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UK foreign secretary James Cleverly holidays with lobbyist in Gibraltar

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:36 GMT

LONDON — Britain’s foreign minister holidayed with a former lobbyist for the government of Gibraltar during a private trip to the contested territory last weekend.U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly shared the same hotel as Ahzaz Chowdhury, a well-connected Conservative lobbyist and longstanding family friend, during the visit to Gibraltar, which was not publicized by the British government. While the trip did not breach any rules, transparency campaigners have raised concerns that details of informal relationships between lobbyists and U.K. ministers are often opaque and not sufficiently recorded. Chowdhury’s firm, Nudge Factory, has previously lobbied the U.K. government for projects on behalf of Gibraltar. A spokesperson for the foreign secretary said Cleverly visited the island for a private family holiday — but that he did also meet with Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo during the trip. The governor of Gibraltar, David Steel, was also present at the meeti...

Emmanuel Macron set to host UK Labour leader Keir Starmer in Paris

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:36 GMT

LONDON — Could this be the start of a new bromance?U.K. Labour Party leader Keir Starmer is planning a high-profile trip to Paris next week for a bilateral meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, two people briefed on the trip have told POLITICO.Starmer is due to meet Macron at the Elysée on Monday or Tuesday. Accompanying Starmer on his trip will be his new chief of staff Sue Gray, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy.If confirmed, the trip would take place shortly before King Charles III travels to France for his own state visit later in the week.A bilateral summit with the French head of state would be a significant PR coup for Starmer, who is keen to appear statesmanlike with his opposition Labour Party 18 points ahead in the polls and with a general election looming next year.Macron’s plan to host Starmer will rile some Conservatives, however. Tory leader Rishi Sunak has struck up a good relationship with the French president since bec...

Why EU speeches are so damn boring

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:36 GMT

STRASBOURG — Honorable members, valued stakeholders … prepare to fall asleep. That’s how most speeches would start if politicians in the EU bubble were being honest. As European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen prepares to deliver her much-anticipated State of the Union address, POLITICO asks: Why do EU’s top brass usually inspire yawns instead of rousing applause?The first challenge facing an EU speechwriter is how to interest an audience in policies that feel so remote.Dan Sobovitz, who was European Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič’s speechwriter for five years, pointed to an additional challenge — intermediaries. “European politicians will never be able to reach intimacy because there are other proxies, like journalists, like influencers, at the national level who are going to interpret Brussels for them,” said Sobovitz, a Hungarian-Swiss-Israeli communications expert.The antidote? Tell personal stories. “I would try to make a mix between the policy ...

*NSYNC reunites at MTV Video Music Awards

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:36 GMT

(CNN) — *NSYNC, one of the leading boy bands of the 90s, reunited in full – yes, that means Justin Timberlake was there – during Tuesday’s MTV Video Music Awards.Lance Bass, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez and Timberlake appeared on the VMA stage to present the award for best pop to Taylor Swift, who took home the first trophy of the night for her hit 2022 song “Anti-Hero.”Swift jumped out of her seat when they first appeared on stage, and cheered along with the boisterous crowd at the sight of all five members of the iconic boy band back together. Upon accepting her award, the group handed her a friendship bracelet along with her statuette.The last time all five members of *NSYNC appeared on stage together was at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, when Timberlake received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award and surprised viewers by performing “Bye Bye Bye” and “Girlfriend” with his four bandmates.*NSYNC first burst onto the pop music scene...

7 Investigates: School Bus Safety 

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:36 GMT

School bus drivers across the state are fed up and parents are on edge because of close calls involving drivers going around stopped school buses.7 Investigates recently got a look at how one local city is cracking down on drivers who speed through school zones. “My heart sank and I ran out of the house,” said Peabody parent Elizabeth Mover in an interview. Mover’s son, Ben, was struck by a car on the way to school last year. “He did everything right,” she said. “And a car unfortunately ran the red light and hit him while he was on his bike.”Ben is going to be OK. Now, his mother is on a mission to protect other children.“It sparked a fire in me that I was just angry that nothing was happening to these people who were violating the rules of the road,” Mover said.“When you think someone’s going to get hit right in front of you, it’s pretty terrifying,” said Kathleen Kraemer, a school bus instructor and safety officer for Healey Bus.Officials speaking with 7NEWS said bu...

