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Britain expected to join Indo-Pacific trade pact this week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

LONDON — Britain is expected to get the green light to join a key Indo-Pacific trade bloc before the end of this week in a move that will solidify its post-Brexit foreign policy shift toward the region.The U.K. would be the first new member to join the 11-nation bloc after it was first signed in 2018. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s breakthrough post-Brexit pact with the EU helped clear the way for Britain’s accession late last month.Three people familiar with the negotiations confirmed to POLITICO Britain is expected to reach an agreement in principle to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) by the end of this week.The deal is not one hundred percent final but it is “very likely” and “looking good” that it will happen this week, said one of the people familiar with the talks. The pending agreement was first reported by Japan’s Fuji News Network, citing multiple Japanese government officials.The deal will establish regulatory ...

Scottish parliament backs new SNP leader Humza Yousaf to become first minister

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

LONDON — Humza Yousaf will replace Nicola Sturgeon as Scotland’s first minister tomorrow, after the Scottish parliament nominated the new SNP leader in a vote Tuesday.The 37-year-old was elected as leader of the pro-independence SNP leader Monday, narrowly defeating rival Kate Forbes following a divisive leadership contest. After second preference votes were taken into account, he won 52.1 percent of the vote compared to 47.9 percent for Forbes.In a vote among lawmakers among Scotland’s Holyrood parliament, every single SNP MSP — including Forbes and Sturgeon — voted for the new leader to become head of Scotland’s devolved government. They were joined in voting for Yousaf by MSPs representing the Scottish Greens, who following his election renewed the co-operation agreement that sees the pro-independence environmentalists hold power as part of the Scottish government. Together the two parties hold a majority in Holyrood.Currently first minister-designate, Yousaf wi...

Quincy woman wins “Decade of Dollars” top prize of $20,000 a month for 10 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

A woman from Quincy can expect some hefty checks for the next few years after winning the Massachusetts State Lottery’s “Decade of Dollars” game.Lottery officials say Joyce Doncaster won the “$20,000 a Month for 10 Years” prize and chose the annuity option, netting her the first 12 months of payments for a total of $240,000 (before taxes) and an additional $240,000 per year for the next nine years.The winning ticket was sold at the Lucky Shamrock convenience store on Beale Street in Quincy, according to the state lottery. The lucky shop itself will receive a $24,000 bonus for selling the winner.According to the state lottery’s website, the odds of winning the Decade of Dollars top prize are 1 in 2,520,000.

Mexico: Migrants lit mattresses in fire that killed 39

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

By MARÍA VERZA (Associated Press)MEXICO CITY (AP) — Migrants fearing deportation set mattresses ablaze at an immigration detention center in northern Mexico, starting a fire that left 39 dead, the president said Tuesday following one of the the deadliest incidents ever at an immigration lockup in the country.Hours after the fire broke out late Monday, rows of bodies were laid out under shimmery silver sheets outside the facility in Ciudad Juarez, which is across from El Paso, Texas, and a major crossing point for migrants. Ambulances, firefighters and vans from the morgue swarmed the scene.Thirty-nine people died and 29 were injured and are in “delicate-serious” condition, according to the National Immigration Institute. There were 68 men from Central and South America held in the facility at the time of the fire, the agency said. A Guatemalan official said many may have been from that Central American country.President Andrés Manuel López Obrador sa...

Man struck, killed by bus while picking up friend at Logan Airport

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

A man struck and killed by a bus at Boston’s Logan International Airport was a 47-year-old Lexington resident who had gone to the airport to pick up a friend, Massachusetts State Police said Tuesday.Vishwachand Kolla was standing outside his SUV parked curbside at the Terminal B lower level roadway at about 5 p.m. Monday when the Dartmouth Transportation motor coach made contact with him, according to the preliminary state police investigation.He was dragged along the driver’s side of his vehicle and sustained severe injuries, state police said.An off-duty nurse who was at the scene attempted lifesaving measures as did responding personnel from the Massport Fire Department and Boston EMS, but Kolla was pronounced dead at the scene.The bus driver, a 54-year-old woman whose name was not made public, declined medical treatment and was interviewed by state police troopers.The investigation to determine whether criminal charges are warranted is ongoing.The Concord, New Hampsh...

