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Stop getting Brexit wrong, Labour’s born-again Brexiteer Starmer tells Tories

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:29 GMT

LONDON — Keir Starmer is optimistic about Brexit after all.The U.K. Labour leader — who once campaigned harder than many in his party to try to reverse the result of 2016’s Brexit referendum — on Wednesday accused the Conservatives of failing to make the most of Britain’s newfound freedoms. And he doubled down on his view that the U.K.’s future “is outside the EU.”In an opinion piece for the deeply-Eurosceptic Daily Express newspaper, published Wednesday, Starmer argued that the government’s “total mismanagement of Brexit” was compounding a host of issues facing the U.K., including jitters from the country’s carmakers over imminent tariff hikes.“Every one of the problems I have outlined can be fixed from outside the EU,” Starmer wrote. “But it will require hard work, good relations and — above all — honesty. That’s why we should be optimistic.” Starmer — who leads a U.K. opposition that looks likely ...

‘Very militant’: France slams Novak Djokovic over Kosovo message

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:29 GMT

Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic’s controversial message at the French Open, in which he said Kosovo was the “heart of Serbia,” is “clearly not appropriate,” France’s Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra said Wednesday.“It’s a very militant message, very political,” Oudéa-Castéra said in an interview with French public broadcaster France 2.“We really shouldn’t go down that road, especially given the circumstances,” the minister added, referring to recent clashes.One of the most successful athletes in tennis history with 22 Grand Slam titles, Djokovic caused an outcry on Monday after his first-round win at Roland-Garros. “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia. Stop the violence,” Djokovic wrote in Serbian on a TV camera screen. Long-standing tensions between Serbia and Kosovo — which declared its independence in 2008 but is not recognized by Belgrade — have resurfaced in recent days, after clashes between p...

Warming Up!

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:29 GMT

After a hazy sunshine this morning (some smoke in the air from Nova Scotia Wildfires) temps will take off, heading well into the 70s and 80s this afternoon. The coolest temps will be across the Cape and Islands as winds are out of the south to southeast. Mostly sunny skies prevail this afternoon with just a bit of smoke in the air, although not as dense as yesterday, when you could smell it from time to time. The heat is on tomorrow and Friday as highs push into the lower 90s inland. Coastal temps stay in the 70s and 80s with winds turning onshore from time to time. Temps will be coolest across the South Coast and Cape and Islands with a southerly breeze prevailing. It’s generally a dry heat, although the humidity does come up a bit by Friday. Friday afternoon and evening will also feature the chance of a few scattered showers/storms as a cold front approaches. The other side of that cold front will provide some chillier air over the weekend. Showers likely start Saturday and ...

Man accused of ‘intentional’ crash in Alewife Station garage set to appear in court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:29 GMT

The Medford man accused of intentionally ramming his car into the wall on the top level of the parking garage at the MBTA’s Alewife station in February is set to face a judge Wednesday.Sonny J. Khubchandani allegedly caused the Feb. 4 crash, which sent a cement slab crashing through the ceiling of the station and down onto the floor below. One person who was in the lobby at the time suffered minor injuries.The incident forced officials to temporarily close the parking garage while repairs were made.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Burlington firefighter accused of animal abuse set to appear in court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:29 GMT

A Burlington firefighter who also used to run a dog training facility is set to appear in court on animal abuse charges after customers said their dogs were abused at “Falco K9” in South Boston.Tyler Falconer, 30, will face a judge on charges he abused and neglected the animals that were in his care.Several people who dropped their dogs off at the facility said they found them injured and emaciated, which led to charges against Falconer.7NEWS repeatedly reached out to Falconer and his attorney but did not hear back. This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

