been using whatever “butt filler” is (no, you Google that on your work computer!). Imagine being Putin’s plastic surgeon and having to make a man not exactly known for his movie-star good looks — earlier this year it was reported that a group of Russian lawyers was planning a lawsuit against Ha...

Azerbaijan can become a constructive player in the Caucasus

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:34:51 GMT

Janusz Bugajski is a senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation. His latest book is titled “Failed State: A Guide to Russia’s Rupture.”Not all wars have to end in disaster alone. In fact, some can create conditions for more durable regional stability.After Azerbaijan regained its occupied territories in a military offensive this September, following three decades of armed conflict with Armenia, the world is faced with the possibility of the country becoming a constructive player in the South Caucasus. However, in order to succeed, such a transformation would require much more coordinated involvement from the United States and the European Union.The first priority, of course,  would be to forge a comprehensive peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with both parties vowing to recognize each other’s territorial integrity. The U.S., EU and Turkey must lead this mediation process, as they would directly benefit from such a settlement, which could foster security links and econ...

The latest Tory worry: China’s grip on solar power

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:34:51 GMT

LONDON — Hawkish Conservative MPs spooked by China’s influence in the U.K. have a new worry to add to the list: solar power.China controls 80 percent of the global solar manufacturing market, including both finished solar panels and the raw materials needed to build them. The U.K. has ambitious plans to scale up its use of solar power in the next decade, aiming to ramp up from 15 gigawatts of annual generation today to 70 gigawatts by 2035. But it has no domestic manufacturing capacity. And that means U.K. solar imports from China run to hundreds of millions of pounds every year — and are set to grow still further. Now Conservative MPs fear this reliance puts Britain’s clean energy goals in jeopardy, while directly exposing the U.K. to a supply chain hit by claims of human rights abuses.China has a “chokehold” on global supply of solar tech, said Alexander Stafford, a Conservative MP who sits on parliament’s energy security and net zero committee. That dependency on one supply...

The Spanish dog has his day: How ‘Perro’ Sánchez won

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:34:51 GMT

It began as an insult. For years, conservative critics of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez contemptuously referred to him as Perro Sanxe — a deliberate mispronunciation of his name that translates as “Sánchez the dog.”The barb irked the Socialist politician’s supporters, who said it showed a lack of respect not only for Sánchez, but for the office of the prime minister itself.But rather than fight back, the canny politician chose to embrace his derogatory nickname.  During a bitterly fought election campaign in the heat of the summer, Sánchez turned the “dog” slur to his advantage in a tactic to win the youth vote. Analysts now say that say helped him cling on to power against all the odds. On Thursday, Spain’s parliament confirmed Sanchez as prime minister at the head of a new minority coalition. It was a remarkable turnaround for a leader who was dismissed four months earlier as a burden on his party. “Pedro is a tremendously competitive and determin...

What you need to know about David Cameron as UK foreign secretary

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:34:51 GMT

LONDON — He was prime minister for six years — and now he’s back, as the U.K.’s foreign secretary. So what can David Cameron’s record in No. 10 Downing Street tell us about the approach he will take as the country’s top diplomat?Cameron’s new boss Rishi Sunak appeared to struggle in the House of Commons this week when asked to name the biggest foreign policy achievement of his prime ministerial predecessor — eventually citing the G8 summit at Lough Erne, Northern Ireland way back in 2013. Notable by its absence was the Brexit referendum Cameron called and lost, casting him into the political wilderness for seven years.Cameron may be hoping to add more distinction to his record as he hits the diplomacy circuit. Foreign envoys will already by poring over his views on Donald Trump, his approach to Israel and Gaza, and his response to the rise of India and China as they evaluate what exactly Cameron will mean for self-styled “Global Britain.”ChinaCameron’s approach to China as prim...

EU’s Ukraine ammo failure means looking elsewhere, says Latvian president

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:34:51 GMT

Because the EU has failed to provide the ammunition to Ukraine according to the timetable promised earlier this year, it’s time for the bloc to look abroad for shells to deliver to Kyiv, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs told POLITICO. EU leaders pledged to deliver 1 million rounds of ammunition by March. It was a target that always looked difficult to achieve for a bloc created as a peace project, and so it has proved; only 300,000 rounds have been shipped since early this year under a program to send shells from national stockpiles to Ukraine.“We have to assume that the 1 million will not be achieved,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said at the start of a summit of EU defense ministers on Tuesday. What makes it worse is that North Korea has exported 1 million rounds to Russia since August, according to media reports.The EU will deliver a million artillery shells to Ukraine — but not by the March deadline, the CEO of the European Defence Age...

Firefighters battle fire at home in Westwood

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:34:51 GMT

Firefighters were on scene in Westwood Thursday night after a fire broke out in a home on Mill Street. Crews were seen hosing down hot spots while smoke still rose from the building. The front of the home was visibly charred. The scene remained active around 10 p.m. No further information was immediately available. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.