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Labour wins two Conservative safe seats in woeful by-election night for Sunak

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:51 GMT

Labour won two Conservative safe seats in a double by-election victory overnight. Voters in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth swung significantly to Labour, in what is a woeful result for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Tory party. Mid Bedfordshire, the former seat of Boris Johnson ally Nadine Dorries, saw a 20.5 percent swing, transforming the 24,664 Tory majority into a 1,192 Labour one. The new MP is Alistair Strathern, 33. In Tamworth, the seat of disgraced former Conservative MP Chris Pincher, also saw a huge swing of 23.9 percent, with a 19,634 Tory majority turned into a 1,316 one for Labour, electing Sarah Edwards, 35, as the new MP. Speaking specifically about the Tamworth result to the BBC, British election wizard John Curtice said “no government has hitherto lost to the principal opposition party in a by-election a seat as safe as Tamworth.”Speaking on both the results, Curtice told the BBC that we are seeing the “top 10 of worst Conservative performances against...

European Space Agency mulls extra Ariane 6 cash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:51 GMT

Presented by ASD By CALEB LARSON with JOSHUA POSANER and LAURA KAYALI PRESENTED BY View in your browser or listen to audioSNEAK PEEK— The European Space Agency is assessing the spiralling costs of the long-delayed Ariane 6 rocket program.— The German parliament’s budgetary committee approved €4.4 billion for air defenses and weapons to Ukraine.— U.S. arms makers are very worried about a possible supply squeeze thanks to wars happening in both Israel and Ukraine.Good morning and welcome to Morning Defense. Tips to [email protected], [email protected] and [email protected] or follow us at @joshposaner, @LauKaya and @calebmlarson .DRIVING THE DAYMORE CASH FOR ARIANE 6? The Ariane 6 heavy rocket launcher is now so delayed that the European Space Agency is considering pressing member countries to raise their contributions to counter the impact of inflation. The d...

Israel pounds Gaza, evacuates town near Lebanon ahead of expected ground offensive against Hamas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:51 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel bombarded Gaza early Friday, hitting areas in the south where Palestinians had been told to seek safety, and it began evacuating a sizable Israeli town in the north near the Lebanese border, the latest sign of a potential ground invasion of Gaza that could trigger regional turmoil.Palestinians in Gaza reported heavy airstrikes in Khan Younis in the south, and ambulances carrying men, women and children streamed into the town’s Nasser Hospital, Gaza’s second largest, which is already overflowing with patients and people seeking shelter.On Thursday, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered ground troops to prepare to see Gaza “from the inside,” hinting at a ground offensive aimed at crushing Gaza’s militant Hamas rulers nearly two weeks after their bloody incursion into Israel. Officials have given no timetable for such an operation.Over a million people have been displaced in Gaza, with many heeding Israel’s or...

Britain’s Labour opposition has won 2 big prizes in momentum-building special elections

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:51 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s main opposition Labour Party has decisively won two special elections, snatching seats in Parliament that were long rock-solid bastions of the governing Conservatives.Results early Friday showed that voters in Tamworth, central England and Mid-Bedfordshire, north of London, switched from Conservatives to Labour in almost unprecedented numbers, solidifying Labour’s status as front-runner ahead of a national election next year.Labour leader Keir Starmer claimed his party was “redrawing the political map.” Labour candidate Sarah Edwards won in Tamworth, where the Conservatives won by almost 20,000 votes in 2019, and Labour’s Alistair Strathern took Mid-Bedfordshire by overturning a 25,000-vote Tory margin.Labour leader Keir Starmer claimed his party was “redrawing the political map.” John Curtice, a polling expert at the University of Strathclyde, said the “exceptional swings” to Labour could be compared to the collapse in Conservative support ...