9/11 attacks a wedge issue for DeSantis vs. Trump

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:29 GMT

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is teeing up former President Donald Trump over golf.DeSantis hosted 9/11 Families over the Memorial Day weekend just as Trump National in Washington, D.C., was the site of the Saudi-backed LIV golf tournament.“The juxtaposition is stark,” said Brett Eagleson, who was 15 years old when his dad, Bruce, died while working at the Twin Towers on 9/11. “I don’t know if DeSantis will beat Trump, but the fact is he wants to talk to us about the Saudis.”Eagleson said he attended a barbecue in Florida hosted by DeSantis who told 9/11 loved ones he understands their “frustration” over the full story of the terror attacks being suppressed by the U.S. government.The Herald has reached out to the Trump campaign seeking comment, with one regional adviser saying they were more focused on the New Hampshire primary.Trump is destroying DeSantis in Republican presidential primary polls — 53.2% to 22.4%, according to a Real Clear...

Howie Carr: Thought Police stronger than ever

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:29 GMT

What this country needs is a new fraternal organization, a social club for millions of Americans who have something in common.Namely, being cancelled, banned or suspended from one form of social media or another.If all these victims, people like you and me, banded together, we might have a larger membership than the Elks, the Knights of Columbus, or the AARP.This thought occurred to me last week when Vivek Ramaswamy, a longshot Republican candidate for president, announced that he had been summarily tossed off LinkedIn.His crime? Putting out “misleading or inaccurate information,” including a reference to “climate religion,” which it quite clearly is. He was also flagged for his assertion that “fossil fuels are a requirement for human prosperity” – a fact which will certainly be proven correct once we are deprived of them by the… climate religion.Ramaswamy is said to be worth more than $600 million. You’d think this is just the sort of fat cat that LinkedIn would want on its site. B...

Greater Boston Food Bank: 1 in 3 Massachusetts adults face food insecurity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:29 GMT

Food insecurity continues to persist across Massachusetts, and with it, families are sacrificing their health as they seek the cheapest products available, according to a new report from the Greater Boston Food Bank.The annual study, released Tuesday, surveyed 3,000 adults in the Bay State between November 2022 and this January, finding one in three reported they continue to struggle securing healthy food on a consistent basis.Though the rate is the same as in 2021, food agency leaders say they are concerned about what numbers may look like in the months ahead as low-income residents will soon lose  state-funded supplements for food assistance.Friday’s scheduled allotment of the state-funded emergency assistance will be the third and final under Gov. Maura Healey’s $388.7 million supplemental budget. The payments provided roughly $60 per month, since April, to the average household participating in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.“Even with the offramp of suppl...

UN appeals court increases sentences for 2 Serbs convicted of crimes in Balkan wars

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:29 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — United Nations appeals judges on Wednesday significantly expanded the convictions of two allies of late Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic, holding them responsible for involvement in crimes across Bosnia and in one town in Croatia as members of a joint criminal plan to drive out non-Serbs from the areas during the Balkan wars.The appeals chamber at the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals overturned their acquittals of involvement in the criminal plan and raised the sentences of Jovica Stanisic and Franko Simatovic from 12 to 15 years.Presiding Judge Graciela Gatti Santana said the two men, both now in their 70s, “shared the intent to further the common criminal purpose to forcibly and permanently remove the majority of non-Serbs from large areas of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina through the commission of the crimes charged in the indictment.”The appeals ruling brings to an end the longest-running war crimes prosecution dating ...

Pakistani police say gunmen kill 1 soldier and wound another in attack on polio workers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:29 GMT

MIR ALI, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen killed one soldier and wounded another Wednesday when they opened fire on security forces escorting a team of polio workers during a door-to-door inoculation campaign in a former Pakistani Taliban stronghold near the Afghan border, police said.No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in North Waziristan, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It came days after the government launched the latest polio eradication campaign, said Aslam Riaz, a police officer in the region.He said the polio workers escaped unharmed and the attackers fled the scene. In 2021, Pakistan was close to eradicating the disease, which can cause severe paralysis in children. But later, cases spiked in the country. Islamic militants often target polio teams and police assigned to protect them, falsely claiming the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where polio rema...