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Track incursion by Australian GP fans sparks investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:24 GMT

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Grand Prix organizers have launched an investigation to determine how a group of fans managed to break through security and get dangerously close to Formula One cars before the chaotic race that featured three red flags had ended on Sunday.Australian Grand Prix Corp. chief executive Andrew Westacott on Monday said the incursion onto the Albert Park circuit before the checkered flag could have resulted in serious injuries.“There’s a controlled allowance of people to come onto the track after the race has concluded and after the safety car passes,” Westacott told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. “Spectators had broken one of the lines, we don’t know how that’s occurred just yet.“Motorsport is dangerous … it could have been horrific.”Only 12 of the 20 starters finished the race, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen winning his first Australian GP title after a late rolling start behind a safety car.An event record 444,631 spectators attende...

This week: hiring, employment and services sector data

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:24 GMT

A look at some of the key business events and economic indicators upcoming this week:Still hiring?The U.S. government will release a closely watched report on job openings Tuesday.Economists expect the Labor Department’s data for job openings to dip slightly in February, which would mark a second straight decline. The data is being watched by investors and the Federal Reserve as a gauge of the broader employment market’s health amid rising interest rates and high inflation. The labor market has remained resilient while other parts of the economy have weakened.Job Openings by month (millions)September 10.69October 10.47November 10.75December 11.23January 10.82February (est.) 10.45Source: FactSet.Services assessmentThe Institute for Supply Management releases its latest report on the services sector on Wednesday.The sector employs most Americans and its health provides more insight into the broader economy. Economists expect the monthly index to show growth in March at a relatively st...

Trump asegura recibir el apoyo más grande en la historia de su carrera tras su acusación

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:24 GMT

El expresidente Donald Trump, imputado por el pago irregular a la actriz porno Stormy Daniels y que debe comparecer el próximo martes ante el juez de Nueva York que lleva el caso, presumió este domingo de “no haber tenido nunca tanto apoyo y amor como ahora”.En su red Truth Social, Trump escribió que ese apoyo es en realidad “contra los radicales de izquierda, revoltosos, extorsionadores, políticos sinvergüenzas y matones que están destrozando nuestro país”.Anteriormente, había posteado otra petición más para recaudar fondos en la campaña para su reelección, una petición dirigida expresamente a los ricos: “Si te ha ido bien, lo cual fue posible gracias a las grandes políticas de la Administración Trump -dice, en tercera persona- envía tu contribución a donaldjtrump.com”, escribe. Se espera que Trump comparezca en corte el martes; aumentan las medidas de seguridad Campaña de Trump recauda más de $5 millones ...

Big Tech lobbyists get stuck in to UK’s landmark competition bill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:24 GMT

LONDON — As the U.K. prepares to overhaul its competition regime, a fierce lobbying battle has broken out between the world’s largest tech companies and their challengers.Ministers are gearing up to publish new competition legislation in late-April, giving regulators more power to stop a handful of companies dominating digital markets.But concern over the U.S. tech giants’ influence in Westminster has prompted ministers close to the bill to warn that the new legislation could be watered down.Two ministers have expressed concerns that Big Tech firms are seeking to weaken the process for appealing decisions made by the country’s beefed-up competition regulator, according to multiple people who were either present at those discussions or whose organizations were represented there. They requested anonymity to discuss private meetings.One MP said a minister had also approached them to raise concerns, while at an industry roundtable, two ministers spoke of worry about Big Tech firms...

Analysis: Saudi prince pivots to peace after years of war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:24 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — In the years since Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman catapulted to power, it has been hard to find a controversy in the Middle East that doesn’t somehow involve the 37-year-old heir to the throne. Now he’s pivoting to his next audacious plan: Giving peace a chance.The moves toward reaching a détente with Iran, reestablishing ties to Syria and ending the kingdom’s yearslong war in Yemen could extricate Prince Mohammed from some of the thorniest regional issues he faces. Whether it succeeds will have profound impacts on the wider Middle East and on his expansive plans to reshape the kingdom away from oil and further into his image. Failure threatens not only his impending rule over a nation crucial to global energy supplies, but a wider region shaken by years of tensions, inflamed in part by his decisions. Prince Mohammed’s rise accelerated in 2015 after his father, King Salman, appointed him as deputy crown prince. That ...

