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UK economy grows 0.2 percent thanks to June surge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:21 GMT

The U.K. economy grew surprisingly strongly in the second quarter of 2023, as a manufacturing rebound in June rescued a period that seemed doomed to contraction.Manufacturing output rose 2.4 percent in June, pushing up overall industrial output by 1.8 percent, thanks to receding energy prices and the ongoing process of supply chain repair after the pandemic. The rebound was in part due to a ‘catch-up’ effect after the coronation of King Charles III in May, and the accompanying bank holiday.The numbers are the latest sign of the economic resilience in Britain that has withstood an aggressive tightening of monetary policy by the Bank of England over the last 18 months. As such, the data make it easier for the Bank to keep on raising rates if it deems it necessary to bring down inflation, which remains well above target. The growth numbers are, however, of less direct importance for the Bank than figures for wage growth and inflation, which are due next week.The pound react...

Fear stalks Northern Irish police after catastrophic leak of personal data

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:21 GMT

DUBLIN — In normal societies, being publicly identified as a police officer is just part of the job. In Northern Ireland, despite a quarter century of relative peace, the disclosure could be a death sentence.For that reason thousands of police officers are today agonizing over their futures after a monumental data blunder saw the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) accidentally publish the names and professional details — including, most sensitively, the base, unit and duties — of every single officer and civilian employee in the force. The unprecedented breach — committed Tuesday, when the police force uploaded the wrong Excel spreadsheet to a Freedom of Information website — revealed details many officers had kept secret even from relatives and close friends. Under enormous pressure after the scale of the leak became clear, PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne resisted calls to resign during a face-to-face grilling Thursday with the Policing Board, a cross-community panel that o...

Maui residents had little warning before flames overtook their town. At least 55 people died

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:21 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Maui residents who made desperate escapes from oncoming flames, some on foot, asked why Hawaii’s famous emergency warning system didn’t alert them as fires raced toward their homes.Hawaii emergency management records show no indication that warning sirens were triggered before a devastating wildfire killed at least 55 people and wiped out a historic town, officials confirmed Thursday.Hawaii boasts what the state describes as the largest integrated outdoor all-hazard public safety warning system in the world, with about 400 sirens positioned across the island chain to alert people to various natural disasters and other threats. But many of Lahaina’s survivors said in interviews at evacuation centers that they didn’t hear any sirens and only realized they were in danger when they saw flames or heard explosions nearby.Thomas Leonard, a 70-year-old retired mailman from Lahaina, didn’t know about the fire until he smelled smoke. Power and c...

Nice Summer Friday & Weekend

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:21 GMT

Storms that moved through late yesterday evening and overnight and now out over the ocean and that’s setting up a nice stretch of weather the next few days. We’ll start that nice stretch of weather today, and if you have a long weekend, you picked a good day to have off! It is a little on the sticky side this morning but dew points and humidity will fall through the day and this afternoon looks very comfortable!Not only will the humidity fall off this afternoon to very comfortable levels, but we’ll have mild temperatures and a lot of sunshine. It really is a close-to-perfect summer day.With lower humidity, we’ll cool off this evening. Not that it’s a cold evening by any stretch, but when there isn’t humidity to help keep numbers up at night, we’ll cool off pretty efficiently with clear skies and wind that settles down.All things considered, the weekend forecast looks great too. I can’t say it’s 100% dry for everyone but rain and ...

More evacuations considered in Norway where the level in swollen rivers continues to rise

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:21 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — More evacuations were being considered Friday in southeastern Norway, where the level of water in swollen rivers and lakes continued to grow after days of torrential rain.Huge amounts of water, littered with broken trees, debris and trash, were thundering down the usually serene rivers. It flooded abandoned houses, left cars coated in mud and swamped camping sites. One of the most affected places was the town of Hoenefossen where the Begna river had gone over its banks and authorities were considering moving more people downstream for fear of landslides. Up to 2,000 people have already been evacuated. “We constantly try to think a few steps ahead. We are ready to press an even bigger red button,” Magnus Nilholm, a local emergency manager in the Hoenefossen region, told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. Ivar Berthling of Norway’s Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) told Norwegian news agency NTB that the water levels around Hoenefossen, some 40 kilo...

