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West wants to look the other way on UAE money laundering

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:45 GMT

BERLIN — Germany, the U.S. and several other Western countries are pushing a global money-laundering watchdog to give the financial system in the United Arab Emirates a clean bill of health despite persistent indications that the country remains a haven for illicit transactions, according to European oversight officials and others familiar with the matter. The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) placed UAE on its so-called gray list, effectively a shot over the bow of wayward financial jurisdictions, in March 2022, citing serious deficiencies in UAE’s measures against sanctions evasion, terror financing and other crimes. The designation, which put the country just one step away from FATF’s dreaded “blacklist,” was a significant reputational blow to the Middle East’s largest financial center and also threatened to impair the country’s long-term credit ratings, though that has yet to happen. The long-term risk to UAE’s status as a business center i...

Brits just wanna have fun — at any cost

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:45 GMT

A music festival that took place in the South-West of England in May did something almost unheard of in Britain at the moment. It reduced its ticket prices by a third. “We sold out very, very fast,” Rupert Morrison founder of the Sea Change festival held in Totnes, Devon, told POLITICO. It might seem counterintuitive at a time when the country — and indeed the European continent — seems to be going crazy for live music events. Glastonbury managed to jack up its prices by 20 percent this year and sold out within minutes. Beyoncé’s sell-out tour appears to have moved the dial on Sweden’s inflation rate last month and Taylor Swift is set to do the same across Europe next year.Britons in particular, it appears, just wanna have fun at any cost. That appears to be the latest message from inflation figures in the U.K. for May. The Office for National Statistics deliberately singled out a spike in costs for admission fees to live concerts as a contributing factor to t...

McCarthy warns House GOP now is not time to force vote impeaching Biden: ‘What majority do we want to be?’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:45 GMT

(CNN) — Speaker Kevin McCarthy urged House Republicans to vote against the resolution brought forward by GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado forcing a vote to impeach President Joe Biden this week, arguing now is not the right time, multiple sources in the closed door meeting told CNN.McCarthy argued that Republicans should let committee investigations play out and warning that jumping to impeachment now could threaten their slim majority, the sources said. The speaker noted that House Republicans have taken back the House five times in the last 100 years, and two of those times lost the majority the next cycle.“What majority do we want to be,” McCarthy asked his conference, according to a source in the room “Give it right back in two years or hold it for a decade and make real change?”A number of House Republicans have filed articles of impeachment against Biden since the party took the House majority, but Boebert made a specific procedural move on Tuesday that would...

Amazon is accused of enrolling consumers into Prime without consent and making it hard to cancel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:45 GMT

By HALELUYA HADERO (The Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon was sued Wednesday by Federal Trade Commission for what it called a years-long effort to enroll consumers without consent into its Prime program and making it difficult for them to cancel their subscriptions.In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, the agency accused Amazon of using deceptive designs, known as “dark patterns,” to deceive consumers into enrolling in the program. It said the option to purchase items on Amazon without subscribing to Prime was more difficult in many cases. It also said that consumers were sometimes presented with a button to complete their transactions — which didn’t clearly state it would also enroll them into Prime. Internally, Amazon called the process “Iliad,” a reference to the ancient Greek poem about lengthy siege of Troy during the Trojan war. Company leaders slowed or rejected changes that made...

US approves chicken made from cultivated cells, the nation’s first ‘lab-grown’ meat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:45 GMT

By JONEL ALECCIA and LAURA UNGAR (Associated Press)For the first time, U.S. regulators on Wednesday approved the sale of chicken made from animal cells, allowing two California companies to offer “lab-grown” meat to the nation’s restaurant tables and eventually, supermarket shelves.The Agriculture Department gave the green light to Upside Foods and Good Meat, firms that had been racing to be the first in the U.S. to sell meat that doesn’t come from slaughtered animals — what’s now being referred to as “cell-cultivated” or “cultured” meat as it emerges from the laboratory and arrives on dinner plates.The move launches a new era of meat production aimed at eliminating harm to animals and drastically reducing the environmental impacts of grazing, growing feed for animals and animal waste. “Instead of all of that land and all of that water that’s used to feed all of these animals that are slaughtered, we can do it i...