Red Sox swept in doubleheader, fall 4-1 to Yankees after offense no shows

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:36 GMT

The lineup fielded by the New York Yankees in the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader was hardly a Murderers’ Row. The Yankees surrounded legitimate big league threats Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres with a feeble collection of rookies, minor leaguers and extras.And yet somehow that group still managed to out-hit the Boston Red Sox.Other than rookie Ceddanne Rafaela, who hammered his first career home run and added a double for good measure, the Red Sox offense completely no-showed in the evening’s 4-1 loss. Boston collectively went 0 for 15 with runners in scoring position and left 12 on base, squandering chance after chance in one of the most disappointing efforts of the season.With the doubleheader sweep, the Red Sox have also fallen into a tie for last in the AL East with the Yankees.Early on it looked as if the Red Sox were in for a long night, and Kutter Crawford a very short one. The Red Sox starting pitcher walked the first two men and allowed a single to loa...

Nicki Minaj debuts new ‘Pink Friday 2’ song at MTV VMAs as NSYNC reunites and Shakira performs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:36 GMT

By MARIA SHERMAN (AP Music Writer)At the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards, surprises were many — emcee Nicki Minaj performed her latest single, the dreamy “Last Time I Saw You” before jumping into a brand-new tease of a fiery new trap cut from her highly-anticipated “Pink Friday 2” album. “I ain’t nothing like you,” she raps, “I’m on a whole other level.”That wasn’t the only unexpected news: Within the first half-hour, the boy band NSYNC reunited on stage to present the first award for best pop video, which went to Taylor Swift.In coordinating suits, Justin Timberlake, Joey Fatone, Lance Bass, Chris Kirkpatrick and JC Chasez shared the stage with Swift. Bass handed Swift a friendship bracelet just as fans do at the superstar’s shows. “You’re pop personified,” she told the group.She later returned to the stage at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, to pick up the song of the year troph...

Navy agrees to vacate Pacific Highway offices after Port of San Diego votes to terminate lease

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:36 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The Port of San Diego has voted unanimously to terminate the Navy’s leasehold on a Pacific Highway Property. The Port and Navy had been in negotiation for decades to finalize the deal, with the Navy agreeing to vacate. “Now is the right time to get back this land,” said Rafael Castellanos, the Port of San Diego Chairman.  After decades-long of negotiations, the Port of San Diego voted to reclaim 3.4 acres (about half the area of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool) of Pacific Highway from the Navy.  The vote passed unanimously across the Port of San Diego board. In 1949, the City of San Diego leased 1220 Pacific Highway to the Navy free of charge for 100 years. Discussions began in 2000 when the Port requested the land back from the Navy for redevelopment.  The Port and the Navy started negotiating on how to execute a 1985 law, Public Law 98-407, that allowed the Navy out of their lease early, if the Port provided a suitable replacement.  “Timing, timing...

Japan’s Kishida shuffles Cabinet and party posts to solidify power

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:36 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is shuffling his Cabinet and key party posts Wednesday in an apparent move to strengthen his position before a key party leadership vote next year.It’s the second Cabinet shuffle since Kishida took office in October 2021 when he promised fairer distribution of economic growth, measures to tackle Japan’s declining population and a stronger national defense. Russia’s war in Ukraine, rising energy prices and Japan’s soaring defense costs have created challenges in his tenure, keeping his support ratings at low levels.Kishida’s three-year term as Liberal Democratic Party president expires in September 2024, when he would seek a second term. His faction is only the fourth largest in the LDP, so he must stay on good terms with the others to maintain his position. He is expected to distribute Cabinet posts to reflect the balance of power, and nearly half of the positions will be shared between the two largest factio...

NYC pension funds and state of Oregon sue Fox over 2020 election coverage

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:36 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s pension funds and the state of Oregon sued Fox Corporation on Tuesday, alleging the company harmed investors by allowing Fox News to broadcast falsehoods about the 2020 election that exposed the network to defamation lawsuits. The case, filed in Delaware, accuses the company of inviting defamation lawsuits through its amplification of conspiracy theories about the election, including a case Fox News agreed to settle for nearly $800 million with the voting machine company Dominion Voting Systems. “Fox’s board of directors has blatantly disregarded the need for journalistic standards and failed to put safeguards in place despite having a business model that invites defamation litigation,” said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who manages the city’s pension funds. A spokesperson for Fox Corporation declined to comment. New York City’s pension funds are long-term shareholders of Fox Corporation, with shares valued at $28.1 million ...