Stock market today: Global stocks lower after US inflation edges up, fueling unease about economy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:21 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets declined Friday after U.S. inflation edged higher, fueling unease about the outlook for the biggest global economy.London, Shanghai, Paris and Hong Kong fell. Wall Street futures were mixed. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. Oil prices edged lower.Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index gained less than 0.1% on Thursday after government data showed consumer prices rose 3.2% in July. That was higher than the previous month but below forecasts following repeated rate hikes to cool business activity and prices.Traders hope the Federal Reserve will decide inflation that peaked above 9% last year is under control and no more interest rate hikes are needed.Investors are watching whether higher interest expenses “will cause distress or defaults,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management in a report.In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London lost 1% to 7,546.40. The CAC 40 in Paris fell 0.8% to 7,373.90 and the DAX in Frankfurt retreated...

Poland’s ruling party wants a referendum on the sell-off of state assets

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:21 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s ruling party leader said Friday that Polish voters will be asked to decide whether they support the sell-off of state-owned enterprises in a referendum, saying it would be about “whether the wealth of generations will remain in Polish hands.”The conservative ruling party has for some time expressed a wish to hold a referendum on the highly emotional topic of migration alongside the fall’s parliamentary elections, which the president scheduled this week for Oct. 15.Law and Justice party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said Friday that the party now plans more than one referendum question.Kaczynski, who is also the deputy prime minister, made the announcement in a video posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He said the first referendum question would say: “Do you support the sell-off of state-owned enterprises?” The graphic showed the question as it would look on a ballot, with a red X appearing in the ”No” box.He then linked p...

Building engulfed in flames, upgraded to five-alarm fire after explosions in Etobicoke

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:21 GMT

Toronto Fire Services are dealing with a five-alarm fire due to explosions at an industrial building on Vulcan Street near Martin Grove Road and Belfield Road in Etobicoke on Friday morning.Initially a four-alarm fire, the fire reportedly started at the Brenntag Canada building at 35 Vulcan Street just after 1:00 a.m., and has been upgraded to a five-alarm fire.Emergency crews are still in defensive mode as the fire is out of control has spread to adjacent buildings.The fire is a hazardous materials incident and Toronto fire are dealing with all kinds of oils, fluids, solvents from the factory as well as monitoring the air quality due to the chemicals being burned.A number of explosions happened throughout the morning, including gas tanks from vehicles from the building and propane tanks.People living in the residential areas near the fire are encouraged to keep windows closed and shelter in place. Emergency services are working to determine whether or not any type of other evacuati...

Former South African President Zuma taken back to prison and released again within 2 hours

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:21 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Former South African President Jacob Zuma was taken back to prison on Friday after his parole was ruled invalid, only to be released again within two hours under a new program to reduce overcrowding in jails.The move raised more questions over whether the 81-year-old is receiving preferential treatment to avoid serving out a 15-month sentence for contempt of court.The remissions program was authorized by President Cyril Ramaphosa and made public for the first time Friday. While it aims to release more than 9,400 inmates from jail and put them under correctional supervision at home, Zuma appeared to be the first to benefit from it.Zuma reported to the Estcourt Correctional Centre in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province at 6 a.m., ostensibly to serve the remaining 13 months of his sentence. But he was released some time after 7 a.m. when his remission was processed, said Makgothi Thobakgale, the acting national commissioner of the corrections department.Zuma later arrived b...

Thousands evacuated in Polish town after builder uncovers WWII bomb

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:21 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Some 14,000 people were evacuated in the eastern Polish town of Lublin Friday after a construction worker uncovered a massive unexploded bomb. The police, Territorial Defense troops and city transport were helping in the evacuation, which must take place before military engineers can remove the bomb and take it away for neutralization, according to the town hall spokesperson, Katarzyna Duma. Roads in the area have been closed.Duma said the residents were being taken to safety in schools and other large buildings. They have been instructed to turn off gas, water and electricity in their homes, close the windows and doors and to take their IDs and necessary medication with them. Residents should be able to return home in the early afternoon. Builders uncovered the 250-kilogram (550-pound) bomb buried in the ground during works on a new residential area on Thursday. There was a Polish airplane factory and an airport there before World War II that could have been t...