4 things to do to welcome the Summer Solstice in San Diego

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:45 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Wednesday, June 21 marks the official start of summer with the longest day of the year bringing extended sunlight to the San Diego area. With warmer temperatures expected across the county, according to the National Weather Service, this once a year occurrence may have many taking to the outdoors to celebrate.As the new season begins, here are four things to do to welcome the Summer Solstice in San Diego. 5 places to watch the sunset in San Diego Summer Solstice Bonfire at Hotel del CoronadoWhat better way to welcome the summer season than a bonfire on the beach? Grab your loved ones and head to Coronado for this "Roast experience." Fire pits can be reserved for up to 10 people for a private beach bonfire that includes all s'mores-making items. Tuck your toes in the sand and enjoy the Summer Solstice sunset with the warmth of a fire. Summer Solstice E-Bike TourEnjoy the first day of summer on two electric powered wheels. The Plunge E-Bike Tour starts in downtown...

Court temporarily allows part of New Jersey’s handgun carry law to remain in effect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:45 GMT

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A federal appeals court has temporarily agreed to keep part of New Jersey’s handgun carry law in effect as court proceedings play out. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday granted the state attorney general’s request to keep part of the law that bars people from carrying handguns in “sensitive places” in effect. It also denied Attorney General Matt Platkin’s request in part, leaving in place a lower court’s order that put an insurance mandate on hold. The decision means handguns cannot be carried in places such as zoos, public parks, public libraries and museums, bars, and health care facilities. The law bars handguns from being carried in those places as well as schools and child care facilities. The lower court’s May injunction did not specify those locations, and the appeals court also didn’t remove the prohibition in those places. The appeals court, though, rebuffed the state’s effort to undo the lower court...

NDP seeks bigger tax break for volunteer firefighters as fire chief warns of crisis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:45 GMT

OTTAWA — New Democrats are calling on the federal government to increase the tax credit for volunteer firefighters as they combat wildfires raging across the country. MP Gord Johns held a news conference on Parliament Hill Wednesday alongside Paul Boissonneault, a board member from the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, to call for an increase to the volunteer firefighter and search and rescue tax credit from $3,000 to $10,000. Johns introduced a bill in the House of Commons late last year to make the change. “The federal government (has) found billions of dollars to help make economic development investments across the country,” Johns said. “They should be able to find $30 million for the 90,000 plus volunteers right now.”Volunteer firefighters and search and rescue volunteers are currently eligible for the tax credit if they have completed 200 hours of service. The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs says volunteers made up 70 per cent of firefighters in ...

Retail sales grow 1.1 per cent in April as consumer resiliency continues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:45 GMT

OTTAWA — Canadian retail sales came in stronger than initially estimated, as analysts say consumers proved resilient amid an economically challenging environment but that momentum is expected to slow.Retail sales rose 1.1 per cent to $65.9 billion in April, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday, topping its initial estimate for the month that pointed to an increase of 0.2 per cent.Gains at general merchandise retailers and food and beverage stores led the way higher.The agency’s advance estimate for May suggested a gain of 0.5 per cent for that month, though it cautioned the figure would be revised.BMO economist Shelly Kaushik said the figures show Canadian consumers continued to spend but “higher prices drove most of the increase as spending volumes rose at a much slower pace.”In volume terms, retail sales rose 0.3 per cent for April.“Looking ahead, momentum in consumer spending is expected to slow in the second half of the year, as yet higher interest rates ...

21 passengers injured in a collision between train and truck in northern Czechia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:15:45 GMT

PRAGUE (AP) — A passenger train collided with a truck in northern Czech Republic on Wednesday, injuring at least 21 people, officials said.The national rescue agency said nine passengers on the train sustained moderate injuries. The other 12 passengers, including two schoolchildren were lightly injured.Police said that 19 schoolchildren were among 65 passengers aboard.The accident took place before 2 pm (1200 GMT) at a crossing in Straz nad Nisou near the city of Liberec, 100 kilometers (about 60 miles) north of Prague.Authorities have been working to determine how the collision took place.The Associated Press