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Rishi Sunak urged to fill UK anti-corruption post left vacant for a year

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:15 GMT

LONDON — Rishi Sunak has been urged to speed up the appointment of a new anti-corruption adviser after a year-long vacancy in the key government scrutiny role.In a letter to the British prime minister shared with POLITICO, two former U.K. anti-corruption champions — whose role saw them hold ministerial feet to the fire on anti-graft plans — said domestic and international efforts to tackle corruption were being undermined by the continued empty post.Conservative MP John Penrose, who quit the role last year with a blast at then-prime minister Boris Johnson’s ethics record, and Labour MP Hilary Benn both said the appointment was “vital” to keeping the anti-corruption agenda on track.“We urge you to seize this moment and appoint a Champion at the earliest opportunity, so that Britain can continue being a leading example in the global fight against corruption,” the pair said in a joint letter.In their letter, Benn and Penrose point to a flurry of official r...

Brandon Nimmo’s walk-off RBI double gives Mets win over Yankees to salvage Subway Series

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:15 GMT

It was a matchup of two of the game’s premier aces and two former World Series-winning teammates.Right-handers Gerrit Cole and Justin Verlander dueled one another in the second game of the Subway Series on Wednesday night at Citi Field, but in the end neither pitcher factored into the decision. Neither pitcher factored into the fireworks of a wild rivalry matchup that featured bad defense, failed comebacks, a shift violation and a straight steal of home by Isiah Kiner-Falefa.The Mets walked it off in the 10th inning with an RBI double from Brandon Nimmo. The Yankees went to the bullpen to get left-hander Nick Ramirez to counter the left-handed Nimmo, but he sent a double to the right field wall to give the Mets a 4-3 win in front of a sellout crowd of 44,121, the fifth-largest regular-season crowd in Citi Field history.The loss was charged to right-hander Albert Abreu (2-2), who started the inning. Right-hander Dominic Leone (1-2) picked up his first win for the Mets.Verlander...

Wednesday’s high school roundup/scores: Football stars make college commitments

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:15 GMT

A pair of Boston Herald football All-Scholastics announced their college intentions.Brockton High School junior Cameron Monteiro gave a verbal commitment to play his college football at Pittsburgh. A standout on both sides of the ball, Monteiro has played at quarterback, running back, wide receiver and defensive back for the Boxers.During the 2022 season, Monteiro racked up 20-of-32 passing attempts for 337 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 103 carries for 1,064 yards and 15 touchdowns, and seven receptions for 149 yards and three touchdowns. Monteiro received 15 Division I offers to play wide receiver for some of the nation’s top programs.Meanwhile, Xaverian’s Charlie Comella will play football and baseball at Boston College. A 6-foot, 175-pound junior wide receiver and cornerback, Comella had 22 receptions for 609 yards, seven touchdowns, and a rushing touchdown. On defense, he registered 36 tackles, three interceptions, and blocked an extra point.Former Marblehead quarterback...

Stock market today: Asia shares rise as Fed holds rates steady while hinting of hikes ahead

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:15 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. Data from China showed consumer and factory activity weakened in May and record-breaking unemployment among young people in cities rose as an economic rebound following the end of anti-virus controls slowed. Consumers, uneasy about possible job losses, have returned to shops and restaurants less quickly than expected.In Japan, machinery orders for April, released Thursday, showed the first growth in three months. Trade figures for May showed a deficit for 22 months in a row, as import costs rose with the rising energy and other prices. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 rose 0.3% to 33,589.50. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3% to 7,180.90. South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.4% to 2,607.60. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.7% to 19,543.59, while the Shanghai Composite edged up nearly 0.2% to 3,235.07. In standing pat on rates, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the ...

