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UK inflation falls to lowest level in over a year but food prices remain elevated

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:22:10 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Official figures show that inflation in the U.K. has fallen to its lowest level since the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which caused energy and food costs to surge.The Office for National Statistics said Wednesday that the consumer price index dropped to 8.7% in the year to April from 10.1% in March, largely because last year’s energy spike in the wake of the invasion dropped out of the annual comparison. The fall took inflation to its lowest level since March 2022, a month after the war began.Though welcome, the fall wasn’t as big as anticipated. The consensus in financial markets was that it would ease back further to 8.3%,The main reason why inflation is consistently running higher than anticipated is that food prices remain elevated. “The rate of inflation fell notably as the large energy price rises seen last year were not repeated this April, but was offset partially by increases in the cost of second-hand cars and cigaret...

German police conduct searches in investigation of climate activists

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:22:10 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Authorities raided 15 properties across Germany on Wednesday and seized assets in an investigation into the financing of protests by the Last Generation climate activist group, prosecutors said.Munich prosecutors said they were investigating seven people, ranging in age from 22 to 38, on suspicion of forming or supporting a criminal organization. They launched the inquiry following numerous criminal complaints they received since mid-2022.Members of Last Generation have repeatedly blocked roads across Germany in an effort to pressure the government to take more drastic action against climate change.In recent weeks, they have brought the traffic to a halt on an almost daily basis in Berlin, gluing themselves to busy intersections and highways. Over the past year, they have also targeted various art works and exhibits. Their tactics have drawn sharp criticism. On Monday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he thought it was “completely nutty to somehow stick yourself to a painti...

Por qué una superficie de arena vacía en Dubái se vendió por la cifra récord de US$ 34 millones

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:22:10 GMT

(CNN) — Hay muchas cosas que se pueden comprar con US$ 34 millones. En varias partes del mundo, con esa cantidad se pueden comprar castillos, grandes mansiones junto a la playa o majestuosas fincas que se extienden kilómetros y kilómetros. Se podrían comprar flotas de potentes autos deportivos Lamborghini o majestuosos Rolls-Royce Phantom. Incluso podría comprar un jet privado.En Dubái, se compra un montón de arena.Bueno, no cualquier montón de arena. La arena en cuestión es una propiedad vacía en la lujosa isla de Jumeirah Bay, que se vendió recientemente por más de US$ 34 millones, un precio desorbitado incluso en una parte del mundo donde los precios inmobiliarios pueden llegar a ser tan altos como la arquitectura de los rascacielos.Umar Kamani, empresario británico y cofundador de la tienda de moda PrettyLittleThing, vendió esta propiedad de 24.500 metros cuadrados. La venta, por 125 millones de dirhams (AED), supone una enorme ganancia del 242% sobre el precio de compra origina...

Trout on tying DiMaggio with 361st career home run: ‘It means a lot’

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:22:10 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Mike Trout is going to tie and pass many greats on his climb up the home run list. Yet, there is something special when for a couple days you can say you are tied with The Yankee Clipper.Trout’s two-run homer in the eighth inning of Tuesday night’s 4-0 win over the Boston Red Sox is the 361st of his career, which ties him with Hall of Famer Joe DiMaggio for 85th.The three-time AL MVP said he didn’t know he tied DiMaggio until teammate Mickey Moniak told him in the Angels’ clubhouse after the game.“It means a lot. Anytime you pass or tie a great or even just be in the same conversation with a great, it’s really special, especially another centerfielder,” Trout said. After Taylor Ward got aboard with a double in the eighth inning, Trout hit a 84-mile changeup from Joely Rodriguez into the third row of the stands in right-center for his 11th home run of the season.It is the third time in his last six games that Trout has gone deep, but he ...

German police raid climate activists’ homes

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:22:10 GMT

BERLIN — German police early Wednesday morning raided homes belonging to members of the so-called Last Generation climate activist group across the country, according to local authorities.Authorities are investigating allegations that a total of seven defendants, aged 22 to 38, formed and supported a criminal organization, according to a statement from the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office, which is responsible for the case.The investigators accuse the defendants of having collected a total of €1.4 million via a fundraising campaign, which the Last Generation is said to have used mainly to commit crimes. According to the statement, the aim of the raids was to uncover information about the group’s structure and financing.Two of the suspects are alleged to have planned criminal acts themselves, as they are accused of trying to sabotage an oil pipeline from Trieste in Italy to Ingolstadt in Germany last April.The climate activists reacted by writing on Twitter, “Raid lobby st...

