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Tony Blair back in fashion as UK Labour gets election-ready

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:49 GMT

LONDON — Opposition leader Keir Starmer has quit the unity act — and it’s his left-wing colleagues in the line of fire. The Labour Party chief sent the soft-left wing of his party into full retreat on Monday with a dramatic shadow Cabinet reshuffle that rewarded a string of MPs on his party’s right flank. It marked the final stage of a three-year project which has seen Starmer take ruthless grip of his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn’s left-wing party and drag it steadily back to the center ground, echoing the 1990s modernization led by Tony Blair and pal Peter Mandelson.“This is the Blairite and the Mandelson set,” said one ex-shadow minister from the Corbyn era who, like the others quoted in this piece, was granted anonymity to speak frankly about party leadership. “They are now driving this project. There is no ambiguity now.”With Labour commanding an 18-point poll lead over the ruling Conservatives ahead of next year’s general election, Starmer’s picks for his t...

Decline, fear and the AfD in Germany

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:49 GMT

Mathias Döpfner is chairman and CEO of Axel Springer, POLITICO’s parent company.In Germany today, the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) is maintaining a stable 20 percent in opinion polls — coming in two to four points ahead of the ruling center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) and running hard on the heels of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU).In some federal states, the AfD is already the strongest party. In Thuringia, for example, it has reached 34 percent, meaning the party has three times as many supporters there as the SPD. And in some administrative districts, around half of those eligible to vote are leaning toward the AfD. According to one Forsa survey in June, the AfD is currently the strongest party in the east of Germany — a worrying trend with elections due this year in Bavaria and Hesse, and next year in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg. And, of course, there are also the European Union elections in 2024.However, this rapid rise should...

With Nicola Sturgeon’s departure, the tide is going out on Scottish nationalism

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:49 GMT

OUTER HEBRIDES, Scotland — Almost a decade after the high watermark of Scottish independence, the tide is going out on the nationalist vote.It was 2007 when the Scottish Nationalist Party first took power in a devolved Scottish government, and 2014 when it secured — and lost — a historic referendum on breaking away from the rest of the U.K. Support for the independence cause surged even higher in the aftermath of that vote, and many observers believed its eventual success was all but secure. Yet the movement now faces an existential threat. A recent Survation poll suggested the SNP could lose almost half the 48 seats it won at the 2019 Westminster election, with Labour picking up 24 — a dramatic improvement on opposition leader Keir Starmer’s current total of one, and a major boost to his hopes of entering Downing Street at next year’s general election.And with the SNP mired in scandal and internal conflict following the departure of its long-time leader Nicola Sturgeon ...

Meet the far-right potential kingmakers in Poland’s election

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:49 GMT

WARSAW — Poland’s general election next month could be decided by a far-right party that entices voters with libertarian visions of a low-tax future by raining fake money during rallies. Its past pronouncements, however, carry a far darker message.The Confederation party’s election program smacks of a “Mad Men” version of 1950s America. “A barbecue, a family, a house, two cars, a safe Poland free of immigrants, free enterprise and a country that allows every working Pole to succeed,” said Michał Urbaniak, a party leader from the northern city of Gdańsk.Upending the status quo should happen by deregulating life as much as possible, Confederation says in its manifesto titled “The Constitution of Freedom.” That’s a message that’s supposed to appeal not only to an old guard of hard-rightists but also to a younger libertarian set, including students.It calls for simplifying and lowering taxes, making the health care system rely on “market competition...

Trump’s return strikes fear into the heart of Brussels

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:49 GMT

BRUSSELS — The specter of a second term for Donald Trump is giving European trade chiefs terrifying flashbacks.The 77-year-old real estate tycoon derides trade deficits as “losses” that export wealth to America’s enemies and he’s already threatening a 10 percent, across the board, import tariff if he wins the election next year. But long before then, Trump’s first-term trade policy could blow up again, potentially hitting European exports with billions of dollars in duties — in just eight weeks’ time.   In 2018, Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum from the European Union. The Biden administration suspended the duties to allow the EU and U.S. to negotiate a compromise. But these tariffs will snap back if no solution is found by October 31, risking another tit-for-tat tariff war and potentially hurting trade in goods such as whisky.While the two sides could agree to prolong the suspension and continue negotiating, the risk o...