Dark past of the National Stadium in Chile reemerges with opening ceremony at the Pan American Games

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:51 GMT

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — The National Stadium, where the opening ceremony of the Pan American Games in Santiago will take place on Friday, is a source of pride for many in Chile.For others, however, no celebration will erase its dark past.Historians estimate that between 20,000 and 40,000 people spent some time locked up in fear at the stadium 50 years ago when it was used for torture and extra judicial killings. Some of those still painful wounds will be visible on memorial plaques around the 47,000-seat venue.The Pan American Games, the largest multi-sport event in the Americas, take place one year before the Olympics. Chile will be hosting the games for the first time as many remember the 50th anniversary of the crimes committed in that very stadium.The National Stadium and its surroundings were renovated for the Pan American Games. Six new venues were built for 30 sporting events, an investment of $507 million.Before and after those three horrifying months in 1973, the National St...

A Maryland circuit court judge was fatally shot in the driveway of his home, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:51 GMT

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — A Maryland circuit court judge was fatally shot in the driveway of his home Thursday night, police said.Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson, 52, was found with apparent gunshot wounds around 8 p.m., the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.Wilkinson was taken from the home in Hagerstown to Meritus Medical Center, where he died of his injuries, the sheriff’s office said.The sheriff’s office is investigating the fatal shooting.Associated Press, The Associated Press

Towards an EU ban on products made with forced labour 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:51 GMT

This week, the Internal Market and International Trade committees adopted their position on keeping products made using forced labour out of the EU market, IMCO, INTA.The draft regulation would put in place a framework to investigate the use of forced labour in companies’ supply chains. If it is proven that a company has used forced labour, all import and export of the related goods would be halted at the EU’s borders and companies would also have to withdraw goods that have already reached the EU market. These would then be donated, recycled or destroyed.Reversal of burden of proof in high-risk casesMEPs amended the Commission proposal to task the Commission with creating a list of geographical areas and economic sectors at high risk of using forced labour. For goods produced in these high-risk areas, the authorities would no longer need to prove that people have been forced to work, as the burden of proof would fall on companies.Remediation and wider definitionsThe committees also...

Iran: Council maintains restrictive measures under the non-proliferation sanctions regime after the JCPoA Transition Day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:51 GMT

The Council decided to take the necessary steps to maintain the restrictive measures under the EU non-proliferation regime on Iran.The Council evaluated that there are valid reasons to refrain from lifting these restrictions on Transition Day (18 October 2023), as originally foreseen under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA). The Council’s decision is in line with the provisions of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and the JCPoA, in view of Iran not fulfilling its commitments under the JCPoA, as reported by the International Atomic Energy Agency since 2019.The Council adopted legal acts to maintain the designations, that had initially been imposed by the United Nations for individuals and entities involved in nuclear or ballistic missiles activities or affiliated to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Council also agreed to maintain sectoral and individual measures, existing under the EU’s sanctions regime, notably those related to Iran nuclear prolife...

Security footage shows vehicle crash into tobacco store in Brea

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:51 GMT

Stunning surveillance video showed the moment a vehicle crashed into the front of a tobacco store in Brea Thursday evening.The crash happened around 4:40 p.m. at Tobacco Buzz on West Imperial Highway.Video shows a BMW crash into the store, hitting two people and knocking down store shelves.The two people, a maintenance worker and a customer, were injured in the crash.The store owner said the building sustained major damage and it was red-tagged by the city code enforcement.The driver of the vehicle, identified by witnesses as a middle-aged woman, was taken away from the scene. Police have not said if she suffered any injuries or if she is expected to face criminal charges.

How Blanca Alvarado paved the way for future legislators

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:51 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- At 92 years old, Blanca Alvarado still makes time for her community.  Affectionately nicknamed "La Madrina of East San Jose" – or "The Godmother" – Alvarado has continuously been recognized for her 60 years of activism.KRON4 met with her inside of a tuition-free charter school in Alum Rock named in her honor: “Alpha: Blanca Alvarado.” Latina filmmaker shines light on educational challenges for Latinos Raised by a coal miner in Colorado, Alvarado's family came to San Jose when she was a teen for what was supposed to be a temporary stay while her father worked in the fields. When he got a permanent job as a foreman, Alvarado planted roots and went to work.  She explains she was drawn to public service early on in high school."We wanted to raise money for the poor. We wanted to have food drives, clothing drives," she says.Later in life, Alvarado married but divorced. As a single mom to five children, she always kept a day job to support her family but remai...