Kosovo ex-president Hashim Thaci stands trial in The Hague

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:24 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The trial of Kosovo’s ex-president and three other former high-ranking members of the Kosovo Liberation Army charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity opens Monday.Hashim Thaci resigned from office in 2020 to defend himself against charges including murder, torture and persecution allegedly committed during his country’s war for independence from Serbia.The case has stirred an outpouring of support from across the political spectrum in Kosovo. On Sunday, thousands of people took to the streets to show their support for the defendants. Many Kosovars consider the Netherlands-based court an injustice and view it as an attempt to rewrite the history of their struggle for independence.The trial is taking place at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, which is based in the Netherlands but is part of Kosovo’s legal system.Thaci is standing trial along with Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi for offenses allegedly committed across Ko...

Lone suspect in 1980 Paris synagogue bombing goes on trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:24 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A Lebanese-Canadian academic who is the lone suspect in a 1980 bombing outside a Paris synagogue will go on trial Monday, nearly 43 years after four people were killed and 46 wounded in the unclaimed attack.French authorities identified Hassan Diab as a suspect in 1999. They accuse him of planting the bomb on the evening of Oct. 3, 1980, outside the synagogue where 320 worshipers had gathered to mark the end of a Jewish holiday. Diab, 69, has denied involvement in the attack and said he was at a university in Beirut at the time of the western Paris bombing. His supporters and lawyers in France and Canada claim Diab has been wrongly pursued by the French judicial authorities as a victim of a mistaken identity. French investigators attributed the synagogue attack to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-Special Operations. Canada authorized Diab’s extradition to France at the end of 2014. He spent three years in pretrial detention but anti-terrorism judges the...

WSJ: McDonald’s to close offices briefly ahead of layoffs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A report says McDonald’s has closed its U.S. offices for a few days as the company prepares to inform employees about layoffs. The Wall Street Journal cited an internal email from the Chicago-based fast-food giant saying U.S. corporate staff and some employees overseas should work from home while the company notifies people of their job status. McDonald’s did not immediately reply to emailed requests for comment. The report said McDonald’s would inform its employees this week about staffing decisions that are part of a wide restructuring of the company announced earlier. Though the U.S. labor market remains strong, layoffs have been mounting, mainly in the technology sector, where many companies over-hired after a pandemic boom. IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, Facebook parent Meta, Twitter and DoorDash have all announced layoffs in recent months.Policymakers at the Federal Reserve have forecast the unemployment rate may rise to 4.6% by the end of this year, a siz...

EU's von der Leyen is in the running to be new NATO chief

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:24 GMT

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (pictured) is in the running to be the new head of NATO, The Sun newspaper reported on Friday (31 March), citing a diplomatic source.A number of NATO member states have suggested von der Leyen would take over the alliance this October, the report said.NATO's current Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg is expected to end his term as planned in October, after his mandate has been extended three times and having served for a total of almost nine years.The Sun report, citing UK sources, also said Britain would likely veto von der Leyen, who was the former German defense minister, citing her poor track record in charge of Germany's Armed Forces.German newspaper Welt am Sonntag has reported that Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Britain's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace were among the leading candidates to succeed Stoltenberg.

Ukraine vows never to forget or forgive on Bucha anniversary

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:24 GMT

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated Friday (31 March) that the country would not forgive Russian troops for the atrocities committed in Bucha. The anniversary of Bucha's recapture was marked by a celebration near Kyiv.In late March 2013, Ukrainian forces retook control of Irpin and Bucha, two small towns located to the northwest Kyiv. This was after the Russian invasion force gave up their attempts to seize the capital.Moscow refutes accusations of executions, tortures, and rapes by its occupying forces who abandoned bodies on the streets after they fled."Russian evil will fall right here in Ukraine and will never rise again," Zelenskiy said. Zelenskiy, who led a ceremony in Bucha that saw the Ukrainian flag raised, stated that humanity will prevail.The president presented medals to soldiers involved with the recapturing of the town. Relatives received medals in memory of those who had died."When Bucha became de-occupied, we realized that the devil wasn't out there, but w...