First lady Jill Biden tests positive for Covid-19

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:49 GMT

(CNN) — First lady Jill Biden tested positive for Covid-19 Monday, the White House announced.“This evening, the First Lady tested positive for COVID-19. She is currently experiencing only mild symptoms. She will remain at their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware,” the first lady’s spokesperson Elizabeth Alexander said in a statement.President Joe Biden tested negative, according to the White House.Last summer, the first lady tested positive for Covid-19 while vacationing in South Carolina in August. President Joe Biden tested positive last July. Both experienced rebound cases shortly after being treated with Paxlovid.An administration official told CNN last month that there were no changes to White House protocols even as some experts warned rising hospitalizations may mean some high-risk individuals may consider masking to avoid Covid transmission.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in July in the White House brie...

High water sweeps fire truck into a river, leaving 5 missing, as tropical storm hits China

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:49 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — High waters swept a fire truck into a river in southeastern China early Tuesday, leaving five crew members missing, local authorities said, as the second tropical storm in recent days hit the mainland.Haikui weakened to a tropical storm as it scraped along the coastline of Fujian and Guangdong provinces Tuesday morning, bringing up to 600 millimeters (2 feet) of rainfall to some areas as it moves inland, according to China’s meteorological agency. The fire truck swept into a river in Fujian’s Yongtai county had been carrying nine crew members. Rescuers were “doing all they can” to find the five still unaccounted for, according to the county emergency response headquarters, as cited by online news site The Paper. Water transportation and work along the coastline had been suspended ahead of Haikui, which was typhoon strength when it crossed the southern tip of Taiwan on Sunday without causing major damage. Haikui followed Typhoon Saola ‘s landfall early Satu...

Museum hosts reading of book about first Black female jockey

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:49 GMT

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs helped highlight a pioneer who broke barriers during her career as a jockey.Cheryl White was the first African-American female jockey in the sport's history. She earned about 750 wins during her career, which spanned five different categories of racing. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! White died in 2019 at age 65. New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir and White's brother, Raymond White, Jr., wrote the book "The Jockey and Her Horse" about her life and legacy. They held a reading and book signing at the Hall of Fame on Saturday.The book will be released on Tuesday, September 5.

Spanish Lake homeowners trapped by storm water flooding

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:49 GMT

SPANISH LAKE, Mo. – Residents in a Spanish Lake neighborhood say they’ve been left on their own to deal with a terrible stormwater flooding problem. Things have gotten so bad that it’s made people prisoners in their own homes.Homeowners tell FOX 2 that officials have come out to see the problem for themselves, but they’re no closer to a resolution.“It floods the driveway; it floods the bridge; it floods the front yard. It floods everything. We’re stuck inside,” said homeowner Whitney McClendon-Gregory. “The longest is probably about five days.”She’s been doing everything she can to get help.“I think it’s St. Louis County. It’s MSD. It’s a number of people who have to come together collectively to fix this problem. It’s not enough of us over here for people to care,” McClendon-Gregory said. “…we just getting the runaround.”About a half-dozen neighbors have the same issue. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe...

Fatal crash at Page and Goodfellow renews calls for drivers to slow down

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:49 GMT

ST. LOUIS – St. Louis police are investigating an early morning crash that left one man dead. The crash occurred at the intersection of Page and Goodfellow Boulevards on Labor Day, shortly after midnight.Samantha Hampton was sitting on a nearby porch when the two vehicles collided. She heard the impact and ran to offer help.“I looked up and saw smoke,” she said.Hampton said one man was already dead and a woman in the other vehicle appeared to have a broken ankle. Police confirmed one person died and there was one survivor.Hours after the crash, car debris was visible on the sidewalk. Hampton said the force of the crash sent both vehicles about 50 yards away from where they originally collided. She suspects one of the vehicles was speeding. Labor Day events continuing today across bi-state area Nearby drivers say speeding and running red lights are commonplace in the area. They are calling on drivers to slow down.“People fly up and down here all day long,” said T.J. Macon, St. Loui...