Deep, 6.2 magnitude earthquake shakes part of Philippines southwest of the capital

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:15 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A deep earthquake has shaken part of the Philippines, southwest of the capital.The 6.2 magnitude earthquake Thursday morning was near Hukay and about 120 kilometers (75 miles) below the surface, the U.S. Geological Survey said.Deep quakes are often widely felt but with less potential to cause major damage. Hukay is about 140 kilometers (87 miles) from Manila.No other information was immediately available.___This version has corrected the quake’s strength in the headline to 6.2, not 6.6.The Associated Press

China’s factory, consumer activity weakens in May, youth unemployment rises

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:15 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s consumer and factory activity weakened in May and record-breaking unemployment among young people in cities rose as an economic rebound following the end of anti-virus controls slowed.Surveys found 20.8% of potential workers in cities aged 16-24 were unemployed, up from April’s previous record of 20.4%, the government reported Thursday.China’s economic activity rebounded after the ruling Communist Party in December lifted controls that cut off access to major cities for weeks at a time and blocked most international travel. But consumers, uneasy about possible job losses, returned to shops and restaurants less quickly than expected.“The domestic structural adjustment has mounting pressure and the foundation for the economic recovery is not yet solid,” the National Bureau of Statistics said in a report.Retail sales rose 12.7% over a year earlier, but that was down from April’s 18.4%, which was barely half of the rate expected by forecasters. Growth in factory o...

Nick Kyrgios reveals he ended up in psychiatric ward during Wimbledon in 2019

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:15 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has revealed he spent time in a psychiatric ward following a loss at Wimbledon in 2019 because of suicidal thoughts.The comments from Kyrgios, widely published in Australia on Thursday based on interviews for the upcoming Netflix documentary series “Break Point,” are the latest on his longtime struggles with mental health.He went to a hospital in London to “figure out my problems” after the loss to Rafael Nadal four years ago at Wimbledon, where he wore a compression sleeve over his right arm during his singles matches to conceal his scars.“I was genuinely contemplating suicide,” Kyrgios said, in comments published by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “I lost at Wimbledon. I woke up and my dad was sitting on the bed, full-blown crying. That was the big wake-up call for me.“I was like ‘OK, I can’t keep doing this.’ I ended up in a psych ward in London to figure out my problems.”Kyrgios said he was “drinking, abusing drugs” and h...

Police arrest suspect in spray attack in Japanese department store restroom

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:15 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Police in the western Japanese city of Osaka said Thursday they have arrested a woman on suspicion of spraying an unknown liquid on several women inside a department store, causing pain to their faces and eyes.Police arrested a 33-year-old woman early Thursday in the alleged assaults inside a restroom at a department store the day before, Osaka prefectural police said. Her motive and other details of the attack were still under investigation, officials said.One of the victims was 85-year-old woman who was sprayed inside the ladies room on the 9th floor of the Hankyu Department Store in Osaka, a local police official said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol. The woman complained of pain in the cheek and was taken to a hospital for treatment, police said.At least six other people also had the unidentified liquid sprayed on their faces and had eye sores and other minor irritation, but none of them was seriously injured, police said.Local news reports say police dete...

SIU clears officers after teen, 16, injured during arrest in alleged machete attack

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:15 GMT

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) has cleared three Toronto police officers after a 16-year-old boy was seriously injured during an arrest that involved the teen swinging a machete at a cop.The SIU commenced an investigation after three teenagers, two boys and a girl, injured a woman at Spadina subway station on Sunday, February 12.One day later, on February 13, officers were called to the Long Branch Avenue and Lake Promenade area around 7:40 p.m. for a disturbance involving three youths.The SIU confirmed Toronto police located one of the teens, and while attempting to make an arrest, the boy and another youth swung a machete at an officer. There was a struggle, and the teens fled.Two youths were later found near Park Boulevard in Etobicoke and taken into custody overnight. The SIU said one of the teens, a 16-year-old boy, complained of pain on February 14 and was taken to a hospital with injuries that were deemed serious.Ontario’s police watchdog said the teen suffered a...

Milwaukee bankruptcy avoidance plan clears Wisconsin Legislature

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:50:15 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Legislature on Wednesday passed a bipartisan plan to prevent Milwaukee from going bankrupt that also sends more state aid to every community in the state, a long-sought-after funding increase agreed to by Republican lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.The measure is part of a larger deal struck by Evers and Republican legislative leaders after months of talks that also increases K-12 education funding, including private voucher schools, by more than $1 billion. It was the highest profile deal reached between Evers, in the first year of his second term, and Republicans, who have found little common ground on most issues.The local government and education funding bills, which passed both the Senate and Assembly with bipartisan support, now head to Evers. Milwaukee leaders warned of dire consequences and catastrophic budget cuts as the city faces bankruptcy by 2025. Milwaukee is struggling with an underfunded pension system and not enough money t...