Belgian PM wants to hit ‘pause’ on nature restoration rules

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:22:10 GMT

BRUSSELS — Politics in Belgium often devolves into battles between Flanders and Wallonia — and the EU’s call to boost nature restoration efforts is no exception.Flanders wants the proposal watered down, hoping to spare angry farmers, while Wallonia wants a more ambitious law. It’s also splitting the federal government, with Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on Tuesday saying it’s time to “hit the pause button” on the EU’s Nature Restoration Regulation, while his climate minister is pushing in the opposite direction.That political deadlock means Belgium has no unified national position on the file, and without that, it can’t take a stance in ongoing talks at the Council of the EU, which are expected to conclude on June 20.The proposed regulation aims to restore at least 20 percent of the EU’s degraded ecosystems by 2030, and all areas in need of restoration by mid-century. But that could wreak havoc on farmers — a powerful political constituency in Flande...

Finally — UK inflation falls below 10 percent, but the stickiness is too obvious to ignore

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:22:10 GMT

U.K. inflation finally fell back below 10 percent in April but still overshot expectations, underlining how deeply it has taken root in the last two years. The consumer price index rose by 8.7 percent on the year, down from 10.1 percent in March, as last year’s energy price spike started to pass out of the annual calculations. However, that was about the only positive news from a report which was disappointing in almost all other respects: prices rose 1.2 percent on the month, showing that the current inflationary dynamic is still extremely strong. Economists had expected a rise of 0.8 percent. Moreover, core inflation, which strips out volatile energy prices, rose from 6.2 percent in March to 6.8 in April, the highest since 1992. And food prices, the most visible part of the ongoing cost of living crisis — and the most painful for lower-income households — only fell negligibly to 19.1 percent from 19.2 in March. The figures make for yet more unpleasant reading for the Bank of...

Suicide bomber hits checkpoint in northwest Pakistan, killing 4 in second attack in as many days

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:22:10 GMT

Miran Shah, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber targeted a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing two soldiers, a policeman and a civilian, security officials said. It was the second attack to hit Pakistan in as many days.The bombing happened in North Waziristan, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan and is a former stronghold of the militant Pakistani Taliban group, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. A number of civilians were also wounded in the attack, according to Rehmat Khan, a local police official.No one claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban.In the last six months, the TTP has stepped up its attacks since it unilaterally ended a cease-fire with the Pakistani government, brokered by neighboring Afghanistan last year. Also Wednesday, the TTP claimed responsibility for an attack the previous day on an oil and gas plant in Hangu, a district in Khyber Pakhtu...

Vinícius Júnior soccer racism dispute ignites heated off-field debate in Spain

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:22:10 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Repeated racist insults against Brazilian soccer star Vinícius Júnior have unleashed a heated debate in Spain about tolerance for racism in a society that is becoming rapidly more diverse on and off the field.Since the season began in August, the Real Madrid winger has suffered racist abuse by fans of at least five rival teams, including the hanging of an effigy depicting the Black player from a bridge by a group of Atletico Madrid fans in January.“Racism is normal in LaLiga,” Vinícius said of the top league in Spanish soccer on Instagram and Twitter after he was targeted with monkey chants from Valencia fans at a game on Sunday. “The competition thinks it’s normal, as does the federation, and the opponents encourage it.”Through his social media presence, Vinícius has repeatedly called out racist attitudes that he says prevail in a southern European country where a third of children are now born to foreign parents, the majority from Latin America and Africa, and ...

On Beijing visit, Russian prime minister says pressure from West is strengthening ties with China

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:22:10 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Pressure from the West is strengthening Russia’s ties with China, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said in a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing Wednesday. Mishustin’s visit comes as Russia is increasingly turning to China for diplomatic and economic support amid growing isolation over its invasion of Ukraine. In opening remarks at his meeting Wednesday with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, Mishustin did not mention the 15-month-old war that China, in deference to Moscow, has refused to criticize, focusing instead on economic cooperation between the neighbors that have partnered in challenging the U.S. lead in global affairs. Relations between the two countries are “at an unprecedented high level,” influenced by the “increased turbulence in the international arena and the pattern of sensational pressure from the collective West,” Mishustin said. China says it is a neutral party between Russia and Ukraine and wants to help broker an end to the conflict. Bu...