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UK waters down plan to make foreign spouses earn £38,700

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:49 GMT

LONDON — The U.K. government softened its controversial plan to make it more difficult for people to bring non-British spouses to the U.K.Under a major legal migration shake-up announced earlier this month, the Home Office declared that it would significantly raise the earnings threshold for non-British spouses of people in the U.K. using family visas from £18,600 to £38,700 — including when existing visa holders renew. That prompted warnings the policy would wrench families already living in the U.K. apart, and throw plans to bring relatives to the country into chaos.But, in a change slipped out just before the Christmas break, the department now says the threshold will rise to £29,000 in the spring.Further rises are still penciled in, the government says, but they have no fixed implementation date. The Home Office said the threshold “will be increased in incremental stages to give predictability.” In a further change, existing visa holders renewing their visas won’t be...

Czechs in mourning after shooter kills 14 in Prague

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:49 GMT

A shooter killed 14 people and injured dozens more in a violent attack at Charles University in Prague on Thursday afternoon before being killed himself, according to Czech police.“The shooter has been eliminated!!! The entire [university] building is currently being evacuated and there are several dead and dozens injured,” Czech police reported Thursday afternoon, adding that an investigation was still ongoing.The attack took place in the philosophy department building, where the shooter was a student, Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said, according to AP. The shooter’s motive has not yet been revealed, though Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakušan said investigators don’t suspect a link to extremist ideology or groups.Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala convened an extraordinary government meeting on Thursday evening, before declaring Saturday December 23 a national day of mourning in honor of the victims of the attack.“We are all shocked by this horrific act...

Turkey detains 304 people with suspected links to Islamic State group in simultaneous raids

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:49 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish security forces have rounded up 304 people suspected of links to the Islamic State extremist group in simultaneous raids across Turkey, the interior minister said Friday.Ali Yerlikaya said the suspects were detained in 32 provinces but the majority of them were in Turkey’s three largest cities, Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.The operation, codenamed “Heroes-34,” was conducted jointly by the police intelligence and counter-terrorism squads, Yerlikaya said on the X social media platform.There was no information on the suspects’ nationalities.The militant group has carried out a string of deadly attacks in Turkey, including a shooting at an Istanbul night club on Jan. 1, 2017, which killed 39 people during New Year celebrations.It was not clear if the latest operation was part of a security sweep leading up to the New Year festivities.“There will be no respite for the terrorists for the sake of the peace, unity and solidarity of our beloved nation,” Yerlikaya ...

Spain’s bumper Christmas lottery “El Gordo” starts dishing out millions of euros in prizes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:49 GMT

MADRID (AP) — People across Spain are tuning into the television, radio and internet as children from Madrid’s San Ildefonso school Friday began singing out the prize-winning numbers in Spain’s huge Christmas lottery, known as “EL Gordo” (the fat one).The immensely popular lottery will distribute a total of 2.6 billion euros in prizes this year, much of it in small prizes. Holders of 20-euro tickets bearing the top-prize number will receive 400,000 euros ($440,000). Street and bar celebrations normally break out with winners uncorking bottles of sparkling wine and singing and dancing. The event is televised nationally from Madrid’s Teatro Real opera house.Purchasing and sharing tickets, known in Spanish as “décimos” (tenths) in the run-up to Christmas is a major tradition among families, friends, co-workers and in bars and sports and social clubs.The winning numbers are called out by children from Madrid’s San Ildefonso school. The children pick up balls showing ticket numbers...

China drafts new rules proposing restrictions on online gaming

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:49 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — China released draft guidelines Friday aimed at curbing excessive spending on online gaming in the latest move by the ruling Communist Party to keep control of the virtual economy.The proposal caused shares in the biggest Chinese gaming companies, Tencent and NetEase, to plunge in Hong Kong. China’s gaming regulator, the National Press and Publication Administration, issued guidelines saying online games cannot offer incentives for daily log-ins or purchases. Other restrictions include limiting how much users can recharge and issuing warnings for “irrational consumption behavior.”Shares in Tencent, China’s largest gaming company, dived about 16% before recovering some ground to close 12% lower. Rival NetEase’s stock price lost about 25%.Beijing has taken various measures against the online games sector in recent years.In 2021, regulators set strict restrictions on the amount of time children could spend on games to just three hours a week. A state media news outlet ...

