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Boris Johnson ruined UK’s ‘good chaps’ theory of government, says watchdog

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:48 GMT

LONDON — The idea that “good chaps” in British politics can be relied on to do the right thing is dead — and the country’s revolving door watchdog pins part of the blame on Boris Johnson. In a letter to the government Tuesday, the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (ACOBA) argued that the former prime minister’s repeated breaches of the rules show the current set-up to police politicians taking on lucrative post-government jobs is “out of date.” It comes just days after Johnson — recently censured and effectively stripped of his parliamentary pass after a damning report into his conduct — was admonished for taking on a job as the Daily Mail’s new star columnist without clearing it with the ethics watchdog.ACOBA ruled that, in failing to wait for the body’s advice before taking on the writing gig, Johnson broke the ministerial code. He submitted his application for advice 30 minutes before the appointment was announced on Twitt...

Police: Driver hits MBTA bus near Kenmore Station, flees scene

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:48 GMT

Transit police are investigating after a driver in an SUV slammed into the back of an MBTA bus outside Kenmore Station on Tuesday morning before fleeing the scene.The 2015 Honda hit the back of the bus around 5:30 a.m. and there were no reported injuries.No additional information was immediately available.https://twitter.com/MBTATransitPD/status/1673659696689889280

Trial of man accused of killing Weymouth police officer, bystander nearing its end

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:48 GMT

The trial for a man accused of killing a Weymouth police sergeant and a bystander in 2018 is wrapping up, with the final witness expected on Tuesday and final arguments slated for Wednesday.Emanuel Lopes, is accused in the deaths of police Sgt. Michael Chesna, 42, and Vera Adams, 77.Prosecutors say the then-20 year old had been wanted in connection with a crash in Weymouth the morning of July 15, 2018, when Sgt. Chesna confronted him. Prosecutors say Lopes hit Chesna with a rock and then murdered him with his own service firearm.Other officers started chasing Lopes when he fired three more rounds – one of which fatally struck Adams while she was sitting in her sun porch, according to the prosecution.The defense has described Lopes as a man suffering from mental health problems.

Harvard Medical School morgue manager, others to appear in court in alleged sale of stolen body parts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:48 GMT

(WHDH) — Several people, including a former morgue employee at Harvard Medical School, are set to appear in federal court on Pennsylvania on Tuesday after allegedly taking part in the sale and transportation of stolen body parts, according to officials.It’s alleged that Cedric Lodge, 55, the manager of the medical school’s morgue, and three other defendants, including his wife, Denise Lodge, 63, worked for years to move, sell or purchase organs, skin and other parts from bodies that were donated for educational purposes.The other two defendants named were Katrina Maclean, 44, of Salem, Mass., and Joshua Taylor, 46, a resident of West Lawn, Penn.According to court documents, the parts included “heads, brains, skin, bones, and other human remains” that had been scheduled for cremation but taken by Lodge to his house in Goffstown, New Hampshire, which was later searched by federal investigators in March 2023.Investigators said that in some cases, he sold stolen body parts t...

Philippine police raid alleged cybercrime buildings, rescue 2,700 workers from 18 countries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:48 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine police backed by commandos staged a massive raid on Tuesday and said they rescued more than 2,700 workers from China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and more than a dozen other countries who were allegedly swindled into working for fraudulent online gaming sites and other cybercrime groups.The number of human trafficking victims rescued from seven buildings in Las Pinas city in metropolitan Manila and the scale of the nighttime police raid were the largest so far this year and indicated how the Philippines has become a key base of operations for cybercrime syndicates.Cybercrime scams have become a major issue in Asia with reports of people from the region and beyond being lured into taking jobs in countries like strife-torn Myanmar and Cambodia. However, many of these workers find themselves trapped in virtual slavery and forced to participate in scams targeting people over the internet.In May, leaders from the Association of Southeast Asia...