Nashville school shooter sent alarming messages before the massacre, former teammate says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale sent alarming messages to a former middle-school basketball teammate shortly before Monday’s deadly massacre, the ex-classmate said.Hale wrote she planned to commit suicide and that she’d likely be covered on the news in a series of direct messages to Averianna Patton over Instagram at 9:57 a.m. Monday, Patton told the Nashville news station WTVF.“One day this will make more sense,” Hale wrote, according to the messages published by the TV outlet. “I’ve left behind more than enough evidence behind. But something bad is about to happen.”Police say they received an active-shooter call at the Covenant School, where Hale was a former student, at 10:13 a.m. The shooting left three 9-year-old students and three adults dead, and Hale was fatally shot by police, officials said.Patton says she tried to help Hale after receiving her messages.“I tried to comfort and encourage her and subsequently reached out to the Suicide Prevention Help Line after being i...

Stocks hold steady as some calm remains on Wall Street

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are mixed in relatively quiet trading on Tuesday, and Wall Street is regaining some cool at the tail end of what’s been a turmoil-filled month.The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in morning trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 99 points, or 0.3%, at 32,531 as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% lower. There was calm even in the bond market, which has been home to some of Wall Street’s wildest moves since fears flared about the banking system earlier this month. Yields were holding relatively steady following their historic-sized moves in prior weeks. This month has been dominated by worries that banks around the world may be cracking under the pressure of much higher interest rates. In the U.S., investors have been on the hunt for smaller and midsized banks that could see a quick exodus of customers akin to the run that toppled Silicon Valley Bank. In Europe, meanwhile, big banks have come under pressure at times as ...

Comic Relief launches metaverse fundraiser to fight poverty

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

Can playing more Roblox make your kids more philanthropic?That’s what the nonprofit Comic Relief US hopes, announcing Tuesday its new Kids Relief initiative to encourage giving and community building with a new virtual world on the social gaming platform. The “Kids Relief Presents: Solarpunk Simulator” experience on Roblox will also serve as a fundraiser for Comic Relief’s real-life programs battling poverty in America, especially those empowering young people in that fight.Alison Moore, CEO of Comic Relief US, told The Associated Press that the Roblox virtual world and the entire Kids Relief initiative is designed to “support young people’s ability to drive change.”“Children and young people have a deeper understanding that they have the power to make change,” said Moore. “They have the power to gather together and link their arms to do something to change the world tomorrow. They’ve got the mindset that adults don’t have — that they can do it.”Comic Relief US is behind high-...

Bankman-Fried charged with paying $40M bribe to China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was charged with directing $40 million in bribes to one or more Chinese officials to unfreeze assets relating to his cryptocurrency business in a newly rewritten indictment unsealed Tuesday.The charge of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act raises to 13 the number of charges Bankman-Fried faces after he was arrested in the Bahamas in December and brought to the United States soon afterward.FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11, when it ran out of money after the cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run. He has remained free on a $250 million personal recognizance bond that lets him stay with his parents in Palo Alto, California.He has pleaded not guilty to charges that he cheated investors out of billions of dollars before his business collapsed.The alleged bribes stemmed from the operation of Alameda Research, which is affiliated with FTX, Bankman-Fried’s global cryptocurrency exchang...

MLB The Show breaks barrier with Negro League players

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:00:49 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — MLB The Show has broken a video game barrier: For the first time, the franchise will insert some of the greatest Negro League players — from Satchel Paige to Jackie Robinson — into the 2023 edition of the game as playable characters.Video gamers are now able to venture into a storyline mode involving eight Negro League legends through MLB The Show 23, which releases Tuesday. The narrative experience will feature short videos about the players along with gameplay focused on the epic moments of their careers.Along with Robinson and Paige, the game also features other players including Buck O’Neil, Rube Foster, Hilton Smith, John Donaldson, Hank Thompson and Martin Dihigo.“This made sense on multiple levels,” said Bob Kendrick, the narrator of storyline experience and president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, which is located in Kansas City, Missouri. Along with the museum, he partnered with Sony for the historic Black players’ insertion into the ga...