Foreign nationals among 14 killed after gunman opens fire in a Prague university. Over 20 wounded

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:49 GMT

PRAGUE (AP) — Foreign nationals were among at least 14 killed after a student opened fire at a university in Prague, authorities said Friday. More than 20 others were also wounded in one of the Czech Republic’s worst mass shootings.The bloodshed took place on Thursday in the philosophy department building of Charles University, where the shooter was a student, Prague Police Chief Martin Vondrasek said. The gunman also died, authorities said. His name has not been released.Vondrasek said in the evening that 14 people had died and 25 were wounded, after earlier reporting that 15 had died and 24 were hurt. He didn’t explain the change. Authorities warned that the death toll could rise.Police gave no details about the victims or a possible motive for the shooting at the building located near the Vltava River in Jan Palach Square. Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said investigators do not suspect a link to any extremist ideology or groups.Vondrasek said police believe the gunman kille...

Vatican prosecutor appeals verdict that largely dismantled his fraud case but convicted cardinal

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:49 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican’s chief prosecutor has appealed a court verdict that largely dismantled his theory of a grand conspiracy to defraud the Holy See of millions of euros but found a cardinal guilty of embezzlement.Prosecutor Alessandro Diddi filed his appeal earlier this week, days after the three-judge tribunal issued its verdict in a complicated financial trial that aired the Vatican’s dirty laundry and tested the peculiar legal system in an absolute monarchy in the center of Europe.While the headline from Saturday’s verdict focused on Cardinal Angelo Becciu’s 5 1/2-year sentence for embezzlement, the meat of the ruling made clear that the judges rejected most of Diddi’s 487-page indictment. Diddi had accused Becciu and nine other people of dozens of counts of fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, extortion, corruption, abuse of office and witness tampering in connection with the Vatican’s bungled investment in a London property.He had sought prison terms of up ...

No snow in sight as temps surge into the 50s, with two rain systems ahead

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:49 GMT

Weekly temps are to average more than 8 degrees above normal in Chicago by the end of this week—and will surge nearly 16 degrees ABOVE NORMAL next weekTemps are to turn colder (though STILL ABOVE NORMAL) later next week and heading into the following week. PROLONGED ARCTIC COLD isn't in sight at this point through the coming week, though we'll enter the New Year the week after next with daytime highs in the 30s and nighttime lows in the 20s.Next week's system will slow to a crawl locking clouds and sporadic rain in through Wed night and into Thursday, when colder (but STILL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS) will arrive and could introduce a few mixed snowflakes.

Clean energy initiatives advance at the EU Energy Council

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:49 GMT

On the margins of the Energy Council of 20 December, Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson supported a series of energy transition initiatives for the EU and its regions.Following up on the European Wind Power Action Plant abled by the Commission in October, 26 member states and representatives of the EU wind sector agreed on a European Wind Charter setting out a series of voluntary commitments for the development of the sector. The signatories committed to ensure a predictable project pipeline, improve auction design, and scale up manufacturing capacity in the EU. They will also ensure that business processes, governance, products and services comply with high qualitative standards related to environment, innovation, cybersecurity and labour. 21 Member States also made voluntary pledges to boost wind power capacity in the next 3 years. More information is available on this webpage. Commissioner Simson's speech is available here.The Commission and member states also signed a Joint Declar...

Dear Abby: I want to have a talk with my wife’s co-worker, but she says she’s handling it

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:59:49 GMT

DEAR ABBY: I am a 42-year-old male, married for 19 years with three teenage children.Related ArticlesAdvice | Dear Abby: Am I awful for living well while my daughter flounders? Advice | Dear Abby: My husband is desperate for women’s attention, and I don’t know what to do Advice | Dear Abby: I’m sure it’s the bride who made this hurtful decision Advice | Dear Abby: My sister doesn’t know it, but my husband’s demand is non-negotiable Advice | Dear Abby: I’m not sure I can spend the rest of my life with babyman in tow My wife recently decided to return to work after staying home with the kids as a full-time mom. She’s an elementary school teacher and has a male co-worker.For six months, this co-worker has been texting her constantly, sometimes every day for several weeks at a time. Along with work-related texts, he asks for advice regarding his recent breakup ...