Pakistan’s premier says he hopes the IMF will decide on the bailout for his country in a day or two

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:48 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s prime minister said Tuesday he was hopeful the International Monetary Fund will make its decision in a day or two on the fate of the much-needed $6 billion bailout package for his country. The remarks by Shahbaz Sharif came after he spoke to Kristalina Georgieva, the IMF chief, according to a government statement. The two also met last week, on the sidelines of a global financing meeting in Paris.Talks between Pakistan and the IMF stalled since December, after the global lender delayed the release of the crucial tranche of $1.1 billion from the bailout. The deal was originally signed in 2019 by Sharif’s predecessor, Imran Khan. The deal envisioned a deadline and if the IMF by Friday decides that Pakistan has not met the terms of the agreement, the fund could cancel the whole bailout package. Pakistan and the IMF have been at odds over what the fund says is Islamabad’s unsatisfactory compliance with the bailout conditions. Pakistan claims it has full...

What’s next for Bailão, Saunders and other top mayoral candidates

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:48 GMT

Election night in Toronto ended being more of a nail-biter than most polls had predicted, but in the end, the candidate who first emerged as the frontrunner held on to win.Former city councillor and MP Olivia Chow will be the next mayor of Toronto, after capturing over 37 per cent of the popular vote in Monday’s mayoral byelection.So what’s next for the other top mayoral candidates? More than 100 names appeared on Monday’s ballot, but through the course of the campaign only a handful separated themselves as legitimate contenders for the city’s top job.Ana BailãoAna Bailão finished in second place, and while most polls predicted a blowout, it was much closer on election night.The former city councillor swept Etobicoke and most of North York — she actually led the popular vote as the initial results came in on Monday night.She was the recipient of a number of significant endorsements, including nine councillors and former mayor John Tory. The last-minute ...

UN report finds Russia tortured, executed civilians in Ukraine; Kyiv also abused detainees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:48 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Russian forces carried out widespread and systematic torture of civilians who were detained in connection with its attack on Ukraine, summarily executing dozens of them, the United Nations human rights office said Tuesday.The global body interviewed hundreds of victims and witnesses for a report detailing more than 900 cases of civilians, including children and elderly people, being arbitrarily detained in the conflict, most of them by Russia.The vast majority of those interviewed said they were tortured and in some cases subjected to sexual violence during detention by Russian forces, the head of the U.N. human rights office in Ukraine said.“Torture was used to force victims to confess to helping Ukrainian armed forces, compel them to cooperate with the occupying authorities or intimidate those with pro-Ukrainian views,” said Matilda Bogner.The report, which covers a 15-month period from the start of the Russian invasion to May 2023, also documented 75 cases of arbitr...

Europe’s interest rates to stay high as long as needed to defeat inflation, central bank chief says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:48 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde warned Tuesday that inflation is holding its grip on the economy and underlined that the bank intends to raise rates high enough to “break this persistence.” Lagarde acknowledged that inflation has fallen from all-time highs last year as energy prices plunged and the bank rolled out a rapid series of rate increases, which are meant to fight price spikes by making it more expensive for consumers and businesses to borrow and spend.“We are seeing a decline in the inflation rate as the shocks that originally drove up inflation wane and our monetary policy actions are transmitted to the economy,” she said in a speech opening the ECB’s annual policy conference in Sintra, Portugal.“But the pass-through of those shocks is still ongoing, making the decline in inflation slower and the inflation process more persistent,” Lagarde added.Businesses initially passed on their rising costs by charging customers higher ...

Pope’s peace envoy is heading to Moscow after the short-lived Wagner rebellion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:48 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis’ peace envoy is heading to Moscow on Wednesday in hopes of helping find “a solution to the tragic current situation” of the war in Ukraine, the Vatican said Tuesday.The two-day mission by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, a veteran of the Catholic Church’s peace initiatives, comes as the Kremlin is reeling from the weekend armed rebellion led by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. Russia has since dropped charges against Prigozhin and others who took part in the brief rebellion.It follows Zuppi’s visit to Kyiv earlier this month, which the Vatican described as an initiative to try to find paths of peace.On the Moscow leg, Zuppi will be accompanied by an official from the Vatican secretariat of state, according to a statement from the Holy See press office. He is due to be remain until Thursday, which is the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul — an important day for both Catholic and Orthodox Christians.“The principle aim of the initiative is to encourage gestures of hu...